[House Report 115-970]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
115th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 115-970
======================================================================
FDR HISTORIC PRESERVATION ACT
_______
September 25, 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. 5420]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 5420) to authorize the acquisition of land for
addition to the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic
Site in the State of New York, and for other purposes, having
considered the same, report favorably thereon with an amendment
and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``FDR Historic Preservation Act''.
SEC. 2. HOME OF FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE.
(a) Land Acquisition.--The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to
acquire by donation, purchase from a willing seller using donated
funds, or exchange, the approximately 89 acres of land identified as
the ``Morgan Property'' and generally depicted on the map titled ``Home
of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site, Proposed Park
Addition'', numbered 384/138,461 and dated May 2017.
(b) Availability of Map.--The map referred to in subsection (a) shall
be available for public inspection in the appropriate offices of the
National Park Service.
(c) Boundary Adjustment; Administration.--Upon acquisition of the
land referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Interior
shall--
(1) adjust the boundary of the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt
National Historic Site to reflect the acquisition; and
(2) administer such land as part of the Home of Franklin D.
Roosevelt National Historic Site in accordance with applicable
laws.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 5420 is to authorize the acquisition of
land for addition to the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National
Historic Site in the State of New York.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
The Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site,
located in Hyde Park, New York, was designated on January 15,
1944, to preserve the birthplace and life-long home of the 32nd
President of the United States.\1\ The centerpiece of the
nearly 850-acre property, President Roosevelt's home called
Springwood, was built around 1793 and purchased by Roosevelt's
father in 1867.\2\ By 1915, Franklin and his mother, Sara, had
completed extensive renovations to the structure and the home's
interior.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\The National Parks: Index 1916-2016. Washington, D.C.: U.S.
Government Publishing Office, 2016.
\2\``Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area.'' Hudson River
Valley National Heritage Area. Accessed August 29, 2018. http://
www.hudsonrivervalley.com/sites/Home-of-Franklin-D-Roosevelt-National-
Historic-Site/details.
\3\Ibid.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Inherited by FDR upon his mother's death in 1941, the home
and much of the estate were transferred to the federal
government at the President's request. Known as his summer
White House, FDR entertained many visiting heads of state at
the home. President Roosevelt also helped design and build the
first Presidential library on the property.\4\ The interior
remains as it was during Roosevelt's lifetime. The grounds
feature flower gardens, outbuildings, and miles of walking
trails. The estate's rose garden contains the graves of
Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\The National Parks: Index 1916-2016. Washington, D.C.: U.S.
Government Publishing Office, 2016.
\5\``Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area.'' Hudson River
Valley National Heritage Area. Accessed August 29, 2018. http://
www.hudsonrivervalley.com/sites/Home-of-Franklin-D-Roosevelt-National-
Historic-Site/details.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Since its addition to the National Park System in 1944, the
site's boundaries have been modified several times to include
new land. The Scenic Hudson Land Trust (SHLT) owns
approximately 89 acres adjacent to the site that it wishes to
sell to the National Park Service. The property is largely
unimproved (expect for a small house and garage) and is subject
to a conservation easement that has been held by the SHLT since
1995. The SHLT advocates that the property provides important
context to visitors, and that its addition will provide better
connectivity to a section of the Hyde Park Trail that links the
Home of FDR National Historic Site with the Vanderbilt Mansion
National Historic Site to the north.
H.R. 5420 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to
acquire by donation, purchase from willing seller (SHLT) using
donated funds, or exchange, approximately 89 acres of land
adjacent to the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic
Site, and to incorporate the parcel into the site.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 5420 was introduced on March 29, 2018, by Congressman
John J. Faso (R-NY). The bill was referred to the Committee on
Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee
on Federal Lands. On September 5, 2018, the Natural Resources
Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee was
discharged by unanimous consent. Congressman Tom McClintock (R-
CA) offered an amendment designated #1; it was adopted by
unanimous consent. No additional 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, September 20, 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. 5420, the FDR
Historic Preservation 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. 5420--FDR Historic Preservation Act
H.R. 5420 would authorize the National Park Service (NPS)
to acquire 89 acres of land, known as the Morgan Property, for
the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site by
means of donation, purchase using donated funds, or through a
land exchange. Upon acquisition, that land would be
administrated by the NPS as part of the site.
Using information from the Scenic Hudson Land Trust, which
currently owns the Morgan Property, and based on recent sale
prices of comparable tracts of land, CBO estimates that the
cost to acquire the property would be about $1 million. If the
NPS purchases the property with donated funds, it would
increase direct spending. However, that increase would be
offset by donations for the purchase, which are recorded as
reductions in direct spending, so that the net effect on direct
spending would be negligible.
CBO estimates that any costs to manage and maintain the
additional land would be less than $500,000 over the 2019-2023
period; such spending would be subject to the availability of
appropriated funds.
Because enacting H.R. 5420 could affect direct spending,
pay-as-you-go procedures apply. The bill would not affect
revenues.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 5420 would not increase
net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2029.
H.R. 5420 contains no intergovernmental or private sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA).
The bill would authorize a land exchange between the federal
government and a private property owner, which could have a
small incidental effect on local property taxes. That effect,
however, would not result from an intergovernmental mandate as
defined in UMRA.
The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Janani
Shankaran (for federal costs) and Zach Byrum (for mandates).
The estimate was reviewed 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 is to authorize the acquisition of land
for addition to the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National
Historic Site in the State of New York.
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]