[Senate Report 115-299]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                      Calendar No. 512
115th Congress       }                                  {       Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session          }                                  {      115-299

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



 
        SAINT-GAUDENS NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK REDESIGNATION ACT

                                _______
                                

                 July 12, 2018.--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. 965]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (H.R. 965) to redesignate the Saint-Gaudens 
National Historic Site as the ``Saint-Gaudens National 
Historical Park'', and for other purposes, having considered 
the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and 
recommends that the bill do pass.

                                Purpose

    The purpose of H.R. 965 is to redesignate the Saint-Gaudens 
National Historic Site in New Hampshire as the ``Saint-Gaudens 
National Historical Park''.

                          Background and Need

    Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site in Cornish, New 
Hampshire, preserves the home, gardens, and studios of Augustus 
Saint-Gaudens (1848-1907), one of the most celebrated sculptors 
in the United States. Saint-Gaudens' notable commissions 
include public monuments to Civil War heroes as well as U.S. 
gold coinage. The site in Cornish houses over 100 pieces of the 
artist's work, from public monuments to expressive portrait 
reliefs, in galleries and on the grounds.
    As Saint-Gaudens became more well-known as an artist, 
requests for commissions and commemorative outdoor sculptures 
in the U.S. and in France increased. He attracted leaders and 
practitioners in painting, sculpture, etching, writing, poetry, 
drama, dance, musical composition, musical performance, 
architecture, landscape architecture, jurisprudence, politics, 
and other artistic disciplines to relocate to Cornish, forming 
one of the earliest art colonies--the Cornish Art Colony.
    Throughout the long history of Saint-Gaudens National 
Historic Site, the site and the partner organization, the 
Saint-Gaudens Memorial, have promoted the arts through the 
regular presentation of musical concerts, historic dramas, 
visual arts exhibitions, artistic workshops, and the oldest 
artist-in-residence program in the National Park Service.
    Saint-Gaudens' home, gardens, and studios were originally 
acquired and preserved as a living memorial to him by a 
nonprofit organization in 1919. In 1964 Congress authorized the 
Secretary of the Interior to acquire the memorial by donation 
(Public Law 88-543). Congress designated the memorial as a 
National Historic Site, which is the term applied to units of 
the National Park System, which, like the Saint-Gaudens 
memorial in 1964, contain a single historical feature.
    Congress expanded the boundaries of the site in 1976 to 
include a nearby mill (Public Law 94-578), and further expanded 
the boundaries in 2000 to include both Saint-Gaudens' nearby 
farm and Blow-Me-Down Farm, which had been the home of Charles 
C. Beaman, a New York City lawyer responsible for bringing 
Saint-Gaudens to Cornish and establishing the Cornish Art 
colony (Public Law 106-491).
    As a result of these additions, the National Historic Site, 
which had originally encompassed a single historical feature 
associated with Saint-Gaudens, has grown to include several 
adjacent properties, which encompass broader interpretive 
themes than the original site, qualifying the site for 
designation as a National Historical Park.
    By redesignating the Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site 
as the Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park, H.R. 965 will 
conform the unit to National Park Service naming conventions.

                          Legislative History

    H.R. 965 was introduced by Rep. Kuster on February 7, 2017, 
in the House of Representatives and referred to the Committee 
on Natural Resources. The House Committee on Natural Resources 
favorably reported H.R. 965 (H. Rept. 115-277) on August 25, 
2017. On October 2, 2017, H.R. 965 passed the House of 
Representatives by a vote of 401-0.
    Companion legislation, S. 312, was introduced by Senators 
Shaheen and Hassan on February 6, 2017. The Senate Subcommittee 
on National Parks conducted a hearing on S. 312 on July 19, 
2017.
    In the 114th Congress, a similar bill, S. 2923, was 
introduced by Senators Shaheen and Ayotte on May 12, 2016. The 
Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on S. 2923 on 
June 15, 2016. Similar legislation was also introduced in the 
House of Representatives, H.R. 5206, on May 12, 2016, by Rep. 
Guinta, and referred to the Natural Resources Committee.
    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources met in open 
business session on May 17, 2018, and ordered H.R. 965 
favorably reported.

                        Committee Recommendation

    The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 
open business session on May 17, 2018, by a majority voice vote 
of a quorum present recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 965.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis


Section 1. Short title

    Section 1 contains the short title.

Section 2. Designation of Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park

    Subsection (a) redesignates the Saint-Gaudens National 
Historic Site as the ``Saint-Gaudens National Historical 
Park.''
    Subsection (b) makes conforming amendments to Public Law 
88-543 to reflect the redesignation.
    Subsection (c) requires that any reference in any law, 
regulation, document, record, map, or other paper of the United 
States to the Saint-Gaudens Historic Site shall be considered 
to be a reference to the ``Saint-Gaudens National Historical 
Park.''

                   Cost and Budgetary Considerations

    The following estimate of the costs of this measure has 
been provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
    H.R. 965 would redesignate the Saint-Gaudens National 
Historic Site in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, as the Saint-
Gaudens National Historical Park. The National Park Service 
(NPS) manages national historic sites and national historical 
parks. (National historical parks are typically larger and 
contain more properties and structures than national historic 
sites.)
    Redesignating the site may require NPS to update maps, 
handouts, and signage. Based on the costs of similar tasks, CBO 
estimates that those costs would be insignificant and would be 
subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
    Enacting H.R. 965 would not affect direct spending or 
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
    CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 965 would not increase net 
direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four 
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2029.
    H.R. 965 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
    On August 18, 2017, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for 
H.R. 965, the Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park 
Redesignation Act, as ordered reported by the House Committee 
on Natural Resources on July 26, 2017. The two versions of the 
legislation are similar, and CBO's estimates of their budgetary 
effects are the same.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Janani 
Shankaran. The estimate was reviewed 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. 965. 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. 965, as ordered reported.

                   Congressionally Directed Spending

    H.R. 965, 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 Department of the Interior at 
the July 19, 2017, hearing on S. 312, the companion legislation 
to H.R. 965, follows:

   Statement of Robert Vogel, Acting Deputy Director, National Park 
 Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, Before the Senate Energy & 
Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Concerning S. 312, To 
  Redesignate the Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site as the ``Saint-
       Gaudens National Historical Park'', and for Other Purposes

    Chairman Daines, Ranking Member Hirono, and members of the 
committee, thank you for the opportunity to present the 
Department of the Interior's views on S. 312, a bill to 
redesignate the Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site as the 
``Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park'', and for other 
purposes.
    The Department supports S. 312.
    S. 312 would redesignate the Saint-Gaudens National 
Historic Site in Cornish, New Hampshire, as the ``Saint-Gaudens 
National Historical Park.'' This bill would not have a 
significant financial impact on the park as the National Park 
Service would update maps and signage as a part of routine 
maintenance and reordering of interpretive materials. We note 
that this bill has been modified from the version introduced in 
the 114th Congress and we appreciate the sponsor's willingness 
to propose a redesignation that fits with the National Park 
System's naming conventions.
    Authorized in 1964, Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site 
preserves the home, studios, gardens, and artwork of sculptor 
Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848-1907), the greatest American 
sculptor of the Gilded Age. During his career, Saint-Gaudens 
completed a variety of important monuments and memorials around 
the country, many of them, like the Robert Gould Shaw Memorial 
in Boston, Massachusetts; the Sherman Monument and Farragut 
Monument in New York City; and the Standing and Seated Abraham 
Lincoln monuments in Chicago, Illinois, memorializing heroes of 
the Civil War.
    Saint-Gaudens began his association with Cornish, New 
Hampshire, in 1885 when he and his family began using the 
property that today comprises Saint-Gaudens National Historic 
Site as their summer residence. The presence of the famous 
sculptor in Cornish attracted a variety of other artists to the 
area, forming the Cornish Colony of Artists, one of the 
earliest examples of an unplanned artist colony in the United 
States. The colony included painters, sculptors, authors, 
poets, playwrights, musicians, architects, and many other 
artistic disciplines, and during the presidency of Woodrow 
Wilson, served as the summer White House.
    In addition to the Saint-Gaudens estate, Saint-Gaudens 
National Historic Site also includes the Blow-Me-Down Farm, 
historically the social hub of the Cornish Colony, which was 
added to the park via a donation from the park's partner group, 
the Saint-Gaudens Memorial, in 2010. This addition expanded the 
park's interpretive themes beyond Augustus Saint-Gaudens and 
his work to include the full range of artists and artistic 
disciplines, as well as the historical impact of the Cornish 
Colony.
    Generally, National Park System units designated as 
national historic sites tell a discrete story or contain a 
small number of historic resources related to that story. 
National Park System units designated as national historical 
parks have a greater diversity of historical resources and 
interpretive themes and may be spread out over non-contiguous 
lands. The addition of the Blow-Me-Down Farm to the park in 
2010 added new historical resources and interpretive themes to 
Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site. This increased scope 
provides a basis for supporting redesignating this park as a 
national historical park. The name ``Saint-Gaudens National 
Historical Park'' would incorporate the word ``park'' into the 
title, and it would better reflect the broad historical context 
and resource diversity found at this park, while conforming to 
naming conventions for National Park System units.
    Chairman Daines, this concludes my statement. I would be 
pleased to answer questions that you or other members of the 
committee might have.

                        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 original bill, 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):

    AN ACT To Authorize establishment of the Saint-Gaudens National 
          Historic Site, New Hampshire, and for other purposes

                    (Public Law 88-543, as amended)

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the United States of America in Congress assembled, That, in 
order to preserve in public ownership historically significant 
properties associated with the life and cultural achievements 
of Augustus Saint-Gaudens, the Secretary of the Interior may 
acquire, by donation from the Saint-Gaudens Memorial, a 
corporation, the sites and structures comprising the Saint-
Gaudens Memorial situated at Cornish, New Hampshire, and by 
donation or purchase with donated funds not to exceed three 
acres of adjacent lands which the Secretary of the Interior 
deems necessary for the purposes of this Act, together with any 
works of art, furnishings, reproductions, and other properties 
within the structures and on the memorial grounds.
    Sec. 2. (a) In accordance with the Act entitled ``An Act to 
create a National Park Trust Fund Board, and for other 
purposes'', approved July 10, 1935 (49 Stat. 477), as amended, 
the National Park Trust Fund Board may accept from the Saint-
Gaudens Memorial the amount of $100,000 and such additional 
amounts as the corporation may tender from time to time from 
the endowment funds under its control, which funds, when 
accepted, shall be utilized only for the purposes of the 
[historic site] Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park 
established pursuant to this Act.
    (b) Nothing in this Act shall limit the authority of the 
Secretary of the Interior under other provisions of law to 
accept donations of property in the name of the United States.
    Sec. 3. When the sites, structures, and other properties 
authorized for acquisition under the first section of this Act 
and endowment funds in the amount of $100,000 have been 
transferred to the United States, the Secretary of the Interior 
shall establish the Saint-Gaudens [National Historic Site] 
National Historical Park by publication of notice thereof in 
the Federal Register. Following such establishment the 
Secretary may acquire by donation, purchase with donated or 
appropriated funds, or exchange 279 acres of lands and 
buildings, or interests therein which he deems necessary for 
addition to the [national historical site] Saint-Gaudens 
National Historical Park and which, when acquired, shall become 
a [part of the site] part of the park.
    Sec. 4. (a) The Secretary of the Interior shall administer, 
protect, develop, and maintain the Saint-Gaudens [National 
Historic Site] National Historical Park subject to the 
provisions of this Act and in accordance with the provisions of 
the Act entitled ``An Act to establish a National Park Service, 
and for other purposes'', approved August 25, 1916 (39 Stat. 
535), as amended and supplemented, and the provisions of the 
Act entitled ``An Act to provide for the preservation of 
historic American sites, buildings, objects, and antiquities of 
national significance, and for other purposes'', approved 
August 21, 1935 (49 Stat. 666).
    (b) In order that the Saint-Gaudens [National Historic 
Site] National Historical Park may achieve more effectively its 
purpose as a living memorial, the Secretary of the Interior is 
authorized to cooperate with the Saint-Gaudens Memorial, the 
American Academy of Arts and Letters, and other organizations 
and groups in the presentation of art expositions and festivals 
and other appropriate events that are [traditional to the site] 
traditional to the park.
    Sec. 5. The Saint-Gaudens Memorial having by its active 
interest preserved for posterity this important site, its 
structures, objects, and cultural values, the executive 
committee thereof shall, upon establishment of the Saint-
Gaudens [National Historic Site] National Historical Park, 
serve in an advisory capacity to the Secretary of the Interior 
in matters relating to its preservation, development, and use.
    Sec. 6. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated such 
sums, but not more than $10,632,000 for development, as may be 
necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act. For the 
acquisition of lands or interest therein, there is authorized 
to be appropriated not to exceed $2,000,000.

                                  [all]