[Senate Report 110-351]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 783
110th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     110-351

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         HARRIET BEECHER STOWE HOUSE SPECIAL RESOURCE STUDY ACT

                                _______
                                

                 June 16, 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. 662]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 662) to authorize the Secretary of the 
Interior to conduct a special resource study to evaluate 
resources at the Harriet Beecher Stowe House in Brunswick, 
Maine, to determine the suitability and feasibility of 
establishing the site as a unit of the National Park System, 
and for other purposes, having considered the same, reports 
favorably thereon with an amendment and recommends that the 
bill, as amended, do pass.
    The amendment is as follows:
    Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu 
thereof the following:

SECTLON 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Harriet Beecher Stowe House Special 
Resource Study Act''.

SEC. 2. HARRIET BEECHER STOWE HOUSE SPECIAL RESOURCE STUDY.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 3 years after the date on which 
funds are made available to carry out this Act, the Secretary of the 
Interior (referred to in this Act as the ``Secretary'') shall complete 
a special resource study of the Harriet Beecher Stowe House in 
Brunswick, Maine, to evaluate--
          (1) the national significance of the Harriet Beecher Stowe 
        House and surrounding land; and
          (2) the suitability and feasibility of designating the 
        Harriet Beecher Stowe House and surrounding land as a unit of 
        the National Park System.
    (b) Study Guidelines.--In conducting the study authorized under 
subsection (a), the Secretary shall use the criteria for the study of 
areas for potential inclusion in the National Park System contained in 
section 8(c) of Public Law 91-383 (16 U.S.C. 1a-5(c)).

SEC. 3. REPORT.

    On completion of the study required under section 3, the Secretary 
shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 
Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 
Representatives a report containing the findings, conclusions, and 
recommendations of the study.

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary 
to carry out this Act.

                                PURPOSE

    The purpose of S. 662 is to authorize the Secretary of the 
Interior to conduct a special resource study to determine the 
suitability and feasibility of establishing the Harriet Beecher 
Stowe House in Brunswick, Maine, as a unit of the National Park 
System.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896) wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin 
while living at 63 Federal Street in Brunswick, Maine, from 
1850-1852. Her literary success established her as an important 
author, humanitarian, and abolitionist during the 19th century. 
Her famous novel introduced many American citizens to the 
horrors of slavery. The influence of that novel proved to be so 
great that it prompted President Lincoln, when meeting her, to 
remark ``So you're the little lady who wrote the book that 
started this Great War''. Uncle Tom's Cabin has been translated 
into 23 languages and is still considered by many to be the 
most famous example of antislavery literature. The Harriet 
Beecher Stowe House was designated as a National Historic 
Landmark in 1963.
    S. 662 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to conduct 
a special resource study to evaluate the national significance 
of the Harriet Beecher Stowe House and surrounding land, and 
the suitability and feasibility of designating the site as a 
unit of the National Park System.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    S. 662 was introduced by Senator Snowe on February 16, 
2007. Senator Collins is a cosponsor. The Subcommittee on 
National Parks held a hearing on the bill on April 23, 2008.
    At its business meeting on May 7, 2008, the Committee on 
Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 662 favorably reported, 
with an amendment in the nature of a substitute.

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on May 7, 2008, by a voice vote of a quorum 
present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 662, if amended as 
described herein.

                          COMMITTEE AMENDMENT

    During the consideration of S. 662, the Committee adopted 
an amendment in the nature of a substitute. The amendment 
removes the findings section and makes other clarifying and 
conforming amendments. The amendment is explained in detail in 
the section-by-section analysis, below.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

    Section 1 contains the short title, the ``Harriet Beecher 
Stowe House Resource Study Act''.
    Section 2(a) directs the Secretary of the Interior to 
complete a special resource study of the Harriet Beecher Stowe 
House to assess the suitability and feasibility of designating 
the site for inclusion in the National Park System. The study 
is to be completed within 3 years after the date on which funds 
are made available to carry out this Act.
    Subsection (b) directs the Secretary to use the criteria 
for new area studies described in section 8(c) of Public Law 
91-383 (16 U.S.C. 1a-5(c)).
    Section 3 requires the Secretary to submit the results of 
the study to Congress, including any findings, conclusions, and 
recommendations of the Secretary.
    Section 4 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. 662--Harriet Beecher Stowe House Special Resource Study Act

    S. 662 would require the National Park Service (NPS) to 
conduct a study to determine the suitability and feasibility of 
establishing the Harriet Beecher Stowe House in Maine 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 carrying out the proposed study would cost 
about $200,000 over the 2009-2012 period. Enacting the 
legislation would not affect direct spending or revenues.
    S. 662 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. 
This 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. 662. 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. 662, as ordered reported.

                   CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

    S. 662, as reported, does not contain any congressionally 
directed spending items, limited tax benefits, or limited 
tariff benefits as defined by rule XLIV of the Standing Rules 
of the Senate.

                        EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

    The testimony provided by the National Park Service at the 
April 23, 2008 hearing on S. 662 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. 662, a bill to authorize the Secretary of 
the Interior to conduct a study to evaluate resources at the 
Harriet Beecher Stowe House in Brunswick, Maine.
    The Department supports the enactment of this bill. 
However, the Department feels that priority should be given to 
the 29 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.
    If enacted, the bill would direct the Secretary to conduct 
a special resource study to evaluate the national significance 
of the Harriet Beecher Stowe House and surrounding land, and to 
assess the suitability and feasibility of including the site as 
a unit of the National Park System. The study, which is to be 
completed within three years after funds are made available for 
it, will follow the criteria for potential new areas contained 
in section 8(c) of Public Law 91-383 (16 U.S.C. 1a-5(c)) which 
require such studies to address four areas: significance, 
suitability, feasibility, and management options.
    The Harriet Beecher Stowe House, located at 63 Federal 
Street, Brunswick, Maine, is a National Historic Landmark whose 
oldest portion, a 2-story wood frame house, dates from 1807. It 
was the residence from 1850 to 1852 of Harriet Beecher Stowe, 
author of the influential indictment of slavery, Uncle Tom's 
Cabin, which was written here. It was designated as a National 
Historic Landmark in 1962, and is listed by the National Park 
Service in its Underground Railroad travel guides as a site of 
interest.
    Harriet Elizabeth Beecher (1811-1896) was born in 
Connecticut and moved with her family to Cincinnati, Ohio in 
1832 at the age of 21. There she was a teacher and author, and 
traveled to Kentucky where she interviewed fugitive slaves and 
witnessed the brutality of slavery firsthand. In 1836 she 
married Calvin Ellis Stowe, who later became a professor at 
Bowdoin College, prompting her move to Brunswick, Maine. She 
used her personal experiences to develop Uncle Tom's Cabin, 
published as a serial in 1851 in an antislavery newspaper, and 
in book form the following year. An enormous popular success, 
its antislavery message provoked strong reactions throughout 
the South. In response to criticism, she wrote A Key to Uncle 
Tom's Cabin, (1853), a collection of factual material on 
slavery intended to justify the charges implied in the novel. 
She continued to lead the life of an active writer, publishing 
a second anti-slavery novel, poetry, and numerous essays and 
fictional works about New England social life.
    The property at 63 Federal Street was operated as an inn 
for many years, and was expanded several times to include an 
attached barn, several ells, and a 54-unit motel. The complex 
was purchased several years ago by Bowdoin College, which 
rehabilitated the motel for use as a student dormitory. The 
main house is not currently in use or open to the public. The 
college has recently undertaken a study of the historic 
structure, to identify remaining elements that would have been 
present during Stowe's era, and to explore various options for 
preserving it. The college is committed to preserving the 
building, but is reluctant to undertake the financial burdens 
of restoring and operating it as a house museum.
    The property is one of three former Stowe homes listed on 
the National Register of Historic Places. The others are houses 
at 2950 Gilbert Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio and 73 Forest Street, 
Hartford, Connecticut, both of which are open to the public as 
sites honoring Harriet Beecher Stowe. The special resource 
study would allow National Park Service professionals to build 
upon the historic structure reports recently prepared for the 
Bowdoin College house through a grant from the U.S. Department 
of Housing and Urban Development, and to assist in the 
preparation of options for long-term preservation of the 
National Historic Landmark Harriet Beecher Stowe House.
    Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to comment. 
This concludes my prepared remarks and I will be happy to 
answer any questions you or other committee members 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. 662, as 
ordered reported.

                                  
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