[House Report 116-228]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


116th Congress    }                                    {       Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session      }                                    {      116-228

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



 
 TO RENAME THE OYSTER BAY NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE AS THE CONGRESSMAN 
            LESTER WOLFF OYSTER BAY NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

                                _______
                                

 October 11, 2019.--Committed to the House Calendar and ordered to be 
                                printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Grijalva, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 263]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 263) to rename the Oyster Bay National Wildlife 
Refuge as the Congressman Lester Wolff Oyster Bay National 
Wildlife Refuge, having considered the same, report favorably 
thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 263 is to rename the Oyster Bay 
National Wildlife Refuge as the Congressman Lester Wolff Oyster 
Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    Lester Lionel Wolff, born January 4, 1919, served as a 
public servant for the people of New York as a Member of the 
United States House of Representatives for 16 years.\1\ A 
product of New York public schools, Wolff attended New York 
University, where he would later become a lecturer, and he 
served as a member of the Civil Air Patrol.\2\ Wolff was 
elected to Congress in 1964.\3\ During his time here, he served 
as Chair of the Asian and Pacific Affairs Subcommittee of the 
House Committee on International Relations\4\ and the Select 
Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control.\5\ He is currently 
the oldest living former Member of Congress.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\Wolff, Lester Lionel, (1919-), Biographical Directory of the 
U.S. Cong., http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/
biodisplay.pl?index=W000680 (last visited Oct. 7, 2019).
    \2\Id.
    \3\Id.
    \4\Legislative Review Activities of the Committee on International 
Relations, H.R. Rep. No. 104-883, at 146, 147 (1997).
    \5\Wolff, Lester Lionel, (1919-), supra note 1.
    \6\Press Release, Office of Thomas Suozzi, U.S. Representative, 
Suozzi Wishes Rep. Lester Wolff, the Oldest Living Former Member of 
Congress, a Happy 100th Birthday and Honors Him in Official 
Congressional Record (Jan. 4, 2019), https://suozzi.house.gov/media/
press-releases/suozzi-wishes-rep-lester-wolff-oldest-living-former-
member-congress-happy-100th.
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    In 1968, Wolff successfully pushed to create the Oyster Bay 
National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), on the north shore of Long 
Island. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the 
Oyster Bay NWR is the largest refuge in the Long Island 
National Wildlife Refuge Complex and receives the most public 
use of all such refuges.\7\ Today, it is a key habitat for 
migratory waterfowl including black ducks, greater scaup, 
bufflehead, canvasback, and long-tailed ducks.\8\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \7\About the Refuge, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Serv., https://
www.fws.gov/refuge/Oyster_Bay/about.html (last updated Dec. 2, 2013).
    \8\Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    H.R. 263 renames the Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge as 
the Congressman Lester Wolff Oyster Bay National Wildlife 
Refuge.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 263 was introduced on January 4, 2019, by 
Representative Thomas Suozzi (D-NY). The bill was referred 
solely to the Committee on Natural Resources, and within the 
Committee to the Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife. 
On September 18, 2019, 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.

                                HEARINGS

    For the purposes of section 103(i) of H. Res. 6 of the 
116th Congress--the following hearing was used to develop or 
consider H.R. 263: full committee markup held on September 18, 
2019.

            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 23, 2019.
Hon. Raul M. Grijalva,
Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
reviewed H.R. 263, a bill to rename the Oyster Bay National 
Wildlife Refuge as the Congressman Lester Wolff Oyster Bay 
National Wildlife Refuge, as ordered reported by the House 
Committee on Natural Resources on September 18, 2019.
    CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 263 would have no 
significant effect on the federal budget and would not affect 
direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go 
procedures do not apply. CBO estimates that enacting the 
legislation would not increase on-budget deficits in any of the 
four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2030.
    H.R. 263 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Janani 
Shankaran.
            Sincerely,
                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure.

     2. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required 
by clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goals 
and objectives of this bill is to rename the Oyster Bay 
National Wildlife Refuge as the Congressman Lester Wolff Oyster 
Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

                           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.

                 UNFUNDED MANDATES REFORM ACT STATEMENT

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

                           EXISTING PROGRAMS

    This bill does not establish or reauthorize a program of 
the federal government known to be duplicative of another 
program.

                  APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

    The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to 
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public 
services or accommodations within the meaning of section 
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.

               PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL, OR TRIBAL LAW

    Any preemptive effect of this bill over state, local, or 
tribal law is intended to be consistent with the bill's 
purposes and text and the Supremacy Clause of Article VI of the 
U.S. Constitution.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    If enacted, this bill would make no changes to existing 
law.

        SUPPLEMENTAL, MINORITY, ADDITIONAL, OR DISSENTING VIEWS

    None.

                                  [all]