[Senate Report 114-126]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                      Calendar No. 206
114th Congress    }                                     {       Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session      }                                     {      114-126

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                   PRESIDENT STREET STATION STUDY ACT

                                _______
                                

               September 9, 2015.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Ms. Murkowski, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 521]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 521) to authorize the Secretary of the 
Interior to conduct a special resource study of President 
Station in Baltimore, Maryland, and for other purposes, having 
considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an 
amendment and an amendment to the title and recommends that the 
bill, as amended, do pass.
    The amendments are as follows:
    1. On page 3, strike lines 5 and 6 and insert the 
following: subsection (a) shall be conducted in accordance with 
section 100507 of title 54, United States Code.
    2. Amend the title so as to read: ``To authorize the 
Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study 
of President Street Station in Baltimore, Maryland, and for 
other purposes.''.

                                PURPOSE

    The purpose of S. 521 is to authorize the Secretary of the 
Interior to conduct a special resource study of President 
Station in Baltimore, Maryland, and for other purposes.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    President Street Station in downtown Baltimore is the 
oldest surviving big-city railroad terminal and one of a few 
remaining historical structures along Baltimore's Inner Harbor. 
In addition to being architecturally significant, President 
Street Station has been at the center of several historically 
significant events. The property is associated with the 
Baltimore riots of 1861. The riot saw the first blood in the 
Civil War when Massachusetts troops bound for Washington, D.C., 
were attacked by an angry mob of Southern sympathizers. 
President Street Station also played a role in the ``Baltimore 
Plot'' to assassinate President-elect Abraham Lincoln as he was 
en route to his inauguration. In addition, President Street 
Station has ties to the Underground Railroad and helps tell the 
stories of the growth of the railroad industry in the 19th 
century and the immigrant influx of the early 20th century.
    The legislation would authorize the National Park Service 
to undertake a special resource study to examine the national 
significance of President Street Station, its suitability and 
feasibility for potential designation as a unit of the national 
park system, and the need for National Park Service management 
of the site versus management by other public or private 
entities. The study is informational; Congress would still have 
to act on separate legislation to create a unit of the National 
Park System.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    S. 521 was introduced by Senators Cardin and Mikulski on 
February 12, 2015. The Subcommittee on National Parks held a 
hearing on the bill on June 10, 2015.
    In the 113th Congress a similar bill, S. 770, was 
introduced by Senators Cardin and Mikulski on April 18, 2013.
    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources met in open 
business session on July 30, 2015, and ordered S. 521 favorably 
reported, as amended.

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 
open business session on July 30, 2015, by a majority voice 
vote of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 
521, if amended as described herein.

                          COMMITTEE AMENDMENT

    During its consideration of S. 521, the Committee adopted 
an amendment to make a technical correction and an amendment to 
the title.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

    Section 1 contains the short title, the ``President Street 
Station Study Act.''
    Section 2 contains definitions.
    Section 3 directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct 
a special resource study of President Street Station. Section 
3(b) requires the study to: evaluate the national significance 
of the site; determine the suitability and feasibility of 
designating the site as a unit of the National Park System; 
include cost estimates for any necessary acquisition, 
development, operation and maintenance of the site; consult 
with interested government entities, private and non-profit 
organizations or other interested individuals; and identify 
alternatives for the management, administration and protection 
of the site. Section 3(c) requires the study to be conducted in 
accordance with section 100507 of title 54, United States Code, 
which sets forth criteria for National Park Service special 
resource studies. Section 3(d) requires the Secretary to submit 
a report that describes the findings and conclusions of the 
study and any recommendations to the House Committee on Natural 
Resources and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources within three years after the funds are made available 
to carry out the study.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

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

S. 521--President Street Station Study Act

    S. 521 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to study 
the suitability and feasibility of designating the President 
Street Station in Baltimore, Maryland, as a unit of the 
National Park System (NPS). Based on information from NPS, CBO 
estimates that carrying out the proposed study would cost about 
$200,000; such spending would be subject to the availability of 
appropriated funds. Enacting S. 521 would not affect direct 
spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do 
not apply.
    S. 521 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal 
governments.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Marin Burnett. 
The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, 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. 521. 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. 521, as ordered reported.

                   CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

    S. 521, 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 
June 10, 2015, National Parks Subcommittee hearing on S. 521 
follows:

Statement of Victor Knox, Associate Director, Park Planning, Facilities 
      and Lands, National Park Service, Department of the Interior

    Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, thank you for 
the opportunity to provide the Department of the Interior's 
views on S. 521, to conduct a special resource study of 
President Station in Baltimore, Maryland, and for other 
purposes.
    The Department supports enactment of S. 521 with technical 
amendments. However, we believe that priority should be given 
to the 33 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 National Wild and Scenic Rivers System that have not yet 
been transmitted to Congress.
    S. 521 authorizes a special resource study of the President 
Street Station in Baltimore, Maryland. This study would 
determine whether this site meets the National Park Service's 
criteria for inclusion in the National Park System of national 
significance, suitability, and feasibility, and need for 
National Park Service management. The study would also consider 
other alternatives for preservation, protection, and 
interpretation of the resources by the Federal government, 
State or local government entities, or private and non-profit 
entities. Alternatives might include, for example, the 
designation of the site as an affiliated area of the National 
Park Service, where the National Park Service would provide 
technical assistance to the site but not own or manage it. We 
estimate the cost of the study to range from $200,000 to 
$300,000, based on similar types of studies conducted in recent 
years.
    The President Street Station was built by the Philadelphia, 
Wilmington, and Baltimore Railroad. Opened in 1850, it served 
as the company's passenger terminus with connections south to 
the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad terminal via horse-drawn track 
through the City of Baltimore. Originally consisting of a 
headhouse, a 208-feet long barrel vaulted train shed, and a 
freight house, only the headhouse remains today. The property 
is associated with the Baltimore Riot of 1861, where members of 
the Massachusetts militia on their way to Washington were 
attacked by a mob as they transited the city, resulting in the 
deaths of four soldiers and twelve civilians. That event is 
considered the first act in the Civil War in which blood was 
shed. The station is also recognized by the National Park 
Service's Network to Freedom program for its use by the General 
Vigilance Committee Anti-Slavery Society in Philadelphia, as 
well as other groups and individuals, to escape or aid others 
in escaping slavery.
    President Street Station is owned by the City of Baltimore. 
It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is 
included in the Baltimore National Heritage Area. It houses the 
Baltimore Civil War Museum which is operated by a state-
chartered organization, the Friends of President Street 
Station, and is open to the public.
    We recommend two technical amendments, which are attached 
below: one to update the reference to the law that set 
requirements for special resource studies; the other to correct 
the name of the train station in the title of the bill.
    Mr. Chairman, this concludes our prepared statement. I 
would be happy to respond to any questions about this matter.

                        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. 521, as ordered 
reported.

                                  [all]