[House Report 118-263]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


118th Congress   }                                     {       Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session     }                                     {      118-263

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



 
                   FORT SAN GERONIMO PRESERVATION ACT

                                _______
                                

November 3, 2023.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

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

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 359]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 359) to establish Fort San Geronimo del Boqueron 
in Puerto Rico as an affiliated area of the National Park 
System, and for other purposes, having considered the same, 
reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that 
the bill do pass.

                       PURPOSE OF THE LEGISLATION

    The purpose of H.R. 359 is to establish Fort San Geronimo 
del Boqueron in Puerto Rico as an affiliated area of the 
National Park System, and for other purposes.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    H.R. 359 would establish Fort San Geronimo del Boqueron as 
an affiliated area of the National Park System. Affiliated 
areas are sites managed and owned by non-federal entities but 
for which the National Park Service (NPS) provides technical or 
financial assistance under the terms of a formal agreement. In 
2020, the NPS published a special resource study and found Fort 
San Geronimo is nationally significant, meets suitability 
criteria, and has strong public support to become an affiliated 
area and enhance the interpretation and protection of the site.
    Fort San Geronimo del Boqueron is a small, two-level, stone 
masonry fort located at the easternmost point of the islet of 
San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is part of the massive fortification 
system built by Spanish military engineers between the 16th and 
19th centuries to protect San Juan from foreign invasions. Fort 
San Geronimo became a centerpiece of the city's first line of 
defense, and the site is the sole surviving fortification on 
the island. The fort was eventually acquired by Puerto Rico in 
1949 and is now owned and managed by the Institute of Puerto 
Rican Culture, a state government agency in Puerto Rico. The 
bill passed out of the House Committee on Natural Resources by 
unanimous consent during the 117th Congress.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 359 was introduced on January 13, 2023, by Resident 
Commissioner Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon (R-PR). The bill was 
referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and within the 
Committee to the Subcommittee on Federal Lands. On May 27, 
2021, the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public 
Lands (now the Subcommittee on Federal Lands) held a hearing on 
the bill. On May 17, 2023, the Committee on Natural Resources 
met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee on Federal Lands was 
discharged from further consideration of the bill by unanimous 
consent. The bill was then ordered favorably reported to the 
House of Representatives by unanimous consent.

                                HEARINGS

    For the purposes of clause 3(c)(6) of House rule XIII, the 
following hearing was used to develop or consider this measure: 
the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands 
(now the Subcommittee on Federal Lands) held on May 27, 2021.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title

    Section 1 establishes the short title of the bill as the 
``Fort San Geronimo Preservation Act.''

Section 2. Definitions

    Section 2 defines the terms ``Fort San Geronimo del 
Boqueron'' and ``Secretary'' to mean the fort and grounds 
listed on the National Register of Historic Places and located 
near Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, and the Secretary of the 
Interior, respectively.

Section 3. Establishment of affiliated area

    Section 3 establishes Fort San Geronimo del Boqueron as an 
affiliated area of the National Park System with the Institute 
of Puerto Rican Culture serving as the management entity. The 
section also authorizes the Secretary to provide technical 
assistance and enter into cooperative agreements with the 
Institute of Puerto Rican Culture for the purpose of providing 
financial assistance for the marketing, marking, 
interpretation, and preservation of the affiliated area. This 
section clarifies that the Secretary is not authorized to 
acquire property at the affiliated area or to assume overall 
financial responsibility for the operation, maintenance, or 
management of the affiliated area. This section also requires 
the Secretary, in consultation with the Institute of Puerto 
Rican Culture, to develop a management plan and to submit the 
plan for review by Congress within three years of funds being 
made available and clarifies the designation will not affect 
land use rights of private property owners adjacent to the site 
and no buffer zones are created through the designation.

            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:

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


    H.R. 359 would designate Fort San Geronimo del Boqueron in 
Puerto Rico as an affiliated area of the National Park System 
to be managed by the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture. The 
bill would authorize the National Park Service (NPS) to provide 
technical and financial assistance to the institute to assist 
with marketing, interpretation, and preservation efforts. H.R. 
359 also would require the NPS to develop a management plan for 
the area within three years of enactment.
    Based on the cost of the NPS assisting other affiliated 
areas, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 359 would cost $2 
million over the 2023-2028 period; such spending would be 
subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Madeleine Fox. 
The estimate was reviewed by Chad Chirico, Director of Budget 
Analysis.

                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                             Director, Congressional Budget Office.

    2. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or 
objective of this bill is to establish Fort San Geronimo del 
Boqueron in Puerto Rico as an affiliated are of the National 
Park System.

                           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

    According to the Congressional Budget Office, H.R. 359 
contains no unfunded mandates as defined by the Unfunded 
Mandates Reform Act.

                           EXISTING PROGRAMS

    Directed Rule Making. This bill does not contain any 
directed rule makings.
    Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not 
establish or reauthorize a program of the federal government 
known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was 
not included in any report from the Government Accountability 
Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139 
or identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic 
Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program 
Information Act (Public Law 95-220, as amended by Public Law 
98-169) as relating to other programs.

                  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

    As reported by the Committee on Natural Resources, H.R. 359 
makes no changes in existing law.

                                  [all]