[House Report 115-988]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


115th Congress     }                                   {      Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session        }                                   {      115-988

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

 
   URGING THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR TO RECOGNIZE THE HISTORICAL 
   SIGNIFICANCE OF ROBERTO CLEMENTE'S PLACE OF DEATH NEAR PINONES IN 
 LOIZA, PUERTO RICO, BY ADDING IT TO THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC 
                                 PLACES

                                _______
                                

  October 12, 2018.--Referred to the House Calendar 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. Res. 792]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the resolution (H. Res. 792) urging the Secretary of the 
Interior to recognize the historical significance of Roberto 
Clemente's place of death near Pinones in Loiza, Puerto Rico, 
by adding it to the National Register of Historic Places, 
having considered the same, report favorably thereon without 
amendment and recommend that the resolution be agreed to.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of House Resolution 792 is to urge the 
Secretary of the Interior to recognize the historical 
significance of Roberto Clemente's place of death near Pinones 
in Loiza, Puerto Rico, by adding it to the National Register of 
Historic Places.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    Roberto Clemente Walker was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico, 
in 1934. Clemente grew up playing baseball and truly loved the 
sport, beginning his professional career in the Puerto Rican 
League.\1\ Clemente was drafted into the major leagues in 1954. 
He played 18 seasons for the Pittsburgh Pirates and became a 
legend in the sport. He won 12 Gold Gloves, 4 National League 
batting titles, 12 All-Star Game selections, 2 World Series 
Championships, and reached the 3,000-hit milestone.\2\
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    \1\Thornley, Stew. ``Roberto Clemente.'' Society for American 
Baseball Research. https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/8b153bc4.
    \2\``Beyond Baseball: The Life of Roberto Clemente.'' Smithsonian 
Institution Traveling Exhibition Service. http://
www.robertoclemente.si.edu/english/virtual_legacy.htm.
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    Perhaps equally as important as Clemente's accomplishments 
on the field was his role as an advocate for equitable 
treatment of Latino baseball players.\3\ He saw his career in 
baseball as a way to help Latin Americans, especially 
underprivileged Puerto Ricans, make their lives better.\4\ 
Clemente spent much of his time during the off-season involved 
in charity work, frequently in Latin American countries and the 
Caribbean.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\Thornley, Stew. ``Roberto Clemente.'' Society for American 
Baseball Research. https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/8b153bc4.
    \4\Id.
    \5\Id.
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    After a massive earthquake hit Nicaragua in late December 
1972, Clemente headed up a relief effort and decided to 
accompany the supply plane. Shortly after takeoff from the San 
Juan, Puerto Rico, airport on December 31, 1972, the plane 
crashed, killing Clemente.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \6\``Roberto Clemente.'' National Baseball Hall of Fame. https://
baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/clemente-roberto.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, waived 
the rule requiring a five-year wait after retirement (or death) 
before a player could be elected to the Hall, and in July 1973 
Clemente was the first player born in Latin America to be 
inducted into the national baseball shrine.\7\ The award 
presented annually to a Major League baseball player for 
exemplary sportsmanship and community service was renamed the 
Roberto Clemente Award in 1973.\8\ Clemente was posthumously 
awarded both the Congressional Gold Medal and the Presidential 
Medal of Freedom.\9\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \7\Id.
    \8\``Roberto Clemente Award.'' Major League Baseball website. 
http://m.mlb.com/awards/history-winners/?award_id=MLBRC&year=2014.
    \9\``Roberto Walker Clemente Congressional Gold Medal.'' History, 
Art & Archives. United States House of Representatives. http://
history.house.gov/HistoricalHighlight/Detail/35733; ``Remarks on 
Presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom.'' George W. Bush. July 
23, 2003. The American Presidency Project. http://
www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=64890.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    To honor Roberto Clemente as the embodiment of a baseball 
legend, a great humanitarian and athlete, House Resolution Res. 
792 requests that the Secretary of the Interior recognize the 
crash site of Roberto Clemente's airplane and the adjacent land 
by adding the site to the National Register of Historic Places. 
The National Register is the official federal government list 
of sites and structures deemed worthy of preservation for their 
historical significance. It was created under the National 
Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (54 U.S.C. 300101 et seq.).

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    House Resolution 792 was introduced on March 20, 2018, by 
Congressman Jose E. Serrano (D-NY). The bill was referred to 
the Committee on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to 
the Subcommittee on Federal Lands. On September 27, 2018, the 
Natural Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The 
Subcommittee was discharged by unanimous consent. No amendments 
were offered, and the bill 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 requested but not received a cost 
estimate for the bill from the Director of the Congressional 
Budget Office. However, because the bill is a House resolution 
merely urging the Secretary of the Interior to take a 
particular action and has no legal effect, the Committee 
concludes that it will have no effect on the federal budget, 
contains no unfunded mandates, and does not affect revenues or 
direct spending.
    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 urge the Secretary of the Interior 
to recognize the historical significance of Roberto Clemente's 
place of death near Pinones in Loiza, Puerto Rico, by adding it 
to the National Register of Historic Places.

                           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]