69–006 

110TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 110–865 

OREGON SURPLUS FEDERAL LAND ACT OF 2008 

SEPTEMBER 22, 2008.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 

State of the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. OBERSTAR, from the Committee on Transportation and 

Infrastructure, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 6370] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, to whom 

was referred the bill (H.R. 6370) to transfer excess Federal property administered by the Coast Guard to the Confederated Tribes 

of the Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and 

recommend that the bill do pass. 

PURPOSE OF THE LEGISLATION

H.R. 6370, the ‘‘Oregon Surplus Federal Land Act of 2008’’, 

transfers 24 acres of excess Federal property administered by the 

U.S. Coast Guard to the Secretary of the Interior to hold in trust 

for the Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua, and 

Siuslaw Indians. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

An Executive Order dated June 14, 1875, withdrew land at Cape 

Arago, in Coos County, Oregon, for lighthouse purposes. In 1949, 

a portion of that land was removed from the withdrawal, and ultimately transferred to the State of Oregon to be used as park land. 

The Coast Guard has determined that it no longer needs the property at Cape Arago, and has extinguished the light at the Cape 

Arago Light Station. The Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower 

Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians want to manage this land, which 

once served as a burial site and is sacred to the Tribes. 


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SUMMARY OF THE LEGISLATION

H.R. 6370 requires the Commandant of the Coast Guard to 

transfer approximately 24 acres of federally owned land, which includes the Cape Arago Light Station, in Coos County, Oregon, to 

the Secretary of the Interior as soon as practicable, but not later 

than five years after the date of the enactment. The land will be 

held in trust for the benefit of the Confederated Tribes of the Coos, 

Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians. 

The transfer of the jurisdiction of the Light Station is subject to 

the conditions that the Tribes use and make reasonable efforts to 

maintain the Station in accordance with the National Historic 

Preservation Act, the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the 

Treatment of Historic Properties and any other applicable laws. If 

the Tribes would like to make any changes to the Light Station, 

they shall submit the proposed changes to the Secretary for approval. 

H.R. 6370 prohibits the Confederated Tribes from selling, conveying, assigning, exchanging or encumbering the property in the 

future and prohibits the conduct of any commercial activities on 

the property without the approval of the Secretary. The Light Station is to be made available to the general public for educational, 

park, recreational, cultural, or historic preservation purposes. The 

Tribes shall allow the United States to enter the Light Station, at 

any time without notice, for the purposes of ensuring compliance 

of the conditions of transfer. 

If the Tribes fail to meet the conditions of transfer, the Secretary 

has the option to revert the Light Station or any associated historic 

artifact conveyed in conjunction with the transfer and place it 

under the administrative control of the Secretary. 

After the date of enactment of this Act or as soon as practicable, 

the Commandant shall file the maps entitled ‘‘Confederated Tribes 

of the Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Land Transfer Maps’’ and 

legal descriptions of the parcels that will be transferred with the 

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 

Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

Transportation of the Senate. Each map and legal description shall 

be on file and made available for public inspection at the Department of the Interior. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY AND COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

On June 26, 2008, Representative Peter A. DeFazio introduced 

H.R. 6370, the ‘‘Oregon Surplus Federal Land Act of 2008’’. On 

July 31, 2008, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

met in open session to consider H.R. 6370. The Committee ordered 

the bill reported favorably to the House by voice vote with a 

quorum present. 

RECORD VOTES

Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the House of Representatives requires 

each committee report to include the total number of votes cast for 

and against on each record vote on a motion to report and on any 

amendment offered to the measure or matter, and the names of 

those members voting for and against. There were no recorded 

votes taken in connection with considering H.R. 6370 or ordering 


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the bill reported. A motion to order H.R. 6370 reported favorably 

to the House was agreed to by voice vote with a quorum present. 

COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS

With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of 

the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee’s oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in this report. 

COST OF LEGISLATION

Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives does not apply where a cost estimate and comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 has been timely 

submitted prior to the filing of the report and is included in the report. Such a cost estimate is included in this report. 

COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII

1. With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII 

of the Rules of the House of Representatives, and 308(a) of the 

Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee references the 

report of the Congressional Budget Office included in the report. 

2. With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII 

of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the performance goals 

and objectives of this legislation are to transfer the administrative 

control of Federal property from the Coast Guard to the Secretary 

of the Interior. 

3. With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII 

of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 402 of the 

Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has received the 

enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 6370 from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office: 

U.S. CONGRESS, 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, 

Washington, DC, August 26, 2008. 

Hon. JAMES L. OBERSTAR, 

Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 

House of Representatives, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 6370, the Oregon Surplus 

Federal Land Act of 2008. 

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

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Tyler Kruzich. 

Sincerely, 

PETER H. FONTAINE

(For Peter R. Orszag, Director). 

Enclosure. 

H.R. 6370—Oregon Surplus Federal Land Act of 2008 

H.R. 6370 would require the U.S. Coast Guard to transfer to the 

Department of the Interior (DOI) about 24 acres of federal land in 

Coos County, Oregon. The land is home to the Cape Arago Light 

Station. DOI would be required to hold the land in trust for the 

Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians of Oregon. 


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Based on information from the Coast Guard and DOI, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 6370 would have no significant effect, on the federal budget, The transfer of the property from one 

federal agency to another would not affect administrative costs. 

Further, the land does not currently generate any receipts and is 

not expected to be sold within the next 10 years. 

H.R. 6370 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 Tyler Kruzich. This estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant Director 

for Budget Analysis. 

COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XXI

Pursuant to clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of 

Representatives, H.R. 6370 does not contain any congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in 

clause 9(d), 9(e), or 9(f) of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of 

Representatives. 

CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

Pursuant to clause (3)(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House 

of Representatives, committee reports on a bill or joint resolution 

of a public character shall include a statement citing the specific 

powers granted to the Congress in the Constitution to enact the 

measure. The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

finds that Congress has the authority to enact this measure pursuant to its powers granted under article I, section 8 of the Constitution. 

FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT

The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of Federal mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office 

pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

(Public Law 104–4). 

PREEMPTION CLARIFICATION

Section 423 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 requires the 

report of any Committee on a bill or joint resolution to include a 

statement on the extent to which the bill or joint resolution is intended to preempt state, local, or tribal law. The Committee states 

that H.R. 6370 does not preempt any state, local, or tribal law. 

ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT

No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) of the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act are created by this legislation. 

APPLICABILITY TO THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to the 

terms and conditions of employment or access to public services or 

accommodations within the meaning of section 102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act (Public Law 104–1). 


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CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

H.R. 6370 makes no changes in existing law. 


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