[House Report 113-282]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
113th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 113-282
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LOWER EAST SIDE TENEMENT NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE AMENDMENTS ACT
_______
December 2, 2013.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Hastings of Washington, from the Committee on Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 1846]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 1846) to amend the Act establishing the Lower
East Side Tenement National Historic Site, and for other
purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon
with an amendment and recommend that the bill as amended do
pass.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Lower East Side Tenement National
Historic Site Amendments Act''.
SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS.
Public Law 105-378 is amended--
(1) in section 101(a)--
(A) in paragraph (4), by striking ``the Lower East
Side Tenement at 97 Orchard Street in New York City is
an outstanding survivor'' and inserting ``the Lower
East Side Tenements at 97 and 103 Orchard Street in New
York City are outstanding survivors''; and
(B) in paragraph (5), by striking ``the Lower East
Side Tenement is'' and inserting ``the Lower East Side
Tenements are'';
(2) in section 102--
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``Lower East Side
Tenement found at 97 Orchard Street'' and inserting
``Lower East Side Tenements found at 97 and 103 Orchard
Street''; and
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``which owns and
operates the tenement building at 97 Orchard Street''
and inserting ``which owns and operates the tenement
buildings at 97 and 103 Orchard Street'';
(3) in section 103(a), by striking ``the Lower East Side
Tenement at 97 Orchard Street, in the City of New York, State
of New York, is designated'' and inserting ``the Lower East
Side Tenements at 97 and 103 Orchard Street, in the City of New
York, State of New York, are designated''; and
(4) in section 104(d), by striking ``the property at 97
Orchard Street'' and inserting ``the properties at 97 and 103
Orchard Street''.
Purpose of the Bill
The purpose of H.R. 1846 is to amend the Act establishing
the Lower East Side Tenement National Historic Site.
Background and Need for Legislation
In 1988, the Lower East Side Tenement Museum was founded to
preserve and interpret the history of immigration through the
personal experiences of generations of newcomers who settled in
and built lives on Manhattan's Lower East Side. In 1994, the
Lower East Side Tenement was declared a National Historic
Landmark, and later in 1998 the Lower East Side Tenement
National Historic Site was designated as an affiliated site of
the National Park System. Affiliated sites are not owned or
managed by the federal government.
In 2007, the Museum obtained a neighboring 1888 tenement
(103 Orchard Street), which was restored and renovated to serve
as a visitor and education center. H.R. 1846 would expand the
boundaries of the National Historic Site to include the
building.
Committee Action
H.R. 1846 was introduced on May 7, 2013, by Congresswoman
Nydia M. Velazquez (D-NY). The bill was referred to the
Committee on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the
Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation. On
October 3, 2013, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill.
On October 30, 2013, the Natural Resources Committee met to
consider the bill. The Subcommittee on Public Lands and
Environmental Regulation was discharged by unanimous consent.
Congressman Rob Bishop (R-UT) offered an amendment designated
#1 to the bill; the amendment was adopted by unanimous consent.
No further amendments were offered and the bill, as amended,
was then adopted and 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.
Compliance With House Rule XIII
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(1) 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)(2)(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. 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. 1846--Lower East Side Tenement National Historic Site Amendments
Act
H.R. 1846 would expand the boundaries of the Lower East
Side Tenement National Historic Site in New York City, New
York. The current site is located at 97 Orchard Street, and the
legislation would add 103 Orchard Street to the site.
Established in 1998, the Lower East Side Tenement National
Historic Site is owned and operated by the Lower East Side
Tenement Museum, a nonprofit organization authorized to receive
technical and financial assistance from the National Park
Service (NPS). In recent years, NPS has provided about $250,000
annually in assistance to the museum. Based on information
provided by NPS, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 1846
would not significantly increase that assistance and would have
no significant impact on the federal budget. Enacting H.R. 1846
would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-
as-you-go procedures do not apply.
H.R. 1846 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 Martin von
Gnechten. The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
2. Section 308(a) of 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. Based on
information provided by NPS, CBO estimates that implementing
H.R. 1846 would have no significant impact on the federal
budget.
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 amend the Act establishing the
Lower East Side Tenement National Historic Site.
Earmark Statement
This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of
the House of Representatives.
Compliance With Public Law 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
Compliance With H. Res. 5
Directed Rule Making. The Chairman does not believe that
this bill directs any executive branch official to conduct any
specific rule-making proceedings.
Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not
establish or reauthorize a program of the federal government
known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was
not included in any report from the Government Accountability
Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139
or identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program
Information Act (Public Law 95-220, as amended by Public Law
98-169) as relating to other programs.
Preemption of State, Local or Tribal Law
This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or
tribal law.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
PUBLIC LAW 105-378
AN ACT To establish the Lower East Side Tenement National Historic
Site, and for other purposes.
TITLE I--LOWER EAST SIDE TENEMENT NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE, NEW YORK
SEC. 101. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
(1)(A) immigration, and the resulting diversity of
cultural influences, is a key factor in defining the
identity of the United States; and
(B) many United States citizens trace their ancestry
to persons born in nations other than the United
States;
(2) the latter part of the 19th century and the early
part of the 20th century marked a period in which the
volume of immigrants coming to the United States far
exceeded that of any time prior to or since that
period;
(3) no single identifiable neighborhood in the United
States absorbed a comparable number of immigrants than
the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan in New
York City;
(4) [the Lower East Side Tenement at 97 Orchard
Street in New York City is an outstanding survivor] the
Lower East Side Tenements at 97 and 103 Orchard Street
in New York City are outstanding survivors of the vast
number of humble buildings that housed immigrants to
New York City during the greatest wave of immigration
in American history;
(5) [the Lower East Side Tenement is] the Lower East
Side Tenements are owned and operated as a museum by
the Lower East Side Tenement Museum;
(6) the Lower East Side Tenement Museum is dedicated
to interpreting immigrant life within a neighborhood
long associated with the immigrant experience in the
United States, New York City's Lower East Side, and its
importance to United States history; and
(7)(A) the Director of the National Park Service
found the Lower East Side Tenement at 97 Orchard Street
to be nationally significant; and
(B) the Secretary of the Interior declared the Lower
East Side Tenement a National Historic Landmark on
April 19, 1994; and
(C) the Director of the National Park Service,
through a special resource study, found the Lower East
Side Tenement suitable and feasible for inclusion in
the National Park System.
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this title are--
(1) to ensure the preservation, maintenance, and
interpretation of this site and to interpret at the
site the themes of immigration, tenement life in the
latter half of the 19th century and the first half of
the 20th century, the housing reform movement, and
tenement architecture in the United States;
(2) to ensure continued interpretation of the
nationally significant immigrant phenomenon associated
with New York City's Lower East Side and the Lower East
Side's role in the history of immigration to the United
States; and
(3) to enhance the interpretation of the Castle
Clinton, Ellis Island, and Statue of Liberty National
Monuments.
SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS.
As used in this title:
(1) Historic site.--The term ``historic site'' means
the [Lower East Side Tenement found at 97 Orchard
Street] Lower East Side Tenements found at 97 and 103
Orchard Street on Manhattan Island in the City of New
York, State of New York, and designated as a national
historic site by section 103.
(2) Museum.--The term ``Museum'' means the Lower East
Side Tenement Museum, a nonprofit organization
established in the City of New York, State of New York,
[which owns and operates the tenement building at 97
Orchard Street] which owns and operates the tenement
buildings at 97 and 103 Orchard Street and manages
other properties in the vicinity of 97 Orchard Street
as administrative and program support facilities for 97
Orchard Street.
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the
Secretary of the Interior.
SEC. 103. ESTABLISHMENT OF HISTORIC SITE.
(a) In General.--To further the purposes of this title and
the Act entitled ``An Act to provide for the preservation of
historic American sites, buildings, objects, and antiquities of
national significance, and for other purposes'', approved
August 21, 1935 (16 U.S.C. 461 et seq.), [the Lower East Side
Tenement at 97 Orchard Street, in the City of New York, State
of New York, is designated] the Lower East Side Tenements at 97
and 103 Orchard Street, in the City of New York, State of New
York, are designated a national historic site.
(b) Coordination With National Park System.--
(1) Affiliated site.--The historic site shall be an
affiliated site of the National Park System.
(2) Coordination.--The Secretary, in consultation
with the Museum, shall coordinate the operation and
interpretation of the historic site with the Statue of
Liberty National Monument, Ellis Island National
Monument, and Castle Clinton National Monument. The
historic site's story and interpretation of the
immigrant experience in the United States is directly
related to the themes and purposes of these National
Monuments.
(c) Ownership.--The historic site shall continue to be owned,
operated, and managed by the Museum.
SEC. 104. MANAGEMENT OF THE HISTORIC SITE.
(a) Cooperative Agreement.--The Secretary may enter into a
cooperative agreement with the Museum to ensure the marking,
interpretation, and preservation of the national historic site
designated by section 103(a).
(b) Technical and Financial Assistance.--The Secretary may
provide technical and financial assistance to the Museum to
mark, interpret, and preserve the historic site, including
making preservation-related capital improvements and repairs.
(c) General Management Plan.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary, in consultation with
the Museum, shall develop a general management plan for
the historic site that defines the role and
responsibility of the Secretary with regard to the
interpretation and the preservation of the historic
site.
(2) Integration with national monuments.--The plan
shall outline how interpretation and programming for
the historic site shall be integrated and coordinated
with the Statue of Liberty National Monument, Ellis
Island National Monument, and Castle Clinton National
Monument to enhance the story of the historic site and
these National Monuments.
(3) Completion.--The plan shall be completed not
later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this
Act.
(d) Limited Role of Secretary.--Nothing in this title
authorizes the Secretary to acquire [the property at 97 Orchard
Street] the properties at 97 and 103 Orchard Street or to
assume overall financial responsibility for the operation,
maintenance, or management of the historic site.
* * * * * * *