[Senate Report 113-93]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                       Calendar No. 171
113th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session                                                     113-93

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



 
              DESIGNATION OF DENALI IN THE STATE OF ALASKA

                                _______
                                

               September 10, 2013.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

    Mr. Wyden, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 155]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 155) to designate a mountain in the State 
of Alaska as Denali, having considered the same, reports 
favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the 
bill do pass.

                                PURPOSE

    The purpose of S. 155 is to rename Mount McKinley in the 
State of Alaska as ``Denali.''

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    Denali is the Alaskan Native name for Mount McKinley, 
meaning ``the high one.'' The mountain, which is the highest in 
North America, with a summit of 20,320 feet, is a destination 
for climbers from around the world. The name Mount McKinley was 
originally published in an article in the New York Sun on 
January 24, 1897, by William A. Dickey, a prospector, who 
wrote, ``We named our great peak Mount McKinley, after William 
McKinley of Ohio, who had been nominated for the presidency, 
and that fact was the first news we received on our way out of 
that wonderful wilderness.'' Senator McKinley was later elected 
the 25th President of the United States.
    Mount McKinley National Park was established as a game 
refuge on February 26, 1917. In 1980 the Alaska National 
Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA; Public Law 96-487) 
expanded Mount McKinley National Park and renamed it as Denali 
National Park and Preserve; however the name of Mount McKinley 
was not changed. The State of Alaska changed the name of the 
mountain to Denali in 1975, although the U.S. Board on 
Geographic Names has continued to use the name Mount McKinley. 
Today most Alaskans refer to Mount McKinley as Denali. The bill 
is necessary to ensure consistent reference to the mountain as 
``Denali.''

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    Senator Murkowski introduced S. 155 on January 28, 2013. 
Senator Begich is a cosponsor. The Subcommittee on National 
Parks held a hearing on S. 155 on April 23, 2013. At its 
business meeting on June 18, 2013, the Committee ordered S. 155 
favorably reported.
    During the 112th Congress, Senator Murkowski introduced 
similar legislation, S. 2272. The Subcommittee on National 
Parks held a hearing on S. 2272 on June 27, 2012 (S. Hrg. 112-
578).

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 
open business session on May 16, 2013, by a voice vote of a 
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 155. Senator 
Portman asked to be recorded as voting no.

                         SUMMARY OF THE MEASURE

    S. 155 provides that the mountain located at 63+04,12,,, by 
151+00,18,, in the State of Alaska shall be known and 
designated as ``Denali'' and that any reference in law, map, 
regulation, document, paper, or other record of the United 
States to the mountain be deemed a reference to ``Denali.''

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

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

                                                     June 21, 2013.
Hon. Ron Wyden,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
reviewed S. 155, a bill to designate a mountain in the state of 
Alaska as Denali, as ordered reported by the Senate Committee 
on Energy and Natural Resources on June 18, 2013.
    CBO estimates that enacting this legislation to name a peak 
in Alaska would have no significant impact on the federal 
budget and would not affect direct spending or revenues; 
therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. S. 155 
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.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Jeff LaFave.
            Sincerely,
                                              Douglas W. Elmendorf.

                      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. 155.
    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. 155, as ordered reported.

                   CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

    S. 155, 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 
April 23, 2013, Subcommittee on National Parks hearing on S. 
155 follows:

  Statement of Peggy O'Dell, Deputy Director for Operations, National 
                Park Service, Department of the Interior

    Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to present the 
Department of the Interior's views on S. 155, a bill to 
designate a mountain in the State of Alaska as Denali.
    The National Park Service appreciates the long history and 
public interest for both the name Mount McKinley and the 
traditional Athabascan name, Denali. The Department respects 
the choice made by this legislation, and does not object to S. 
155.
    Located in what is now Denali National Park and Preserve, 
the highest peak in North America has been known by many names. 
The National Park Service's administrative history of the park 
notes that, ``The Koyukon called it Deenaalee, the Lower Tanana 
named it Deenaadheet or Deennadhee, the Dena'ina called it 
Dghelay Ka'a, and at least six other Native groups had their 
own names for it.
    ``In the late 18th century various Europeans came calling, 
and virtually everyone who passed by was moved to comment on 
it. The Russians called it Bulshaia or Tenada, and though 
explorers from other nations were less specific, even the most 
hard-bitten adventurers were in awe of its height and majesty.
    ``No American gave it a name until Densmore's Mountain 
appeared in the late 1880s, and the name that eventually 
stuck--Mount McKinley--was not applied until the waning days of 
the nineteenth century,'' a gesture of support to then-
President William McKinley.
    In 1975, the State of Alaska officially recognized Denali 
as the name of the peak, and requested action by the U.S. Board 
on Geographic Names to do the same.
    In 1980, Congress changed the name of Mount McKinley 
National Park to Denali National Park and Preserve (P.L. 96-
487, Section 202), but did not act on the name change for the 
mountain.
    Mr. Chairman, this concludes my testimony, and I would be 
happy to answer any questions you or other members 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 S. 155, as ordered 
reported.

                                  
