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[Senate Report 106-318]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                                                       Calendar No. 636
106th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     106-318

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                  PEOPLING OF AMERICA THEME STUDY ACT

                                _______
                                

                 June 27, 2000.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Murkowski, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 2478]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 2478) to require the Secretary of the 
Interior to conduct a theme study on the peopling of America, 
and for other purposes, having considered the same, reports 
favorably thereon with amendments and recommends that the bill 
as amended do pass.
    The amendments are as follows:
    1. On page 4, after line 10, insert:
          ``(3) Peopling of America.--The term `peopling of 
        America' means the migration to and within, and the 
        settlement of, the United States.''
    2. On page 4, line 16, insert ``trails,'' after ``areas,''.
    3. On page 5, line 11, strike ``Places'' and all that 
follows through the end of the sentence and insert in lieu 
thereof ``Places.''.
    4. On page 6, line 18, insert ``trails,'' after ``areas,''.

                         purpose of the measure

    The purpose of S. 2478 is to direct the Secretary of the 
Interior to conduct a theme study on the peopling of America to 
provide a basis for identifying, interpreting, and preserving 
sites related to the migration, immigration, and settling of 
America.

                          background and need

    The National Park Service includes only one significant 
site that celebrates the peopling of America. Ellis Island, 
which is now part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument, 
welcomed over 12 million immigrants between 1892 and 1954, a 
large majority of whom crossed the Atlantic from Europe. Ellis 
Island celebrates these immigrant experiences through a museum, 
historic buildings, and a memorial wall. Ellis Island, however, 
focuses on only Atlantic immigration and thus reflects the 
experience only of those groups who were processed during its 
active period.
    Not all immigrants and their descendants can identify with 
Ellis Island. Tens of millions of other immigrants traveled to 
the United States through other ports of entry and at different 
times in the Nation's history and prehistory.
    S. 2478 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to 
prepare a theme study to identify regions, areas, districts, 
structures and cultures that illustrate and commemorate key 
events or decisions in the peopling of America, and which can 
provide a basis for the preservation and interpretation of the 
peopling of America. The study would provide recommendations 
concerning the designation of new national historic landmarks 
and authorize the Secretary to make such designations based on 
the study's recommendations. The study would also identify 
those units of the National Park System at which the peopling 
of America could be interpreted, and provide the Secretary with 
information to make recommendations for potential inclusion of 
new areas within the System. The bill also includes provisions 
to facilitate the development of cooperative programs with 
educational institutions, public history organizations, state 
and local governments, and groups knowledgeable about the 
peopling of America.

                          legislative history

    S. 2478 was introduced by Senators Akaka and Graham on 
April 27, 2000. The Subcommittee on National Parks, Historic 
Preservation, and Recreation held a hearing on S. 2478 on May 
11, 2000. At its business meeting on June 7, 2000, the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 2478, 
favorably reported, as amended.

            committee recommendation and tabulation of votes

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on June 7, 2000, by a unanimous vote of a 
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 2478, if 
amended as described herein.

                          committee amendments

    During the consideration of S. 2478, the Committee adopted 
an amendment to: add trails to the list of items that should be 
studied; provide a definition of ``peopling of America''; and 
eliminate the explicit requirement that the Secretary of the 
Interior assist members of the public in evaluating sites for 
inclusion on the List of Historic Structures and/or Landmarks.

                      section-by-section analysis

    Section 1 designates the bill's short title.
    Section 2 contains Congressional findings regarding the 
peopling of America.
    Section 3 provides definitions for terms used in the bill.
    Section 4(a) directs the Secretary of the Interior 
(Secretary) to prepare and submit to Congress a theme study on 
the peopling of America.
    Subsection 4(b) describes the purpose of the study, which 
are to identify regions, areas, trails, districts, communities, 
sites, buildings, structures, objects, organizations, 
societies, and cultures that best illustrate and commemorate 
key events or decisions affecting the peopling of America; and 
can provide a basis for the preservation and interpretation of 
the peopling of America.
    Subsection 4(c)  requires the study to identify and make 
recommendations for the designation of new national historic 
landmarks, and directs the Secretary to make such designations 
based on the study's findings.
    Subsection 4(d) requires the study to identify units of the 
National Park System at which the peopling of America may be 
interpreted, and directs the Secretary to make recommendations 
to Congress regarding sites for which studies for potential 
inclusion within the System should be authorized.
    Subsection 4(e) directs the Secretary, after submitting the 
theme study to Congress, to continue the activities described 
in section 4(c) and (d).
    Subsection 4(f) authorizes the Secretary to identify 
appropriate means of establishing links between the entities 
identified in subsections (b) and (d) and other groups of 
people for the purpose of maximizing opportunities for 
education and research on the peopling of America. The 
Secretary is also authorized to enter into cooperative 
arrangements to preserve and interpret key sites in the 
peopling of America.
    Section 5 authorizes the Secretary to enter into 
cooperative agreements to prepare the theme study.
    Section 6 authorizes the appropriation of such sums as are 
necessary to carry out the Act.

                   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, June 14, 2000.
Hon. Frank H. Murkowski,
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 S. 2478, the Peopling 
of America Theme Study Act.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact for this 
estimate is Deborah Reis.
            Sincerely,
                                         Robert A. Sunshine
                                    (For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
    Enclosure.

S. 2478--Peopling of America Theme Study Act

    S. 2478 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to 
conduct a study on how the United States was populated, 
including the settlement and migration to and within the United 
States and its territories. The legislation would require the 
Secretary to identify and designate new national historic 
landmarks.
    Assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts, CBO 
estimates that the federal government would spend up to 
$300,000 over the next three years to conduct the study and 
enter into cooperative agreements with local governments and 
other entities. The bill would not affect direct spending or 
receipts; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply. 
S. 2478 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 contacts for this estimate are Deborah Reis 
and Ali Aslam. The 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 S. 2478. The bill is not a regulatory measure in 
the sense of imposing Government-establishing 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 S. 2478, as ordered reported.

                        executive communications

    On June 6, 2000, 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 S. 2478. These 
reports had not been received at the time the report on S. 2478 
was filed. When the reports become available, the Chairman will 
request that they be printed in the Congressional Record for 
the advice of the Senate. The testimony provided by the 
National Park Service at the Subcommittee hearing follows:

 Statement of Denis P. Galvin, Deputy Director, National Park Service, 
                       Department of the Interior

    Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to present the 
Department of the Interior's views on S. 2478, to direct the 
Secretary of the Interior to conduct a theme study on the 
peopling of America.
    The Department supports S. 2478 with amendments. We believe 
that the theme study on the peopling of America and related 
actions authorized by this bill would lead to a better 
understanding of the contributions many different groups of 
people made to the development of our nation and to the 
preservation and interpretation of sites that help tell the 
stories of those contributions.
    We should note that this study is not one of the new area 
studies proposed for authorization and funding in the letter to 
the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the House 
Resources Committee accompanying the President's FY 2001 
budget. We would recommend that the studies in that letter 
receive priority for authorization and funding.
    S. 2478 would require the Secretary of the Interior to 
prepare a National Historic Landmark theme study on the 
peopling of America--that is, on the migration, immigration, 
and settlement of the population of the United States. The 
purpose of the study would be to identify places and groups and 
people that best illustrate and commemorate key events or 
decisions affecting the peopling of America, and that can 
provide a basis for the preservation and interpretation of the 
movements of groups of people that have shaped the United 
States. This would include groups that came to America before 
the nation of the United States existed. The study would 
identify and nominate new national historic landmarks, and 
would also encourage the nomination of properties to the 
National Register of Historic Places. In addition, the theme 
study would include an identification of current sites within 
units of the National Park System at which the peopling of 
America may be interpreted.
    In addition to authorizing the theme study, S. 2478 would 
require the Secretary to take certain actions on the basis of 
the study. Those actions include designating new national 
historic landmarks and recommending sites for which studies for 
potential inclusion in the National Park System should be 
authorized according to the provisions of the National Park 
Service Omnibus Management Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-391). Such 
sites would presumably be included in the Secretary's annual 
list of proposed new area studies that accompanies the 
President's budget, pursuant to the Act. The Secretary would be 
required to evaluate, identify, and designate new national 
historic landmarks and to evaluate, identify, and recommend new 
area studies related to the peopling of America on an ongoing 
basis.
    In addition, on the basis of the theme study, the Secretary 
would be authorized to identify appropriate means for 
establishing ways to link places, groups of people, and units 
of the National Park System to maximize opportunities for 
public education and scholarly research on the peopling of 
America. The Secretary would also be authorized to enter into 
cooperative arrangements with appropriate entities to preserve 
and interpret key sites in the peopling of America. And, the 
Secretary would be required to use the documentation in the 
theme study for a broad range of educational initiatives and 
cooperative programs to encourage the preservation and 
interpretation of the peopling of America. Finally, the 
Secretary would be authorized to use cooperative agreements 
with various entities knowledgeable about the peopling of 
America both for the theme study itself and for the actions 
undertaken as a result of the study.
    The National Historic Landmarks program was established by 
the Act of August 21, 1935, commonly known as the Historic 
Sites, Buildings and Antiquities Act (16 U.S.C. 461 et seq.) 
and is implemented according to 36 CFR part 65. The program's 
mission is to identify those places that best illustrate the 
themes, events, or persons that are nationally significant to 
the history of the United States and that retain a high degree 
of integrity. Potential National Historic Landmarks are often 
identified through ``theme studies'' such as the one that would 
be authorized by S. 2478. One ongoing theme study related to 
the ``peopling of America'' is a joint effort by the National 
Park Service and the Society for American Archaeology entitled 
``The Earliest Americans,'' which is designed to identify sites 
related to the initial migration of Native Americans to North 
America at the end of the last Ice Age.
    The Secretary of the Interior has previously recognized as 
National Historic Landmarks a number of sites that could be 
associated with sections of the ``peopling of America'' theme. 
One example is the Angel Island Immigration Station in 
California. Other recognition has focused on the places where 
various immigrant communities lived, worked, worshipped, and 
were buried. In addition, the National Park Service has 
identified several National Historic Trails, such as the Mormon 
Pioneer and the California National Historic Trails, which 
focus on settlement and migration within the United States.
    If the Peopling of America theme study is authorized and 
funded, we anticipate that the National Park Service would 
partner with nationwide historical and anthropological 
organizations to provide experts in the history of immigration 
to the United States and migration within the country.
    While we support the authorization of the theme study, we 
recommend that the bill be amended to add a definition of 
``peopling of America'' to Section 3 of the bill. We also 
believe that ``trails'' should be added to the list of places 
that would be identified as places that illustrate key 
immigration or migration events in Section 4(b) and to the list 
of places that are considered for education and research 
purposes in Section 4(f)(1)(a). And, we recommend that 
``assisting members of the public in evaluating sites'' of 
historic importance called for in Section 4(b)(2)(B) not be an 
explicit requirement of the theme study, as that is an activity 
that is beyond the scope of a study.
    Mr. Chairman, the story of immigration and migration is 
historically relevant to all Americans; it is a vital part of 
our national character. If the peopling of America theme study 
is authorized and funded, the National Park Service will be 
ready to explore this uniquely American story so that we and 
future generations will better understand our collective 
heritage as immigrants.
    Mr. Chairman, that concludes my statement. I would be 
pleased to answer any questions you or other 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, the Committee notes that no 
changes in existing law are made by the bill S. 2478, as 
ordered reported.

                                  
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