59–010 

Calendar No. 608 

114TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 2d Session 114–335 

MEDGAR EVERS HOUSE STUDY ACT 

SEPTEMBER 6, 2016.—Ordered to be printed 

Ms. MURKOWSKI, from the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 959] 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the bill (H.R. 959) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study of the Medgar Evers House, 

located in Jackson, Mississippi, and for other purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment 

and recommends that the bill do pass. 

PURPOSE

The purpose of H.R. 959 is to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study of the Medgar Evers House, 

located in Jackson, Mississippi. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED

Medgar Evers was a prominent civil rights leader from Decatur, 

Mississippi, who fought to end the racial injustice he experienced 

growing up in the South. He was the first field secretary for the 

National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peoples 

(NAACP) in the South and helped integrate the University of Mississippi. 

The Evers family home located in Jackson, Mississippi, was the 

site of his assassination in 1963 by Byron De La Beckwith, a member of the White Citizens’ Council. The home, now a museum operated by Tougaloo College, contains period furnishings, exhibits, and 

family photographs. 

The legislation would authorize the National Park Service (NPS) 

to undertake a special resource study to examine the national significance of the home of the late civil rights activist, Medgar Evers; 

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its suitability and feasibility for potential designation as a unit of 

the National Park System; and the need for NPS management of 

the site versus management by other public or private entities. 

During the study, the NPS will also consult and collaborate with 

various public and private entities to determine costs and other factors associated with the acquisition, preservation, and maintenance 

of the site. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

Representative Thompson introduced H.R. 959, on February 12, 

2015. The bill was reported favorably by the House Committee on 

Natural Resources on September 8, 2015 (H. Rept. 114–251), and 

was passed by voice vote in the House of Representatives on September 16, 2015. 

In the Senate, Senators Cochran and Wicker introduced similar 

language to H.R. 959, S. 2177, on October 8, 2015. The Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on S. 2177 and H.R. 

959 on March 17, 2016. 

In the 113th Congress, in the House of Representatives, Representative Thompson introduced similar legislation to H.R. 959, 

H.R. 2326, on June 18, 2013. 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources met in open 

business session on July 13, 2016, and ordered H.R. 959 favorably 

reported. 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 

open business session on July 13, 2016, by a majority voice vote of 

a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 959. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title 

Section 1 contains the short title. 

Section 2. Special resource study 

Section 2(a) directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study of the home of late civil rights activist Medgar 

Evers in Jackson, Mississippi. 

Subsection (b) requires the Secretary of the Interior to evaluate 

the national significance of the study area; determine the suitability and feasibility of designating the site to the National Park 

System; consider other alternatives; consult with interested Federal, State, or local government entities, or private or nonprofit organizations; determine the effect of designating the site on existing 

commercial and recreational uses and impact on State and local 

governments to manage those activities; identify any authorities 

that will compel or permit the Secretary to influence or participate 

in local land use decisions or place restrictions on non-Federal 

land; and identify Federal cost estimates for various site-relation 

actions. 

Subsection (c) requires the study to be conducted in accordance 

with applicable laws. 

Subsection (d) requires the Secretary of the Interior to submit a 

report that describes the study’s findings and conclusions, and any 

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recommendations to the House Committee on Natural Resources 

and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources within three years after the funds are made available. 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of the costs of this measure has been provided by the Congressional Budget Office: 

U.S. CONGRESS, CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, Washington, DC, August 4, 2016. 

Hon. LISA MURKOWSKI, 

Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 

U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MADAM CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has 

prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 959, the Medgar Evers 

House Study Act. 

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

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Jon Sperl. 

Sincerely, 

MARK P. HADLEY, 

(For Keith Hall, Director). 

Enclosure. 

H.R. 959—Medgar Evers House Study Act 

H.R. 959 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to study the 

suitability and feasibility of designating the Medgar Evers House 

in Jackson, Mississippi, as a unit of the National Park System. Assuming the availability of appropriated funds, CBO estimates that 

carrying out the proposed study would cost about $200,000. Enacting H.R. 959 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO estimates that 

enacting H.R. 959 would not increase net direct spending or onbudget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2027. 

H.R. 959 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 July 28, 2015, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 959, 

as ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources 

on July 9, 2015. The two versions of the legislation are the same 

and CBO’s estimate of their budgetary effects are the same. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jon Sperl. The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, 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. 959. The bill is not a regulatory measure in the sense of imposing Government-established standards or significant economic 

responsibilities on private individuals and businesses. 

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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. 959, as ordered reported. 

CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

H.R. 959, as ordered reported, does not contain any congressionally directed spending items, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff 

benefits as defined in rule XLIV of the Standing Rules of the Senate. 

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

The testimony provided by the National Park Service at the 

March 17, 2016, Subcommittee on National Parks hearing on H.R. 

959 follows: 

STATEMENT OF PEGGY O’DELL, DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, U.S. DEPARTMENT

OF THE INTERIOR

Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, thank 

you for the opportunity to present the Department of the 

Interior’s testimony regarding S. 2177 and H.R. 959, bills 

to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to study the suitability and feasibility of designating the Medgar Evers 

House in Jackson, Mississippi, as a unit of the National 

Park System, and for other purposes. 

The Department supports S. 2177 and H.R. 959 with 

amendments described later in this testimony. Priority 

should be given, however, to the 25 previously authorized 

studies for potential units of the National Park System, 

potential new National Heritage Areas, and potential additions to the National Trails System and National Wild and 

Scenic River System that have not yet been transmitted to 

Congress. 

S. 2177 and H.R. 959 would authorize the Secretary of 

the Interior to conduct a special resource study of the 

Medgar Evers House in Jackson, Mississippi, for potential 

inclusion in the National Park System. We estimate that 

this study will cost approximately $200,000 to $300,000. 

Funding for this proposed study would need to be allocated 

from the set amount of funding that Congress appropriates 

for all special resource studies. 

Medgar Evers was born in 1925 in Decatur, Mississippi. 

He was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1943, fought in both 

France and Germany during World War II, and received 

an honorable discharge in 1946. He met his future wife, 

Myrlie Beasley, while a student at Alcorn College in 

Lorman, Mississippi. Eventually, they had three children: 

Darrell, Reena, and James. 

Mr. Evers’ first job following graduation was as an insurance salesman in 1952. He gradually became involved 

in civil rights causes and action through the Regional 

Council of Negro Leadership, a society in Mississippi 

founded in 1951 to promote a program of civil rights, selfmstockstill on DSK3G9T082PROD with HEARINGS

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help, and business ownership. He later worked on behalf 

of the NAACP by organizing local affiliates. 

In 1954 Medgar Evers applied for admission to the University of Mississippi Law School but was rejected. He 

filed a discrimination lawsuit against the university with 

the aid of his attorney, Thurgood Marshall, who later became the first African-American justice on the United 

States Supreme Court. Even though the lawsuit failed to 

gain Mr. Evers admittance to the law school, he gained national attention and in the same year became state field 

secretary for the NAACP. 

His activities included recruiting new members, organizing voter-registration drives, and leading economic boycotts of companies that practiced discrimination. 

Ultimately, these activities attracted the attention of 

those who opposed racial equality and desegregation, including those willing to resort to violence to maintain the 

status quo. These opponents of equal rights began to subject Medgar Evers and his family to threats, intimidation, 

and other forms of violence. His house was firebombed in 

May 1963 and he was assassinated by a gunshot in the 

back in his driveway on June 12, 1963. Subsequently, he 

was buried in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors. 

Mrs. Evers and her children lived in the house for a year 

following the murder of her husband, but she decided that 

she could not remain there and moved her family to California. Subsequently, she donated the house to Tougaloo 

College in Tougaloo, Mississippi. The house had deteriorated over the years so the Mississippi Department of Archives and History and Tougaloo College decided to restore 

it as a museum commemorating the life and tragic death 

of one of the icons of the Civil Rights movement in America. Guided tours of the house are available to the public 

by appointment. 

S. 2177 and H.R. 959 include certain requirements for 

the study which we recommend deleting. Specifically, we 

urge deleting section 2(b)(5) of both bills, which would require an analysis of the effect of designation as a unit of 

the National Park System on existing commercial and recreational activities, and on the authority of state and local 

governments to manage those activities. We also urge deleting section 2(b)(6) of both bills, which would require an 

identification of any authorities that would compel or permit the Secretary of the Interior to influence or participate 

in local land use decisions or place restrictions on non-federal lands. H.R. 959, as introduced in the House, did not 

include these requirements. 

The purpose of conducting a special resource study is to 

determine whether a resource meets the criteria for inclusion in the National Park System and, if it does not, to 

provide information on alternative means to protect the resource. We believe that the special resource study requirements under existing law result in a sufficient amount of 

information and analysis of the effects of including a remstockstill on DSK3G9T082PROD with HEARINGS

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source in the National Park System. These additional requirements could potentially increase the cost of the study 

and the time required to complete it. 

Mr. Chairman, this concludes my statement. I would be 

pleased to answer questions that you or other members of 

the subcommittee might 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 as ordered reported. 

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