[Senate Report 114-325]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                       Calendar No. 598


114th Congress  }                                       { Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session     }                                       { 114-325

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

 
          BLACK HILLS NATIONAL CEMETERY BOUNDARY EXPANSION ACT

                                _______
                                

               September 6, 2016.--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. 2223]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 2223) to transfer administrative 
jurisdiction over certain Bureau of Land Management land from 
the Secretary of the Interior to the Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs for inclusion in the Black Hills National Cemetery, 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:
    1. Strike section 4.

                                PURPOSE

    The purpose of S. 2223 is to transfer administrative 
jurisdiction over certain Bureau of Land Management land from 
the Secretary of the Interior to the Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs for inclusion in the Black Hills National Cemetery.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    The Black Hills National Cemetery (Cemetery) is located 
just outside of Sturgis, South Dakota. Established in 1948, it 
currently houses 20,000 interments within its 106-acre 
footprint. S. 2223 would provide for a permanent transfer of 
approximately 200 acres for the purpose of expanding the 
Cemetery. The land would be transferred from the Bureau of Land 
Management to the Department of Veterans Affairs, and would 
provide for necessary accommodation to properly honor veterans 
with a dignified burial for generations to come.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    Senator Thune introduced S. 2223 on October 29, 2015. The 
Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining held a 
hearing on April 21, 2016, to consider S. 2223.
    In the House of Representatives, Representative Noem 
introduced a companion bill, H.R. 3839, on October 27, 2015. 
The Subcommittee on Federal Lands held a hearing on May 12, 
2016, and the Committee on Natural Resources ordered the bill 
to be reported with amendments on June 15, 2016.
    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources met in open 
business session on July 13, 2016, and ordered S. 2223 
favorably reported as amended.

                          COMMITTEE AMENDMENT

    During its consideration of S. 2223, the Committee adopted 
an amendment to delete section 4, which established a process 
for the potential return of the public land transferred by the 
bill.

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 
open business session on July 13, 2016, by a majority voice 
vote of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 
2223, if amended as described herein.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title

    Section 1 provides a short title for the measure.

Section 2. Definitions

    Section 2 defines key terms.

Section 3. Transfer and withdrawal of Bureau of Land Management land 
        for Cemetery use

    Section 3(a) transfers administrative jurisdiction of the 
subject land from the Secretary of the Interior to the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs, requires publication and 
availability of the legal description, and requires the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs to reimburse the Secretary of the 
Interior for reasonable costs incurred for carrying out this 
section.
    Subsection (b) withdrawals the subject land from all forms 
of appropriation, and requires the property to be treated as 
property as defined in section 102(9) of title 40, United 
States Code.
    Subsection (c) modifies the boundary of the Cemetery to 
include the Federal land.
    Subsection (d) modifies the existing Public Land Order 
2112, dated June 6, 1960 (25 Fed. Reg. 5243) to exclude the 
Federal land.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

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

S. 2223--Black Hills National Cemetery Boundary Expansion Act

    S. 2223 would require the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 
to transfer 200 acres of land to the Department of Veterans 
Affairs (VA) to expand a national cemetery. Based on 
information provided by the affected agencies, CBO estimates 
that enacting the legislation would have no significant effect 
on the federal budget.
    Because enacting the bill would not affect direct spending 
or revenues, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO 
estimates that enacting S. 2223 would not increase net direct 
spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 
10-year periods beginning in 2027.
    Under the bill, the affected lands would be withdrawn from 
mining and mineral leasing activities. Based on information 
provided by BLM, CBO expects that those activities would not 
occur over the next 10 years and we estimate that withdrawing 
the lands would not affect the federal budget. In addition, CBO 
estimates that implementing S. 2223 would have insignificant 
costs for VA to cover administrative expenses associated with 
the transfer and make improvements to the Black Hills National 
Cemetery.
    S. 2223 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 August 30, 2016, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for 
H.R. 3839, the Black Hills National Cemetery Boundary Expansion 
Act, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural 
Resources on June 15, 2016. H.R. 3839 contains a provision that 
would require VA to pay any costs to decontaminate land that 
the agency transfers back to BLM if it is not required for the 
cemetery. CBO determined that it could not estimate the cost of 
that provision. CBO's estimated costs to carry out other 
provisions in the two bills are the same.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFave. The 
estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, 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. 2223. 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. 2223, as ordered reported.

                   CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

    S. 2223, 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 Bureau of Land Management at 
the April 21, 2016, Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and 
Mining hearing on S. 2223 follows:

     Statement of Mike Pool, Acting Deputy Director Bureau of Land 
                 Management Department of the Interior

    Thank you for inviting the Department of the Interior to 
testify on S. 2223, the Black Hills National Cemetery Boundary 
Expansion Act, which transfers administrative jurisdiction of 
approximately 200 acres of public land currently managed by the 
Department's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to the Department 
of Veterans Affairs' (VA) National Cemetery Administration 
(NCA) for inclusion in the Black Hills National Cemetery in 
Meade County, South Dakota. The Department of the Interior 
supports S. 2223.


                               background


    The Black Hills National Cemetery is located three miles 
southeast of Sturgis, South Dakota, near the Black Hills. 
Established in 1948, the cemetery currently encompasses 106 
acres and has had over 20,000 interments. The BLM understands 
that the NCA would use the additional land provided under S. 
2223 to expand the Black Hills National Cemetery to provide 
burial space for future needs. The BLM and the NCA have 
discussed such a transfer for several years, but the BLM has 
determined that no general authority exists for the agency to 
grant a perpetual transfer of jurisdiction as required by the 
NCA for a cemetery.


                                s. 2223


    S. 2223 directs the Secretary of the Interior to transfer 
administrative jurisdiction of approximately 200 acres of 
public land to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to be 
incorporated into the existing Black Hills National Cemetery, 
subject to valid existing rights. The Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs would be required to pay all survey costs and other 
reasonable costs associated with the transfer. The Federal land 
to be transferred would be withdrawn from all forms of 
appropriation under the public land laws, including the mining, 
mineral leasing, and geothermal leasing laws. Under the bill, 
should the NCA ever determine that it no longer needs any 
portion of the additional land, the Secretary of the Interior 
could restore the unneeded land to the public domain. The 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs would be responsible for costs of 
any decontamination necessary for restoration to public land 
status.
    The Department of the Interior supports S. 2223 and the 
transfer of administrative jurisdiction. We note that the 
expansion area is currently part of the Fort Meade Recreation 
Area / Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) and that 
the Centennial Trail runs along the northern boundary of the 
expansion area. We suggest adding bill language to provide a 
100-foot setback boundary from the centerline of the trail. The 
Administration would also like to work with the sponsor and the 
Committee to clarify the provisions related to decontamination 
and restoration of the land to public land status.


                               conclusion


    Thank you again for the opportunity to testify in support 
of S. 2223, the Black Hills National Cemetery Boundary 
Expansion Act. We appreciate the work of the South Dakota 
congressional delegation on this legislation, and we look 
forward to collaborating with them and the Committee to meet 
the needs of the Black Hills National Cemetery.

                        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 as ordered 
reported.

                                  [all]