Senate Report 113-172 - AMERICAN BATTLEFIELD PROTECTION PROGRAM AMENDMENTS ACT

[Senate Report 113-172]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

Calendar No. 398
113th Congress Report
SENATE
2d Session 113-172

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AMERICAN BATTLEFIELD PROTECTION PROGRAM AMENDMENTS ACT

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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 H.R. 1033]

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the Act (H.R. 1033) to authorize the acquisition and
protection of nationally significant battlefields and
associated sites of the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812
under the American Battlefield Protection Program, having
considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an
amendment and recommends that the Act, as amended, do pass.
The amendment is as follows:

Beginning on page 4, strike line 7 and all that follows through page
5, line 3, and insert the following:
``(8) Prohibition on lobbying.--None of the funds provided
pursuant to this section shall be used in any way, directly or
indirectly, to influence congressional action on any
legislation or appropriation matters pending before
Congress.''.

Purpose

The purpose of H.R. 1033 is to expand the American
Battlefield Protection Program to include Revolutionary War and
War of 1812 battlefield sites.

Background and Need

The American Battlefield Protection Act of 1996 (16 U.S.C.
469k, repealed on September 30, 2008 by U.S.C. 469k(e)(1)) was
enacted to preserve and protect historically significant
battlefields associated with the Civil War. The law directed
the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the American
Battlefield Protection Program, to encourage, support, and
assist in identifying, researching, evaluating, interpreting,
and protecting historic Civil War battlefields and associated
sites on a national, state, and local level.
The American Battlefield Protection Act primarily addressed
the preservation and protection of Civil War battlefields
through conservation easements, or through the purchase of land
from willing sellers. It placed emphasis on creating
partnerships among State and local governments, regional
entities, and the private sector to preserve, conserve, and
enhance nationally significant battlefields, and it authorized
$3 million annually for such programs. The Act expired in 2008,
but was reenacted and reauthorized through 2013 by section 7301
of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (Public Law
111-11, sec. 7301; 16 U.S.C. 469k-1).
The American Battlefield Protection Program was developed
following the 1993 ``Report on the Nation's Civil War
Battlefields'' by the congressionally-established Civil War
Sites Advisory Commission, which inventoried and detailed the
condition of Civil War battlefields.
The American Battlefield Protection Program only authorized
the protection of Civil War battlefields and did not address
other threatened battlefield sites.
In September 2007, the National Park Service completed a
``Report to Congress on the Historic Preservation of
Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Sites in the United States.''
The report examined 243 battlefields and 434 historic
properties in 31 States, the District of Columbia, and the
Virgin Islands. Like the Civil War report, it inventoried and
identified nationally significant conflict sites and noted
areas threatened by modern conditions and development.
H.R. 1033 amends section 7301(c) of the Omnibus Public Land
Management Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-11), which authorizes
the American Battlefield Protection Program, to authorize a
similar funding program for Revolutionary War and War of 1812
battlefields, to assist in the preservation of these sites
through the American Battlefield Protection Program.

Legislative History

H.R. 1033 was introduced by Representative Holt on March 7,
2013. The House Committee on Natural Resources ordered H.R.
1033 reported on March 20, 2013 (H. Rept. 113-29), and the
House of Representatives passed H.R. 1033 by a roll call vote
of 283-122 on April 9, 2013.
In the Senate, the Subcommittee on National Parks held a
hearing on H.R. 1033 and its Senate companion measure, S. 916,
on July 31, 2013 (S. Hrg. 113-93). At its business meeting on
November 21, 2013, the Committee ordered H.R. 1033 favorably
reported with an amendment.
In the 112th Congress, the Committee considered a similar
bill, S. 779, sponsored by Senator Schumer. The Subcommittee on
National Parks held a hearing on S. 779 on May 11, 2011 (S.
Hrg. 112-124). At its business meeting on November 10, 2011,
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 779
favorably reported (S. Rept. 112-116).

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 H.R. 1033, if
amended as described herein.

Committee Amendment

During its consideration of H.R. 1033, the Committee
adopted an amendment that clarified that none of the funds
appropriated for this program could be for lobbying purposes.
The amended language is similar to the lobbying prohibitions
included in various appropriations bills that have been enacted
in recent years, including Public Law 113-6, the Consolidated
and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013.

Section-by-Section Analysis

Section 1 provides the short title, the ``American
Battlefield Protection Program Amendments Act of 2013.''
Section 2 amends section 7301(c) of Public Law 111-11, the
Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, to authorize
funding for the preservation of nationally significant
Revolutionary War and War of 1812 battlefields. Section 7301
authorizes the American Battlefield Protection Program.
Paragraph (1) amends section 7301(c) to redefine the term
``battlefield report'' to include both the National Park
Service's 2007 ``Report to Congress on the Historic
Preservation of Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Sites in the
United States'' in addition to the Civil War Sites Advisory
Commission's 1993 ``Report on the Nation's Civil War
Battlefields.'' The effect of this revised definition is to
allow efforts to protect battlefields listed in both reports to
be eligible for funding under the American Battlefield
Protection Program.
Paragraphs (2) through (6) make a number of conforming
modifications to section 7301(c), to allow the funds under the
Act to be used for the acquisition of eligible sites or
interests in land.
Paragraph (7) adds three new paragraphs to section 7301(c).
New paragraph (6) specifies that grants administered under this
program for the acquisition of land, or interests in land,
under the Act must be only from willing sellers. New paragraph
(7) requires the Secretary of the Interior to submit a report
to Congress describing the preservation activities carried out,
changes in the condition of the battlefields and associated
sites, and any other relevant developments relating to the
battlefields and associated sites not later than 5 years after
the date of enactment. New paragraph (8) prohibits the use of
funds provided under this program for lobbying.
Paragraph (8) amends paragraph (9), as redesignated by this
Act, to extend the expiration date of the authorization from
2013 to 2018.

Cost and Budgetary Considerations

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

H.R. 1033--American Battlefield Protection Program Amendments Act of
2013

Summary: H.R. 1033 would expand the American Battlefield
Protection Program (ABPP) to include battlefields from the
Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 and would authorize the
appropriation of $10 million a year over the 2014-2018 period
for this program. Assuming appropriation of the newly
authorized amounts, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 1033
would cost $42 million over the 2014-2019 period. Enacting H.R.
1033 would not affect revenues or direct spending; therefore,
pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
H.R. 1033 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)
and would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal
governments.
Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated
budgetary impact of H.R. 1033 is shown in the following table.
The costs of this legislation fall within budget function 300
(natural resources and environment).

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
----------------------------------------------------------------
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2014-2019
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION

Authorization Level............................ 2 10 10 10 10 0 42
Estimated Outlays.............................. 2 8 10 10 10 2 42
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Basis of estimate: For this estimate, CBO assumes that H.R.
1033 will be enacted early in 2014 and that the amounts
authorized by the act will be appropriated in each year.
Estimated outlays are based on historical spending patterns for
the ABPP.
Funding for the ABPP has been appropriated in fiscal year
2014 through January 15, 2014, at an annualized level of about
$8 million. H.R. 1033 would authorize the appropriation of $10
million annually for the ABPP. The amounts authorized for each
year would be used to provide financial assistance to state or
local governments to purchase land that has been identified by
the National Park Service as eligible for protection through
the program but is not contained within the boundaries of a
unit of the National Park System. CBO estimates that
implementing the act would cost about $42 million over the
2014-2019 period.
Pay-As-You-Go considerations: None.
Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: H.R. 1033
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined in UMRA and would not affect the budgets of state,
local, or tribal governments. The act would benefit state and
local governments by allowing grants for the preservation of
Civil War battlefield sites to also be used for Revolutionary
War and War of 1812 battlefield sites. Any associated costs
would be incurred voluntarily by those governments as a
condition of federal assistance.
Previous CBO estimate: On March 27, 2013, CBO transmitted a
cost estimate for H.R. 1033, the American Battlefield
Protection Program Amendments Act of 2013, as ordered reported
by the House Committee on Natural Resources on March 20, 2013.
The two versions of the legislation are similar. However,
amounts have now been appropriated for the ABPP for fiscal year
2014 and thus the estimated cost of the legislation for 2014 is
now less than it was in March. In addition, CBO cost estimates
now include projected costs for an additional year through
2019.
Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Martin von Gnechten;
Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Michael Kulas;
Impact on the Private Sector: Amy Petz.
Estimate 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 H.R. 1033.
The Act 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 H.R. 1033, as ordered reported.

Congressionally Directed Spending

H.R. 1033, 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
November 21, 2013, Subcommittee on National Parks hearing on
H.R. 1033 follows:

Statement of Stephanie Toothman, Associate Director, Cultural
Resources, Partnerships, and Science, National Park Service, Department
of the Interior

Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to appear
before you today to present the views of the Department of the
Interior on S. 916 and H.R. 1033, to authorize the acquisition
and protection of nationally significant battlefields and
associated sites of the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812
under the American Battlefield Protection Program.
The Department supports S. 916 and H.R. 1033 with an
amendment described later in this statement. This legislation
would expand the American Battlefield Protection Program to
include both the War of 1812 and Revolutionary War battlefields
in addition to Civil War battlefields, which are covered under
the current program. It would authorize a total of $10 million
in grants for the American Battlefield Protection Program for
both Civil War battlefield sites and Revolutionary War and War
of 1812 battlefield sites, for each of fiscal years 2014
through 2018.
In March 2008, the National Park Service transmitted the
Report to Congress on the Historic Preservation of
Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 Sites in the United
States, which identified and determined the relative
significance of sites related to the Revolutionary War and the
War of 1812. The study assessed the short and long-term threats
to the sites. Following the success of the 1993 Civil War Sites
Advisory Commission Report on the Nation's Civil War
Battlefields, this study similarly provides alternatives for
the preservation and interpretation of the sites by Federal,
State, and local governments or other public or private
entities.
The direction from Congress for the study was the same as
for a Civil War sites study of the early 1990s. As authorized
by Congress for this study, the National Park Service looked at
sites and structures that are thematically tied with the
nationally significant events that occurred during the
Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. The result was a more
thorough survey that represents twice the field effort
undertaken for the Civil War study.
Building upon this recent study, S. 916 and H.R. 1033 would
create a matching grant program for Revolutionary War and the
War of 1812 sites that closely mirrors a very successful
matching grant program for Civil War sites. The Civil War
acquisition grant program was first authorized by Congress in
the Civil War Battlefield Protection Act of 2002 (Public Law
107-359), and was reauthorized by the Omnibus Public Land
Management Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-11). That grant fund has
been tremendously successful in allowing local preservation
efforts to permanently preserve Civil War battlefield land with
a minimum of Federal assistance.
With the release of the Report to Congress on the Historic
Preservation of Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 Sites in
the United States, communities interested in preserving their
Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 sites can take the first
steps similar to those taken by the Civil War advocates 20
years ago. If established, this new grant program can
complement the existing grant program for Civil War
battlefields and, in doing so, become a benefit to the American
people by providing for the preservation and protection of a
greater number of sites from the Revolutionary War and War of
1812.
The NPS is currently finalizing its update to the 1993
Civil War Sites report, which reviews the conditions of 383
Civil War battlefields, and which we plan to transmit to
Congress in 2013. As currently drafted, S. 916 and H.R. 1033
require another update of the condition of these same Civil War
battlefields in five years, in addition to an update of the 677
sites of the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 identified
in the Report to Congress on the Historic Preservation of
Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 Sites in the United
States. The NPS feels that updating information for all of
these sites, most of which are not within the National Park
System itself, will not be feasible in five years. Therefore,
the NPS suggests one change in the reporting language of the
bill so that the reporting requirement for the Civil War update
is not later than 10 years after the date of enactment.
The Department recommends an amendment to S. 916 and H.R.
1033 to include language for combined funding of $20 million
for both the Civil War and the Revolutionary War and War of
1812 acquisition grant programs in each of fiscal years 2014
through 2018. Under current law, $10 million is authorized for
the Civil War battlefields alone. With the addition of the
Revolutionary War and War of 1812 battlefields to the program,
we believe that a $20 million annual authorization would be
appropriate. We would be happy to provide language for this
amendment.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes my testimony. I would be
pleased to respond to any questions from you and members of the
committee.

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 H.R. 1033, 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):

OMNIBUS PUBLIC LAND MANAGEMENT ACT OF 2009

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TITLE VII--NATIONAL PARK SERVICE AUTHORIZATIONS

* * * * * * *

Subtitle D--Program Authorizations

SEC. 7301. AMERICAN BATTLEFIELD PROTECTION PROGRAM.

* * * * * * *

(c) Battlefield Acquisition Grant Program.--
(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
[(A) Battlefield report.--The term
``Battlefield Report'' means the document
entitled ``Report on the Nation's Civil War
Battlefields'', prepared by the Civil War Sites
Advisory Commission, and dated July 1993.]
(A) Battlefield report.--The term
``battlefield report'' means, collectively--
(i) the report entitled ``Report on
the Nation's Civil War Battlefields'',
prepared by the Civil War Sites
Advisory Commission, and dated July
1993; and
(ii) the report entitled ``Report to
Congress on the Historic Preservation
of Revolutionary War and War of 1812
Sites in the United States'', prepared
by the National Park Service, and dated
September 2007.

* * * * * * *

(ii) that is identified in the
[Battlefield Report] battlefield
report.

* * * * * * *

(2) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a
battlefield acquisition grant program under which the
Secretary may provide grants to eligible entities to
pay the Federal share of the cost of acquiring eligible
sites or interests in eligible sites for the
preservation and protection of those eligible sites.
(3) Nonprofit partners.--An eligible entity may
acquire an eligible site or an interest in an eligible
site using a grant under this subsection in partnership
with a nonprofit organization.
(4) Non-federal share.--The non-Federal share of the
total cost of acquiring an eligible site or an interest
in an eligible site under this subsection shall be not
less than 50 percent.
(5) Limitation on land use.--[An] An eligible site or
an interest in an eligible site acquired under this
subsection shall be subject to section 6(f)(3) of the
Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C.
4601-8(f)(3)).
(6) Willing sellers.--Acquisition of land or
interests in land under this subsection shall be from
willing sellers only.
(7) Report.--Not later than 5 years after the date of
the enactment of this subsection, the Secretary shall
submit to Congress a report on the activities carried
out under this subsection, including a description of--
(A) preservation activities carried out at
the battlefields and associated sites
identified in the battlefield report during the
period between publication of the battlefield
report and the report required under this
paragraph;
(B) changes in the condition of the
battlefields and associated sites during that
period; and
(C) any other relevant developments relating
to the battlefields and associated sites during
that period
(8) Prohibition on lobbying.--None of the funds
provided pursuant to this section shall be used in any
way, directly or indirectly, to influence congressional
action on any legislation or appropriation matters
pending before Congress.
[(6)](9) Authorization of appropriations.--There is
authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to
provide grants under this subsection $10,000,000 for
each of fiscal years 2009 through [2013] 2018.

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