U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 

1 

59–010 

" ! SENATE 

114TH CONGRESS

2d Session 

REPORT

2016

114–228 

Calendar No. 390 

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 

MARCH 15, 2016.—Ordered to be printed 


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(II) 

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin, Chairman 

JOHN MCCAIN, Arizona 

ROB PORTMAN, Ohio 

RAND PAUL, Kentucky 

JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma 

MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming 

KELLY AYOTTE, New Hampshire 

JONI ERNST, Iowa 

BEN SASSE, Nebraska 

THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware 

CLAIRE MCCASKILL, Missouri 

JON TESTER, Montana 

TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin 

HEIDI HEITKAMP, North Dakota 

CORY A. BOOKER, New Jersey 

GARY C. PETERS, Michigan 

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 


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Calendar No. 390 

114TH CONGRESS SENATE REPORT " ! 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. 


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1 John Stanton, Government Good to Stevens’ Friends (July 10, 2007) Roll Call, http:// 

www.rollcall.com/issues/53_3/-19276-1.html. 2Telephone Call between Committee staff and John Hamilton, Director of Congressional Affairs, National Archives and Records Administration (Dec. 4, 2015). 3Statement 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. 

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. 

7Telephone Call between Committee staff and John Hamilton, Director of Congressional Affairs, National Archives and Records Administration (Dec. 4, 2015). 

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

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

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

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

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. 


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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 AdministraVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:20 Mar 18, 2016 Jkt 059010 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR228.XXX SR228

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tion (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), payas-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 onbudget 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. 

Æ 


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