99–010

Calendar No. 577

107TH CONGRESS REPORT

2d Session " ! SENATE 107–260

HOMESTEAD NATIONAL MONUMENT OF AMERICA

ADDITIONS ACT

SEPTEMBER 9, 2002.—Ordered to be printed

Mr. BINGAMAN, from the Committee on Energy and Natural

Resources, submitted the following

R E P O R T

[To accompany H.R. 38]

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was

referred the Act (H.R. 38) to provide for additional lands to be included within the boundaries of the Homestead National Monument of America in the State of Nebraska, and for other purposes,

having considered the same, reports favorably thereon without

amendment and recommends that the Act do pass.

PURPOSE

The purpose of H.R. 38 is to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to acquire approximately 18.98 acres of privately owned land

and 13.9 acres of State-owned land to be included within the

boundaries of the Homestead National Monument of America in

the State of Nebraska.

BACKGROUND AND NEED

The Homestead National Monument of America, located in

southeast Nebraska near the town of Beatrice, commemorates one

of the first documented Nebraska homesteads claimed after the

passage of the Homestead Act of 1862. The Homestead Act provided that any citizen or intended citizen could claim 160 acres of

surveyed government land. The Homestead National Monument is

located on the site of the original land claim of Daniel Freeman,

a Union Scout and one of the first claimants under the Homestead

Act. Homestead National Monument includes a pioneer cabin, an

old school house, nearly one hundred acres of restored tall grass

prairie, and a visitor center.
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H.R. 38 authorizes the acquisition of four additional parcels of

land for the Monument, the total amount of which would be less

than 30 acres. The two private landowners involved have agreed in

principle to the proposed legislation and the State of Nebraska has

also agreed to donate its lands as provided in the bill.

The two privately owned parcels of land to be added to the

Monument are the Graff property and the Pioneer Acres Green.

The Graff property consists of approximately 15.98 acres adjacent

to the Monument grounds. This acquisition will protect a portion

of the Nation’s second oldest restored prairie. In addition, it will

provide an alternative location, outside of the flood plain, to house

the Monument’s primary cultural resources. The new Homestead

Heritage Center visitor facility on the acquired land would hold the

Monument’s collections, exhibits, public research facilities and administrative offices. Funds to build the visitor center were appropriated in fiscal year 2001, but the National Park Service intends

to wait to build the new center until land above the flood plain has

been acquired.

The second privately owned property, Pioneer Acres Green, consists of approximately 3 acres of land. The purpose of this addition

is to limit development of lands immediately adjacent to major

park historical resources.

The two publicly owned parcels of land to be added to the Monument are a segment of State Highway 4 and the property known

as State Triangle. The National Park Service has arranged with

the Nebraska Department of Roads to move State Highway 4 from

the monument and create the Homestead Heritage Parkway. The

Parkway would allow for educational displays along the road as

well as pedestrian and bicycle path that would connect the park to

Beatrice, four miles to the east.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

H.R. 38 was introduced by Representative Bereuter on January

3, 2001 and was passed by the House of Representatives on December 11, 2001. The Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing

on H.R. 38 on June 12, 2002. At its business meeting on July 31,

2002, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered

H.R. 38 to be favorably reported.

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open business session on July 31, 2002, by voice vote of a quorum present,

recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 38.

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1 contains the short title, the ‘‘Homestead National

Monument of America Additions Act.’’

Section 2 provides a series of definitions.

Section 3(a) authorizes the Secretary to acquire private lands

from willing sellers only, and State-owned lands by donation only.

Subsection (b) describes the four parcels of land the Secretary

may acquire.
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Subsection (c) requires the Secretary to modify the boundary of

the Monument after acquiring the land and to administer the new

parcels included within the boundary.

Subsection (d) requires the Secretary to purchase the Graff property within 5 years after enactment of this Act. If the property is

not acquired within 5 years, the authority expires and it will not

become part of the Monument.

Subsection (e) requires the National Park Service to keep on file

a map to reflect these additions to the Monument. Subsection (f) authorizes $400,000 to carry out the Act.

Section 4 authorizes the Secretary to enter into cooperative

agreements with State and local governments and other interested

entities for the operation, maintenance, interpretation, recreation,

and other purposes for the proposed Homestead Heritage Highway.

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 8, 2002.

Hon. JEFF BINGAMAN, Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,

U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 38, the Homestead National Monument of America Additions Act.

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

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Deborah Reis.

Sincerely,

BARRY B. ANDERSON

(For Dan L. Crippen, Director).

Enclosure.

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

H.R. 38—Homestead National Monument of America Additions Act

H.R. 38 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to acquire

four parcels of land totaling almost 33 acres in Nebraska. The land

would be added to the Homestead National Monument of America

in Gage County, Nebraska. The legislation would allow the Secretary to acquire approximately 19 acres of privately owned land

by donation or purchase. The Secretary would be permitted to acquire approximately 14 acres of state-owned property by donation

only. Finally, section 3 would authorize the appropriation of

$400,000 to implement the legislation.

CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 38 would have no significant impact on the federal budget. The $400,000 needed to purchase the two parcels of privately owned land for the monument

was already appropriated for fiscal year 2001, and we estimate that

annual costs to manage those parcels (and any property donated by

the state) would not be significant. The legislation would not affect

direct spending; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would not

apply.
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H.R. 38 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. Any actions

taken by the state of Nebraska or local governments in the state

as a result of this legislation, including donating land for the

monument, would be voluntary.

On December 4, 2001, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R.

38 as ordered reported by the House Committee on Resources on

November 28, 2001. The two versions of the legislation are identical, as are the estimated costs.

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah, Reis. The estimate was approved by Peter H. 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

H.R. 38. 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 H.R. 38.

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

On July 30, 2002, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources requested legislative reports from the Department of the

Interior and the Office of Management and Budget setting forth executive views on H.R. 38. These reports had not been received at

the time the report on H.R. 38 was filed. The testimony provided

by the National Park Service at the Subcommittee hearing follows:

STATEMENT OF P. DANIEL SMITH, ASSISTANT TO THE DIRECTOR, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to present

the views of the Department of H.R. 38. This bill provides

for additional lands to be included within the boundaries

of Homestead National Monument of America in the State

of Nebraska. The House passed this legislation on December 11, 2001.

The Department supports the enactment of H.R. 38, as

passed by the House, Acquisition of these additional lands

has been recommended by the Homestead National Monument of America’s 1999 General Management Plan, and

costs to administered this boundary modification are expected to be minimal. Funding to acquire the privately

owned properties was included in the Fiscal Year 2001 Interior Appropriations Act, and we anticipate that management of the acquired lands can be accomplished with existing park resources.
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Homestead National Monument of America (Monument)

was established in 1936. The Monument’s enabling legislation states that the purpose of the Monument is to establish ‘‘* * * a proper memorial emblematical of the hardships and the pioneer life through which the early settlers

passed in settlement, cultivation, and civilization of, the

Great West * * *’’ The legislation also specifies that the

Secretary of the Interior will ‘‘* * * erect suitable buildings to be used as a specific museum in which shall be preserved literature applying to such settlement and agriculture implements used to bring the western plains to its

present state of high civilization, and to use the said tract

of land for such other objects and purposes as in his judgment may perpetuate the history of this country mainly

developed by the homestead law.’’ If enacted, the bill will add four small, but important,

parcels of land to the Monument. These additions will

allow the opportunity for greater protection of the Monument’s primary cultural resource, will protect the Monument from encroaching development, and will provide the

opportunity for improved visitor and interpretive services.

The total amount of land to be added is approximately 33

acres. The private landowners affected have agreed in

principle to this proposed legislation and the State of Nebraska has agreed, as well, to donate its lands as provided

for in the bill.

The four parcels to be added to the Monument and the

purposes for the addition of each are as follows:

The Graff property: This privately owned parcel consists

of approximately 15.98 acres adjacent to and overlooking

the Monument’s grounds. Addition of the property would

serve two purposes. First, it would ensure protection for

the nation’s second oldest restored prairie, which holds important educational, research, and scientific values. Second, this property, located on higher ground, could be used

as an alternative location, outside of the floodplain, for the

Monument’s primary cultural resource, the Palmer-Epard

cabin, as well as the visitor facility.

Pioneer Acres Green: This parcel consists of approximately 3 acres of privately owned land. Inclusion of this

property in the boundary will provide additional protection

to park resources from nearby development.

Segment of State Highway 4: This parcel consists of approximately 5.6 acres of Nebraska State Highway and its

addition will protect natural and archaeological resources

and provide a site to support education efforts through interpretive wayside exhibits. The State of Nebraska is currently examining proposals to reroute State Highway 4,

which would allow for this existing road to serve as an access road to the Monument.

State Triangle: This parcel consists of approximately 8.3

acres and is bounded by the Monument on two sides and

by State Highway 4 on the third side. The property is immediately adjacent to the site of the original homestead

cabin and will allow for maximizing interpretive efforts
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and maintaining the integrity of the Monument’s boundaries.

At the request of the landowner, the property described

in subsection (b)(1)—the Graff Property—must be acquired

within five years after the date of the enactment of this

Act. The family, which has been a strong supporter of the

Monument, made this request in order to better plan for

the future and to minimize the impacts on their lives. If

this legislation is enacted, meeting the requests should not

be difficult since the funds for acquisition have already

been appropriated.

Mr. Chairman, the Department supports the enactment

of H.R. 38, as passed by the House, and we thank you

again for the opportunity to appear today. This concludes

my prepared remarks. I will be pleased to answer any

questions you or other committee members 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 laws are made by the Act H.R. 38 as ordered reported.

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