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[Senate Report 114-228]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                                                      Calendar No. 390
114th Congress     }                                       {    Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session        }                                       {   114-228
_______________________________________________________________________

                                     

                     TO DIRECT THE ADMINISTRATOR OF

                   GENERAL SERVICES, ON BEHALF OF THE

                   ARCHIVIST OF THE UNITED STATES, TO

                    CONVEY CERTAIN FEDERAL PROPERTY

                     LOCATED IN THE STATE OF ALASKA

                TO THE MUNICIPALITY OF ANCHORAGE, ALASKA

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 of the

                   COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND

                          GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                              to accompany

                                S. 1492

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

                 March 15, 2016.--Ordered to be printed
                                   ______

                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 

59-010                         WASHINGTON : 2016                  
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
        COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                    RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin, Chairman
JOHN McCAIN, Arizona                 THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware
ROB PORTMAN, Ohio                    CLAIRE McCASKILL, Missouri
RAND PAUL, Kentucky                  JON TESTER, Montana
JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma             TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin
MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming             HEIDI HEITKAMP, North Dakota
KELLY AYOTTE, New Hampshire          CORY A. BOOKER, New Jersey
JONI ERNST, Iowa                     GARY C. PETERS, Michigan
BEN SASSE, Nebraska

                  Christopher R. Hixon, Staff Director
                Gabrielle D'Adamo Singer, Chief Counsel
       Patrick J. Bailey, Chief Counsel for Governmental Affairs
              Gabrielle A. Batkin, Minority Staff Director
           John P. Kilvington, Minority Deputy Staff Director
               Mary Beth Schultz, Minority Chief Counsel
         Brian F. Papp, Jr., Minority Professional Staff Member
                     Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                                                      Calendar No. 390
114th Congress     }                                       {    Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session        }                                       {   114-228

======================================================================

 
   TO DIRECT THE ADMINISTRATOR OF GENERAL SERVICES, ON BEHALF OF THE 
  ARCHIVIST OF THE UNITED STATES, TO CONVEY CERTAIN FEDERAL PROPERTY 
LOCATED IN THE STATE OF ALASKA TO THE MUNICIPALITY OF ANCHORAGE, ALASKA

                                _______
                                

                 March 15, 2016.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Johnson, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
                    Affairs, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 1492]

    The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 1492) to direct the 
Administrator of General Services, on behalf of the Archivist 
of the United States, to convey certain Federal property 
located in the State of Alaska to the Municipality of 
Anchorage, Alaska, having considered the same, reports 
favorably thereon with an amendment and recommends that the 
bill, as amended, do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
  I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
 II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................2
III. Legislative History..............................................2
 IV. Section-by-Section Analysis......................................3
  V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................3
 VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................3
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............4

                         I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

    S. 1492 directs the General Services Administration (GSA), 
on behalf of the National Archives and Records Administration 
(NARA), to offer to convey a parcel of land to the Municipality 
of Anchorage, Alaska (Anchorage). The bill requires that any 
proceeds from the sale be transferred to the Department of the 
Treasury to be used for deficit reduction.

              II. BACKGROUND AND THE NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    On June 8, 2004, GSA purchased a parcel of land in 
Anchorage, Alaska, for the purpose of building a site to expand 
NARA's operations in the city.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\John Stanton, Government Good to Stevens' Friends (July 10, 
2007) Roll Call, http://www.rollcall.com/issues/53_3/-19276-1.html.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    At the time, NARA operated a records center in Anchorage to 
allow local citizens to view Federal records related to Alaska. 
According to NARA, the additional site was never developed and 
remains an empty lot.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\Telephone Call between Committee staff and John Hamilton, 
Director of Congressional Affairs, National Archives and Records 
Administration (Dec. 4, 2015).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    On March 11, 2014, NARA announced the permanent closure of 
the facility in Anchorage, ending all NARA activities in the 
state.\3\ The Anchorage archival records were moved to the NARA 
records center in Seattle, WA, and digitization makes the 
records available to residents of Alaska via the Internet.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\Statement by Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero 
(2014), available at https://www.archives.gov/press/press-releases/
2014/nr14-41.html.
    \4\Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    NARA's chief operating officer, Jay Bosanko, stated at the 
time that they ``had to look at each of [the records centers] 
and make an assessment about their level of use, the cost to 
store materials and other factors, and these recent moves were 
based on all that.''\5\ Mr. Bosanko stated that relocation of 
the archives was due to the high cost of storing the records in 
Anchorage, and that given the low usage of the Anchorage 
facility, NARA could service records users more efficiently 
from Seattle.\6\ Despite ceasing all operations in Alaska, NARA 
continues to own the empty parcel of land it purchased in 
2004.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\Brian Robinson, NARA plans online public access to relocated 
Alaska archives, Government Computer News (Apr. 4, 2014), https://
gcn.com/articles/2014/04/04/nara-alaska.aspx.
    \6\Id.
    \7\Telephone Call between Committee staff and John Hamilton, 
Director of Congressional Affairs, National Archives and Records 
Administration (Dec. 4, 2015).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    S. 1492 directs GSA to offer to sell the empty property to 
the city of Anchorage for not less than the fair market value 
of the property. The bill requires that the property be 
appraised by a licensed, independent appraiser approved by NARA 
and the city of Anchorage, and that NARA approve the appraisal. 
It also requires the city of Anchorage to pay for the appraisal 
and any other costs incidental to the conveyance. Any proceeds 
from the sale are required to be transferred to the Department 
of the Treasury for the purpose of deficit reduction.

                        III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan introduced S. 1492 on June 3, 
2015. The bill was referred to the Committee on Homeland 
Security and Governmental Affairs.
    The Committee considered S. 1492 at a business meeting on 
December 9, 2015. During the business meeting, Chairman Ron 
Johnson offered a substitute amendment as modified, which made 
technical corrections to the bill. The substitute amendment was 
adopted and the bill, as amended, was reported favorably, both 
by voice vote. Members present for both the vote on the 
amendment and on final passage were Senators Johnson, Portman, 
Lankford, Ayotte, Ernst, Carper, Tester, Baldwin, and Booker.

        IV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE BILL, AS REPORTED

Section 1. Real property conveyance

    Subsection (a) defines the terms ``Archivist'' and 
``city.''
    Subsection (b) directs the GSA Administrator, on behalf of 
the NARA Archivist, to offer to convey certain real property to 
Anchorage, and requires the city of Anchorage to pay all 
associated costs, including the survey and appraisal required 
by this section.
    Subsection (c) provides the legal description of the real 
property to be conveyed, and requires that, prior to 
conveyance, Anchorage pay for a survey of the property and that 
the survey be approved by NARA.
    Subsection (d) mandates that the property be conveyed for 
not less than the fair market value, to be determined by an 
independent appraisal.
    Finally, subsection (e) requires that any proceeds of the 
sale be transferred to the Department of the Treasury and used 
for deficit reduction.

                   V. EVALUATION OF REGULATORY IMPACT

    Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule 
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has 
considered the regulatory impact of this bill and determined 
that the bill will have no regulatory impact within the meaning 
of the rules. The Committee agrees with the Congressional 
Budget Office's statement that the bill contains no 
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs 
on state, local, or tribal governments.

             VI. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                   Washington, DC, January 8, 2016.
Hon. Ron Johnson,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. 
        Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1492, a bill to 
direct the Administrator of the General Services, on behalf of 
the Archivist of the United States, to convey certain Federal 
property located in the State of Alaska to the Municipality of 
Anchorage, Alaska.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew 
Pickford.
            Sincerely,
                                                        Keith Hall.
    Enclosure.

S. 1492--A bill to direct the Administrator of the General Services, on 
        behalf of the Archivist of the United States, to convey certain 
        Federal property located in the State of Alaska to the 
        Municipality of Anchorage, Alaska

    S. 1492 would authorize the General Services Administration 
(GSA), on behalf of the National Archives and Records 
Administration (NARA) to sell certain property in Anchorage, 
Alaska, for its fair market value. According to NARA and GSA, 
the federal government acquired this undeveloped property in 
2005 for $3.5 million.
    CBO expects that the property will be sold under current 
law at some point over the next ten years because the agency 
has closed its operating facilities in Alaska. Because the 
legislation could accelerate the process of selling the 
property, and thus collection of sale proceeds (which are 
treated as offsets to direct spending), pay-as-you-go 
procedures apply. However, CBO estimates that there would be no 
net effect on direct spending over the 2016-2025 period. 
Enacting the bill would not affect revenues. CBO estimates that 
enacting S. 1462 would not increase net direct spending or on-
budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods 
beginning in 2026.
    S. 1492 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would benefit the municipality of Anchorage, Alaska. Any costs 
to the municipality resulting from the land conveyance would be 
incurred voluntarily.
    On April 23, 2015, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 
336, a bill to direct the Administrator of the General 
Services, on behalf of the Archivist of the United States, to 
convey certain Federal property located in the State of Alaska 
to the Municipality of Anchorage, Alaska, as ordered reported 
by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on 
April 15, 2015. The two pieces of legislation are similar, and 
CBO's estimate of their budgetary effects are the same.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew 
Pickford. The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, 
Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

       VII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

    Because this legislation would not repeal or amend any 
provision of current law, it would make no changes in existing 
law within the meaning of clauses (a) and (b) of paragraph 12 
of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate.

                                  [all]
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