[Senate Report 115-114]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                      Calendar No. 151
115th Congress     }                                    {       Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session       }                                    {      115-114

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



 
        FORT FREDERICA NATIONAL MONUMENT BOUNDARY EXPANSION ACT

                                _______
                                

                 June 20, 2017.--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 H.R. 494]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (H.R. 494) to expand the boundary of Fort 
Frederica National Monument in the State of Georgia, and for 
other purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably 
thereon with amendments and recommends that the bill, as 
amended, do pass.
    The amendments are as follows:
    1. On page 3, strike lines 1 through 4.
    2. On page 3, line 5, strike ``(5)'' and insert ``(4)''.
    3. On page 3, strike lines 10 through 19.

                                Purpose

    The purpose of H.R. 494 is to expand the boundary of Fort 
Frederica National Monument in the State of Georgia.

                          Background and Need

    H.R. 494 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to 
acquire, for inclusion within the boundaries of Fort Frederica 
National Monument, approximately 21 acres of land by donation, 
or purchase with donated or appropriated funds from willing 
sellers only. The parcel authorized to be acquired is owned by 
the St. Simons Land Trust.
    Fort Frederica National Monument, on St. Simons Island, 
Georgia, preserves the archaeological remnants of a fort 
established in 1736 by James Oglethorpe. Oglethorpe built the 
fort to protect the southern boundary of his new colony of 
Georgia from the Spanish in Florida. Named for Frederick Louis, 
the Prince of Wales (1702-1754), Frederica consisted of a fort 
and town fortified by a palisade wall and earthen rampart. The 
fort's location on the Frederica River allowed it to control 
ship travel.
    Oglethorpe's foresight in establishing Fort Frederica was 
rewarded in 1742 when Spanish and British forces clashed on St. 
Simons Island. Fort Frederica's troops defeated the Spanish in 
the Battle of Bloody Marsh. The British victory not only 
confirmed that Georgia was British territory, but also signaled 
the end for Fort Frederica. In 1749, Fort Frederica's regiment 
disbanded, and eventually the town fell into decline.
    On May 26, 1936, President Franklin D. Roosevelt 
established Fort Frederica as a National Monument. The National 
Park Service (NPS) owns and preserves the archeological remains 
of Fort Frederica.

                          Legislative History

    H.R. 494 was introduced in the House of Representatives by 
Representative Carter on January 12, 2017, and referred to the 
Committee on Natural Resources. H.R. 494 was agreed to by voice 
vote in the House of Representatives on February 6, 2017. The 
bill was received in the Senate and referred to the Committee 
on Energy and Natural Resources on February 7, 2017.
    An identical bill, S. 137, was introduced in the Senate by 
Senator Isakson on January 12, 2017.
    In the 114th Congress, Representative Carter introduced a 
similar measure, H.R. 3480, on September 10, 2015. The House 
Committee on Natural Resources' Subcommittee on Federal Lands 
held a hearing on the bill on May 24, 2016. On July 25, 2016, 
the Committee on Natural Resources reported the bill, as 
amended (H. Rept. 114-701). H.R. 3480 was agreed to by voice 
vote in the House of Representatives on September 6, 2016. An 
identical bill, S. 2024, was introduced in the Senate by 
Senator Isakson and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resources on September 10, 2015.
    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources met in an 
open business session on March 30, 2017, and ordered H.R. 494 
favorably reported, as amended.

                        Committee Recommendation

    The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 
open business session on March 30, 2017, by a majority voice 
vote of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 
494, if amended as described herein.

                          Committee Amendments

    During its consideration of H.R. 494, the Committee on 
Energy and Natural Resources adopted three amendments to 
eliminate the requirement that no non-Federal property may be 
included in the Monument without the written consent of the 
owner, to remove the requirement that no buffer zones would be 
created outside of the Monument, and to make a conforming 
change.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis


Section 1. Short title

    Section 1 provides a short title for the measure.

Section 2. Fort Frederica National Monument, Georgia

    Section 2(a) amends the maximum acreage authorized pursuant 
to 16 U.S.C. 433g from 250 to 305 acres.
    Subsection (b)(1) modifies the boundary of the Fort 
Frederica National Monument to include land in the ``Proposed 
Acquisition Areas, as depicted on the map entitled ``Fort 
Frederica National Monument Proposed Boundary Expansion,'' 
numbered 369/132,469, and dated April 2016.''
    Paragraph (2) requires the NPS to make a map of the 
monument available for public inspection.
    Paragraph (3) authorizes the Secretary to acquire land 
interests by donation or purchase with donated or appropriated 
funds from willing sellers only.
    Paragraph (4) prohibits acquisition of land interests by 
condemnation or eminent domain.

                   Cost and Budgetary Considerations

    The following estimate of the costs of this measure has 
been provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
    H.R. 494 would authorize the expansion of the Fort 
Frederica National Monument on St. Simons Island, Georgia, by 
increasing the maximum acreage from 250 to 305 acres. The 
monument preserves the archaeological remnants of a fort 
established in 1736 by James Oglethorpe, the founder of the 
state of Georgia.
    The National Park Service (NPS) would be permitted to 
expand the monument boundary only through donations or 
purchases of land made using appropriated funds. According to 
the NPS, the existing park boundary exceeds the current acreage 
cap. The legislation would expand the cap to accommodate the 
current size of the monument and permit the NPS to acquire 
about 20 additional acres. Based on information the county 
provided to the NPS about the value of different parcels, CBO 
estimates that the cost of acquiring certain properties that 
are adjacent to the monument would be about $1 million. Any 
such spending would be subject to the availability of 
appropriated funds.
    Enacting H.R. 494 would not affect direct spending or 
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO 
estimates that enacting H.R. 494 would not increase net direct 
spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 
10-year periods beginning in 2028.
    H.R. 494 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jon Sperl. 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 H.R. 494. 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 H.R. 494, as ordered reported.

                   Congressionally Directed Spending

    H.R. 494, 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

    Executive Communications for H.R. 494 were not requested by 
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources in the 115th 
Congress.

                        Changes in Existing Law

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by 
the H.R. 494, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

                          ACT OF MAY 26, 1936

    As amended by the Act of September 20, 1950, and Public Law 
85-401

AN ACT To provide for the establishment of the Fort Frederica National 
   Monument, at Saint Simon Island, Georgia, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the United States of America in Congress assembled, That when 
title of the site of Fort Frederica, on Saint Simon Island, 
Georgia, and such other related sites located thereon, as may 
be designated by the Secretary of the Interior, in the exercise 
of his discretion, as necessary or desirable for national-
monument purposes, shall have been vested in the United States, 
said area not to exceed [two hundred and fifty acres] 305 acres 
shall be, and is hereby, set apart as a national monument for 
the benefit and inspiration of the people, and shall be called 
the ``Fort Frederica National Monument''.

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