[Senate Report 110-305]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]




                                                       Calendar No. 657
110th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     110-305

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



 
                 ALEXANDER HAMILTON BOYHOOD HOME STUDY


                              ACT OF 2007

                                _______
                                

                 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. 1969]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 1969) to authorize the Secretary of the 
Interior to conduct a special resource study to determine the 
suitability and feasibility of designating Estate Grange and 
other sites related to Alexander Hamilton's life on the island 
of St. Croix in the United States Virgin Islands as a unit of 
the National Park System, and for other purposes, having 
considered the same, reports favorably thereon with amendments 
and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.
    The amendment is as follows:

    1. On page 2, strike lines 1 through 22 and insert the 
following:

SEC. 2. STUDY.

    2. On page 4, strike line 1 and insert the following:

SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

                                PURPOSE

    The purpose of S. 1969 is to authorize the Secretary of the 
Interior to conduct a special resource study to determine the 
suitability and feasibility of designating Alexander Hamilton's 
boyhood home, Estate Grange, and other sites related to his 
life on the island of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, as 
a unit of the National Park System, and for other purposes.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    Alexander Hamilton (c. 1755-1804) was a delegate to the 
Constitutional Convention, principal author of the Federalist 
Papers, and was appointed by George Washington as the first 
Secretary of the Treasury. Hamilton was killed in a shooting 
duel with Vice President Aaron Burr in 1804.
    Hamilton was born on the Caribbean island of Nevis, and 
moved as a young boy to Estate Grange, his mother's home on the 
island of St. Croix in what is now the U.S. Virgin Islands. It 
is here that young Alexander Hamilton gained valuable skills in 
banking and writing that later led to his role as a founding 
father of the United States of America.
    S. 1969 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
conduct a special resource study to determine if the site--and 
others on the islands associated with the early life of 
Alexander Hamilton--is appropriate for addition to the National 
Park System.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    S. 1969 was introduced by Senator Hatch and others on 
August 2, 2007. The Subcommittee on National Parks held a 
hearing on S. 1969 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. 1969 favorably 
reported, with amendments.

                        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. 1969, if 
amended as described herein.

                          COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS

    During the consideration of S. 1969, the Committee on 
Energy and Natural Resources amended the bill to strike the 
section containing findings and to renumber the subsequent 
section accordingly.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

    Section 1 contains the short title, the ``Alexander 
Hamilton Boyhood Home Study Act of 2008''.
    Section 2(a) authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to 
conduct a special resource study of Alexander Hamilton's 
boyhood home and other sites and resources associated with his 
life on St. Croix in the United States Virgin Islands.
    Subsection (b) directs the Secretary to evaluate the 
national significance of the sites and resources; and the 
suitability and feasibility of designating the sites and 
resources as a unit of the National Park System.
    Subsection 2(c) describes the criteria for the study shall 
conform to Public Law 91-383 (16 U.S.C. 1a-5).
    Subsection 2(d) requires the Secretary to submit the study 
to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources of the Senate containing the results of the study and 
any findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the Secretary 
within 3 years after the date on which funds are first made 
available for the study.
    Section 3 authorizes the appropriation of such sums as are 
necessary to carry out this Act.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

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

S. 1969--Alexander Hamilton Boyhood Home Study Act of 2007

    S. 1969 would direct the National Park Service (NPS) to 
study the suitability and feasibility of designating Estate 
Grange and other sites associated with Alexander Hamilton's 
life on St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, as a unit of the 
National Park System. Based on information provided by the NPS 
and assuming the availability of appropriated funds, CBO 
estimates that enacting S. 1969 would cost $250,000 over the 
next three years. Enacting S. 1969 would not affect direct 
spending or revenues.
    S. 1969 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal 
governments.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis. 
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. 1969. 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. 1969, as ordered reported.

                   CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

    S. 1969, 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 on National Parks hearing 
follows:

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

    Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to provide the 
Department of the Interior's views on S. 1969, a bill to 
authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special 
resource study to determine the suitability and feasibility of 
designating Estate Grange and other sites related to Alexander 
Hamilton's life on the island of St. Croix in the United States 
Virgin Islands as a unit of the National Park System, and for 
other purposes.
    The Department supports S. 1969. 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.
    Studies of this type typically take approximately three 
years to complete after funds are made available. We estimate 
the cost for this study to be approximately $250,000.
    S. 1969 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior, in 
consultation with the Governor of the Virgin Islands, to 
conduct a special resource study of Estate Grange and other 
sites and resources associated with the life of Alexander 
Hamilton on St. Croix, in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The study 
would evaluate the sites according to established criteria to 
determine whether it is appropriate for addition to the 
National Park System, or whether it is better suited to 
protection by another entity.
    Hamilton was born out of wedlock in Charlestown, Nevis, the 
capital of the island of Nevis, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Leeward 
Islands, West Indies to James A. Hamilton, the fourth son of a 
Scottish laird, and Rachel Faucett Lavien, of part French 
Huguenot descent. There is, however, some evidence that 
Hamilton's biological father may have been a Nevis merchant 
named Thomas Stevens.
    In 1765, a business assignment led James Hamilton to move 
the family to Christiansted, St. Croix. James then abandoned 
Rachel and their two sons. After James left, Rachel supported 
the family by keeping a small store in Christiansted. She 
contracted a ``severe fever'' and died on February 19, 1768, 
leaving Hamilton effectively orphaned.
    After his mother's death, Hamilton was twice adopted and 
worked as a clerk with a local import-export firm with ties to 
the New York area. Impressed with his writings, the local 
community created a fund to send him to New Jersey for a formal 
education. He was attending King's College in New York when the 
Revolutionary War began.
    During the Revolutionary War, Hamilton served as an 
artillery captain, was an aide-de-camp to General George 
Washington, and led three battalions at the Battle of Yorktown.
    One of America's first constitutional lawyers, he was a 
leader in calling the U.S. Constitutional Convention in 1787 
and was one of the two chief authors of the Federalist Papers, 
the most cited contemporary interpretation of intent for the 
United States Constitution. Under President Washington, 
Hamilton became the first Secretary of the Treasury.
    The Estate Grange, a former rum factory and sugar 
plantation, was once the home of Hamilton's mother and she is 
buried on the premises. The 115-acre estate is situated 
approximately 1.5 to 2 miles southwest of Christiansted 
National Historic Site and is owned by the Armstrong Trust.
    In 1886, the Great House, which has five bedrooms and four 
baths, was used as a convalescent home for Danish gendarmes 
stricken by yellow fever at the Christiansted barracks. In 
later years the Great house was modified, by subsequent owners, 
by adding a grand staircase on the southwest corner of the 
building and converting the gallery to a dining room. The 
basement, with arched window openings and passageways, includes 
stone and coral-walled bedrooms, as-well-as storage areas.
    Mr. Chairman, that concludes my testimony. I would be 
pleased to answer any questions you or the other members of the 
subcommittee may 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. 1969, as 
ordered reported.

                                  
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