49–010 

Calendar No. 216 

114TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 1st Session 114–136 

JAMES K. POLK PRESIDENTIAL HOME STUDY ACT 

SEPTEMBER 9, 2015.—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 S. 1483] 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the bill (S. 1483) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to 

study the suitability and feasibility of designating the James K. 

Polk Home in Columbia, Tennessee, as a unit of the National Park 

System, and for other purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment and recommends that 

the bill, as amended, do pass. 

The amendments are as follows: 

On page 3, line 13, insert ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the end. 

Beginning on page 3, strike line 14 and all that follows through 

page 4, line 6. 

On page 4, line 7, strike ‘‘(7)’’ and insert ‘‘(5)’’. 

PURPOSE

The purpose of S. 1483 is to direct the Secretary of the Interior 

to study the suitability and feasibility of designating the James K. 

Polk Home in Columbia, Tennessee, as a unit of the National Park 

System, and for other purposes. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED

James K. Polk, the 11th president of the United States, lived in 

Columbia, Tennessee, from 1819 until 1824. Nominated as the first 

‘‘dark-horse’’ presidential candidate, his program of westward expansion helped him win the election. True to his campaign pledge 

to serve a single term in office, he returned to Tennessee in 1849. 

President Polk died three months later. During his term of office, 


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he led the nation through the Mexican War, completing the push 

to the Pacific Ocean. 

In 1961, the James K. Polk Home in Columbia, Tennessee, was 

designated as a National Historic Landmark. In April 2015, the 

National Park Service (NPS) completed a reconnaissance survey of 

the home and determined that the site warrants a special resource 

study to fully analyze the suitability, feasibility, and need for the 

NPS to manage the James K. Polk Home. The NPS recommended 

that Congress consider authorizing a special resource study for the 

site. The James K. Polk Home is the only surviving residence of 

President Polk. 

S. 1483 would authorize a special resource study of James K. 

Polk Home to evaluate its national significance, the suitability and 

feasibility for potential designation of the area as a unit of the National Park System, and the need for NPS management of the resource versus management by other public or private entities. The 

study is informational; Congress would still have to act on separate 

legislation to create a unit of the National Park System. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

S. 1483 was introduced by Senator Alexander on June 2, 2015. 

The Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on the bill on 

June 10, 2015. 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources met in open 

business session on July 30, 2015, and ordered S. 1483 favorably 

reported as amended. 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 

open business session on July 30, 2015, by a majority voice vote of 

a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 1483, if 

amended as described herein. 

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT

During its consideration of S. 1483, the Committee adopted an 

amendment to strike certain language relating to contents of the 

study that is not applicable to the site, and accompanying conforming amendments. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1 contains the short title, the ‘‘James K. Polk Presidential Home Study Act.’’ 

Section 2 contains findings. 

Section 3 directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special 

resource study of the James K. Polk Home and adjacent property 

in Columbia, Tennessee in accordance with section 100507 of title 

54, United States Code, which sets forth criteria for National Park 

Service special resource studies. Section 3(c) requires the study to: 

evaluate the national significance of the site; determine the suitability and feasibility of designating the site as a unit of the National Park System; include cost estimates for any necessary acquisition, development, operation and maintenance of the site; consult 

with interested government entities, private and non-profit organizations or other interested individuals; and identify alternatives for 


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the management, administration and protection of the site. Section 

3(d) requires the Secretary to submit a report that describes the 

findings and conclusions of the study and any recommendations to 

the House Natural Resources Committee and the Senate Energy 

and Natural Resources Committee within three years after the 

funds are made available to carry out the study. 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of costs of this measure has been provided 

by the Congressional Budget Office: 

S. 1483—James K. Polk Presidential Home Study Act 

S. 1483 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to study the 

suitability and feasibility of designating the home of James K. Polk 

in Columbia, Tennessee, as a unit of the National Park System 

(NPS). Based on information from NPS, CBO estimates that carrying out the proposed study would cost about $200,000; such 

spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds. 

Enacting S. 1483 would not affect direct spending or revenues; 

therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. 

S. 1483 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would 

not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Marin Burnett. The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, 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. 1483. 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. 1483, as ordered reported. 

CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

S. 1483, 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 June 

19, 2015, National Parks Subcommittee hearing on S. 1483 follows: 

STATEMENT OF VICTOR KNOX, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, PARK

PLANNING, FACILITIES AND LANDS, NATIONAL PARK

SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to present 

the Department of the Interior’s testimony regarding S. 


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1483, a bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 

study the suitability and feasibility of designating the 

James K. Polk home in Columbia, Tennessee, as a unit of 

the National Park System, and for other purposes. 

The Department supports enactment of this legislation 

with amendments described later in this testimony. However, we believe that priority should be given to the 33 

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 Rivers System that 

have not yet been transmitted to Congress. 

S. 1483 authorizes a special resource study of the James 

K. Polk home in Columbia, Tennessee. This study would 

determine whether this site meets the National Park Service’s criteria for inclusion in the National Park System of 

national significance, suitability, and feasibility, and need 

for National Park Service management. The National Park 

Service recently conducted a reconnaissance survey that 

preliminarily evaluated the James K. Polk home and found 

that, because the site has the potential to meet the National Park Service’s criteria for inclusion in the National 

Park System, further study was warranted. 

The study would also consider other alternatives for 

preservation, protection, and interpretation of the resources by the Federal government, State or local government entities, or private and non-profit entities. Alternatives might include, for example, the designation of the 

site as an affiliated area of the National Park Service, 

where the National Park Service would provide technical 

assistance to the site but not own or manage it. We estimate the cost of the study to range from $200,000 to 

$300,000, based on similar types of studies conducted in 

recent years. 

James Knox Polk was born in Mecklenberg County, 

North Carolina, on November 2, 1795. In 1806, at the age 

of eleven, he moved with his family to Tennessee, settling 

in what is now Maury County. Samuel Polk, his father, 

purchased three lots in the town of Columbia in 1816 and 

constructed a two-story brick house (the present Polk 

Home) on the corner of West Seventh Street and South 

High Street. Samuel and his wife Jane remained in the 

house until their deaths in 1827 and 1852, respectively. 

James K. Polk lived at the home after graduating from 

the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and for 

the next few years as he traveled to Nashville to read law 

with Felix Grundy. While living with his family and passing the bar in 1820, Polk began a successful law practice 

in Columbia and campaigned for the state legislature. 

Though Samuel and Jane Polk’s house in Columbia was 

only a short-term home for James K. Polk, it is the only 

extant residence associated with the eleventh President, 

besides the White House, and marks the beginning of his 

political career. He moved to a new home a few blocks 


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away when he married Sarah Childress of Murfreesboro on 

January 1, 1824. 

The Polk Home in Columbia remained in the family 

until 1862 and then changed owners several times before 

it was purchased by the State of Tennessee in 1929. At the 

same time, a descendant of the Polk family established the 

James K. Polk Memorial Association of Nashville and the 

James K. Polk Memorial Auxiliary of Columbia committed 

to ‘‘operate, maintain, preserve, and restore’’ the Polk Ancestral Home and properties, and also to ‘‘perpetuate the 

memory of the eleventh President of the United States.’’ 

The Memorial Association opened the home to the public 

in 1929. 

In 1937, the State acquired the adjacent lot to the south 

and reconstructed the kitchen outbuilding. In 1941, the 

State bought the next-door Sisters’ House; an 1818 residence constructed by James K. Polk’s brother-in-law and 

inhabited by two of his sisters and their families. Additional land was added to the site in 1953 and 1961, expanding the garden. In 1961, the Polk home was designated a National Historic Landmark. In 2009, with private funding, the Memorial Association purchased an 1882 

church on the same block and renovated the space into a 

state-of-the-art exhibit facility. The renovated church, Polk 

Presidential Hall, has hosted traveling and original exhibits related to the U.S. Presidency and American society 

and culture during the Polk period. Two privately owned 

commercial buildings remain on the same block as the 

Polk Home, between the Polk Presidential Hall and the reconstructed kitchen. 

Although the site is owned by the State (with the exception of Polk Presidential Hall), the Memorial Association 

still administers and operates the James K. Polk Home 

and Museum while owning and preserving over 1,300 artifacts and original documents directly relating to President 

Polk. The Memorial Association also offers educational 

programs on President Polk to regional and national audiences. The Association has an eight-member Board of Directors that employs one full-time professional Executive 

Director and one full-time Curator of Collections. Two paid 

docents staff the Sisters’ House and provide house tours 

and educational programs for the 10,000 to 20,000 annual 

visitors. 

S. 1483 includes certain requirements for the study 

which we recommend deleting. Specifically, we urge deleting section 3(c)(5), 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 

activities concerning energy production and transmission 

infrastructure, and on the authority of state and local governments to manage those activities. We also urge deleting 

section 3(c)(6), 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. 


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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 resource 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 any questions that 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. 1483, as ordered reported. 

Æ 


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