49–006 

109TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 109–622 

MISSISSIPPI RIVER TRAIL STUDY ACT 

SEPTEMBER 6, 2006.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State 

of the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. POMBO, from the Committee on Resources, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 1796] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 

(H.R. 1796) to amend the National Trails System Act to designate 

the route of the Mississippi River from its headwaters in the State 

of Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico for study for potential addition 

to the National Trails System as a national scenic trail, national 

historic trail, or both, 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. 1796 is to amend the National Trails System 

Act to designate the route of the Mississippi River from its headwaters in the State of Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico for study 

for potential addition to the National Trails System as a national 

scenic trail, national historic trail, or both, and for other purposes. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

The Mississippi River is a prominent natural feature of our country, an integral part of our history and a critical artery for modern 

commerce. According to the bill’s sponsor, designating a route along 

the Mississippi ensures that future generations can appreciate, understand and enjoy the great waterway. 

H.R. 1796 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a 

study examining the feasibility and suitability of including the Mississippi River in the National Trails System. Establishing a national trail along the River will connect the nearly 40 existing pubVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:52 Sep 08, 2006 Jkt 049006 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR622.XXX HR622

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lic land units on or very near the River, which include national forests, national parks and national wildlife refuges. 

H.R. 1796 attempts to control costs by requiring that all completed and ongoing studies on the scenic or historical importance 

of the Mississippi River be utilized to complete the assessment authorized by this legislation. 

COMMITTEE ACTION

H.R. 1796 was introduced on April 21, 2005, Congresswoman 

Betty McCollum (D–MN). The bill was referred to the Committee 

on Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on 

National Parks and the Subcommittee on Forests and Forest 

Health. On April 27, 2006, the Subcommittee on National Parks 

held a hearing on H.R. 1796. On July 19, 2006, the Committee on 

Resources met to consider the bill. The Subcommittees were discharged from further consideration of the bill by unanimous consent. No amendments were offered, and the bill was ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives by voice vote. 

CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

Article I, section 8, clause 3, and Article IV, section 3, clause 2 

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. As required by 

clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or objective 

of this bill is to amend the National Trails System Act to designate 

the route of the Mississippi River from its headwaters in the State 

of Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico for study for potential addition 

to the National Trails System as a national scenic trail, national 

historic trail, or both. 

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: 

H.R. 1796—Mississippi River Trail Study Act 

H.R. 1796 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to study 

whether to establish a national trail along the entire length of the 


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Mississippi River. Based on information from the National Park 

Service, CBO estimates that the proposed study would cost about 

$500,000, assuming the availability of appropriated funds. Enacting H.R. 1796 would not affect direct spending or revenues. 

H.R. 1796 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. 

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 MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the bill, 

as 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): 

SECTION 5 OF THE NATIONAL TRAILS SYSTEM ACT 

NATIONAL SCENIC AND NATIONAL HISTORICAL TRAILS

SEC. 5. (a) * * * 

* * * * * * * 

(c) The following routes shall be studied in accordance with the 

objectives outlined in subsection (b) of this section: 

(1) * * * 

* * * * * * * 

ø(42) The¿ (41) LONG WALK TRAIL.—The Long Walk Trail, a series of routes which the Navajo and Mescalero Apache Indian 

tribes were forced to walk beginning in the fall of 1863 as a result 

of their removal by the United States Government from their ancestral lands, generally located within a corridor extending through 

portions of Canyon de Chelley, Arizona, and Albuquerque, Canyon 

Blanco, Anton Chico, Canyon Piedra Pintado, and Fort Sumner, 

New Mexico. 

ø(41)¿ (42) METACOMET-MONADNOCK-MATTABESETT TRAIL.—The 

Metacomet-Monadnock-Mattabesett Trail, a system of trails and 

potential trails extending southward approximately 180 miles 

through western Massachusetts on the Metacomet-Monadnock 

Trail, across central Connecticut on the Metacomet Trail and the 

Mattabesett Trail, and ending at Long Island Sound. 

* * * * * * * 


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(43) MISSISSIPPI RIVER TRAIL.—The route of the Mississippi River 

from its headwaters in the State of Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico. 

* * * * * * * 

Æ 


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