[Senate Report 110-296]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 648
110th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     110-296

======================================================================



 
        TULE LAKE SEGREGATION CENTER SPECIAL RESOURCE STUDY ACT

                                _______
                                

                 April 10, 2008.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

   Mr. Bingaman, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 1476]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 1476) to authorize the Secretary of the 
Interior to conduct a special resources study of the Tule Lake 
Segregation Center in Modoc County, California, to determine 
the suitability and feasibility of establishing a unit of the 
National Park System, having considered the same, reports 
favorably thereon with an amendment and recommends that the 
bill, as amended, do pass.
    The amendment is as follows:
  1. Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in 
lieu thereof the following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``Tule Lake Segregation Center Special 
Resource Study Act''.

SEC. 2. STUDY.

  (a) In General.--The Secretary of the Interior (referred to in this 
Act as the ``Secretary'') shall conduct a special resource study of the 
Tule Lake Segregation Center to determine the national significance of 
the site and the suitability and feasibility of including the site in 
the National Park System.
  (b) Study Guidelines.--The study shall be conducted in accordance 
with the criteria for the study of areas for potential inclusion in the 
National Park System under section 8 of Public Law 91-383 (16 U.S.C. 
1a-5).
  (c) Consultation.--In conducting the study, the Secretary shall 
consult with--
          (1) Modoc County;
          (2) the State of California;
          (3) appropriate Federal agencies;
          (4) tribal and local government entities;
          (5) private and nonprofit organizations; and
          (6) private landowners.
  (d) Scope of Study.--The study shall include an evaluation of--
          (1) the significance of the site as a part of the history of 
        World War II;
          (2) the significance of the site as the site relates to other 
        war relocation centers;.
          (3) the historical resources of the site, including the 
        stockade, that are intact and in place;
          (4) the contributions made by the local agricultural 
        community to the World War II effort; and
          (5) the potential impact of designation of the site as a unit 
        of the National Park System on private landowners.

SEC. 3. REPORT.

  Not later than 3 years after the date on which funds are made 
available to conduct the study required under this Act, the Secretary 
shall submit to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of 
the Senate a report describing the findings, conclusions, and 
recommendations of the study.

  2. Amend the title so as to read: ``A bill to authorize the 
Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study 
of the Tule Lake Segregation Center in Modoc County, 
California.''.

                                PURPOSE

    The purpose of S. 1476 is to authorize the Secretary of the 
Interior to conduct a special resource study of the Tule Lake 
Segregation Center in Modoc County, California, to determine 
the suitability and feasibility of designating the site as a 
unit of the National Park System.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    Tule Lake, located in Modoc County, California, was the 
largest and longest-lived of the ten internment camps built by 
the War Relocation Authority (WRA) to house the nearly 120,000 
Japanese Americans relocated from the West Coast during World 
War II, pursuant to Executive Order 9066.
    On February 19, 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt signed 
Executive Order 9066, which authorized the War Department to 
establish areas in the United States ``from which any or all 
persons may be excluded, and with respect to which, the right 
of any person to enter, remain in, or leave shall be subject to 
whatever restrictions the Secretary of War or the appropriate 
Military Commander may impose in his discretion.'' The War 
Department established Military Areas No. 1 and 2, which 
encompassed the western coastal States and the southern half of 
Arizona, from which Japanese Americans were forced to leave 
their homes. Initially voluntary resettlement to areas outside 
the exclusion zones was encouraged, but mandatory incarceration 
soon followed.
    Tule Lake opened May 26, 1942, detaining persons of 
Japanese descent removed from western Washington, Oregon, and 
Northern California. With a peak population of 18,700, Tule 
Lake was the largest of the camps, and the only one turned into 
a high-security segregation center. In 1943, the Tule Lake 
facility was converted to a maximum security segregation center 
for evacuees deemed by the WRA to be ``disloyal.'' Tule Lake 
was the last internment site to close, on March 28, 1946. The 
site was designated as a National Historic Landmark by the 
Secretary of the Interior in 2006.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    S. 1476 was introduced by Senators Feinstein, Boxer, and 
Inouye on May 24, 2007. The Subcommittee on National Parks held 
a hearing on S. 1476 on September 27, 2007. (S. Hrg. 110-266.)
    At its business meeting on January 30, 2008, the Committee 
on Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 1476 favorably 
reported as amended.

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on January 30, 2008, by a voice vote of a 
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 1476, if 
amended as described herein.

                          COMMITTEE AMENDMENT

    During the consideration of S. 1476 the Committee adopted 
an amendment in the nature of a substitute to make the study 
consistent with other National Park Service studies. The 
amendment is explained in detail in the section-by-section 
analysis, below.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

    Section 1 contains the short title, the ``Tule Lake 
Segregation Center Special Resource Study Act''.
    Section 2(a) authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to 
conduct a special resource study of the Tule Lake Segregation 
Center to determine the national significance of the site and 
the suitability and feasibility of including the site in the 
National Park System.
    Subsection 2(b) requires the study to be conducted in 
accordance with the criteria for National Park studies 
established under section 8 of Public Law 91-383 (16 U.S.C. 1a-
5).
    Subsection 2(c) requires the Secretary to consult with 
Modoc County, the State of California, appropriate Federal 
agencies, tribal and local government entities, private and 
nonprofit organizations, and private landowners.
    Subsection 2(d) defines the scope of the study and provides 
that the study shall focus on the significance of the site as a 
part of the history of World War II, as the site relates to 
other war relocation centers, the stockade in it's current 
condition, the contributions made by the local agricultural 
community to the World War II effort, and the potential impact 
of designation of the site as a unit of the National Park 
System on private landowners.
    Section 3 states the Secretary shall submit to the 
Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate 
a report describing the findings, conclusions, and 
recommendations of the study not later than 3 years after the 
date on which funds are made available to conduct such study.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

    The following estimate of costs of this measure has been 
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:

S. 1476--Tule Lake Segregation Center Special Resource Study Act

    S. 1476 would direct the Department of the Interior to 
conduct a special resource study to determine the national 
significance of the Tule Lake Segregation Center, California, 
and the feasibility and suitability of including the site in 
the National Park System. The bill would require the department 
to report its findings and recommendations to the appropriate 
Congressional committees within three years of receiving 
funding for the study.
    Assuming the availability of appropriated funds, CBO 
estimates that it would cost $200,000 over the next three years 
to complete the required study and report. Enacting this 
legislation would not affect direct spending or revenues.
    S. 1476 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Tyler Kruzic. 
The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                      REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION

    In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following 
evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in 
carrying out S. 1476. The bill is not a regulatory measure in 
the sense of imposing Government-established standards or 
significant economic responsibilities on private individuals 
and businesses.
    No personal information would be collected in administering 
the program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal 
privacy.
    Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the 
enactment of S. 1476, as ordered reported.

                   CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

    S. 1476, as reported, does not contain any congressionally 
directed spending items, limited tax benefits, or limited 
tariff benefits as defined in rule XLIV of the Standing Rules 
of the Senate.

                        EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

    The testimony provided by the National Park Service at the 
September 27, 2007, Subcommittee hearing on S. 1476 as follows:

 Statement of Daniel N. Wenk, Deputy Director, National Park Service, 
                       Department of the Interior

    Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to appear 
before your committee to present the views of the Department of 
the Interior on S. 1476, a bill to conduct a special resources 
study of the Tule Lake Segregation Center in Modoc County, 
California, to determine the suitability and feasibility of 
establishing a unit of the National Park System.
    The Department supports this legislation with amendments 
described later in this statement. The study authorized by S. 
1476 would provide the opportunity to evaluate options for 
preserving and interpreting the largest and most heavily 
guarded of the ten internment camps where Japanese American 
citizens from west coast states were forced to live during 
World War II under Executive Order 9066. However, the 
Department feels that priority should be given to the 37 
previously authorized studies for potential units of the 
National Park System, potential new National Heritage Areas, 
and potential additions to the National Trails System and 
National Wild and Scenic River System that have not yet been 
transmitted to the Congress.
    Tule Lake, which housed more than 18,000 internees at its 
peak, was the only internment camp that was converted to a 
maximum-security segregation center for evacuees from all the 
relocation centers who resisted internment. It was the only 
camp that had its own jail. It had the most guard towers and 
the largest number of military police of any of the camps. 
During its operation, the center was the site of several acts 
of resistance and declarations of martial law and military 
control.
    The Tule Lake site features more surviving historic 
features and resources in original locations than all of the 
other former internment camps combined. The original jail 
structure is, for the former internees, the most significant 
symbol of internment anywhere in the United States. In 2006, 
the Secretary of the Interior designated 42 acres of the Tule 
Lake Segregation Center as a National Historic Landmark. The 
designation confirmed the national significance of the site, 
one of the key criteria a resource must meet to be considered 
an appropriate candidate for establishment as a unit of the 
National Park System. The work done on the nomination for 
National Historic Landmark designation would provide a 
foundation for the study that would be authorized by S. 1476.
    The National Park Service administers two sites that were 
used as internment camps for Japanese Americans during World 
War II: Manzanar National Historic Site, in central California, 
which was authorized by Congress in 1992, and Minidoka 
Internment National Monument, in southern Idaho, which was 
established by presidential proclamation in 2001. However, 
neither site has the unique historic resources or story that 
Tule Lake has as the only designated segregation center among 
the ten internment camps.
    The study would evaluate the site according to criteria 
provided by law to determine whether it is appropriate for 
addition to the National Park System, or whether it is better 
suited to protection by another entity. In carrying out the 
study, the National Park Service would work closely with the 
Bureau of Reclamation, the Bureau of Land Management, and the 
California Department of Transportation, which are the primary 
land managers, as well as private land owners in the area, 
local agencies, and groups interested in the preservation of 
Japanese American internment sites, including the Tule Lake 
Committee. The study would cost an estimated $150,000 to 
$200,000.
    S. 1476 provides for the study to be completed within one 
year after funds are made available for it. We recommend that 
the bill be amended to provide for the study to be completed 
within three years after funds are made available, which is the 
standard time frame for conducting special resource studies. We 
would also like to work with the committee to simplify the 
language of S. 1476 in several places.
    Mr. Chairman, that concludes my testimony. I would be 
pleased to answer any questions that you or other members of 
the committee might have.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no 
changes in existing law are made by the bill S. 1476, as 
ordered reported.

                                  
