I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 883

To preserve the sovereignty of the United States over public lands and

acquired lands owned by the United States, and to preserve State sovereignty and private property rights in non-Federal lands surrounding

those public lands and acquired lands.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 1, 1999

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska (for himself, Ms. DANNER, Mr. DELAY, Mr. PICKETT,

Mrs. EMERSON, Mr. TRAFICANT, Mr. COBURN, Mr. GOODE, Mr. POMBO,

Mr. BARCIA, Mrs. CHENOWETH, Mr. HALL of Texas, Mrs. CUBIN, Mr.

SHOWS, Mr. HASTINGS of Washington, Mr. BISHOP, Ms. DUNN, Mr.

SISISKY, Mr. HERGER, Mr. CRAMER, Mrs. BONO, Mr. MCINTYRE, Mr.

TAYLOR of North Carolina, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. HILLEARY, Mr.

DUNCAN, Mr. NORWOOD, Mr. KASICH, Mr. MCINTOSH, Mr.

CUNNINGHAM, Mr. THOMAS, Mr. SKEEN, Mr. WELDON of Florida, Mr.

NETHERCUTT, Mr. COMBEST, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mr. BACHUS, Mr.

LEWIS of California, Mr. MCKEON, Mr. HOSTETTLER, Mr. STUMP, Mr.

DOOLITTLE, Mr. STEARNS, Mr. LARGENT, Mr. GARY MILLER of California, Mr. HUTCHINSON, Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania, Mr. CALVERT, Mr.

KNOLLENBERG, Mr. GILLMOR, Mr. METCALF, Mr. LOBIONDO, Mr. WALDEN of Oregon, Mr. CRANE, Mr. BRYANT, Mr. ARCHER, Mr. TANCREDO,

Mr. BLILEY, Mr. HILL of Montana, Mr. EVERETT, Mr. RADANOVICH,

Mr. GOODLATTE, Mr. GIBBONS, Mr. MANZULLO, Mr. SPENCE, Mr.

BARTLETT of Maryland, Mr. ISTOOK, Mr. HUNTER, Mr. BONILLA, Mr.

BURTON of Indiana, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Mr. PAUL, Mr. BILBRAY, Mr.

PETERSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. FOLEY, Mr. LATHAM, Mr. BLUNT, Mr.

LINDER, Mrs. MYRICK, Mr. SHADEGG, Mr. HOEKSTRA, Mr. PICKERING,

Mr. NEY, Mr. MCINNIS, Mr. ROYCE, Mr. BAKER, Mr. CALLAHAN, Mr.

WATKINS, Mr. DEAL of Georgia, Mr. PACKARD, Mr. ROGERS, Mr. BRADY

of Texas, Mr. SMITH of Texas, Mr. SCHAFFER, Mr. LEWIS of Kentucky,

Mr. WICKER, Mr. BURR of North Carolina, Mr. TIAHRT, Mr. COOKSEY,

Mr. DICKEY, Mr. JONES of North Carolina, Mr. SOUDER, Mr. GRAHAM,

Mr. DEMINT, Mr. HAYWORTH, Mr. ROGAN, Mr. OXLEY, Mr. PITTS, Mr.

WELLER, Mr. BARR of Georgia, Mr. GOSS, Ms. GRANGER, Mr. CANNON,

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. THORNBERRY, Mr. LUCAS of Oklahoma, Mr. BASS, Mr. MORAN of Kansas, Mr. WAMP, Mrs. FOWLER, Mr.

SMITH of Michigan, Mr. SWEENEY, Mr. ADERHOLT, Mr. RILEY, Mr.

GOODLING, Mr. SIMPSON, Mr. BARTON of Texas, and Mr. FLETCHER)
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introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources

A BILL

To preserve the sovereignty of the United States over public

lands and acquired lands owned by the United States,

and to preserve State sovereignty and private property

rights in non-Federal lands surrounding those public

lands and acquired lands.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘American Land Sov5 ereignty Protection Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:

8 (1) The power to dispose of and make all need9 ful rules and regulations governing lands belonging

10 to the United States is vested in the Congress under

11 article IV, section 3, of the Constitution.

12 (2) Some Federal land designations made pur13 suant to international agreements concern land use

14 policies and regulations for lands belonging to the

15 United States which under article IV, section 3, of

16 the Constitution can only be implemented through

17 laws enacted by the Congress.
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1 (3) Some international land designations, such

2 as those under the United States Biosphere Reserve

3 Program and the Man and Biosphere Program of

4 the United Nations Scientific, Educational, and Cul5 tural Organization, operate under independent na6 tional committees, such as the United States Na7 tional Man and Biosphere Committee, which have no

8 legislative directives or authorization from the Con9 gress.

10 (4) Actions by the United States in making

11 such designations may affect the use and value of

12 nearby or intermixed non-Federal lands.

13 (5) The sovereignty of the States is a critical

14 component of our Federal system of government and

15 a bulwark against the unwise concentration of

16 power.

17 (6) Private property rights are essential for the

18 protection of freedom.

19 (7) Actions by the United States to designate

20 lands belonging to the United States pursuant to

21 international agreements in some cases conflict with

22 congressional constitutional responsibilities and

23 State sovereign capabilities.

24 (8) Actions by the President in applying certain

25 international agreements to lands owned by the
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1 United States diminishes the authority of the Con2 gress to make rules and regulations respecting these

3 lands.

4 (b) PURPOSE.—The purposes of this Act are the fol5 lowing:

6 (1) To reaffirm the power of the Congress

7 under article IV, section 3, of the Constitution over

8 international agreements which concern disposal,

9 management, and use of lands belonging to the

10 United States.

11 (2) To protect State powers not reserved to the

12 Federal Government under the Constitution from

13 Federal actions designating lands pursuant to inter14 national agreements.

15 (3) To ensure that no United States citizen suf16 fers any diminishment or loss of individual rights as

17 a result of Federal actions designating lands pursu18 ant to international agreements for purposes of im19 posing restrictions on use of those lands.

20 (4) To protect private interests in real property

21 from diminishment as a result of Federal actions

22 designating lands pursuant to international agree23 ments.
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1 (5) To provide a process under which the

2 United States may, when desirable, designate lands

3 pursuant to international agreements.

4 SEC. 3. CLARIFICATION OF CONGRESSIONAL ROLE IN

5 WORLD HERITAGE SITE LISTING.

6 Section 401 of the National Historic Preservation Act

7 Amendments of 1980 (Public Law 96–515; 94 Stat. 2987)

8 is amended—

9 (1) in subsection (a) in the first sentence, by—

10 (A) striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and inserting

11 ‘‘Subject to subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e),

12 the Secretary’’; and

13 (B) inserting ‘‘(in this section referred to

14 as the ‘Convention’)’’ after ‘‘1973’’; and

15 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub16 sections:

17 ‘‘(d)(1) The Secretary of the Interior may not nomi18 nate any lands owned by the United States for inclusion

19 on the World Heritage List pursuant to the Convention,

20 unless—

21 ‘‘(A) the Secretary finds with reasonable basis

22 that commercially viable uses of the nominated

23 lands, and commercially viable uses of other lands

24 located within 10 miles of the nominated lands, in

25 existence on the date of the nomination will not be
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1 adversely affected by inclusion of the lands on the

2 World Heritage List, and publishes that finding;

3 ‘‘(B) the Secretary has submitted to the Con4 gress a report describing—

5 ‘‘(i) natural resources associated with the

6 lands referred to in subparagraph (A); and

7 ‘‘(ii) the impacts that inclusion of the nom8 inated lands on the World Heritage List would

9 have on existing and future uses of the nomi10 nated lands or other lands located within 10

11 miles of the nominated lands; and

12 ‘‘(C) the nomination is specifically authorized

13 by a law enacted after the date of enactment of the

14 American Land Sovereignty Protection Act and after

15 the date of publication of a finding under subpara16 graph (A) for the nomination.

17 ‘‘(2) The President may submit to the Speaker of the

18 House of Representatives and the President of the Senate

19 a proposal for legislation authorizing such a nomination

20 after publication of a finding under paragraph (1)(A) for

21 the nomination.

22 ‘‘(e) The Secretary of the Interior shall object to the

23 inclusion of any property in the United States on the list

24 of World Heritage in Danger established under Article

25 11.4 of the Convention, unless—
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1 ‘‘(1) the Secretary has submitted to the Speak2 er of the House of Representatives and the Presi3 dent of the Senate a report describing—

4 ‘‘(A) the necessity for including that prop5 erty on the list;

6 ‘‘(B) the natural resources associated with

7 the property; and

8 ‘‘(C) the impacts that inclusion of the

9 property on the list would have on existing and

10 future uses of the property and other property

11 located within 10 miles of the property pro12 posed for inclusion; and

13 ‘‘(2) the Secretary is specifically authorized to

14 assent to the inclusion of the property on the list,

15 by a joint resolution of the Congress after the date

16 of submittal of the report required by paragraph (1).

17 ‘‘(f) The Secretary of the Interior shall submit an an18 nual report on each World Heritage Site within the United

19 States to the Chairman and Ranking Minority member of

20 the Committee on Resources of the House of Representa21 tives and of the Committee on Energy and Natural Re22 sources of the Senate, that contains for the year covered

23 by the report the following information for the site:

24 ‘‘(1) An accounting of all money expended to

25 manage the site.
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1 ‘‘(2) A summary of Federal full time equivalent

2 hours related to management of the site.

3 ‘‘(3) A list and explanation of all nongovern4 mental organizations that contributed to the man5 agement of the site.

6 ‘‘(4) A summary and account of the disposition

7 of complaints received by the Secretary related to

8 management of the site.’’.

9 SEC. 4. PROHIBITION AND TERMINATION OF UNAUTHOR10 IZED UNITED NATIONS BIOSPHERE RE11 SERVES.

12 Title IV of the National Historic Preservation Act

13 Amendments of 1980 (16 U.S.C. 470a–1 et seq.) is

14 amended by adding at the end the following new section:

15 ‘‘SEC. 403. (a) No Federal official may nominate any

16 lands in the United States for designation as a Biosphere

17 Reserve under the Man and Biosphere Program of the

18 United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Or19 ganization.

20 ‘‘(b) Any designation on or before the date of enact21 ment of the American Land Sovereignty Protection Act

22 of an area in the United States as a Biosphere Reserve

23 under the Man and Biosphere Program of the United Na24 tions Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization
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1 shall not have, and shall not be given, any force or effect,

2 unless the Biosphere Reserve—

3 ‘‘(1) is specifically authorized by a law enacted

4 after that date of enactment and before December

5 31, 2000;

6 ‘‘(2) consists solely of lands that on that date

7 of enactment are owned by the United States; and

8 ‘‘(3) is subject to a management plan that spe9 cifically ensures that the use of intermixed or adja10 cent non-Federal property is not limited or restricted

11 as a result of that designation.

12 ‘‘(c) The Secretary of State shall submit an annual

13 report on each Biosphere Reserve within the United States

14 to the Chairman and Ranking Minority member of the

15 Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives

16 and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of

17 the Senate, that contains for the year covered by the re18 port the following information for the reserve:

19 ‘‘(1) An accounting of all money expended to

20 manage the reserve.

21 ‘‘(2) A summary of Federal full time equivalent

22 hours related to management of the reserve.

23 ‘‘(3) A list and explanation of all nongovern24 mental organizations that contributed to the man25 agement of the reserve.
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1 ‘‘(4) A summary and account of the disposition

2 of the complaints received by the Secretary related

3 to management of the reserve.’’.

4 SEC. 5. INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS IN GENERAL.

5 Title IV of the National Historic Preservation Act

6 Amendments of 1980 (16 U.S.C. 470a–1 et seq.) is fur7 ther amended by adding at the end the following new sec8 tion:

9 ‘‘SEC. 404. (a) No Federal official may nominate,

10 classify, or designate any lands owned by the United

11 States and located within the United States for a special

12 or restricted use under any international agreement unless

13 such nomination, classification, or designation is specifi14 cally authorized by law. The President may from time to

15 time submit to the Speaker of the House of Representa16 tives and the President of the Senate proposals for legisla17 tion authorizing such a nomination, classification, or des18 ignation.

19 ‘‘(b) A nomination, classification, or designation,

20 under any international agreement, of lands owned by a

21 State or local government shall have no force or effect un22 less the nomination, classification, or designation is spe23 cifically authorized by a law enacted by the State or local

24 government, respectively.
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1 ‘‘(c) A nomination, classification, or designation,

2 under any international agreement, of privately owned

3 lands shall have no force or effect without the written con4 sent of the owner of the lands.

5 ‘‘(d) This section shall not apply to—

6 ‘‘(1) agreements established under section 16(a)

7 of the North American Wetlands Conservation Act

8 (16 U.S.C. 4413); and

9 ‘‘(2) conventions referred to in section 3(h)(3)

10 of the Fish and Wildlife Improvement Act of 1978

11 (16 U.S.C. 712(2)).

12 ‘‘(e) In this section, the term ‘international agree13 ment’ means any treaty, compact, executive agreement,

14 convention, bilateral agreement, or multilateral agreement

15 between the United States or any agency of the United

16 States and any foreign entity or agency of any foreign en17 tity, having a primary purpose of conserving, preserving,

18 or protecting the terrestrial or marine environment, flora,

19 or fauna.’’.

20 SEC. 6. CLERICAL AMENDMENT.

21 Section 401(b) of the National Historic Preservation

22 Act Amendments of 1980 (16 U.S.C. 470a–1(b)) is

23 amended by striking ‘‘Committee on Natural Resources’’

24 and inserting ‘‘Committee on Resources’’.

Æ