[Senate Report 111-261]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                       Calendar No. 531
111th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     111-261

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               HEART MOUNTAIN RELOCATION CENTER STUDY ACT

                                _______
                                

                 August 5, 2010.--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. 2722]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 2722) 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, reports 
favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the 
bill do pass.

                                PURPOSE

    The purpose of S. 2722 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 the State of Wyoming, as a unit of the 
National Park System.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    In 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive 
Order 9066, authorizing the War Department to exclude persons 
of Japanese ancestry from the West Coast military areas and 
intern them in relocation centers. The Heart Mountain 
Relocation Center (Center) is nationally significant because it 
is one of ten relocation centers built by the War Relocation 
Authority during World War II. The Center was occupied from 
August 1942 to November 1945 and, at its peak, housed 10,767 
people of Japanese ancestry, two-thirds of whom were U.S. 
citizens.
    In 1992, Congress enacted Title II of Public Law 102-248, 
which authorized and directed the Secretary of the Interior to 
prepare a Japanese American National Historic Landmark (NHL) 
Theme Study, titled the ``Japanese Americans in World War II.'' 
The study identified, evaluated, and nominated as national 
historic landmarks those sites that best commemorate the period 
in American history from 1941-46 when Japanese Americans were 
interned pursuant to Executive Order 9066. The Heart Mountain 
Relocation Center was recommended for study for possible 
National Historic Landmark designation.
    Today, four of the approximately 650 buildings constructed 
for the Heart Mountain Relocation Center remain, including a 
housing unit, a boiler house, a warehouse and a mess hall. The 
Bureau of Reclamation owns the 71 acre-parcel where the four 
buildings stand. In 1985, 30 acres were listed in the National 
Register.
    S. 2722 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to 
conduct a special resource study of the Heart Mountain 
Relocation Center to evaluate the national significance of the 
site and to assess the suitability and feasibility of 
designating the site as a unit of the National Park System.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    S. 2722 was introduced by Senators Barrasso and Enzi on 
November 3, 2009. The Subcommittee on National Parks held a 
hearing on the bill on December 3, 2009. The Committee on 
Energy and Natural Resources considered the bill at its 
business meeting on June 16, 2010, and ordered S. 2722 
favorably reported without amendment at its business meeting on 
June 21, 2010.

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on June 21, 2010, by a voice vote of a quorum 
present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 2722.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

    Section 1 provides the short title, the ``Heart Mountain 
Relocation Center Study Act of 2009.''
    Section 2(a) authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to 
conduct a special resource study.
    Subsection (b) provides that the study shall determine the 
suitability and feasibility of adding the Heart Mountain 
Relocation Center as a unit of the National Park System, and 
shall consider other alternatives for the preservation, 
protection and interpretation of the site by Federal, State or 
local government entities or any other interested individuals. 
The study is also required to identify the costs estimates for 
any Federal acquisition, development, interpretation, operation 
and maintenance associated with the range of management 
alternatives.
    Subsection (c) directs the study to be conducted in 
accordance with the requirements of section 8 of Public Law 91-
383, relating to National Park Service study requirements.
    Subsection (d) requires the Secretary to prepare and submit 
for review the results, conclusions, and recommendations of the 
study within 3 years after the date funds are made available 
for the study.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

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

S. 2722--Heart Mountain Relocation Center Study Act of 2009

    S. 2722 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 S. 2722 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.
    S. 2722 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would impose no costs on state, local, and tribal governments.
    On June 21, 2010, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 
3989, the Heart Mountain Relocation Center Study Act of 2009, 
as ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources 
on June 16, 2010. The two pieces of legislation are similar, 
and the CBO cost estimates are the same.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis. 
The estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                      REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUTION

    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. 2722.
    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. 2722, as ordered reported.

                   CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

    S. 2722, as ordered 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 
December 3, 2009 Subcommittee hearing on S. 2722 follows:

   Statement of Katherine H. Stevenson, Assistant Director, Business 
      Services, National Park Service, Department of the Interior

    Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee, thank you for 
the opportunity to appear before you today to present the 
Department of the Interior's views on S. 2722, 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.
    The Department supports S. 2722. However, we feel that 
priority should be given to the 49 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 the National Wild and Scenic 
River System that have not yet been transmitted to Congress.
    S. 2722 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior 
(Secretary) to conduct a special resource study to determine 
the suitability and feasibility of designating the Heart 
Mountain Relocation Center as a unit of the National Park 
System. The study would also consider other alternatives for 
the preservation, protection and interpretation of the site by 
federal, State, or local governmental entities, or private and 
nonprofit organizations. The bill also directs the Secretary to 
identify any potential impacts to private landowners if the 
site is designated as a unit of the National Park System and 
specifies that the Secretary, through the study process, shall 
consult with interested federal, State, or local governmental 
entities, federally recognized Indian tribes, private and 
nonprofit organizations, and owners of private property that 
may be affected by any designation. Not later than three years 
after funds are made available, the Secretary is directed to 
submit the results and recommendations of the study to 
Congress. We estimate that this study will cost approximately 
$240,000.
    Located in northwest Wyoming, in the Shoshone River Valley, 
the Heart Mountain Relocation Center is one of 10 relocation 
centers established by the U.S. military to incarcerate 
Japanese Americans during World War II. The Center opened on 
August 11, 1942, and operated for 39 months, closing on 
November 10, 1945. At its peak, Heart Mountain contained 10,767 
Japanese Americans, nearly all of whom were former residents of 
California, Oregon, and Washington, and two-thirds of whom were 
United States citizens.
    The site tells the story of a group of American citizens 
whose constitutional rights were abrogated during a time when 
our nation was at war. Heart Mountain is also directly 
associated with one of the largest single draft resistance 
movements in United States history. To protest theconfinement 
of their families, 315 Japanese Americans from all 10 relocation 
centers were imprisoned for resisting induction into the military. 
Heart Mountain had the highest rate of resistance with 85 men 
imprisoned for their resistance to the draft.
    The Heart Mountain Relocation Center originally encompassed 
21,521 acres. However, the center's core developed area, which 
included the residential and administrative areas, contained 
approximately 740 acres.
    Jointly managed by the Bureau of Reclamation and the Heart 
Mountain, Wyoming Foundation, the current Heart Mountain 
National Historic Landmark contains 124 acres with the 
remaining parts of the area privately owned. The Bureau of 
Reclamation owns and administers 74 acres, which includes the 
site of the original hospital complex and a portion of the 
administrative complex. The Heart Mountain, Wyoming Foundation 
owns 50 acres, which includes the relocation center's military 
police compound. The Foundation is currently engaged in a 
significant fundraising campaign to construct an 11,000 square 
foot Interpretive Learning Center at the site. To date, nearly 
one-half of the needed funds have been raised.
    Although, as a nation, we are not proud of what happened at 
the Heart Mountain Relocation Center and the other nine 
detention sites where Japanese Americans were incarcerated 
during World. War II, such sites allow us to learn from our 
history and remind us of how far we have come. The designation 
of the Heart Mountain Relocation Center as a National Historic 
Landmark has brought increased public recognition and awareness 
of the site. However, this designation does not guarantee 
additional safeguards or protection of the site. The special 
resource study process would allow all interested parties to 
comment on ways to preserve and allow for visitor enjoyment of 
the Heart Mountain Relocation Center.
    Mr. Chairman, this concludes my prepared remarks. I would 
be happy to answer any questions you or any 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. 2722, as 
ordered reported.

                                  
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