89–010

Calendar No. 59

107TH CONGRESS REPORT

1st Session " ! SENATE 107–24

PEOPLING OF AMERICA THEME STUDY ACT

JUNE 5, 2001.—Ordered to be printed

Mr. MURKOWSKI, from the Committee on Energy and Natural

Resources, submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany S. 329]

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was

referred the bill (S. 329) 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

without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.

PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE

The purpose of S. 329 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, an overwhelming 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.
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S. 329 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. 329 was introduced by Senators Akaka and Graham on February 14, 2001. The Subcommittee on National Parks, Historic

Preservation, and Recreation held a hearing on an identical bill, S.

2478, on May 11, 2000. At its business meeting on May 16, 2001,

the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 329,

favorably reported without amendment.

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open business session on May 16, 2001, by a unanimous vote of a quorum

present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 329, without amendment.

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 Con-
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gress 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 sections

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 costs of this measure has been provided

by the Congressional Budget Office.

S. 329—Peopling of America Theme Study Act

S. 329 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a

theme study on the peopling of America (defined as the settlement

and migration to and within the United States and its territories).

The legislation would require the Secretary to identify and designate potential new National Historic Landmarks.

Assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts, CBO estimates that the federal government would spend about $300,000

over the next three years to conduct the required 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. 329 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 Deborah Reis. The estimate was approved by Peter 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. 329.

The bill is not a regulatory measure in the sense of imposing

Government-established 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. 329, as ordered reported.
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EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

A legislative report was not requested on S. 329. The testimony

provided by the National Park Service on S. 2478, an identical bill

introduced in the 106th Congress 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 decision 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
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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 the

United States and that retain a high degree of integrity.

Potential National Historic Landmarks are often identified

through ‘‘them studies’’ such as the one that would be authorized by S. 2478. One ongoing theme study related to

the ‘‘people 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.
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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. 329, as ordered reported.

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