[Senate Report 115-315]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 542
115th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 115-315
======================================================================
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA COOPERATIVE MANAGEMENT AGREEMENTS
_______
August 1, 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. 2897]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (H.R. 2897) to authorize the Mayor of the
District of Columbia and the Director of the National Park
Service to enter into cooperative management agreements for the
operation, maintenance, and management of units of the National
Park System in the District of Columbia, and for other
purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon
with an amendment in the nature of a substitute and an
amendment to the title and recommends that the bill, as
amended, do pass.
AMENDMENTS
The amendments are as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. AUTHORIZING COOPERATIVE MANAGEMENT AGREEMENTS BETWEEN THE
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AND THE SECRETARY OF THE
INTERIOR.
The Secretary of the Interior may enter into a cooperative
management agreement with the District of Columbia in accordance with
section 101703 of title 54, United States Code.
Amend the title so as to read: ``An Act to authorize the
Mayor of the District of Columbia and the Secretary of the
Interior to enter into cooperative management agreements.''
PURPOSE
The purpose of H.R. 2897, as ordered reported, is to
authorize the Mayor of the District of Columbia and the
Secretary of the Interior to enter into cooperative management
agreements.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
The National Park Service (NPS) manages over 20 units of
the National Park System within the District of Columbia. In
addition to the well-known memorials around the National Mall,
the NPS also manages numerous local parks located throughout
the District of Columbia. More than 42.5 million visitors
experience the national park units in the District of Columbia
each year, which provide a variety of attractions for tourists
and residents alike.
Park units located within the District of Columbia often
face notable challenges of existing in a federal district and
urban environment while needing to meet the needs of local
residents as well as visitors. Sites within the District of
Columbia must compete for resources with the approximately 85
million acres managed by the NPS throughout the United States
and its territories.
The District of Columbia has expressed an interest in
funding some of the costs associated with rehabilitating and
modernizing parks owned by the NPS within its boundaries. For
example, the Mayor's office has set aside $13.9 million in
local funds to build new facilities at Franklin Park. According
to the NPS, ``Franklin Park, at five acres, is one of the
largest NPS squares in Center City D.C. and therefore provides
a signal opportunity to serve the community and enhance urban
living.''
In an effort to address the deferred maintenance backlog
and improve visitor services, some state and local governments
have signed cooperative management agreements with the NPS to
help manage specific services. Under current federal law, 54
U.S.C. 101703, the NPS may enter into such an agreement with a
State or local government agency for the cooperative management
of parks. However, there is ambiguity concerning whether the
District of Columbia, as a federal district, may participate in
this authority.
As ordered reported, H.R. 2897 clarifies that this existing
authority also applies to the District of Columbia.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
H.R. 2897 was introduced in the House of Representatives by
Rep. Norton on June 13, 2017, and referred to the House
Committee on Natural Resources and the House Committee on
Oversight and Government Reform. On December 4, 2017, H.R. 2897
was reported by the Committee on Oversight and Government
Reform (H. Rept. 115-436, Part I). On December 5, 2017, H.R.
2897 was reported by the Committee on Natural Resources (H.
Rept. 115-436, Part II). H.R. 2897 passed the House of
Representatives by voice vote on January 16, 2018.
Similar legislation, S. 1956, was introduced by Senator
Murkowski on October 5, 2017.
The Senate Subcommittee on National Parks conducted a
hearing on S. 1956 and H.R. 2897 on February 14, 2018.
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources met in open
business session on May 17, 2018, and ordered H.R. 2897
favorably reported, as amended.
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. 2897,
if amended as described herein.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
During its consideration of H.R. 2897, the Committee
adopted an amendment in the nature of a substitute which
authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to enter into a
cooperative management agreement with the District of Columbia
in accordance with section 101703 of title 54, United States
Code.
The Committee also adopted an amendment to the title.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Authorizing cooperative management agreements between the
District of Columbia and the Secretary of the Interior
This section authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to
enter into a cooperative management agreement with the District
of Columbia in accordance with section 101703 of title 54,
United States Code.
Under this section, states and local units of government
have the authority to enter into cooperative management
agreements with the National Park Service. This legislation
clarifies that the District of Columbia may also enter into
such agreements.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The following estimate of the costs of this measure has
been provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
H.R. 2897 would authorize the District of Columbia to enter
into cooperative management agreements (CMAs) with the National
Park Service (NPS) to operate and maintain NPS parks located
within its borders. The NPS uses CMAs to establish cooperative
practices, to address the use of shared resources that touch
both NPS and state or local lands, and to transfer funds to
perform work on such resources. Under current law, state and
local governments can enter into CMAs with the NPS. The bill
would clarify that the District of Columbia may also enter into
such agreements.
CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 2897 would result in
no significant cost to the federal government. According to the
NPS, any maintenance or repair project affected by a CMA would
generally be completed by the NPS whether or not such an
agreement is in place. Enacting H.R. 2897 would not affect
direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go
procedures do not apply.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 2897 would not increase
net direct spending or on budget deficits in any of the four
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
H.R. 2897 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
On August 16, 2017, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for
H.R. 2897, as ordered reported by the House Committee on
Oversight and Government Reform on July 19, 2017. On October
17, 2017, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 2897, as
ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on
October 4, 2017. All of the versions of the legislation are
similar, and CBO's estimates of the 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. 2897. 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. 2897, as ordered reported.
CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING
H.R. 2897, 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 February 14, 2018, hearing on H.R. 2897 follows:
Statement of P. Daniel Smith, Deputy Director, Exercising the Authority
of the Director of the National Park Service, Department of the
Interior
Chairman Daines, Ranking Member King, and members of the
Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to present the
Department of the Interior's views on H.R. 2897 and S. 1956,
bills to authorize the Mayor of the District of Columbia and
the Director of the National Park Service to enter into
cooperative management agreements for the operation,
maintenance, and management of units of the National Park
System in the District of Columbia, and for other purposes.
The Department supports the goal of both H.R. 2897 and S.
1956, which are substantially identical. However, we would like
to work with the bill sponsors and the committee to ensure that
these bills achieve this goal and would not affect other
existing authorities. These bills would clarify that the
National Park Service (NPS) and the Mayor of the District of
Columbia (District) may enter into cooperative management
agreements (CMA) to more efficiently and effectively manage NPS
land in the District.
Cooperative management agreement authority, codified at 54
U.S.C. 101703, authorizes the NPS to enter into CMAs to jointly
manage land where a unit of the NPS is located adjacent to or
near a State or local park area, and cooperative management
between the NPS and a State or local government agency will
allow for better management of the parks. For example, CMAs may
allow for sharing goods and services or authorize employees to
work on lands owned by agencies participating in such
agreements.
The CMA authority in the statute does not expressly state
that the authority applies to the District. For purposes of
Title 54 of the U.S. Code, the NPS generally interprets the
term ``State or local government'' to include the District of
Columbia, and in our view, the term ``State or local
government'' in Section 101703 does include the District of
Columbia. However, we understand that the District has
questioned its own authority to enter into binding CMAs with
the National Park Service.
In 2012, the NPS, the District, and the DowntownDC Business
Improvement District (BID) began a potential partnership
through a CMA with the aim of rehabilitating Franklin Park, a
federally-owned, NPS-administered square in downtown D.C. Under
this partnership, the District would rehabilitate and operate
the park, with the NPS retaining all other jurisdiction. The
NPS and the District would partner with a new park management
entity to provide maintenance and sustained programming. The
District has budgeted $13.8 million to complete design work and
construction associated with the rehabilitation. The BID will
dedicate funding to pay for the management entity.
The Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital
Planning Commission have both approved the concept plan for the
CMA, and the NPS has completed necessary environmental and
historic preservation compliance. Also, the NPS and the
District have negotiated the terms of the CMA and a related
construction agreement for the rehabilitation and long-term
operation of the park. However, the agreement has not been
finalized because of the District's uncertainty about whether
the District has the authority to enter into a CMA with the
NPS.
H.R. 2897 and S. 1956 seek to assure that the District does
have that authority, in order to help expedite the
rehabilitation of Franklin Park. We recommend that both bills
be revised to state that they are clarifying the District's
authority, rather than that they are granting the District new
authority, and to otherwise meet the goals of the legislation.
We would be happy to provide suggested language for that
purpose.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes my statement. I would be
pleased to answer any questions you or other members of the
Subcommittee may have.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no
changes in existing law are made by the bill as ordered
reported.
[all]