79–006 

115TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1st Session 115–368 

TO PROVIDE FOR THE CONVEYANCE TO THE STATE OF IOWA OF THE REVERSIONARY INTEREST HELD BY THE UNITED STATES IN CERTAIN 

LAND IN POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY, IOWA, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 

OCTOBER 24, 2017.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State 

of the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. BISHOP of Utah, from the Committee on Natural Resources, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 2600] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the 

bill (H.R. 2600) to provide for the conveyance to the State of Iowa 

of the reversionary interest held by the United States in certain 

land in Pottawattamie County, Iowa, and for other purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill as amended do pass. 

The amendment is as follows: 

Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following: 

SECTION 1. CONVEYANCE OF REVERSIONARY INTEREST REQUIRED. 

(a) CONVEYANCE.—Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this 

Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall convey, without consideration, to the State 

of Iowa the reversionary interest held by the United States and described in the 

quit claim deed dated April 13, 1998, instrument number 19170, as recorded in book 

98, page 55015, in Pottawattamie County, Iowa. 

(b) COSTS.—As a condition of the conveyance under subsection (a), all costs associated with such conveyance shall be paid by the State of Iowa, including the Phase 

I Environmental Site Assessment. 

(c) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress that the State of Iowa should 

continue to provide information regarding the Lewis and Clark National Historic 

Trail, the California National Historic Trail, and the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail. 

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of H.R. 2600 is to provide for the conveyance to the 

State of Iowa of the reversionary interest held by the United States 

in certain land in Pottawattamie County, Iowa. 

2 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

On November 29, 1989, through Public Law 101–191, Congress 

authorized the Secretary of the Interior to provide for the development of a trails interpretative center in the City of Council Bluffs, 

Iowa. Public Law 101–191 states that the operating entity must operate and maintain the center and make no major alterations without the written authorization of the Secretary. 

In 1995, the National Western Trails Center, Inc., donated property to the federal government, and the National Park Service 

(NPS) later constructed a trails center on the property to interpret 

the history of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, the 

Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail, and the Oregon National 

Historic Trail. 

In 1998, the federal government donated the trails center and 

surrounding property to the State Historical Society of Iowa. Federal ownership was transferred to the State subject to a reversion 

to the United States if the trails center is not being used for the 

purposes specified in Public Law 101–191. The deed also included 

the condition that ‘‘the State of Iowa shall make no major alterations of the structure or ground without the express written authorization of NPS.’’ 

Since 1998, the State of Iowa has owned and operated the trails 

center. Presently, visitation at the center is very low, the hours of 

operation are limited, and maintenance is falling behind. The State 

of Iowa would like to remove the trails center from its responsibility and possibly transfer the property to the City of Council 

Bluffs for development. The NPS currently does not own or directly 

manage any of the land associated with Public Law 101–191, and 

it is the Committee’s understanding that the NPS does not have interest in taking over operation of the trails center or ownership of 

the property. 

H.R. 2600 will convey the residual interest of the United States 

to the State of Iowa to clear title to the land. The State would pay 

the costs of the conveyance, including any environmental assessment. 

COMMITTEE ACTION

H.R. 2600 was introduced on May 23, 2017, by Congressman 

David Young (R–IA). The bill was referred to the Committee on 

Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee 

on Federal Lands. On October 3, 2017, the Natural Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee was discharged 

by unanimous consent. Congressman Rob Bishop (R–UT) offered an 

amendment designated #1; it was adopted by voice vote. No further 

amendments were offered, and the bill, as amended, was ordered 

favorably reported to the House of Representatives by voice vote on 

October 4, 2017. 

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. 

3 

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, October 19, 2017. 

Hon. ROB BISHOP, 

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. 2600, a bill to provide for 

the conveyance to the State of Iowa of the reversionary interest 

held by the United States in certain land in Pottawattamie County, 

Iowa, and for other purposes. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Janani Shankaran. 

Sincerely, 

KEITH HALL, 

Director. 

Enclosure. 

H.R. 2600—A bill to provide for the conveyance to the State of Iowa 

of the reversionary interest held by the United States in certain 

land in Pottawattamie County, Iowa, and for other purposes 

H.R. 2600 would require the National Park Service (NPS) to convey to the State of Iowa the reversionary interest held by the 

United States in the Western Historic Trails Center in 

Pottawattamie County. The State of Iowa has owned and operated 

the center since 1998 and seeks to transfer the property to the City 

of Council Bluffs. 

CBO estimates that enacting the legislation would have no significant effect on the federal budget. Under the bill, the State of 

Iowa would be required to pay for costs associated with the conveyance, including the cost of any environmental assessments. 

Enacting H.R. 2600 would not affect direct spending or revenues; 

therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO estimates 

that enacting H.R. 2600 would not increase net direct spending or 

on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028. 

H.R. 2600 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Janani Shankaran. 

The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. 

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 provide for the conveyance to the State of Iowa of 

4 

the reversionary interest held by the United States in certain land 

in Pottawattamie County, Iowa. 

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. 

COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104–4

This bill contains no unfunded mandates. 

COMPLIANCE WITH H. RES. 5

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. 

PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or tribal law. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing law. 

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