79–006 

115TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 115–970 

FDR HISTORIC PRESERVATION ACT 

SEPTEMBER 25, 2018.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 

State of the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. BISHOP of Utah, from the Committee on Natural Resources, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 5420] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the 

bill (H.R. 5420) to authorize the acquisition of land for addition to 

the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site in the 

State of New York, and for other purposes, having considered the 

same, report favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill as amended do pass. 

The amendment is as follows: 

Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following: 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘FDR Historic Preservation Act’’. 

SEC. 2. HOME OF FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE. 

(a) LAND ACQUISITION.—The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to acquire by 

donation, purchase from a willing seller using donated funds, or exchange, the approximately 89 acres of land identified as the ‘‘Morgan Property’’ and generally depicted on the map titled ‘‘Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site, Proposed Park Addition’’, numbered 384/138,461 and dated May 2017. 

(b) AVAILABILITY OF MAP.—The map referred to in subsection (a) shall be available for public inspection in the appropriate offices of the National Park Service. 

(c) BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT; ADMINISTRATION.—Upon acquisition of the land referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Interior shall— 

(1) adjust the boundary of the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site to reflect the acquisition; and 

(2) administer such land as part of the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site in accordance with applicable laws. 

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of H.R. 5420 is to authorize the acquisition of land 

for addition to the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic 

Site in the State of New York. 

2 

1The National Parks: Index 1916–2016. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Publishing Office, 2016. 2 ‘‘Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area.’’ Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area. 

Accessed August 29, 2018. http://www.hudsonrivervalley.com/sites/Home-of-Franklin-D-Roosevelt-National-Historic-Site/details. 3 Ibid. 

4The National Parks: Index 1916–2016. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Publishing Office, 2016. 5 ‘‘Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area.’’ Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area. 

Accessed August 29, 2018. http://www.hudsonrivervalley.com/sites/Home-of-Franklin-D-Roosevelt-National-Historic-Site/details. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

The Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site, located in Hyde Park, New York, was designated on January 15, 

1944, to preserve the birthplace and life-long home of the 32nd 

President of the United States.1 The centerpiece of the nearly 850- 

acre property, President Roosevelt’s home called Springwood, was 

built around 1793 and purchased by Roosevelt’s father in 1867.2 By 

1915, Franklin and his mother, Sara, had completed extensive renovations to the structure and the home’s interior.3

Inherited by FDR upon his mother’s death in 1941, the home and 

much of the estate were transferred to the federal government at 

the President’s request. Known as his summer White House, FDR 

entertained many visiting heads of state at the home. President 

Roosevelt also helped design and build the first Presidential library 

on the property.4 The interior remains as it was during Roosevelt’s 

lifetime. The grounds feature flower gardens, outbuildings, and 

miles of walking trails. The estate’s rose garden contains the 

graves of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt.5

Since its addition to the National Park System in 1944, the site’s 

boundaries have been modified several times to include new land. 

The Scenic Hudson Land Trust (SHLT) owns approximately 89 

acres adjacent to the site that it wishes to sell to the National Park 

Service. The property is largely unimproved (expect for a small 

house and garage) and is subject to a conservation easement that 

has been held by the SHLT since 1995. The SHLT advocates that 

the property provides important context to visitors, and that its addition will provide better connectivity to a section of the Hyde Park 

Trail that links the Home of FDR National Historic Site with the 

Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site to the north. 

H.R. 5420 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to acquire by 

donation, purchase from willing seller (SHLT) using donated funds, 

or exchange, approximately 89 acres of land adjacent to the Home 

of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site, and to incorporate 

the parcel into the site. 

COMMITTEE ACTION

H.R. 5420 was introduced on March 29, 2018, by Congressman 

John J. Faso (R–NY). The bill was referred to the Committee on 

Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee 

on Federal Lands. On September 5, 2018, the Natural Resources 

Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee was discharged by unanimous consent. Congressman Tom McClintock (R– 

CA) offered an amendment designated #1; it was adopted by unanimous consent. No additional amendments were offered, and the 

3 

bill, as amended, was ordered favorably reported to the House of 

Representatives by unanimous consent. 

COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII 

of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee on 

Natural Resources’ oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in the body of this report. 

COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII AND CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET

ACT

1. Cost of Legislation and the Congressional Budget Act. With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) and (3) of rule XIII of 

the Rules of the House of Representatives and sections 308(a) and 

402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has 

received the following estimate for the bill from the Director of the 

Congressional Budget Office: 

U.S. CONGRESS, 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, 

Washington, DC, September 20, 2018. 

Hon. ROB BISHOP, 

Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources, 

House of Representatives, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 5420, the FDR Historic 

Preservation Act. 

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

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Janani Shankaran. 

Sincerely, 

KEITH HALL, 

Director. 

Enclosure. 

H.R. 5420—FDR Historic Preservation Act 

H.R. 5420 would authorize the National Park Service (NPS) to 

acquire 89 acres of land, known as the Morgan Property, for the 

Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site by means of 

donation, purchase using donated funds, or through a land exchange. Upon acquisition, that land would be administrated by the 

NPS as part of the site. 

Using information from the Scenic Hudson Land Trust, which 

currently owns the Morgan Property, and based on recent sale 

prices of comparable tracts of land, CBO estimates that the cost to 

acquire the property would be about $1 million. If the NPS purchases the property with donated funds, it would increase direct 

spending. However, that increase would be offset by donations for 

the purchase, which are recorded as reductions in direct spending, 

so that the net effect on direct spending would be negligible. 

CBO estimates that any costs to manage and maintain the additional land would be less than $500,000 over the 2019–2023 period; 

such spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated 

funds. 

4 

Because enacting H.R. 5420 could affect direct spending, pay-asyou-go procedures apply. The bill would not affect revenues. 

CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 5420 would not increase net 

direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 

10-year periods beginning in 2029. 

H.R. 5420 contains no intergovernmental or private sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA). 

The bill would authorize a land exchange between the federal government and a private property owner, which could have a small 

incidental effect on local property taxes. That effect, however, 

would not result from an intergovernmental mandate as defined in 

UMRA. 

The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Janani Shankaran 

(for federal costs) and Zach Byrum (for mandates). The estimate 

was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant Director 

for Budget Analysis. 

2. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 

clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or objective 

of this bill is to authorize the acquisition of land for addition to the 

Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site in the State 

of New York. 

EARMARK STATEMENT

This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks, limited 

tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined under clause 9(e), 

9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives. 

COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104–4

This bill contains no unfunded mandates. 

COMPLIANCE WITH H. RES. 5

Directed Rule Making. This bill does not contain any directed 

rule makings. 

Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not establish or 

reauthorize a program of the federal government known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was not included in 

any report from the Government Accountability Office to Congress 

pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111–139 or identified in the 

most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program Information Act (Public Law 95–220, 

as amended by Public Law 98–169) as relating to other programs. 

PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or tribal law. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

If enacted, this bill would make no changes to existing law. 

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