[Senate Report 113-168]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 394
113th Congress Report
SENATE
2d Session 113-168
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GETTYSBURG NATIONAL MILITARY PARK EXPANSION ACT
_______
May 22, 2014.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Ms. Landrieu, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 782]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (S. 782) to amend Public Law 101-377 to
revise the boundaries of Gettysburg National Military Park to
include the Gettysburg Train Station, 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:
Beginning on page 1, strike line 6 and all that follows through page
3, line 17, and insert the following:
SEC. 2. GETTYSBURG NATIONAL MILITARY PARK EXPANSION.
(a) Boundary Revision.--Section 1(b) of Public Law 101-377 (16 U.S.C.
430g-4(b)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``include the'' and insert ``include--
``(1) the'';
(2) at the end of paragraph (1) (as designated by paragraph
(1)), by striking the period and inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) the properties depicted as `Proposed Addition' on the
map entitled `Gettysburg National Military Park Proposed
Boundary Addition', numbered 305/80,045, and dated January,
2010 (2 sheets), including--
``(A) the property commonly known as the `Gettysburg
Train Station'; and
``(B) the property located adjacent to Plum Run in
Cumberland Township.''.
(b) Acquisition of Land.--Section 2(a) of Public Law 101-377 (16
U.S.C. 430g-5(a)) is amended--
(1) in the first sentence, by striking ``The Secretary'' and
inserting the following:
``(1) Authority to acquire land.--The Secretary'';
(2) in the second sentence, by striking ``In acquiring'' and
inserting the following:
``(2) Minimum federal interests.--In acquiring''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(3) Methods of acquisition for certain land.--
Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the Secretary may acquire the
properties added to the park by section 1(b)(2) only--
``(A) by donation; or
``(B) if the Secretary determines that efforts to
acquire the properties without cost have been
exhausted, by purchase from a willing seller.''.
Purpose
The purpose of S. 782 is to amend Public Law 101-377 to
revise the boundaries of the Gettysburg National Military Park
in Pennsylvania to include the Gettysburg Train Station and to
expand the Park boundaries to include approximately 45 acres
adjacent to the park.
Background and Need
On July 1, 1863, a critical battle of the Civil War began
in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Among the areas that saw some of
the most intense fighting that first day was an area along a
nearby railway road cut. The Battle of Gettysburg would be the
bloodiest single battle of the Civil War, with over 51,000
soldiers killed, wounded, captured, or missing. The train
station that was the site of some of the most intense fighting
on the first day later became one of the first field hospitals
of the battle.
First established as a national cemetery for the Union dead
by the local residents, Soldier's National Cemetery was
dedicated by President Lincoln on November 19, 1863, with
solemn words that would become known as the Gettysburg Address.
In 1895, Gettysburg National Military Park was established when
the property was transferred to the Federal government. In
1933, administration of the battlefield was transferred to the
National Park Service.
Since its establishment, several planning documents,
including the 1999 General Management Plan, have called for
further expansion of cooperative efforts to protect resources
closely linked to the park. Specifically addressed in the plan
were the David Wills House, where President Lincoln stayed the
night before giving the Gettysburg Address, and the Gettysburg
Train Station. The Wills House was added to the park's boundary
in 2000 by Public Law 106-290, and is operated through a
Memorandum of Understanding by Main Street Gettysburg, a non-
profit organization.
Rehabilitation of the historic Gettysburg train station--
the station at which President Lincoln arrived to deliver the
Gettysburg Address--was completed by the Borough of Gettysburg
in 2006 using funding from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
However, operational funds to maintain visitor information and
orientation services have been lacking, leading the Borough of
Gettysburg Council to formally request that the National Park
Service take ownership of the site. The site is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places. Much as is the case with
the Wills House, a partnership with the Gettysburg Convention
and Visitors Bureau is expected to provide staffing for the
train station.
The additional land that the legislation would include
within the park boundary is located near Big Round Top along
Plum Run in Cumberland Township, Pennsylvania. It is comprised
of an approximately 45-acre tract of land adjacent to the Park
within the Battlefield Historic District at the southern end of
the Gettysburg Battlefield. This area witnessed cavalry
skirmishes, and is significant due to the presence of wetlands
and wildlife habitat. The property was donated to the
Gettysburg Foundation in 2009. The Foundation has indicated its
intention to donate the parcel to the National Park Service
once the area is within the Park boundary.
Legislative History
Senators Casey, King, and Toomey introduced S. 782 on April
23, 2013. The Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on
S. 782 on July 31, 2013 (S. Hrg. 113-93). At its business
meeting on November 21, 2013, the Committee ordered S. 782
favorably reported with an amendment.
In the 112th Congress, the Committee considered a similar
bill, S. 1897, also introduced by Senator Casey. The
Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on S. 1897 on
June 27, 2012 (S. Hrg. 112-578).
Committee Recommendation
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in
open business session on November 21, 2013, by a voice vote of
a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 782, if
amended as described herein.
Committee Amendment
During its consideration of S. 782, the Committee adopted
an amendment amending section 2 of the bill to update the map
reference and to clarify the parcels authorized for addition to
the park may be acquired only by donation, or if the Secretary
of the Interior determines that efforts to acquire the
properties without cost have been exhausted, by purchase from a
willing seller.
Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1 provides the short title, the ``Gettysburg
National Military Park Expansion Act.''
Section 2(a) of the bill amends section 1 of the Act
entitled ``An Act to revise the boundary of the Gettysburg
National Military Park in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and
for other purposes'' (Public Law 101-377; 16 U.S.C. 430g-4), to
expand the boundary of Gettysburg National Military Park in
Pennsylvania to include the Gettysburg Train Station (including
land located in close proximity to the Gettysburg Train
Station) and the property that is adjacent to the Park along
Plum Run in Cumberland Township, as depicted on the referenced
map.
Subsection (b) amends section 2(a) of Public Law 101-377
(16 U.S.C. 430g-5) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior,
with respect to the Gettysburg Train Station, to acquire the
land either through donation or from a willing seller, but only
after the Secretary determines that efforts to acquire the land
without cost to the federal government have been exhausted.
Cost and Budgetary Considerations
The following estimate of costs of this measure has been
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
S. 782--Gettysburg National Military Park Expansion Act
S. 782 would expand the boundaries of the Gettysburg
National Military Park in Pennsylvania to include two nearby
properties. CBO expects that the National Park Service (NPS),
which administers the park, would accept the donation of a
small parcel of land containing the newly refurbished
Gettysburg Train Station and a 45-acre tract of land along Plum
Run in Cumberland Township.
Based on information provided by NPS, CBO estimates that
implementing S. 782 would have no significant impact on the
federal budget. Under the legislation, the additional
properties could only be purchased when the Secretary has
exhausted efforts to acquire the properties through donation.
CBO assumes that the properties would be donated to the NPS.
However, if the NPS purchases the train station, CBO estimates
that the cost to the NPS would be about $1 million. We estimate
that annual costs to operate and maintain the new properties
would be minimal because the train station would continue to be
operated by local or nonprofit organizations and the Plum Run
acreage would be left undeveloped. Enacting S. 782 would not
affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go
procedures do not apply.
S. 782 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.
On July 30, 2013, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R.
1513, a bill to revise the boundaries of the Gettysburg
National Military Park to include the Gettysburg Train Station
and certain land along Plum Run in Cumberland Township, to
limit the means by which property within such revised
boundaries may be acquired, and for other purposes, as ordered
reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources, on July
24, 2013. The two pieces of legislation are similar, and the
CBO cost estimates are the same.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Martin von
Gnechten. 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. 782.
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. 782, as ordered reported.
Congressionally Directed Spending
S. 782, 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
July 31, 2013, Subcommittee on National Parks hearing on S. 782
follows:
Statement of Stephanie Toothman, Associate Director, Cultural
Resources, Partnerships, and Science, National Park Service, Department
of the Interior
Mr. Chairman, members of the subcommittee, thank you for
the opportunity to present the views of the Department of the
Interior on S. 782, a bill to amend Public Law 101-377 to
revise the boundaries of the Gettysburg National Military Park
to include the Gettysburg Train Station, and for other
purposes.
The Department supports S. 782 with amendments described
later in this statement. This legislation would revise the
boundary of Gettysburg National Military Park to include two
distinct sites: the historic Gettysburg Train Station, and 45
acres of an environmentally important tract of land at the base
of Big Round Top.
Gettysburg National Military Park protects major portions
of the site of the largest battle waged during this nation's
Civil War. Fought in the first three days of July 1863, the
Battle of Gettysburg resulted in a victory for Union forces and
successfully ended the second invasion of the North by
Confederate forces commanded by General Robert E. Lee.
Historians have referred to the battle as a major turning point
in the war--the ``High Water Mark of the Confederacy.'' It was
also the Civil War's bloodiest single battle, resulting in over
51,000 soldiers killed, wounded, captured, or missing.
The Soldiers' National Cemetery within the park was
dedicated on November 19, 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln
delivered his immortal Gettysburg Address. The cemetery
contains more than 7,000 interments including over 3,500 from
the Civil War. The park currently includes nearly 6,000 acres,
with 26 miles of park roads and over 1,400 monuments, markers,
and memorials.
Gettysburg's Lincoln Train Station was built in 1858 and is
listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The station
served as a hospital during the Battle of Gettysburg, and the
wounded and the dead were transported from Gettysburg through
this station in the aftermath of battle. President Abraham
Lincoln arrived at this station when he visited to give the
Gettysburg Address.
Gettysburg National Military Park's 1999 General Management
Plan called for expanding cooperative relationships and
partnerships with the Borough of Gettysburg and other sites
``to ensure that resources closely linked to the park, the
battle, and the non-combatant civilian involvement in the
battle and its aftermath are appropriately protected and
used.'' In particular, the plan stated that the National Park
Service would initiate ``cooperation agreements with willing
owners, and seek the assistance of the Borough of Gettysburg
and other appropriate entities to preserve, operate and manage
the Wills House and Lincoln Train Station.''
The Borough of Gettysburg Interpretive Plan called for the
Lincoln Train Station to be used as a downtown information and
orientation center for visitors--where all park visitors would
arrive after coming downtown--to receive information and
orientation to downtown historic attractions, including the
David Wills House. This is the house where Lincoln stayed the
night before delivering the Gettysburg Address. The
Interpretive Plan also called for rehabilitation of the Wills
House, which was added to the park's boundary through Public
Law 106-290 in October 2000, and is now a historic house museum
in the borough and an official site within Gettysburg National
Military Park. The David Wills House is currently operated
jointly by the Gettysburg Foundation and the National Park
Service.
The Lincoln Train Station is next to the downtown terminus
of Freedom Transit, Gettysburg's shuttle system, which started
operations in July 2009 with a grant from the Federal Transit
Administration in the Department of Transportation.
In 2006, the Borough of Gettysburg completed rehabilitation
of the Lincoln Train Station with funds from a Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania grant. Due to a lack of funds, however, the
borough has been unable to operate a visitor information and
orientation center there. Through formal vote of the Borough
Council, the Borough of Gettysburg has asked the National Park
Service to take over the ownership and operations of the train
station. While the borough originally intended to sell the
train station to the National Park Service, the Gettysburg
Foundation is currently in negotiations to acquire the
property, which would in turn be donated from the Foundation to
the National Park Service.
The park has a preliminary commitment from the Gettysburg
Convention and Visitor Bureau (CVB) to provide all staffing
requirements for operations of an information and orientation
center in the train station, thereby avoiding staff costs for
the park. Anticipated National Park Service operating costs for
the train station are limited to utilities; the rest would be
paid by the Gettysburg CVB. In the event that the Gettysburg
CVB is unable to provide staffing and funding for operations,
the National Park Service would seek another park partner to
cover these costs and requirements.
This legislation would also add 45 acres near Big Round Top
along Plum Run in Cumberland Township, Pennsylvania, to the
boundary of the park. The 45-acre tract of land is adjacent to
the Gettysburg National Military Park and is within the
Battlefield Historic District. The land is at the southern base
of Big Round Top at the southern end of the Gettysburg
battlefield. There were cavalry skirmishes in this area during
the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863, but the real
significance is environmental. The tract contains critical
wetlands and wildlife habitat related to Plum Run. Wayne and
Susan Hill donated it to the Gettysburg Foundation in April
2009. The Gettysburg Foundation plans to donate fee title
interest in the parcel to the National Park Service once it is
within the park boundary. It abuts land already owned by the
National Park Service.
We recommend that the committee amend S. 782 to reference
an updated map of the two properties proposed for inclusion in
the park boundary. In addition, we would recommend providing
the usual language requiring that the map referenced in the
bill be on file and available for inspection in the appropriate
offices of the National Park Service. We would be happy to
provide the committee with recommended language for these
amendments.
Mr. Chairman, that concludes my testimony. I would be
pleased to answer any questions you or members of the committee
may have.
Changes in Existing Law
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by
the bill S. 782, as ordered 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):
GETTYSBURG NATIONAL MILITARY PARK BOUNDARY REVISION
(Public Law 101-377, as amended by Public Law 106-290)
[16 U.S.C. 430g-4]
An Act to revise the boundary of the Gettysburg National Military Park
in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. GETTYSBURG NATIONAL MILITARY PARK BOUNDARY REVISION.
* * * * * * *
(b) Additional Land.--In addition to the land identified in
subsection (a), the park shall also [include the] include--
(1) the property commonly known as the Wills House
located in the Borough of Gettysburg and identified as
Tract P02-1 on the map entitled ``Gettysburg National
Military Park'' numbered MARO 305/80,011 Segment 2, and
dated April 1981, revised May 14, 1999[.]; and
(2) the properties depicted as ``Proposed Addition''
on the map entitled ``Gettysburg National Military Park
Proposed Boundary Addition'', numbered 305/80,045, and
dated January, 2010 (2 sheets), including--
(A) the property commonly known as the
``Gettysburg Train Station''; and
(B) the property located adjacent to Plum Run
in Cumberland Township.
* * * * * * *
SEC. 2. ACQUISITION AND DISPOSAL OF LANDS.
(a) General Authority.--[The Secretary]
(1) Authority to acquire land.--The Secretary is
authorized to acquire lands and interests in lands
within the park by donation, purchase with donated or
appropriated funds, exchange, or otherwise. [In
acquiring]
(2) Minimum federal interest.--In acquiring lands and
interests in lands under this Act, the Secretary shall
acquire the minimum Federal interests necessary to
achieve the objectives identified for specific areas
and the park.
(3) Methods of acquisition for certain land.--
Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the Secretary may
acquire the properties added to the park by section
1(b)(2) only--
(A) by donation; or
(B) if the Secretary determines that efforts
to acquire the properties without cost have
been exhausted, by purchase from a willing
seller.
* * * * * * *