[House Report 118-882]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
118th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 118-882
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TO DESIGNATE THE GENERAL GEORGE C. MARSHALL HOUSE, IN THE COMMONWEALTH
OF VIRGINIA, AS AN AFFILIATED AREA OF THE NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM, AND FOR
OTHER PURPOSES
_______
December 16, 2024.--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. 6210]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 6210) to designate the General George C.
Marshall House, in the Commonwealth of Virginia, as an
affiliated area of the National Park System, and for other
purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon
with an amendment and recommends that the bill as amended do
pass.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE GENERAL GEORGE C. MARSHALL HOUSE AS AN
AFFILIATED AREA.
(a) In General.--The General George C. Marshall House, in the
Commonwealth of Virginia, is established as an affiliated area of the
National Park System.
(b) Description of Affiliated Area.--The affiliated area shall
consist of the area generally depicted as the ``General George C.
Marshall House Property, Leesburg, Virginia'' on the map titled
``General George C. Marshall House, Proposed Affiliated Area'',
numbered 999/189,974, and dated September 2023.
(c) Administration.--The affiliated area shall be managed in a manner
consistent with--
(1) this Act; and
(2) any law generally applicable to units of the National
Park System.
(d) Management Entity.--The George C. Marshall International Center
shall be the management entity for the affiliated area.
(e) Agreements.--The Secretary of the Interior (referred to in this
section as the ``Secretary'')--
(1) may provide technical assistance and enter into
cooperative agreements with the management entity for the
purpose of providing financial assistance for the marketing,
marking, interpretation, and preservation of the affiliated
area; and
(2) shall enter into an agreement with the management entity
that delineates the roles and responsibilities for the
management of the area consistent with the policies and
standards that apply to units of the National Park System.
(f) Limited Role of the Secretary.--Nothing in this Act authorizes
the Secretary to acquire property at the affiliated area or to assume
managerial or financial responsibility for the operation, maintenance,
or management of the affiliated area.
(g) Private Property Protection.--Nothing in this Act affects the
land use rights of private property owners adjacent to the General
George C. Marshall House.
(h) No Buffer Zones.--
(1) In general.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed to
create buffer zones outside of the General George C. Marshall
House.
(2) Activity or use outside the general george c. marshall
house.--The fact that an activity or use can be seen, heard, or
detected from within the George C. Marshall House shall not
preclude, limit, control, regulate, or determine the conduct or
management of activities or uses outside of the George C.
Marshall House.
PURPOSE OF THE LEGISLATION
The purpose of H.R. 6210 is to designate the General George
C. Marshall House, in the Commonwealth of Virginia, as an
affiliated area of the National Park System, and for other
purposes.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
According to Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, the
``Greatest American of the Twentieth Century'' was the son of a
coal merchant and a native of Uniontown, Pennsylvania.\1\ Born
in 1880, George C. Marshall would become one of World War II's
most important military figures and the architect of the famous
Marshall Plan that followed.\2\ During some of the most
influential periods of his career, General Marshall called the
Dodona Manor and its eight-acre grounds in Leesburg, Virginia
home.\3\ While a resident at Dodona Manor from 1941 to 1959,
Marshall held prestigious titles, including Chief of Staff of
the Army, Special Envoy to China, Secretary of State, Secretary
of Defense, President of the American Red Cross, and winner of
the Nobel Peace Prize.\4\ Following General Marshall's death in
1959, his wife gave the home to her oldest daughter, Molly, who
later sold the property to the George C. Marshall Home
Preservation Fund.\5\ Today, the home serves as a modern-day
time capsule, with over 90 percent of the objects found in the
home belonging to George and Katherine Marshall.\6\
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\1\Historical Office of the Secretary of Defense, ``George C.
Marshall'', https://history.
defense.gov/Multimedia/Biographies/Article-View/Article/571266/george-
c-marshall/
#::text=The%20son%20of%20a%20coal,United%20States%20Army%20in%201902.
\2\George C. Marshall International Center, ``George C. Marshall's
Dodona Manor'', https://www.georgecmarshall.org/dodona-manor.
\3\Id.
\4\Visit Loudon, ``George C. Marshall's Dodona Manor'', https://
www.visitloudoun.org/listing/george-c-marshalls-dodona-manor/13/.
\5\Id.
\6\Id.
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In 1996, the National Park Service (NPS) designated the
home as a National Historic Landmark. Then, a 10-year, $7-
million restoration of the home culminated in the opening of
the Manor to the public as a museum on Veterans Day 2005.\7\
More recently, a push to designate the Manor as an affiliated
area of the National Park System gained momentum when NPS
concluded the Manor met all three requirements for
designation.\8\ H.R. 6210 would designate the George C.
Marshall House as an affiliated area of the National Park
System. In doing so, the site would be able to receive
technical assistance and limited financial aid from NPS. The
home would not be managed or administered by the NPS and would
not be added to the federal estate.\9\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\Id.
\8\National Park Service, ``General George C. Marshall House:
Reconnaissance Survey'', April 2022, https://
bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/loudounnow.com/content/tncms/
assets/v3/editorial/5/76/57690580-daef-11ed-9aa3-eba5493c9199/
643996ffa5253.pdf.pdf.
\9\LoudounNow, ``Marshall's Leesburg Home Moves Toward Park Service
Affiliation'', https://www.loudounnow.com/news/leesburg/marshall-s-
leesburg-home-moves-toward-park-service-affiliation/article_5d379f02-
daf5-11ed-86f7-57f5656d18a2.html.
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COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 6210 was introduced on November 2, 2023, by Rep.
Jennifer Wexton (D-VA). The bill was referred to the Committee
on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the
Subcommittee on Federal Lands. On July 24, 2024, the
Subcommittee on Federal Lands held a hearing on the bill. On
November 20, 2024, the Committee on Natural Resources met to
consider the bill. The Subcommittee on Federal Lands was
discharged from further consideration of H.R. 6210 by unanimous
consent. Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-AR) offered an Amendment
in the Nature of a Substitute designated Westerman ANS_108. The
amendment in the nature of a substitute was agreed to by
unanimous consent. The bill, as amended, was 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:
hearing by the Subcommittee on Federal Lands held on July 24,
2024.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Establishment of the General George C. Marshall House as an
affiliated area
Section 1 establishes the General George C. Marshall House
as an affiliated area of the National Park System. Section 1
clarifies that the George C. Marshall International Center will
manage the site and allows the Secretary of the Interior to
provide technical assistance and enter into cooperative
agreements with the George C. Marshall International Center.
Furthermore, Section 1 clarifies that nothing in the
legislation allows the Secretary to acquire land or assume
managerial or financial responsibility for the site. Lastly,
Section 1 states that nothing in the legislation shall be
interpreted to affect private property rights or create buffer
zones around the General George C. Marshall House.
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.
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(2) of House rule XIII and section
308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, and pursuant to
clause 3(c)(3) of House rule XIII and section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has requested
but not received from the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office a budgetary analysis and a cost estimate of this bill.
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 designate the General George C.
Marshall House, in the Commonwealth of Virginia, as an
affiliated area of the National Park System, and for other
purposes.
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
An estimate of federal mandates prepared by the Director of
the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 423 of the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act was not made available to the
Committee in time for the filing of this report. The Chair of
the Committee shall cause such estimate to be printed in the
Congressional Record upon its receipt by the Committee, if such
estimate is not publicly available on the Congressional Budget
Office website.
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 ordered reported by the Committee on Natural Resources,
H.R. 6210 would make no changes in existing law.
[all]