[Deschler's Precedents, Volume 4, Chapters 15 - 17]
[Chapter 17. Committees]
[D. Jurisdiction of Committees]
[Â§ 40. Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[Page 2905-2919]
 
                               CHAPTER 17
 
                               Committees
 
                         C. COMMITTEE PROCEDURE
 
Sec. 40. Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs

    The Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs came into being on 
Feb. 2, 1951, when the Committee on Public Lands was renamed. Four 
years earlier, on the effective date [Jan. 2, 1947] of the Legislative 
Reorganization Act of 1946,(10) the Committee on Public 
Lands had assumed the jurisdiction of the former Committees on Indian 
Affairs, Insular Affairs, Irrigation and Reclamation, Mines and Mining, 
and Territories.
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10. 60 Stat. 812.
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    The jurisdiction of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs 
pursuant to the 1973 rules (11) read as follows:
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11. Rule XI clause 10, House Rules and Manual Sec. 702 (1973). See Rule 
        X clause 1(k), House Rules and Manual Sec. 680 (1979).
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        (a) Forest reserves and national parks created from the public 
    domain.

[[Page 2906]]

        (b) Forfeiture of land grants and alien ownership, including 
    alien ownership of mineral lands.
        (c) Geological Survey.
        (d) Interstate compacts relating to apportionment of waters for 
    irrigation purposes.
        (e) Irrigation and reclamation, including water supply for 
    reclamation projects, and easements of public lands for irrigation 
    projects, and acquisition of private lands when necessary to 
    complete irrigation projects.
        (f) Measures relating to the care, education, and management of 
    Indians, including the care and allotment of Indian lands and 
    general and special measures relating to claims which are paid out 
    of Indian funds.
        (g) Measures relating generally to Hawaii, Alaska, and the 
    insular possessions of the United States, except those affecting 
    the revenue and appropriations.
        (h) Military parks and battlefields; national cemeteries 
    administered by the Secretary of the Interior.
        (i) Mineral land laws and claims and entries thereunder.
        (j) Mineral resources of the public lands.
        (k) Mining interests generally.
        (l) Mining schools and experimental stations.
        (m) Petroleum conservation on the public lands and conservation 
    of the radium supply in the United States.
        (n) Preservation of prehistoric ruins and objects of interest 
    on the public domain.
        (o) Public lands generally, including entry, easements, and 
    grazing thereon.
        (p) Relations of the United States with the Indian and the 
    Indian tribes.

    The committee's jurisdiction in 1973 also extended to several 
subject areas not expressly listed in the rules. These subjects 
(12) include:
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12. This list and other information noted, infra, was prepared by 
        Robert C. Ketcham for the use of the Select Committee on 
        Committees. See ``Monographs on the Committees of the House of 
        Representatives'' (93d Cong. 2d Sess., Dec. 13, 1974), 
        committee print, p. 74.
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        1. Admission of states to the Union.
        2. Energy (mineral) research and development.
        3. Jurisdiction over acquired lands.
        4. Outdoor recreation.
        5. The reservation at Arkansas Hot Springs.
        6. Saline water.
        7. Water research.
        8. Water resources planning.

    In 1973, the committee maintained seven subcommittees each of whose 
jurisdiction was expressly delineated, as follows: (13)
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13. Robert C. Ketcham, ``Monographs on the Committees of the House of 
        Representatives'' (93d Cong. 2d Sess., Dec. 13, 1974), 
        committee print, p. 81.
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                        Subcommittee on the Environment

        Environmental impacts of any laws or programs under the 
    jurisdiction of the Committee.

                     Subcommittee on Indian Affairs

        Relations of the United States with the Indians and Indian 
    tribes, and other Indian matters.

[[Page 2907]]

                        Subcommittee on Mines and Mining

        (a) Mining interests generally; Mineral resources of the public 
    lands; Mineral land laws, and claims and entries thereunder.
        (b) Geological survey; Mining schools and experimental 
    stations.
        (c) Petroleum conservation on the public and other Federal 
    lands and conservation of the radium supply in the United States.
        (d) Proposed long-range domestic minerals and energy programs, 
    including availability of domestic minerals and energy to fulfill 
    all domestic requirements.

                 Subcommittee on National Parks and Recreation

        The national park system, its units, and related units which 
    are established for the protection, conservation, preservation, or 
    recreational development of nationally significant areas.

                          Subcommittee on Public Lands

        (a) Public lands generally, including entry, easements, 
    withdrawals, and grazing.
        (b) Forfeiture of land grants and alien ownership, including 
    alien ownership of mineral lands.
        (c) Forest reserves created from the public domain.
        (d) National Wilderness Preservation System.

                Subcommittee on Territorial and Insular Affairs

        Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, 
    Antarctica, and Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, and the 
    insular possessions of the United States, except matters affecting 
    revenue and appropriations.

                   Subcommittee on Water and Power Resources

        (a) Irrigation and reclamation projects and other water 
    resources development programs, including policies and procedures 
    relating thereto.
        (b) Compacts relating to the use and apportionment of 
    interstate waters.
        (c) Water rights.
        (d) Saline water research and development program and water 
    resources research program.
        (e) Water resources planning conducted pursuant to the Water 
    Resources Planning Act.
        (f) Activities of the National Water Commission.
        (g) Legislation affecting the use of geothermal resources for 
    the production of water and power.

    The jurisdiction of the committee and of its predecessors has also 
extended to such subjects as the financing and marketing of power on 
public lands,(14~) the seaward boundaries of inland 
waters,(15~) the disposition of proceeds from the sale of 
oil shale lands,(16) the establishment of a Pennsylvania 
Avenue historic site commission,(17)~ the renaming of 
certain reservoirs,18~ the reestablishment of a Civilian 
Conservation
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14. Sec. 40.3, infra.
15. Sec. Sec. 40.7, 40.8, infra.
16. Sec. 40.12, infra.
17. Sec. 40.21, infra.
18. Sec. 40.22, infra.
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[[Page 2908]]

Corps,(19) and matters pertaining to certain employees of 
the Bureau of Land Management.(20)
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19. Sec. 40.1, infra.
20. Sec. 40.2, infra.
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    The Committee Reform Amendments of 1974 deleted from the 
committee's jurisdiction the subject of Indian education, removed 
specific references to Hawaii and Alaska, and granted the committee 
jurisdiction over parks within the District of Columbia. The amendments 
also vested in the committee specific oversight jurisdiction over all 
government activities dealing with Indians. [Rule X clause 3(e), House 
Rules and Manual Sec. 693 (1979).] (21) In the 95th 
Congress, the committee was given legislative jurisdiction over 
regulation of the domestic nuclear industry, including regulation of 
research and development reactors and nuclear regulatory research, and 
oversight jurisdiction over nonmilitary nuclear research and 
development in eluding the disposal of nuclear waste, when the 
legislative jurisdiction of the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy was 
abolished.(22)
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21. H. Res. 988, 120 Cong. Rec. 34447-70, 93d Cong. 2d Sess., Oct. 8, 
        1974, effective Jan. 3, 1975.
22. H. Res. 5, 121 Cong. Rec. 53-55, 95th Cong. 1st Sess., Jan. 4, 
        1977.                          -------------------
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Civilian Conservation Corps

Sec. 40.1 The Committee on Public Lands (now the Committee on Interior 
    and Insular Affairs), and not the Committee on Education and Labor 
    had jurisdiction of bills to provide for the reestablishment of a 
    Civilian Conservation Corps, an agency which would provide for the 
    conservation of natural resources and the development of human 
    resources through the employment of youthful citizens in the 
    performance of useful work on public lands or on private lands only 
    if related to irrigation or resource improvements.

    On Mar. 15, 1950,(23) John Lesinski, of Michigan, 
Chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor, acting by direction 
of the committee, obtained unanimous consent to have it discharged from 
further consideration of three identical bills (H.R. 7462, H.R. 7463, 
and H.R. 7523), and to have the bills rereferred to the Committee on 
Public Lands (now the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs).
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23. 96 Cong. Rec. 3420, 81st Cong. 2d Sess.
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[[Page 2909]]

Bureau of Land Management--Employees' Activities

Sec. 40.2 The Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs and not the 
    Committee on the Judiciary has jurisdiction of a bill relating to 
    the activities of temporary and certain other employees of the 
    Bureau of Land Management.

    On May 1, 1951,(24) Emanuel Celler, of New York, 
Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary, obtained unanimous consent 
to have his committee discharged from further consideration of the bill 
(H.R. 2976), and to have it rerefered to the Committee on Interior and 
Insular Affairs.(25)
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24. 97 Cong. Rec. 4614, 82d Cong. 1st Sess.
25. H.R. 2976 was reported by the Committee on Interior and Insular 
        Affairs on July 10, 1951 (H. Rept. No. 689).
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Financing and Marketing of Power

Sec. 40.3 In the 87th Congress, the Committee on Interior and Insular 
    Affairs, and not the Committee on Public Works, had jurisdiction of 
    matters relating to the financing of the Bonneville Power 
    Administration and the marketing of power.

    On Mar. 13, 1961,(1) Mr. John A. Blatnik, of Minnesota, 
a member of the Committee on Public Works, requested unanimous consent 
to have that committee discharged from further consideration of a 
letter from the Assistant Secretary of the Interior (Exec. Comm. No. 
472), transmitting a draft of proposed legislations entitled ``A bill 
to amend the Bonneville Project Act as amended.'' Mr. Blatnik 
simultaneously requested that the communication be rereferred to the 
Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs.
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 1. 107 Cong. Rec. 3799, 87th Cong. 1st Sess.
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    Speaker Sam Rayburn, of Texas, inquired as to whether there was any 
objection, Mr. Frederick D. Schwengel, of Iowa, reserved the right to 
object and requested a further explanation from Mr. Blatnik.
    The following exchange then took place:

        Mr. Blatnik: This is merely a request to transfer an executive 
    communication from the Department of the Interior, which was 
    submitted to our Committee on Public Works. It deals with the 
    Bonneville Power Administration, and the subject matter deals 
    entirely with financing; a revolving fund. In consulting with the 
    minority and with the chairman of the Committee on Interior and 
    Insular Affairs, the gentleman from New York [Charles A.

[[Page 2910]]

    Buckley, Chairman of the Committee on Public Works] agreed that the 
    Committee on Public Works was interested in the construction phase 
    but not financing, which very properly belonged under Interior and 
    Insular Affairs.
        Mr. [Wayne N.] Aspinall [of Colorado, Chairman of the Committee 
    on Interior and Insular Affairs]: Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman 
    yield?
        Mr. Blatnik: I yield to the gentleman from Colorado.
        Mr. Aspnall: Three of these executive communications came up 
    from downtown at the same time. Two of them came to our committee, 
    and this one went to the other committee. It so happens that the 
    Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs has jurisdiction of 
    marketing procedures. That is the difference. It is merely a 
    formality.

    When the Speaker renewed his inquiry as to whether there was any 
objection to Mr. Blatnik's request, none was heard, and the 
communication was rereferred by unanimous consent.

Forest and Wilderness Areas

Sec. 40.4 The Committee on Public Lands (now the Committee on Interior 
    and Insular Affairs), and not the Committee on Agriculture had 
    jurisdiction of a bill to add certain lands to the Cleveland 
    National Forest in Orange County, California, created from the 
    public domain.

    On Feb. 14, 1939,(2) Mr. Harry R. Sheppard, of 
California, obtained unanimous consent to have the bill (H.R. 2728), 
discharged from the Committee on Agriculture and rereferred to the 
Committee on Public Lands (now the Committee on Interior and Insular 
Affairs). In so doing, he noted that he had ``the consent of the 
chairmen of both of those committees in making this request.'' 
(3)
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 2. 84 Cong. Rec. 1400, 76th Cong. 1st Sess.
 3. H.R. 2728 was reported by the Committee on Public Lands on June 27, 
        1939 (H. Rept. No. 950).
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Sec. 40.5 The Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, and not the 
    Committee on Agriculture, has jurisdiction of bills designating and 
    setting aside certain national forest lands, created from the 
    public domain, as wilderness areas as defined by law [act of Sept. 
    3, 1964, Pub. L. No. 88-577].

    On May 6, 1969,(4) William R. Poage, of Texas, Chairman 
of the Committee on Agriculture, obtained unanimous consent that his 
committee be discharged from further consideration of the bills (H.R. 
393, H.R. 3682), and that they be rereferred to the Com
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 4. 115 Cong. Rec. 11459, 91st Cong. 1st Sess.
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[[Page 2911]]

mittee on Interior and Insular Affairs. These bills authorized the 
Secretary of Agriculture to classify as wilderness, national forest 
lands in the Lincoln Back Country, and parts of the Lewis and Clark and 
Lolo National Forests in Montana.

    Parliamentarian's Note: The Committee on Interior and Insular 
Affairs has jurisdiction, under Rule X clause 1(k) [House Rules and 
Manual Sec. 680 (1979)] over forest reserves and national parks created 
from the public domain, while the Committee on Agriculture has 
jurisdiction, under Rule X clause 1(a) [House Rules and Manual Sec. 670 
(1979)] over forestry in general and forest reserves other than those 
created from the public domain. See also 123 Cong. Rec. 23434, 95th 
Cong. 1st Sess., July 18, 1977 [H.R. 8223], indicating that the 
Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs had jurisdiction over a bill 
amending section 1862 of title 18 to limit the application of a 
criminal trespass provision applying in a reserve in a national forest 
created from the public domain. (The bill in this instance had been 
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary because it solely addressed 
a federal criminal statute, but that committee later agreed that the 
measure should be properly considered by the Committee on Interior and 
Insular Affairs along with the other legislation affecting the 
reserve.)

Sec. 40.6 The Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, and not the 
    Committee on Agriculture, has jurisdiction of a bill directing the 
    Secretary of Agriculture to set aside for recreational use certain 
    lands which have been established as wilderness areas pursuant to 
    the Wilderness Act of 1964 (78 Stat. 890).

    On Apr. 5, 1965,(5) Harold D. Cooley, of North Carolina, 
Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture obtained unanimous consent to 
have his committee discharged from further consideration of the bill 
(H.R. 6891),(6) and to have it rereferred to the Committee 
on Interior and Insular Affairs.(7)
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 5. 111 Cong. Rec. 6822, 89th Cong. 1st Sess.
 6. H.R. 6891 provided for the winter recreational use of a portion of 
        the San Gorgonio Wilderness Area, San Bernardino National 
        Forest, California, without reducing the area set aside for 
        wilderness preservation.
 7. See the Parliamentarian's Note in Sec. 40.5, supra, for additional 
        information as to the nature of this jurisdiction.

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[[Page 2912]]

Inland Waters, Boundaries of

Sec. 40.7 In the 82d Congress, the Committee on Interior and Insular 
    Affairs and not the Committee on the Judiciary had jurisdiction of 
    a resolution relative to establishment of seaward boundaries of 
    inland waters.

    On June 26, 1952,(8) Emanuel Celler, of New York, 
Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary, obtained unanimous consent 
to have his committee discharged from further consideration of the 
resolution (H. Res. 684), and to have it rereferred to the Committee on 
Interior and Insular Affairs.
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 8. 98 Cong. Rec. 8244, 82d Cong. 2d Sess.
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Sec. 40.8 In the 82d Congress, the Committee on Interior and Insular 
    Affairs and not the Committee on the Judiciary had jurisdiction of 
    a joint resolution declaring the boundaries of the inland or 
    internal waters of the United States to be as far seaward as is 
    permissible under international law, and providing for a survey of 
    such boundaries to be made by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey.

    On May 26, 1952,(9) Emanuel Celler, of New York, 
Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary, obtained unanimous consent 
to have his committee discharged from further consideration of the 
joint resolution (H.J. Res. 373), and to have it rereferred to the 
Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs.
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 9. 98 Cong. Rec. 5968, 82d Cong. 2d Sess.
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Irrigation and Reclamation Matters

Sec. 40.9 The Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs and not the 
    Committee on Public Works has jurisdiction of a bill to provide the 
    basis for authorization of irrigation works in connection with 
    Chief Joseph Dam, to provide for financial assistance thereto from 
    power revenues.

    On May 7, 1952,(10) Mr. Thaddeus M. Machrowicz, of 
Michigan, obtained unanimous consent to have the Committee on Public 
Works discharged from further consideration of the bill (H.R. 6163), 
and to have it rereferred to the Committee on Interior and Insular 
Affairs.(11)
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10. 98 Cong. Rec. 4895, 4896, 82d Cong. 2d Sess.
11. H.R. 6163 was reported by the Committee on Interior and Insular 
        Affairs on June 27, 1952 (H. Rept. No. 2327).

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[[Page 2913]]

Sec. 40.10 The Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs and not the 
    Committee on Public Works has jurisdiction of a bill to amend the 
    act of June 28, 1946, authorizing the performance of necessary 
    reclamation protection work between the Yuma project and Boulder 
    Dam by the Bureau of Reclamation.

    On June 24, 1957,(12) Mr. Clifford Davis, of Tennessee, 
obtained unanimous consent to have the Committee on Public Works 
discharged from further consideration of the bill (H.R. 7534), and to 
have it rereferred to the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs.
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12. 103 Cong. Rec. 10124, 85th Cong. 1st Sess.
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Indian Lands

Sec. 40.11 The Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs and not the 
    Committee on Appropriations has jurisdiction of a bill to authorize 
    a $100 per capita payment to members of the Red Lake Band of 
    Chippewa Indians from the proceeds of the sale of timber and lumber 
    on the Red Lake Reservation.

    On Apr. 21, 1955,(13) Clarence Cannon, of Missouri, 
Chairman of the Committee on Appropriations, obtained unanimous consent 
to have his committee discharged from further consideration of the bill 
(H.R. 5478), and to have it rereferred to the Committee on Interior and 
Insular Affairs.(14)
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13. 101 Cong. Rec. 4896, 84th Cong. 1st Sess.
14. H.R. 5478 was reported by the Committee on Interior and Insular 
        Affairs on Mar. 26, 1956 (H. Rept. No. 1946).
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Oil Shale Lands--Proceeds From Disposal Of

Sec. 40.12 The Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, and not the 
    Committee on Armed Services, has jurisdiction of bills providing 
    that proceeds from the disposal of oil shale lands [other than 
    naval oil shale reserves] shall go to a special Treasury account, 
    available for disbursement by the Secretary of the Treasury for 
    educational purposes.

    On Aug. 3, 1967,(15) L. Mendel Rivers, of South 
Carolina, Chairman of the Committee on Armed Services, obtained 
unanimous consent to have his committee dis
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15. 113 Cong. Rec. 21179, 90th Cong. 1st Sess.
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[[Page 2914]]

charged from consideration of the bill (H.R. 10531), and to have it 
rereferred to the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs.

Land Claims of United States Based on Accretion or Avulsion

Sec. 40.13 A bill relating to claims by the United States to lands 
    along the Colorado River, where it forms the boundary between 
    states and where the government's claim is founded upon accretion 
    or avulsion, is referred to the Committee on Interior and Insular 
    Affairs, not the Committee on the Judiciary.

    On June 28, 1967,(16) Emanuel Celler, of New York, 
Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary, obtained unanimous consent 
to have his committee discharged from further consideration of the bill 
(H.R. 10256), and to have it rereferred to the Committee on Interior 
and Insular Affairs.(17)
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16. 113 Cong. Rec. 17738, 90th Cong. 1st Sess.
17. H.R. 10256 was reported by the Committee on Interior and Insular 
        Affairs on Sept. 4, 1968 (H. Rept. No. 1859).
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Land Acquisition by the Navy

Sec. 40.14 The Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs and not the 
    Committee on Armed Services has jurisdiction of bills to authorize 
    the Secretary of the Navy to acquire certain land on the Island of 
    Guam.

    On May 5, 1958,(18) Wayne N. Aspinall, of Colorado, 
Chairman of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, obtained 
unanimous consent that the Committee on Armed Services be discharged 
from further consideration of three identical bills (H.R. 12018, H.R. 
12055, and H.R. 12129), and that the bills be referred to his 
committee. In so doing, Mr. Aspinall observed that, ``It is the sense 
of the Committee on Armed Services that these bills properly come 
within the scope and jurisdiction of the Committee on Interior and 
Insular Affairs.''
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18. 104 Cong. Rec. 7999, 85th Cong. 2d Sess.
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Outer Continental Shelf--Reserving Areas for Department of Defense

Sec. 40.15 The Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, and not the 
    Committee on the Judiciary, has jurisdiction of proposals to 
    reserve for the use of the Department of Defense certain areas in 
    the Outer Continental Shelf, and

[[Page 2915]]

    to exclude them from the mineral leasing provisions of the Outer 
    Continental Shelf Lands Act.

    On May 16, 1963,(19) Speaker John W. McCormack, of 
Massachusetts, recognized Mr. Byron G. Rogers, of Colorado, a member of 
the Committee on the Judiciary, who made the following statement:
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19. 109 Cong. Rec. 8777, 88th Cong. 1st Sess.
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        Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on the Judiciary, I 
    ask unanimous consent to rerefer Executive Communication 761, by 
    the Department of the Navy, containing a draft of proposed 
    legislation to provide for the restriction of certain areas in the 
    Outer Continental Shelf, known as the Corpus Christi Offshore 
    Warning Area, for defense purposes and for other purposes, to the 
    Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs.

    Immediately thereafter, Mr. Rogers' request was agreed to.
    Parliamentarian's Note: The bill, H.R. 6417, on this subject was 
referred to the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs upon 
introduction on May 20, 1963.

Military Parks

Sec. 40.16 The Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs has 
    jurisdiction of military parks (including the cemeteries therein), 
    administered by the Secretary of the Interior and the National Park 
    Service.

    On Oct. 20, 1967,(1) by direction of the Committee on 
Rules, Mr. Richard Bolling, of Missouri, called up a resolution (H. 
Res. 241), and asked for its immediate consideration. The Clerk read 
the resolution; a quorum call followed, after which the House 
considered and agreed to the committee amendments.
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 1. 113 Cong. Rec. 29560, 90th Cong. 1st Sess.
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    The resolution, with committee amendments, reads as follows:

        Resolved, That clause 10 of rule XI of the Rules of the House 
    of Representatives is amended by striking out paragraph (h) 
    (2) and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
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 2. Rule XI clause 10 prescribed the jurisdiction of the Committee on 
        Interior and Insular Affairs; paragraph (h) read [H. Jour. 
        1482, 89th Cong. 2d Sess. (1966)] thusly: ``Military parks and 
        battlefields and national cemeteries.''
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        ``(h) Military parks and battlefields.''
        Sec. 2. Clause 19 of rule XI of the Rules of the House of 
    Representatives (3) is amended by inserting a new 
    subsection (b), as follows:
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 3. At the time, clause 19 [H. Jour. 1483, 89th Cong. 2d Sess. (1966)] 
        prescribed the jurisdiction of the Committee on Veterans' 
        Affairs.
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            ``(b) Cemeteries of the United States in which veterans of 
        any war

[[Page 2916]]

        or conflict are or may be buried whether in the United States 
        or abroad, except cemeteries administered by the Secretary of 
        the Interior''.

    In the course of the ensuing discussion, Speaker John W. McCormack, 
of Massachusetts, recognized Mr. James H. Quillen, of Tennessee, who 
offered the following explanation for the proposal:(4)
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 4. 113 Cong. Rec. 29562, 90th Cong. 1st Sess.
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        Mr. Speaker, as the able gentleman from Missouri [Mr. Bolling] 
    has ably stated, House Resolution 241 as amended and reported by 
    the Committee on Rules attempts to achieve a more orderly 
    jurisdictional division in the matter of national cemeteries. At 
    the present time there is a bit of a problem because the Rules of 
    the House basically divide the jurisdiction between the Committee 
    on Veterans' Affairs and the Committee on Interior and Insular 
    Affairs. Additionally the Committee on Foreign Affairs has some 
    interest in overseas cemeteries. For some time it has been clear to 
    members of the interested committees that the problem could be 
    broken down into two rather clearly distinguished types of 
    cemeteries; those which are being actively used as national 
    cemeteries in which our military veterans are being buried, and 
    those which are not active cemeteries. This latter group of 
    cemeteries primarily associated with major battlefields of the 
    Civil War is, as a general rule closed to present and future 
    burials. They have become, along with these battlefield sites, 
    military parks of an historical significance, regularly bringing 
    Americans from all over the country to view and visit them.
        This second group of cemeteries has long been administered by 
    the Secretary of the Interior. Those cemeteries still open and 
    available for the burial of our service men ought uniformly to be 
    under the jurisdiction of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. This 
    committee is charged with the overall direction and formulation of 
    our national policy with regard to our service veterans. The 
    committee also deals on a regular and day to day basis with the 
    Veterans' Administration, the agency which handles the matter of 
    veteran burials.
        House Resolution 241 has been before the Committee on Rules for 
    some 6 months. . . . If the resolution is adopted and the rules 
    amended, the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs will retain 
    jurisdiction over ``national cemeteries administered by the 
    Secretary of the Interior''--in other words, those cemeteries which 
    are part of military parks and battlefield monuments. The Committee 
    on Veterans' Affairs will have jurisdiction over national 
    cemeteries ``in which veterans of any war or conflict are or may be 
    buried whether in the United States or abroad, except cemeteries 
    administered by the Secretary of the Interior.''
        As I have indicated, all interested committees have been 
    consulted and agree with the resolution. The intention of the 
    Committee on Rules is to assist these committees by adjusting the 
    jurisdictional lines to more accurately reflect the interests of 
    the committees and protect our veterans.

    Shortly thereafter, the House agreed to the resolution, as

[[Page 2917]]

amended, by a unanimous roll call vote.(5) 
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 5. Id. at p. 29566.
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    In light of this jurisdictional change, Wayne N. Aspinall, of 
Colorado, Chairman of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, 
subsequently obtained unanimous consent to have 66 bills and two 
resolutions rereferred from that committee to the Committee on 
Veterans' Affairs.(6)
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 6. Id. at p. 29567.
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Sec. 40.17 The Committee on Public Lands (now the Committee on Interior 
    and Insular Affairs), and not the Committee on Military Affairs 
    (now the Committee on Armed Services), had jurisdiction of a bill 
    to revise the boundaries of the Chickamauga-Chattanooga National 
    Military Park in the States of Georgia and Tennessee.

    On Jan. 9, 1942,(7) Mr. Estes Kefauver, of Tennessee, 
obtained unanimous consent to have the Committee on Military Affairs 
(now the Committee on Armed Services), discharged from further 
consideration of the bill (H.R. 6332), and to have it rereferred to the 
Committee on Public Lands (now the Committee on Interior and Insular 
Affairs).(8)
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 7. 88 Cong. Rec. 207, 77th Cong. 2d Sess.
 8. H.R. 6332 was reported by the Committee on Public Lands on Jan. 26, 
        1942 (H. Rept. No. 1684).
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Mineral Leases of United States

Sec. 40.18 The Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, and not the 
    Committee on the Judiciary, has exercised jurisdiction of a private 
    bill providing for the reinstatement and validation of a U.S. oil 
    and gas lease.

    On Aug. 5, 1959,(9) Mr. Walter E. Rogers, of Texas, a 
member of the Committee on the Judiciary obtained unanimous consent to 
have that committee discharged from further consideration of the 
private bill (H.R. 8437), and to have it rereferred to the Committee on 
Interior and Insular Affairs.(10)
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 9. 105 Cong. Rec. 15190, 86th Cong. 1st Sess.
10. H.R. 8437 was reported by the Committee on Interior and Insular 
        Affairs on Aug. 24, 1959 (H. Rept. No. 962).
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Missouri River Basin Project

Sec. 40.19 Under the rule in effect in the 86th Congress, the Committee 
    on Interior and

[[Page 2918]]

    Insular Affairs, and not the Committee on Public Works, had 
    jurisdiction of bills to provide for the inclusion of the Nebraska 
    Mid-State unit in the Missouri River Basin reclamation project.

    On Sept. 8, 1959,(11) Mr. Frank E. Smith, of 
Mississippi, obtained unanimous consent to have the Committee on Public 
Works discharged from further consideration of the bill (H.R. 8985) and 
to have it rereferred to the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs.
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11. 105 Cong. Rec. 18587, 86th Cong. 1st Sess.
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Sec. 40.20 The Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs and not the 
    Committee on Public Works has jurisdiction of a bill to make 
    certain provisions in connection with the construction of the 
    Garrison Diversion Unit, Missouri River Basin reclamation project, 
    by the Secretary of the Interior.

    On May 20, 1957,(12) Mr. Clifford Davis, of Tennessee, 
obtained unanimous consent to have the Committee on Public Works 
discharged from further consideration of the bill (H. R. 7068), and to 
have it rereferred to the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs.
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12. 103 Cong. Rec. 7257, 85th Cong. 1st Sess.
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Pennsylvania Avenue as Historic Site

Sec. 40.21 The Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, and not the 
    Committee on the District of Columbia, has jurisdiction of 
    proposals to establish a Commission on Pennsylvania Avenue to 
    initiate plans for the further development of the avenue as a 
    national historic site.

    On Oct. 21, 1965,(13) Speaker John W. McCormack, of 
Massachusetts, recognized John L. McMillan, of South Carolina, Chairman 
of the Committee on the District of Columbia, who proceeded to make the 
following requests:
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13. 111 Cong. Rec. 27803, 89th Cong. 1st. Sess.
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        Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the 
    District of Columbia be discharged from further consideration of 
    the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 678) to provide for the 
    administration and development of Pennsylvania Avenue as a national 
    historic site, and that the bill be rereferred to the Interior and 
    Insular Affairs Committee, which more appropriately should handle 
    such legislation.
        Also, I make the same request with respect to the Executive 
    communication thereon, dated September 30,

[[Page 2919]]

    1965, and printed as House Document No. 296, which was also 
    referred to the Committee on the District of Columbia.

    Immediately thereafter, the House granted unanimous consent.

    Parliamentarian's Note: The executive communication which contained 
the genesis of this proposal, No. 1629 of Sept. 30, 1965, and House 
Joint Resolution 678, were both rereferred by this request. It should 
be noted, however, that the two were not identical. Mr. William B. 
Widnall, of New Jersey, who sponsored House Joint Resolution 678, had 
added to it a new section 3(d) which directed the commission to develop 
a plan for the relocation of the John F. Kennedy Center for the 
Performing Arts from the Potomac site to one on Pennsylvania Avenue. 
This particular addition, while itself a matter which fell within the 
jurisdiction of the Committee on Public Works, was subsidiary to the 
main purpose of the legislation.

Renaming Reservoirs

Sec. 40.22 In the 93d Congress, the Committee on Interior and Insular 
    Affairs, and not the Committee on Public Works, had jurisdiction of 
    a bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior to rename the 
    Alamogordo Reservoir in New Mexico, although that reservoir was a 
    flood control project.

    On June 28, 1973,(14) Mr. Ray Roberts, of Texas, a 
member of the Committee on Public Works, obtained unanimous consent to 
have that committee discharged from further consideration of the bill 
(H.R. 8094), and to have it rereferred to the Committee on Interior and 
Insular Affairs.
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14. 119 Cong. Rec. 22103, 93d Cong. 1st Sess.
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    Parliamentarian's Note: The Alamogordo Reservoir was authorized as 
a flood control project by 53 Stat. 1414, a bill reported by the 
Committee on Public Works.