[House Report 116-439]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


116th Congress    }                                    {       Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session       }                                    {      116-439

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



 
                    SPRINGFIELD RACE RIOT STUDY ACT

                                _______
                                

  July 9, 2020.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union 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. 139]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 139) to establish the Springfield Race Riot 
National Historic Monument in the State of Illinois, 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:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``Springfield Race Riot Study Act''.

SEC. 2. RESOURCE STUDY OF SPRINGFIELD RACE RIOT.

  (a) Definitions.--In this section:
          (1) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
        the Interior.
          (2) Study area.--The term ``study area'' means areas 
        identified in the Springfield Race Riot Reconnaissance Survey 
        conducted by the National Park Service, dated August 2019.
  (b) Special Resource Study.--
          (1) Study.--The Secretary shall conduct a special resource 
        study of the study area.
          (2) Contents.--In conducting the study under paragraph (1), 
        the Secretary shall--
                  (A) evaluate the national significance of the study 
                area;
                  (B) determine the suitability and feasibility of 
                designating the study area as a unit of the National 
                Park System;
                  (C) consider other alternatives for preservation, 
                protection, and interpretation of the study area by the 
                Federal Government, State or local government entities, 
                or private and nonprofit organizations;
                  (D) consult with interested Federal agencies, State 
                or local governmental entities, private and nonprofit 
                organizations, or any other interested individuals; and
                  (E) identify cost estimates for any Federal 
                acquisition, development, interpretation, operation, 
                and maintenance associated with the alternatives.
          (3) Applicable law.--The study required under paragraph (1) 
        shall be conducted in accordance with section 100507 of title 
        54, United States Code.
          (4) Report.--Not later than 3 years after the date on which 
        funds are first made available for the study under paragraph 
        (1), the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Natural 
        Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
        Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a report that 
        describes--
                  (A) the results of the study; and
                  (B) any conclusions and recommendations of the 
                Secretary.

    Amend the title so as to read:
    A bill to direct the Secretary of Interior to conduct a 
special resource study of the site associated with the 1908 
Springfield Race Riot in the State of Illinois, and for other 
purposes.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 139 is to direct the Secretary of 
Interior to conduct a special resource study of the site 
associated with the 1908 Springfield Race Riot in the State of 
Illinois.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    In August 1908, in Springfield, Illinois, two African 
American men were arrested--one was accused of raping a young 
white woman and the other was accused of attempted rape of a 
white girl and of murdering her father, a white mining 
engineer. Following the arrests, a mob of white persons 
numbering in the thousands gathered with the stated intention 
of lynching the two men. The local sheriff transferred the two 
men to another jail outside of the city.
    Upon learning of the transfer, the mob took to the streets 
seeking to commit violence against African Americans. The mob 
shot innocent people, burned almost fifty homes, looted and 
destroyed two dozen stores, and mutilated and lynched two 
elderly Black men who had no association or even alleged 
association with the alleged crimes.
    Not long after the riots, the woman who accused the Black 
man of rape admitted her attacker had been a white man.\1\ The 
other man was tried, convicted, and executed for murder based 
on slight evidence.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\Springfield Race Riot, 1908, Ill. State Museum, http://
www.museum.state.il.us/RiverWeb/landings/Ambot/Archives/vignettes/
people/Springfield_20Race_20Riot.html (last visited June 9, 2020); Chi. 
Comm'n On Race Rel., The Negro in Chicago: A Study OF Race Relations 
and a Riot 68 (1922), available at http://moses.law.umn.edu/darrow/
documents/The_Negro_in_Chicago_1922.pdf; Megan Gannon, In Land of 
Lincoln, Long-Buried Traces of a Race Riot Come to the Surface, 
Smithsonian Mag. (Jan. 7, 2019), https://www.smithsonianmag.com/
history/land-lincoln-long-buried-traces-race-riot-come-surface-
180971036/.
    \2\Gannon, supra note 1.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In part as a direct response to the riot, the National 
Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was 
formed in 1909 to work to end segregation, discrimination, and 
ensure African Americans are provided their constitutional 
rights.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\Springfield Race Riot, Encyclopedia Britannica (2015), https://
www.britannica.com/event/Springfield-Race-Riot (last visited June 9, 
2020).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In August 2019, the Department of the Interior published a 
reconnaissance survey recommending that a special resource 
study be completed for the 1908 Springfield Race Riot Site.\4\ 
The special resource study would determine whether the site 
meets the necessary criteria for inclusion in the National Park 
System as well as provide opportunities for broad public 
outreach and development of management alternatives that would 
more deeply explore potential site development, management 
scenarios, resource protection, interpretation possibilities, 
partnerships, and costs. The special resource study may also 
examine other sites in Springfield associated with the 1908 
Springfield Race Riot to determine whether they could be 
considered nationally significant and whether they could 
enhance interpretation and preservation of the riot's history.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\U.S. Dep't of the Interior, Nat'l Park Serv., Springfield Race 
Riot Reconnaissance Survey 38 (2019), available at https://
parkplanning.nps.gov/
document.cfm?parkID=155&projectID=87260&documentID=98161.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    H.R. 139, as introduced, would have authorized the 
Secretary of the Interior to acquire land to establish the 
Springfield Race Riot National Historic Monument as a unit of 
the National Park System.
    The bill was amended at markup to replace the designation 
of the Springfield Race Riot National Historic Monument with a 
provision to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct 
a special resource study of the site, as recommended by the 
Department of the Interior. Designation of the site would be 
postponed until the study is complete and a subsequent bill is 
enacted to implement its findings.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 139 was introduced on January 3, 2019, by 
Representative Rodney Davis (R-IL). The bill was referred 
solely to the Committee on Natural Resources, and within the 
Committee to the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and 
Public Lands. On October 29, 2019, the Subcommittee held a 
hearing on the bill. On March 11, 2020, the Natural Resources 
Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee was 
discharged by unanimous consent. Chair Raul M. Grijalva (D-AZ) 
offered an amendment in the nature of a substitute. The 
amendment was agreed to by unanimous consent. The bill, as 
amended, was adopted and 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. 139: legislative hearing by the Subcommittee on 
National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands held on October 29, 
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, April 8, 2020.
Hon. Raul M. Grijalva,
Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 139, the 
Springfield Race Riot Study Act.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is David Hughes.
            Sincerely,
                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure.

              [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    

    H.R. 139 would require the National Park Service (NPS) to 
conduct a special resource study of the site of the 1908 race 
riot in Springfield, Illinois. As part of that study, the NPS 
would evaluate the area's national significance, determine the 
feasibility of designating the area as an NPS unit, and 
consider alternatives to designating it as an NPS unit. H.R. 
139 would require the NPS to report the study results, 
conclusions, and recommendations to the Congress.
    CBO assumes that H.R. 139 will be enacted in fiscal year 
2020. Using information from the NPS about the cost of similar 
studies, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 139 would cost 
less than $500,000 over the 2020-2025 period; any spending 
would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
    On February 12, 2020, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for 
S. 298, a bill to require the Secretary of the Interior to 
conduct a special resource study of the Springfield Race Riot 
site in the State of Illinois, and for other purposes, as 
reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources on December 17, 2019. S. 298 is similar to H.R. 139 
and CBO's estimated budgetary effects are the same for both 
bills.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is David Hughes. 
The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy 
Director of Budget Analysis.
    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 are to direct the Secretary of Interior 
to conduct a special resource study of the site associated with 
the 1908 Springfield Race Riot in the State of Illinois.

                           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]