99–006

107TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1st Session 107–268

AUTHORIZING THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR TO ESTABLISH THE RONALD REAGAN BOYHOOD HOME NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

NOVEMBER 5, 2001.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State

of the Union and ordered to be printed

Mr. HANSEN, from the Committee on Resources,

submitted the following

R E P O R T

together with

DISSENTING VIEWS

[To accompany H.R. 400]

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill

(H.R. 400) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to establish

the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home National Historic Site, and for

other purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of H.R. 400 is to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to establish the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home National Historic Site, and for other purposes.

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

Ronald Wilson Reagan, the 40th President of the United States,

was born on February 6, 1911, in Tampico, Illinois. After moving

to a succession of rural towns in Illinois, the Reagans settled in

1920 in Dixon, Illinois; the place Ronald Reagan considers his

hometown. President Reagan lived in the home located at 816

South Hennepin Road during part of his teenage years (1924–

1928). From 1926 to 1933, Reagan was employed as a lifeguard in

Lowell Park in Dixon where he was credited with saving seventyVerDate 11-MAY-2000 02:21 Nov 06, 2001 Jkt 099006 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR268.XXX pfrm04 PsN: HR268
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seven lives. In 1928, President Reagan graduated from Dixon High

School where he served as student body president.

The Reagan Boyhood Home was restored and refurnished in

1984 by the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home Foundation to appear

as it did during the period President Reagan lived in the home.

The boyhood home and museum, which is on the National Register

of Historic Properties and part of the Ronald Reagan Boyhood

Complex, is currently located on approximately 3⁄4 of a square city

block with three other structures and a parking lot for visitors. It

has an annual visitation of approximately 20,000 people, and is located within a historical district created by the City of Dixon pursuant to local ordinances.

The Ronald Reagan Boyhood Complex (land and structures) designated under this legislation consists of the following: The North

Half (N1⁄2) of Lot Three (3), Block One Hundred and Three (103),

of the original Town (now city) of Dixon, Lee County, Illinois, and

more commonly known as 816 South Hennepin Avenue, Dixon, Illinois (Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home); The South half (S1⁄2) of Lot

Two (2), Block One Hundred and Three (103), of the original Town

(now city) of Dixon, Lee County, Illinois, and more commonly

known as 810 South Hennepin Avenue, Dixon, Illinois (Visitors

Center); The South two-thirds (S2⁄3) of Lot Four (4) in Block One

Hundred Three (103) in the original Town (now city) of Dixon, Lee

County, Illinois, and more commonly known as 821 South Galena

Avenue, Dixon, Illinois (Parking Lot); The Westerly Ninety feet of

the Southerly One half (S1⁄2) of Lot 3 in Block 103 in the Town

(now city) of Dixon, Lee County, Illinois.

Establishing the Boyhood Home as a National Historic Site will

ensure the long-term preservation of the museum and its eligibility

for funding from the National Park Service.

COMMITTEE ACTION

H.R. 400 was introduced on February 6, 2001, by Congressman

J. Dennis Hastert (R–IL) and was referred to the Committee on Resources. On February 15, 2001, the bill was referred within the

Committee to the Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation,

and Public Lands. On March 8, 2001, the Subcommittee held a

hearing on the bill. On April 26, 2001, the Subcommittee met to

mark up the bill. Congressman Joel Hefley (R–CO) offered an

amendment in the nature of a substitute requiring that the Secretary of the Interior conduct a study on the suitability and feasibility of designating the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home as a national historic site, and to submit a report to Congress within one

year. The amendment was adopted by voice vote. The bill, as

amended, was then forwarded to the Full Committee.

On October 3, 2001, the Full Resources Committee met to consider the bill as introduced. Congressman Hefley offered an amendment in the nature of a substitute which mirrored the amendment

adopted during Subcommittee markup. The amendment failed by a

roll call vote of 11 to 12, as follows:

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There were no further amendments. The bill was then ordered

favorably reported to the House of Representatives by voice vote.

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 Resources’ oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in

the body of this report.

CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

Article I, section 8 and Article IV, section 3 of the Constitution

of the United States grant Congress the authority to enact this bill.

COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII

1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of

the House of Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B) of that rule provides

that this requirement does not apply when the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2) of rule

XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section

308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this bill does not

contain any new budget authority, spending authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in revenues or tax expenditures.

3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. The purpose of

H.R. 400 is to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to establish

the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home National Historic Site.

4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause

3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and

section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate for this bill from the

Director of the Congressional Budget Office:

U.S. CONGRESS,

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE,

Washington, DC, October 10, 2001.

Hon. JAMES V. HANSEN,

Chairman, Committee on Resources,

House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 400, a bill to authorize

the Secretary of the Interior to establish the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home National Historic Site, and for other purposes.

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

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Deborah Reis.

Sincerely,

BARRY B. ANDERSON

(For Dan L. Crippen, Director).

Enclosure.

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H.R. 400—A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to establish the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home National Historic Site,

and for other purposes

H.R. 400 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to purchase

the site of Ronald Reagan’s boyhood home in Dixon, Illinois, at its

fair market value. Once the property is acquired, the Secretary

would designate it as the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home National

Historic Site. The National Park Service (NPS) would execute a cooperative agreement with the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home Foundation (the site’s current owner), to operate the site. Within two

years, the NPS, in consultation with the foundation, would develop

a general management plan that would define the roles of the two

parties in interpreting and preserving the site.

CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would cost the

federal government about $700,000 over the next two years, subject

to appropriation of the necessary amounts. Based on available information on area property values, we estimate that the NPS

would spend about $400,000 of this amount to purchase the site

from the foundation. (This nonprofit organization paid around

$30,000 for the former Reagan home in the early 1980s and has

since invested several million dollars in the home and adjacent

properties.) The remaining $300,000 would be used to complete a

general management plan for the site and develop interpretive materials. CBO further estimates that once the plan and cooperative

agreement have been finalized, the NPS would spend between

$250,000 and $500,000 annually to provide technical and financial

assistance to the foundation, which would operate the historic site.

The costs of this bill are based on information provided by the NPS

and local tax authorities.

H.R. 400 would not affect direct spending or receipts; therefore,

pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply. The legislation contains

no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would have no significant impact on the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments.

The staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis. The estimate

was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for

Budget Analysis.

COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104–4

This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

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.

(6)

DISSENTING VIEWS OF THE HONORABLE JOEL HEFLEY

The decision of this committee to ignore the actions of its Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation and Public Lands with

regard to H.R. 400 flies in the face of legislative comity and negates a nearly 10-year effort to establish a rational process for the

creation of National Park Service units. For that reason, I must oppose this legislation.

As adopted by the committee, H.R. 400 would establish the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home National Historical Site in Dixon, Illinois. There is no question in my mind that the Reagan site deserves eventual inclusion in the system. But the Park Service has

never studied the site nor been given the opportunity to recommend how it would be interpreted.

Three years ago, this Congress passed an omnibus Interior bill

that included the National Park Service Reform Act. That act required that proposed Park Service units first be studied by the National Park Service; that the Park Service present to Congress its

recommendation for the unit, including its interpretation; and finally, that any unit must be authorized by this committee before

any appropriations could be released. Even the National Parks &

Conservation Association, which fought the Reform Act as a ‘‘parks

closure bill,’’ conceded that adopting this process would amount to

the most significant piece of parks legislation since the Organic Act

of 1916. After a grueling three-year debate and no small amount

of political grief to myself, Mr. Hansen (of Utah), Mr. Miller (of

California), our late colleague, Mr. Vento and others, the bill became law in 1998.

The National Park Service Reform Act grew out of debate over

the Steamtown National Historic Site near Scranton, Pennsylvania.

There, a powerful member of the House Appropriations Committee,

managed to funnel over $100 million into the creation of a railway

park of dubious authenticity. Even its sponsor conceded

Steamtown’s main purpose was economic development: ‘‘My town’s

economy was based on coal and then on textiles,’’ he told me. ‘‘This

is all we’ve got left.’’ Meanwhile, Park Service backlogs in maintenance, land acquisition and housing continued to grow into the billions, a situation which would continue, without redress, until Mr.

Regula (of Ohio) became chairman of the Interior Appropriations

Subcommittee in 1994.

I authored the National Park Service Reform Act because I believe—then and now—that Park Service units should be designated

on the basis of what they are, not because they are the pet project

of someone in a powerful position. As chairman of the National

Parks Subcommittee, Dr. Christensen (of the Virgin Islands) and I

worked to ensure a fair hearing for the proposal before our panel.

Save for the Moccasin Bend National Historic Site in Tennessee,

which has been studied for 50 years, and an expansion of the BookVerDate 11-MAY-2000 02:21 Nov 06, 2001 Jkt 099006 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6604 Sfmt 6604 E:\HR\OC\HR268.XXX pfrm04 PsN: HR268
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er T. Washington NHS in Virginia, all the parks proposals, all the

trails and heritage area proposals, were made subject to Park Service study. By a voice vote, that subcommittee amended H.R. 400 to

mandate a study as well. The committee, however, has chosen to

vote on the bill’s original text, which designates the Reagan site

immediately and without a study.

There’s no doubt that Speaker Hastert is in a powerful position.

Nevertheless, I believe he should follow the same rules as everyone

else. So should I. So should everyone on this committee or in this

Congress. A year will endanger neither the significance nor the

safety of the Reagan Home. Its present custodians have done an

exemplary job creating and preserving the site. They are getting on

in years and want only the safeguard of an NPS designation to preserve their work, but have no objection to a year’s delay for the

study. But by ignoring the actions of the Parks Subcommittee and

the Park Service Reform Act, we risk returning to a balkanized

Park System of units significant only to those who had enough

clout to establish them.

When I first entered into the park reform debate seven years

ago, I said that if an authorizing committee wasn’t going to stand

firm on its policies, it might as well go home and leave things to

the appropriators. By passing the unamended version of H.R. 400,

that is basically what the Resources Committee has done.

JOEL HEFLEY.

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