[House Report 111-529]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


111th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     111-529

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



 
              HEART MOUNTAIN RELOCATION CENTER STUDY ACT 
                                OF 2009

                                _______
                                

 July 13, 2010.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Rahall, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                             together with

                            ADDITIONAL VIEWS

                        [To accompany H.R. 3989]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the 
bill (H.R. 3989) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
conduct a special resource study to determine the suitability 
and feasibility of adding the Heart Mountain Relocation Center, 
in the State of Wyoming, as a unit of the National Park System, 
having considered the same, report favorably thereon without 
amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 3989 is to authorize the Secretary of 
the Interior to conduct a special resource study to determine 
the suitability and feasibility of adding the Heart Mountain 
Relocation Center, in Park County, Wyoming, as a unit of the 
National Park System.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    Heart Mountain Relocation Center (Heart Mountain) in 
Powell, Wyoming (in the northwestern part of the state) was a 
Japanese internment camp opened in August of 1942. It reflected 
a dark period in American history when prejudice against Asian-
Americans swept the country following the attack on Pearl 
Harbor in December of 1941. Heart Mountain was one of ten 
internment camps set up under the authority of Presidential 
Executive Order 9066, signed by President Roosevelt on February 
19, 1942. This Order authorized the U.S. government to 
systematically force Japanese-Americans from their own homes 
and businesses and into ``Relocation Centers'' which were being 
rapidly constructed around the west.
    Citing ``wartime necessity,'' these citizens (two-thirds of 
the population of Heart Mountain were American citizens) were 
never given access to a hearing, legal aid or judicial review 
before being relocated. Further, although no crimes were 
committed, they were detained indefinitely in barbed-wire 
enclosed camps without any due process. At its peak, nearly 
11,000 Japanese-Americans--forced from their communities in 
California, Washington, and Oregon--were housed in the camp's 
tar-paper barracks. Ironically, this made Heart Mountain 
Wyoming's third largest ``city'' at the time.
    On December 17, 1944, the U.S. War Department announced 
revocation of the military's West Coast exclusion order, and on 
November 10, 1945, the last internees left Heart Mountain to 
try to rebuild their lives. In the 39 months it was open, 
14,000 people were forced to live and struggle there. A number 
of the buildings and one guard tower still remain at the Heart 
Mountain site. For many, Heart Mountain constitutes a kind of 
sacred ground; it is a reminder of government injustice against 
human rights and an important historic touchstone for Japanese-
Americans. In 2006, Heart Mountain was designated as a National 
Historic Landmark.
    H.R. 3989 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to 
conduct a special resource study to determine the national 
significance of Heart Mountain Relocation Center. Specifically, 
the bill directs the Secretary to: determine the suitability 
and feasibility of designating Heart Mountain as a unit of the 
National Park System; consider other alternatives for the 
preservation and interpretation of the site by government or 
private entities; identify cost estimates for land acquisition, 
interpretation, operation and maintenance of the site; identify 
potential impacts of designation of the site on private 
landowners; and consult with interested government entities, 
tribes, private and nonprofit organizations, and private 
property owners that may be affected by any such designation.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 3989 was introduced by Representative Cynthia Lummis 
(R-WY) on November 3, 2009. The bill was referred to the 
Committee on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the 
Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands. At a 
Subcommittee hearing on April 27, 2010, a representative from 
the Department of the Interior testified in support of this 
legislation.
    On June 16, 2010, the Subcommittee on National Parks, 
Forests and Public Lands was discharged from the further 
consideration of H.R. 3989 and the full Natural Resources 
Committee met to consider the bill. The bill was ordered 
favorably reported to the House of Representatives by unanimous 
consent.

            COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

    Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.

                   CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

    Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United 
States grants Congress the authority to enact this bill.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII

    1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and 
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be 
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B) 
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when 
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted 
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
    2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2) 
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this 
bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending 
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in 
revenues or tax expenditures.
    3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or 
objective of this bill is to authorize the Secretary of the 
Interior to conduct a special resource study to determine the 
suitability and feasibility of adding the Heart Mountain 
Relocation Center, in Park County, Wyoming, as a unit of the 
National Park System.
    4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause 
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act 
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate 
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office:

H.R. 3989--Heart Mountain Relocation Center Study Act of 2009

    H.R. 3989 would require the National Park Service (NPS) to 
conduct a special resource study of the Heart Mountain 
Relocation Center in Wyoming. In the study, the NPS would 
evaluate the national significance of the site, which was used 
to intern Japanese Americans during World War II, and determine 
the suitability and feasibility of designating it as a unit of 
the National Park System. The NPS would have three years to 
complete the study and report to the Congress on its results.
    Based on information provided by the NPS and assuming the 
availability of appropriated funds, CBO estimates that carrying 
out the study required by H.R. 3989 would cost about $200,000 
over the next three years. Enacting the legislation would not 
affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go 
procedures would not apply.
    H.R. 3989 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined 
in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would impose no costs 
on state, local, and 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.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

                           EARMARK STATEMENT

    H.R. 3989 does not contain any congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in 
clause 9 of rule XXI.

                PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

    This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or 
tribal law.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing 
law.

                            ADDITIONAL VIEWS

    I am grateful to Chairman Rahall, as well as Subcommittee 
Chairman Grijalva, and Ranking Members Hastings and Bishop for 
support of this bill. As has been thoroughly discussed in the 
Subcommittee hearing, the Heart Mountain Relocation Center 
Study Act would authorize the National Park Service (NPS) to 
conduct a Special Resource Study (SRS) for the site of the 
Heart Mountain Relocation Center, located in Park County, 
Wyoming.
    The possibility of adding the 123 acres near Heart Mountain 
as a recognized unit in the National Park System is a local 
priority because it represents for Park County and the entire 
State of Wyoming an important, if dark, chapter in its history. 
My involvement in this effort was born entirely from the 
grassroots advocacy for preserving these historic landmarks, 
and ensuring future generations learn the important lessons of 
this era. I am pleased that the local support for this study 
will mean that private property rights are protected, and fewer 
tax payer dollars will be expended.

                                                 Cynthia M. Lummis.

                                  
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