29–010 

Calendar No. 688 

108TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 2d Session 108–332 

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JUNIOR, NATIONAL HISTORIC 

SITE LAND EXCHANGE ACT 

AUGUST 25, 2004.—Ordered to be printed 

Filed, under authority of the order of the Senate of July 22, 2004 

Mr. DOMENICI, from the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 1616] 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the Act (H.R. 1616) to authorize the exchange of certain 

lands within the Martin Luther King, Junior, National Historic 

Site for lands owned by the City of Atlanta, Georgia, and for other 

purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon 

without amendment and recommends that the Act do pass. 

PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE

The purpose of H.R. 1616 is to authorize the exchange of certain 

lands within the Martin Luther King, Junior, National Historic 

Site for lands owned by the city of Atlanta, Georgia. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED

The Martin Luther King, Junior, National Historic Site is located 

in downtown Atlanta. The historic site’s visitor center is located on 

a very small lot that has no emergency access, making it virtually 

impossible for firefighting and other emergency equipment to reach 

the historic site. To address this problem, the city of Atlanta has 

agreed to exchange a parcel of land adjacent to the historic site for 

a vacant lot owned by the National Park Service (NPS). The vacant 

lot has been deemed by the NPS to have no historic significance 

and is of interest to the city of Atlanta for development purposes. 

The acquisition of the city-owned property would allow the NPS to 

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establish easy street access to the visitor center and museum and 

greatly improve the ability for emergency vehicles to reach the historic site. 

To facilitate this exchange, H.R. 1616 will amend the park’s enabling legislation, Public Law 96–428, to allow the Secretary of the 

Interior to acquire additional lands by exchange. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

H.R. 1616 was introduced by Representative Lewis on April 3, 

2003. The bill was favorably reported by the House Committee on 

Resources on July 9, 2003 (H. Rpt. 108–255). A similar measure, 

S. 1789, was introduced by Senator Miller on October 28, 2003. The 

Senate Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on H.R. 

1616 and S. 1789 on May 20, 2004. The Committee on Energy and 

Natural Resources ordered H.R. 1616 favorably reported on July 

14, 2004. 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in an open 

business session on July 14, 2004, by a unanimous voice vote of a 

quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 1616 as described herein. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1 entitles this bill the ‘‘Martin Luther King, Junior, National Historic Site Land Exchange Act’’. 

Section 2(a) contains Congressional findings. 

Subsection (b) states that the purpose of the Act is to authorize 

a land exchange between the National Park Service and the city of 

Atlanta. 

Section 3 amends the enabling Act for the historic site, Public 

Law 96–428. 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of the cost of this measure has been provided by the Congressional Budget Office. 

U.S. CONGRESS, 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, 

Washington, DC, July 16, 2004. 

Hon. PETE V. DOMENICI, Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 

U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1616, the Martin Luther 

King, Junior, National Historic Site Land Exchange Act. 

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

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

Sincerely, 

DOUGLAS HOLTZ-EAKIN, Director. 

Enclosure. 

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H.R. 1616—Martin Luther King, Junior, National Historic Site 

Land Exchange Act 

H.R. 1616 would authorize the National Park Service (NPS) to 

acquire land within for the Martin Luther King, Junior, National 

Historic Site by exchange. The new authority would enable the 

NPS to exchange a small parcel of land owned by the agency for 

a parcel owned by the city of Atlanta that is less than 0.5 acres. 

The newly acquired tract would be used for access to the historic 

site. 

Based on information provided by the NPS and assuming the 

availability of appropriations, CBO estimates that it would cost the 

federal government about $200,000 over the next fiscal year to 

complete the exchange and pave the new property. For this estimate, CBO assumes that the properties to be exchanged would be 

determined by NPS to be roughly equal in value. 

H.R. 1616 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would 

impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. 

On August 11, 2003, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 

1616 as ordered reported by the House Committee on Resources on 

July 9, 2003. The two versions of the legislation are identical, as 

are the costs. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis. This estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. 

REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION

In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following evaluation 

of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in carrying out 

H.R. 1616. 

The bill is not a regulatory measure in the sense of imposing 

Government-established standards or significant economic responsibilities on private individuals and businesses. 

No personal information would be collected in administering the 

program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal privacy. 

Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the enactment of H.R. 1616. 

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

On May 7, 2004, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources requested legislative reports from the Department of the 

Interior and the Office of Management and Budget setting forth 

Executive agency recommendations on H.R. 1616. These reports 

had not been received when this report was filed. The testimony 

provided by the Department of the Interior at the Subcommittee 

hearing on H.R. 1616 follows: 

STATEMENT OF PAUL HOFFMAN, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY, FISH AND WILDLIFE AND PARKS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, thank 

you for the opportunity to present the Department’s views 

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on S. 1789 and H.R. 1616. These bills would authorize the 

exchange of lands within the Martin Luther King, Junior, 

National Historic Site for lands owned by the City of Atlanta, Georgia. 

The Department supports both of these bills, which are 

identical. At a hearing on June 17, 2003, the Department 

testified in support of H.R. 1616, which passed the House 

without amendment on October 28, 2003. 

Both bills would allow the National Park Service (NPS) 

to exchange land currently owned on Edgewood Avenue for 

land of equal or greater value from the City of Atlanta 

(City). The exchange would provide the Martin Luther 

King, Junior, National Historic Site (park) with emergency 

access to the park visitor center, and would help in the 

continuing revitalization of Edgewood Avenue. Although 

appraisals have not been completed, there would be no acquisition costs associated with this equal value exchange. 

Development of the newly acquired land, in order to provide paved access for emergency vehicles, is estimated to 

cost $160,000. There would be no increase in operational 

costs or the need to fund additional facilities. 

Both bills would amend Section 2(b) of P.L. 96–428, the 

act that established Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site, to allow the Secretary of the Interior to acquire 

land within the boundary of the park that is owned by the 

State of Georgia, or any political subdivision of the State, 

by exchange. Currently, P.L. 96–428 only allows the Secretary to acquire such lands by donation. 

The park and nearby Preservation District, which includes Sweet Auburn, the economic and cultural center of 

Atlanta’s African American community during most of the 

20th century, were established in 1980 to preserve, protect 

and interpret the places where Dr. King was born, worked, 

worshipped, and is buried. Located near downtown Atlanta, the park consists of 34.47 acres, of which 13.04 

acres is currently in federal ownership. 

Most of the park is self-guided, including the visitor center, Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, Dr. King’s 

gravesite, Freedom Hall and Historic Fire Station No. 6. 

Guided tours are provided for Dr. King’s Birth Home. In 

addition, the park preserves and maintains 22 historic 

properties. Most these properties are located on the same 

block as the Birth Home and are restored to the 1930s period when Dr. King lived on Auburn Avenue. These historic properties are leased, as residential units, to the general public. 

In 1992 when the NPS began planning for a visitor center, the preferred location was determined to be the site of 

the City-owned Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center. In accordance with P.L. 96–428, land could only be acquired from the City of Atlanta by donation. The City, realizing the importance of having an NPS visitor center 

within the park, agreed to donate the community center to 

the NPS. 

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Due in large part to the City’s generosity, the visitor 

center has been completed. However, emergency vehicles 

are unable to access the visitor center from nearby streets 

and additional land is needed to provide this emergency 

vehicle access. The City owns 1.71 acres that are adjacent 

to the visitor center, have easy access from Jackson Street, 

and could be developed to provide the needed emergency 

access for the visitor center. The City is interested in conveying all, or a portion, of this property to the NPS 

through an exchange. 

When the park was established, the boundary was created to ensure the preservation of Dr. King’s neighborhood. 

Included within the boundary is Edgewood Avenue. In 

order to assure preservation of the area NPS has gradually 

acquired several properties along Edgewood Avenue, which 

was a deteriorating commercial area. 

At the time the park was established, there were no 

local efforts to preserve properties along Edgewood Avenue. However, during the past 10 years several individuals 

and organizations, with the support of the City, have initiated restoration of the preservation district, including 

Edgewood Avenue. NPS ownership on Edgewood Avenue is 

no longer needed solely to ensure preservation and NPS 

has identified land along Edgewood Avenue that would be 

suitable for an exchange with the City, in order to acquire 

the parcel adjacent to the visitor center. 

That completes my testimony. I would be happy to answer any questions that you or any members of the subcommittee may have. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by H.R. 1616, 

as ordered reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to 

be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is printed in 

italic, existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in 

roman): 

Public Law 96–428 

AN ACT To establish the Martin Luther King, Junior, National Historic Site in the 

State of Georgia, and for other purposes 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 

United States of America in Congress assembled. That (a) in order 

to protect and interpret for the benefit, inspiration, and education 

of present and future generations the places where Martin Luther 

King, Junior, was born, where he lived, worked, and worshipped, 

and where he is buried, there is hereby established the Martin Luther King, Junior, National Historic Site in the State of Georgia. 

The national historic site shall consist of that real property in the 

city of Atlanta, Georgia, within the boundary generally depicted on 

the map entitled ‘‘Martin Luther King, Junior, National Historic 

Site Boundary Map’’, numbered NASM/SERO/20, 109–C, and dated 

May 1980, together with the property known as 234 Sunset Avenue, Northwest. The map referred to in this subsection shall be on 

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file and available for public inspection in the local and Washington, 

District of Columbia office of the National Park Service, Department of the Interior. 

(b) In furtherance of the purposes of this Act, there is hereby established the Martin Luther King, Junior, Preservation District, 

which shall consist of the area identified as ‘‘Preservation District’’ 

in the map referred to in subsection (a) of this section. 

SEC. 2. (a) The Secretary of the Interior (hereinafter referred to 

as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall administer the Martin Luther King, Junior, National Historic Site and Preservation District in accordance 

with the provisions of this Act, and the provisions of law generally 

applicable to national historic sites, including the Act of August 25, 

1916 (39 Stat. 535; 16 U.S.C. 1, 2–4) and the Act of August 21, 

1935 (49 Stat. 666; 16 U.S.C. 461–7). 

(b)(1) Within the national historic site the Secretary is authorized to acquire by donation, purchase with donated or appropriated 

funds transfer, or exchange, lands and interests therein, except 

that property owned by the State of Georgia or any political subdivision thereof may be acquired only by donationø.¿ or exchange. 

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