79–006 

115TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 115–632 

MEDGAR EVERS HOME NATIONAL MONUMENT ACT 

APRIL 11, 2018.—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. 4895] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the 

bill (H.R. 4895) to establish the Medgar Evers National Monument 

in the State of Mississippi, and for other purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with amendments and recommend that the bill as amended do pass. 

The amendments are as follows: 

Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following: 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Medgar Evers Home National Monument Act’’. 

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

In this Act: 

(1) MONUMENT.—The term ‘‘Monument’’ means the Medgar Evers Home National Monument established by section 3. 

(2) HISTORIC DISTRICT.—The term ‘‘Historic District’’ means the Medgar Evers 

Historic District, as included on the National Register of Historic Places, and 

as generally depicted on the Map. 

(3) MAP.—The term ‘‘Map’’ means the map entitled ‘‘Medgar Evers Home National Monument’’, numbered 515/142561, and dated February 2018. 

(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of the Interior, 

acting through the Director of the National Park Service. 

(5) COLLEGE.—The term ‘‘College’’ means Tougaloo College, a private educational institution located in Tougaloo, Mississippi. 

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF MEDGAR EVERS HOME NATIONAL MONUMENT. 

(a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), there is established the Medgar 

Evers Home National Monument in the State of Mississippi as a unit of the National Park System to preserve, protect, and interpret for the benefit of present 

and future generations resources associated with Medgar Evers’ pivotal role in 

the American Civil Rights Movement. 


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1 ‘‘Medgar Evers.’’ Biography.com. January 24, 2018. Accessed February 01, 2018. http:// 

www.biography.com/people/medgar-evers-9542324. 

(2) CONDITIONS.—The Monument shall not be established until the date on 

which the Secretary— 

(A) has entered into a written agreement with the College providing that 

all parcels within the Medgar Evers Home National Monument boundary 

as depicted on the Map shall be donated to the United States for inclusion 

in the Monument to be managed consistently with the purposes of the 

Monument; and 

(B) has otherwise acquired sufficient land or interests in land within the 

boundaries of the Monument to constitute a manageable unit. 

(b) BOUNDARIES.—The boundaries of Monument shall be the boundaries generally 

depicted on the Map. 

(c) AVAILABILITY OF MAP.—The Map shall be on file and available for public inspection in the appropriate offices of the National Park Service. 

(d) ACQUISITION OF AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may only acquire any land or interest in land located within the boundary of the Monument by— 

(1) donation; 

(2) purchase with donated funds; or 

(3) exchange. 

(e) ADMINISTRATION.— 

(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall administer the Monument in accordance 

with— 

(A) this Act; and 

(B) the laws generally applicable to units of the National Park System. 

(2) MANAGEMENT PLAN.— 

(A) Not later than 3 years after the date on which funds are first made 

available to the Secretary for this purpose, the Secretary shall prepare a 

general management plan for the Monument in accordance with section 

100502 of title 54, United States Code. 

(B) On completion of the general management plan under subparagraph 

(A), the Secretary shall submit it to the Committee on Natural Resources 

of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources of the Senate. 

(f) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 

(1) MONUMENT.—The Secretary shall enter into a cooperative agreement with 

the College for interpretive and educational programming related to the Monument, and may enter into other cooperative agreements for the purposes of carrying out this Act. 

(2) HISTORIC DISTRICT.—The Secretary may enter into cooperative agreements 

with the owner of a nationally significant property within the Historic District, 

to identify, mark, interpret, improve, restore, and provide technical assistance 

with respect to the preservation and interpretation of the property. 

(g) NO BUFFER ZONES.—Nothing in this Act, the establishment of the Monument, 

or the management of the Monument shall be construed to create buffer zones outside of the Monument. The fact that an activity or use can be seen, heard, or detected from within the Monument shall not preclude the conduct of that activity or 

use outside of the Monument. 

Amend the title so as to read: 

A bill to establish the Medgar Evers Home National Monument 

in the State of Mississippi, and for other purposes. 

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of H.R. 4895, as ordered reported, is to establish the 

Medgar Evers Home National Monument in the State of Mississippi. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

Medgar Wiley Evers was born in Decatur, Mississippi, on July 2, 

1925. Medgar served in the U.S. Army in France and Germany 

during World War II. Following his military service, he attended 

Alcorn State University where he met his future wife, Myrlie.1


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2 ‘‘NAACP History: Medgar Evers.’’ NAACP.com. Accessed February 1, 2018. http:// 

www.naacp.org/oldest-and-boldest/naacp-history-medgar-evers/. 3 Id. 4Legislative Hearing on H.R. 959 Before the Subcommittee on Federal Lands, United States 

House of Representatives, 114th Cong. (2015) (statement of Karen E. Mouritsen, Deputy Assistant Director, Energy, Minerals, and Realty Management—BLM). 5 ‘‘Interior Department Announces 24 New National Historic Landmarks.’’ DOI.gov. January 

11, 2017. Accessed February 1, 2018. https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/interior-department-announces-24-new-national-historic-landmarks. 6 ‘‘Medgar Evers Historic District.’’ National Parks Service. Accessed February 01, 2018. 

https://www.nps.gov/nr/feature/places/13000737.htm. 

In February 1954, Evers applied to the then-segregated University of Mississippi Law School. When his application was rejected, 

Evers became the focus of an National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) campaign to desegregate the 

school. In December of that year, Evers became the NAACP’s first 

field officer in Mississippi.2

On June 12, 1963, as he returned home from a NAACP planning 

meeting, Evers was shot in the back by Byron De La Beckwith, a 

member of the White Citizens’ Council. He died at a local hospital 

less than an hour later and was buried with full military honors 

at Arlington National Cemetery.3

The widowed Mrs. Evers and her children continued to live in 

their home in Jackson, Mississippi, for a year after the murder of 

her husband, but given continued social unrest, Mrs. Evers decided 

that she and her family could not remain and relocated her family 

to California. Subsequently, she donated the house to Tougaloo College in Tougaloo, Mississippi. The home, now a museum operated 

by Tougaloo College, contains period furnishings, exhibits, and family photographs that honor Medgar Evers’ legacy as one of the icons 

of the Civil Rights Movement in America.4 The home was listed on 

the National Register of Historic Places in 2000 and in 2017 was 

designated as a National Historic Landmark.5 The Medgar Evers 

Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic 

Places in 2013.6

The Board of Trustees of Tougaloo College is interested in donating the Evers home to the National Park Service and has written 

in support of this legislation. Last year, through Public Law 115– 

31, Congress authorized the Secretary of the Interior to conduct 

special resource studies of significant civil rights sites in the State 

of Mississippi, one of which was the Medgar Evers home. 

H.R. 4895 establishes the Medgar Evers Home National Monument provided that his home is donated to the United States. The 

Secretary of the Interior will develop a management plan for the 

monument and enter into a cooperative agreement with Tougaloo 

College for interpretative and educational program relating to the 

monument. 

The bill is supported by Tougaloo College, the Jackson Historic 

Preservation Commission, and the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. 

COMMITTEE ACTION

H.R. 4895 was introduced on January 29, 2018, by Congressman 

Bennie G. Thompson (D–MS). The bill was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the 

Subcommittee on Federal Lands. On February 6, 2018, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the legislation. On February 14, 2018, 


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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 unanimous consent. No further amendments were offered, and the bill, as amended, was ordered favorably reported to 

the House of Representatives by unanimous consent. 

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. 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, April 5, 2018. 

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. 4895, the Medgar Evers 

Home National Monument Act. 

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. 4895—Medgar Evers Home National Monument Act 

H.R. 4895 would establish the Medgar Evers Home National 

Monument in Jackson, Mississippi. Under the bill, the site would 

become a unit of the National Park System and would be owned 

and operated by the National Park Service (NPS). The bill would 

direct the NPS to acquire the Medgar Evers home by means of donation from Tougaloo College. Based on the expected date of that 

donation and the experience of other system units, CBO expects 

the monument would not be formally established for several years. 

Using information from the NPS on the costs for operating new 

system units, CBO estimates that the agency would incur about 

$200,000 annually in administrative costs in its initial years. The 

bill also would require the NPS to develop a general management 

plan for the monument. Based on the costs of similar tasks, CBO 

estimates that developing the plan would cost less than $500,000. 

In total, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 4895 would cost 


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about $1 million over the 2018–2022 period; such spending would 

be subject to the availability of appropriated funds. 

Enacting H.R. 4895 would not affect direct spending or revenues; 

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

CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 4895 would not increase net 

direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 

10-year periods beginning in 2028. 

H.R. 4895 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, as ordered reported, is to establish the Medgar Evers 

Home National Monument in the State of Mississippi. 

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 to existing law. 

Æ 


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