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[House Report 115-695]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

115th Congress     }                                   {       Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session        }                                   {      115-695

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               CAMP NELSON HERITAGE NATIONAL MONUMENT ACT

                                _______
                                

  May 21, 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. 5655]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 5655) to establish the Camp Nelson Heritage 
National Monument in the State of Kentucky as a unit of the 
National Park System, 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. 5655 is to establish the Camp Nelson 
Heritage National Monument in the State of Kentucky as a unit 
of the National Park System.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    H.R. 5655 establishes the Camp Nelson Heritage National 
Monument in Nicholasville, Kentucky, as a unit of the National 
Park System.
    Located in southern Jessamine County, Kentucky, and founded 
in 1863, Camp Nelson was constructed by Major General Ambrose 
Burnside and the 9th Corps of the Army of Ohio to serve as a 
supply depot, hospital facility, and training and recruiting 
center for the Union Army during the Civil War.\1\
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    \1\``Camp Nelson.'' National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the 
Interior, www.nps.gov/nr/travel/underground/Camp_Nelson.html.
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    Camp Nelson provided the Union Army with over 10,000 
African American soldiers, making it the third largest 
recruiting and training depot for African American soldiers in 
the country. African American troops were trained and served at 
Camp Nelson. As freed slaves, many had no option but to bring 
their families along with them to the camp as they trained to 
fight.\2\
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    \2\Ibid 1.
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    In November 1864, Brigadier General Speed S. Fry ordered 
the families staying with the soldiers out of the camp. 
Tragically, the expulsion from the camp resulted in more than a 
hundred refugees dying from exposure due to the freezing 
temperatures.\3\
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    \3\Camp Nelson Civil War Heritage Park, Camp Nelson Restoration & 
Preservation Foundation, www.campnelson.org/history/african.htm.
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    General Fry's actions infuriated the African American 
recruits and undermined African American recruitment efforts. 
Because of the complaints and reactions, officials in 
Washington, D.C. ordered General Fry to establish a camp for 
the refugees within Camp Nelson. A superintendent for the 
refugees was appointed and Reverend John G. Fee encouraged the 
building of duplex cottages. In a collaborative effort, the 
American Missionary Association assisted the Army in caring for 
the refugee families.\4\ Camp Nelson and the refugee site 
served as a shelter for over 3,000 of the soldiers' wives and 
children.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\Ibid at 3.
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    The original Camp Nelson covered 4,000 acres and had 
roughly 300 buildings including a school, hospital and mess 
hall, among other accommodations.\5\
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    \5\Camp Nelson: Overview, Camp Nelson Restoration and Preservation 
Foundation, www.campnelson.org/introduction.htm.
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    In 1998, Camp Nelson Civil War Heritage Park was 
established by the Jessamine County Fiscal Court using local, 
State, and federal funds to preserve large tracts of land, 
construct a visitor center, construct replica barracks, 
recreate a fort, develop informational trails, and educate the 
public.
    Camp Nelson Civil War Heritage Park was designated as part 
of the National Park Service's National Underground Railroad 
Network to Freedom in 2008 and was later designated as a 
National Historic Landmark in 2013.
    On February 28, 2018, the Subcommittee on Federal Lands 
held a hearing on a related bill, H.R. 1992, the Camp Nelson 
Heritage Park Study Act. Following the hearing, H.R. 5655 was 
introduced.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 5655 was introduced on April 27, 2018, by Congressman 
Andy Barr (R-KY). The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Natural Resources. On May 8, 2018, the Natural Resources 
Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee was 
discharged by unanimous consent. No amendments were offered, 
and the bill 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, May 11, 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. 5655, the Camp 
Nelson Heritage 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. 5655--Camp Nelson Heritage National Monument Act

    H.R. 5655 would establish the Camp Nelson Heritage National 
Monument in Nicholasville, Kentucky. 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 land for the monument by means 
of donation, purchase using donated funds, or through a land 
exchange. Based on the experience of creating other system 
units, CBO expects that the monument would not be formally 
established for several years.
    Using information from the NPS on the costs of operating 
new system units, CBO estimates that the agency would incur 
about $200,000 annually in administrative costs in the 
monument's early years. The bill also would require the NPS to 
develop a general management plan for the monument. Based on 
the costs of similar projects, CBO estimates that developing 
the plan would cost less than $500,000. In total, CBO estimates 
that implementing H.R. 5655 would cost about $1 million over 
the 2019-2023 period; such spending would be subject to the 
availability of appropriated funds.
    Enacting H.R. 5655 would not affect direct spending or 
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
    CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 5655 would not increase 
net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four 
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2029.
    H.R. 5655 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 reviewed 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 establish the Camp Nelson Heritage 
National Monument in the State of Kentucky as a unit of the 
National Park System.

                           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.

                                  [all]
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