39–006 

108TH CONGRESS REPT. 108–716 " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session Part 1 

MINGO JOB CORPS CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CENTER 

TRANSFER 

OCTOBER 4, 2004.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. POMBO, from the Committee on Resources, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 1814] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill (S. 

1814) to transfer Federal lands between the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior, having considered the 

same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass. 

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of S. 1814 is to transfer Federal lands between the 

Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

The Mingo National Wildlife Refuge is located in Puxico, Missouri. It was established on June 7, 1944, under the authority of 

the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and it consists of 21,676 acres of 

wildlife habitat. The Refuge is a major migration and wintering 

area for migratory waterfowl through the Mississippi Flyway. In 

the past, populations of 125,000 mallard ducks, 75,000 Canada 

geese and nesting bald eagles have been recorded at the Refuge. 

There are also over 140 identified archaeological sites within the 

Refuge. 

The Job Corps is a national employment program established by 

the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. It is administered by the 

Department of Labor to address employment barriers experienced 

by nearly 70,000 at-risk students each year between the ages of 16 

and 24. There are 118 Job Corps Centers throughout the country. 

A subset of the Job Corps are the Civilian Conservation Centers 

2 

(CCC), of which the U.S. Forest Service operates 18 and the Fish 

and Wildlife Service operates two. The latter two CCCs are: the 

Mingo Job Corps CCC and the Treasure Lake Job Corps CCC in 

Indiahoma, Oklahoma. The key difference between a Job Corps 

Center and a Job Corps CCC is that in addition to training, CCCs 

emphasis work-based efforts to conserve, develop or manage public 

recreational areas. 

The Mingo Job Corps CCC is located at the southeast corner of 

the refuge. It occupies 87 acres of the unit, including ten buildings 

on the campus, and a new education building is currently under 

construction. According to the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Center 

can accommodate up to 224 residential students and there are 76 

federal employees working at the Center. The fundamental goal of 

the Center is to provide students with the basic training and educational skills necessary to secure long-term employment and to 

have a successful career in the future. At this time, the Fish and 

Wildlife Service operates the Job Corps Center through an interagency agreement with the Department of Labor. During the past 

academic year, Mingo was ranked 29th out of 118 centers in the 

nation. Despite this fact, the Labor Department has indicated its 

desire to contract out the operation of the Mingo Center. To date, 

there is only one center, the Iroquois Job Corps Center in Medina, 

New York, that is operated by an outside private contractor. 

On March 6, 2003, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed 

that would transfer the administration and operations of the Mingo 

Job CCC to the Forest Service. Despite this agreement, the transfer cannot occur administratively because the National Wildlife 

Refuge Administration Act of 1966 stipulates that refuge land can 

not be transferred without an act of Congress. 

Under the terms of this legislation, the transfer will occur in an 

expedited manner. The Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Chief of the Forest Service will enter into a second 

Memorandum of Agreement that includes procedures for: the orderly transfer of employees; the transfer of property, fixtures and 

facilities; and the transfer of records. In addition, the bill stipulates 

that the property will revert back to the Fish and Wildlife Service 

if the Mingo Job Corps CCC is closed in the future. The Forest 

Service will not be liable for any environmental costs or damages 

that may have occurred on the 87 acres of property prior to the 

transfer. Each agency will be required to cover their own implementing costs and each federal employee transferred to the Forest 

Service will retain all of their employment rights and benefits. Finally, within 60 days after enactment of the bill, the Fish and 

Wildlife Service shall provide to the Forest Service an inventory of 

all property and facilities at the Center. 

COMMITTEE ACTION

S. 1814 was introduced on November 3, 2003, by Senator Kit 

Bond (R–MO). The bill was passed by the U.S. Senate on April 20, 

2004, and in the House of Representatives was referred to the 

Committee on Resources and additionally to the Committee on Agriculture and the Committee on Education and the Workforce. 

Within the Committee, the bill was referred to the Subcommittees 

on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans and Forests and 

Forests Health. On May 13, 2004, the Subcommittee on Fisheries 

3 

Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans held a hearing on the bill. On 

June 3, 2004, the Subcommittee met to mark up the bill. There 

were no amendments offered and the bill was then ordered favorably reported to the Full Committee. On September 15, 2004, the 

Full Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee on Forests and Forests Health was discharged from further consideration of the bill by unanimous consent. There were no 

amendments offered and the bill was then 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 Resources’ oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in 

the body of this report. 

CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United States 

grants 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. This bill does not 

authorize funding and therefore, clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the 

Rules of the House of Representatives does not apply. 

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: 

S. 1814—An act to transfer federal lands between the Secretary of 

Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior 

CBO estimates that implementing S. 1814 would have no significant impact on the federal budget. Enacting the legislation would 

not affect direct spending or revenues. S. 1814 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would not affect the budgets of 

state, local, or tribal governments. 

S. 1814 would transfer, from the Secretary of the Interior to the 

Secretary of Agriculture, administrative jurisdiction over the Mingo 

Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center, located in Missouri. Based 

4 

on information from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the 

Forest Service, CBO estimates that the agencies’ costs to complete 

the proposed transfer would total less than $100,000, assuming the 

availability of appropriated funds. We also estimate that transferring the center between agencies would not significantly affect operating costs. 

On April 12, 2004, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S. 1814 

as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Environment and 

Public Works on April 7, 2004. The two versions of S. 1814 are 

identical, and our cost estimates are the same. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Megan Carroll. This 

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. 

COMMITTEE CORRESPONDENCE

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 

COMMITTEE ON RESOURCES, 

Washington, DC, September 29, 2004. 

Hon. ROBERT GOODLATTE, 

Chairman, Committee on Agriculture, 

Longworth HOB, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: On September 15, 2004, the Committee on 

Resources ordered reported S. 1814, a bill to transfer Federal lands 

between the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior. The bill was referred primarily to the Committee on Resources, with an additional referral to the Committee on Agriculture because it affects activities in forests not created from the 

public domain. 

The author of the bill, Senator Kit Bond would like to see the 

measure considered on the Floor before we adjourn for the year. 

Knowing that we have only a short time remaining in this session, 

I ask that you allow the Committee on Agriculture to be discharged 

from further consideration of the bill so that it may be scheduled 

under suspension of the rules as soon as possible. This discharge 

in no way affects your jurisdiction over the subject matter of the 

bill and it will not serve as precedent for future referrals. In addition, should a conference on the bill be necessary, I would support 

your request to have the Committee on Agriculture represented on 

the conference committee. I would be pleased to include this letter 

and any response in the bill report filed by the Committee Resources. 

5 

Thank you for your consideration of my request and I look forward to bringing S. 1814 to the Floor soon. 

Sincerely, 

RICHARD W. POMBO, Chairman. 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 

COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, 

Washington, DC, October 4, 2004. 

Hon. RICHARD POMBO, 

Chairman, House Committee on Resources, 

Longworth House Office Building, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: I would like to take this opportunity to respond to your letter of September 29, 2004 concerning my committee’s discharge of S. 1814. This legislation, sponsored by Senator 

Kit Bond, would transfer federal lands between the Secretary of 

Agriculture and the Secretary of Interior. On September 23, 2004, 

the Committee on Agriculture favorably ordered reported by an affirmative voice vote S. 1814. As you are aware, the Committee on 

Agriculture was granted an additional referral of this legislation on 

those provisions that fall within the jurisdiction of this Committee. 

Knowing of your interest in expediting this legislation and in 

maintaining the continued consultation between our Committees 

on these matters, I will agree to discharge S. 1814 from further 

consideration by the Committee on Agriculture. I do so with the 

understanding that by discharging the bill, the Committee on Agriculture does not waive any future jurisdiction claim over these or 

similar measures. In addition, in the event a conference with the 

Senate is requested on this matter, the Committee on Agriculture 

reserves the right to seek appointment of conferees, if it should become necessary. 

Thank you for your consideration in this matter and look forward 

to seeing S. 1814 on the floor of the House of Representatives 

shortly. 

Sincerely, 

BOB GOODLATTE, 

Chairman. 

Æ