[House Report 115-632]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


115th Congress    }                                     {       Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session       }                                     {      115-632

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



 
                MEDGAR EVERS HOME NATIONAL MONUMENT ACT

                                _______
                                

 April 11, 2018.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

Mr. Bishop of Utah, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted 
                             the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 4895]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 4895) to establish the Medgar Evers National 
Monument in the State of Mississippi, and for other purposes, 
having considered the same, report favorably thereon with 
amendments and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.
    The amendments are as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``Medgar Evers Home National Monument 
Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

  In this Act:
          (1) Monument.--The term ``Monument'' means the Medgar Evers 
        Home National Monument established by section 3.
          (2) Historic district.--The term ``Historic District'' means 
        the Medgar Evers Historic District, as included on the National 
        Register of Historic Places, and as generally depicted on the 
        Map.
          (3) Map.--The term ``Map'' means the map entitled ``Medgar 
        Evers Home National Monument'', numbered 515/142561, and dated 
        February 2018.
          (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
        the Interior, acting through the Director of the National Park 
        Service.
          (5) College.--The term ``College'' means Tougaloo College, a 
        private educational institution located in Tougaloo, 
        Mississippi.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF MEDGAR EVERS HOME NATIONAL MONUMENT.

  (a) Establishment.--
          (1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), there is 
        established the Medgar Evers Home National Monument in the 
        State of Mississippi as a unit of the National Park System to 
        preserve, protect, and interpret for the benefit of present and 
        future generations resources associated with Medgar Evers' 
        pivotal role in the American Civil Rights Movement.
          (2) Conditions.--The Monument shall not be established until 
        the date on which the Secretary--
                  (A) has entered into a written agreement with the 
                College providing that all parcels within the Medgar 
                Evers Home National Monument boundary as depicted on 
                the Map shall be donated to the United States for 
                inclusion in the Monument to be managed consistently 
                with the purposes of the Monument; and
                  (B) has otherwise acquired sufficient land or 
                interests in land within the boundaries of the Monument 
                to constitute a manageable unit.
  (b) Boundaries.--The boundaries of Monument shall be the boundaries 
generally depicted on the Map.
  (c) Availability of Map.--The Map shall be on file and available for 
public inspection in the appropriate offices of the National Park 
Service.
  (d) Acquisition of Authority.--The Secretary may only acquire any 
land or interest in land located within the boundary of the Monument 
by--
          (1) donation;
          (2) purchase with donated funds; or
          (3) exchange.
  (e) Administration.--
          (1) In general.--The Secretary shall administer the Monument 
        in accordance with--
                  (A) this Act; and
                  (B) the laws generally applicable to units of the 
                National Park System.
          (2) Management plan.--
                  (A) Not later than 3 years after the date on which 
                funds are first made available to the Secretary for 
                this purpose, the Secretary shall prepare a general 
                management plan for the Monument in accordance with 
                section 100502 of title 54, United States Code.
                  (B) On completion of the general management plan 
                under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall submit it 
                to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 
                Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural 
                Resources of the Senate.
  (f) Cooperative Agreements.--
          (1) Monument.--The Secretary shall enter into a cooperative 
        agreement with the College for interpretive and educational 
        programming related to the Monument, and may enter into other 
        cooperative agreements for the purposes of carrying out this 
        Act.
          (2) Historic district.--The Secretary may enter into 
        cooperative agreements with the owner of a nationally 
        significant property within the Historic District, to identify, 
        mark, interpret, improve, restore, and provide technical 
        assistance with respect to the preservation and interpretation 
        of the property.
  (g) No Buffer Zones.--Nothing in this Act, the establishment of the 
Monument, or the management of the Monument shall be construed to 
create buffer zones outside of the Monument. The fact that an activity 
or use can be seen, heard, or detected from within the Monument shall 
not preclude the conduct of that activity or use outside of the 
Monument.

    Amend the title so as to read:
    A bill to establish the Medgar Evers Home National Monument 
in the State of Mississippi, and for other purposes.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 4895, as ordered reported, is to 
establish the Medgar Evers Home National Monument in the State 
of Mississippi.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    Medgar Wiley Evers was born in Decatur, Mississippi, on 
July 2, 1925. Medgar served in the U.S. Army in France and 
Germany during World War II. Following his military service, he 
attended Alcorn State University where he met his future wife, 
Myrlie.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\``Medgar Evers.'' Biography.com. January 24, 2018. Accessed 
February 01, 2018. http://www.biography.com/people/medgar-evers-
9542324.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In February 1954, Evers applied to the then-segregated 
University of Mississippi Law School. When his application was 
rejected, Evers became the focus of an National Association for 
the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) campaign to 
desegregate the school. In December of that year, Evers became 
the NAACP's first field officer in Mississippi.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\``NAACP History: Medgar Evers.'' NAACP.com. Accessed February 1, 
2018. http://www.naacp.org/oldest-and-boldest/naacp-history-medgar-
evers/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    On June 12, 1963, as he returned home from a NAACP planning 
meeting, Evers was shot in the back by Byron De La Beckwith, a 
member of the White Citizens' Council. He died at a local 
hospital less than an hour later and was buried with full 
military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The widowed Mrs. Evers and her children continued to live 
in their home in Jackson, Mississippi, for a year after the 
murder of her husband, but given continued social unrest, Mrs. 
Evers decided that she and her family could not remain and 
relocated her family to California. Subsequently, she donated 
the house to Tougaloo College in Tougaloo, Mississippi. The 
home, now a museum operated by Tougaloo College, contains 
period furnishings, exhibits, and family photographs that honor 
Medgar Evers' legacy as one of the icons of the Civil Rights 
Movement in America.\4\ The home was listed on the National 
Register of Historic Places in 2000 and in 2017 was designated 
as a National Historic Landmark.\5\ The Medgar Evers Historic 
District was added to the National Register of Historic Places 
in 2013.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\Legislative Hearing on H.R. 959 Before the Subcommittee on 
Federal Lands, United States House of Representatives, 114th Cong. 
(2015) (statement of Karen E. Mouritsen, Deputy Assistant Director, 
Energy, Minerals, and Realty Management--BLM).
    \5\``Interior Department Announces 24 New National Historic 
Landmarks.'' DOI.gov. January 11, 2017. Accessed February 1, 2018. 
https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/interior-department-announces-24-new-
national-historic-landmarks.
    \6\``Medgar Evers Historic District.'' National Parks Service. 
Accessed February 01, 2018. https://www.nps.gov/nr/feature/places/
13000737.htm.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Board of Trustees of Tougaloo College is interested in 
donating the Evers home to the National Park Service and has 
written in support of this legislation. Last year, through 
Public Law 115-31, Congress authorized the Secretary of the 
Interior to conduct special resource studies of significant 
civil rights sites in the State of Mississippi, one of which 
was the Medgar Evers home.
    H.R. 4895 establishes the Medgar Evers Home National 
Monument provided that his home is donated to the United 
States. The Secretary of the Interior will develop a management 
plan for the monument and enter into a cooperative agreement 
with Tougaloo College for interpretative and educational 
program relating to the monument.
    The bill is supported by Tougaloo College, the Jackson 
Historic Preservation Commission, and the Mississippi 
Department of Archives and History.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 4895 was introduced on January 29, 2018, by 
Congressman Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS). The bill was referred to 
the Committee on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to 
the Subcommittee on Federal Lands. On February 6, 2018, the 
Subcommittee held a hearing on the legislation. On February 14, 
2018, the Natural Resources Committee met to consider the bill. 
The Subcommittee was discharged by unanimous consent. 
Congressman Rob Bishop (R-UT) offered an amendment designated 
#1; it was adopted by unanimous consent. No further amendments 
were offered, and the bill, as amended, was ordered favorably 
reported to the House of Representatives by unanimous consent.

            COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

    Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.

      COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII AND CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET ACT

    1. Cost of Legislation and the Congressional Budget Act. 
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) and (3) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
sections 308(a) and 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974, the Committee has received the following estimate for the 
bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                     Washington, DC, April 5, 2018.
Hon. Rob Bishop,
Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 4895, the Medgar 
Evers Home National Monument Act.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Janani 
Shankaran.
            Sincerely,
                                                Keith Hall,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure.

H.R. 4895--Medgar Evers Home National Monument Act

    H.R. 4895 would establish the Medgar Evers Home National 
Monument in Jackson, Mississippi. Under the bill, the site 
would become a unit of the National Park System and would be 
owned and operated by the National Park Service (NPS). The bill 
would direct the NPS to acquire the Medgar Evers home by means 
of donation from Tougaloo College. Based on the expected date 
of that donation and the experience of other system units, CBO 
expects the monument would not be formally established for 
several years.
    Using information from the NPS on the costs for operating 
new system units, CBO estimates that the agency would incur 
about $200,000 annually in administrative costs in its initial 
years. The bill also would require the NPS to develop a general 
management plan for the monument. Based on the costs of similar 
tasks, CBO estimates that developing the plan would cost less 
than $500,000. In total, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 
4895 would cost about $1 million over the 2018-2022 period; 
such spending would be subject to the availability of 
appropriated funds.
    Enacting H.R. 4895 would not affect direct spending or 
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
    CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 4895 would not increase 
net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four 
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
    H.R. 4895 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Janani 
Shankaran. The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, 
Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
    2. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or 
objective of this bill, as ordered reported, is to establish 
the Medgar Evers Home National Monument in the State of 
Mississippi.

                           EARMARK STATEMENT

    This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined 
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

                       COMPLIANCE WITH H. RES. 5

    Directed Rule Making. This bill does not contain any 
directed rule makings.
    Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not 
establish or reauthorize a program of the federal government 
known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was 
not included in any report from the Government Accountability 
Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139 
or identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic 
Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program 
Information Act (Public Law 95-220, as amended by Public Law 
98-169) as relating to other programs.

                PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

    This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or 
tribal law.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    If enacted, this bill would make no changes to existing 
law.

                                  [all]