89–006 

1 ‘‘Facts about the Farm: A Public/Private Partnership.’’ Claude Moore Colonial Farm website. 

http://1771.org/about/. 

115TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 115–1053 

CLAUDE MOORE FARM LAND CONVEYANCE ACT 

NOVEMBER 27, 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 

together with 

DISSENTING VIEWS 

[To accompany H.R. 6678] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the 

bill (H.R. 6678) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain National Park Service land in Fairfax County, Virginia, to the 

Friends of the Claude Moore Farm, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that 

the bill do pass. 

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of H.R. 6678 is to direct the Secretary of the Interior 

to convey certain National Park Service land in Fairfax County, 

Virginia, to the Friends of Clause Moore Farm. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

The Claude Moore Colonial Farm is a living history site in 

McLean, Virginia, that depicts life for a typical tenant farm family 

in 1771.1 Cultivated fields and livestock set the stage for the 

Farm’s staff and volunteers to provide demonstrations of 18th century skills and educational programs for visitors. The Farm is part 

of the George Washington Memorial Parkway and was initially operated by the National Park Service (NPS). A few years after openVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:46 Dec 06, 2018 Jkt 089006 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR1053.XXX HR1053

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2 ‘‘Facts about the Farm: A Public/Private Partnership.’’ Claude Moore Colonial Farm website. 

http://1771.org/savethefarm/#1492393009739-13c6f134-d84c. 3 Id. 4 Agreement Between Friends of Turkey Run Farm, Inc. and United States of America, Department of the Interior, National Park Service, National Capital Region, George Washington 

Memorial Parkway—with Amendments and Extensions. Entered into June 5, 1981. https:// 

www.nps.gov/clmo/learn/management/upload/CMCF-Agreement-compiled-Accessible.pdf. 5 ‘‘Over Forty Years of Service and Growth’’. About Us. Claude Moore Colonial Farm website. 

http://1771.org/about/. 6 Id. 

7 ‘‘Organizational Background’’. About Us. Claude Moore Colonial Farm website. http:// 

1771.org/about/. 8 Agreement Between Friends of Turkey Run Farm, Inc. and United States of America, Department of the Interior, National Park Service, National Capital Region, George Washington 

Memorial Parkway—with Amendments and Extensions. Entered into June 5, 1981. https:// 

www.nps.gov/clmo/learn/management/upload/CMCF-Agreement-compiled-Accessible.pdf. 9 ‘‘Information About Claude Moore Colonial Farm’’. Claude Moore Colonial Farm. National 

Park Service website. https://www.nps.gov/clmo/learn/management/information-about-claudemoore-colonial-farm.htm. 10 ‘‘Clarifications, and Why We Couldn’t Accept the Ultimatum from the Park Service’’. Blog 

post dated May 8, 2018. Claude Moore Colonial Farm website. http://1771.org/clarity/. 

ing in 1973, budget constraints led NPS to redirect staff and funding away from the Farm operation, threatening its future viability.2 Local community members stepped up with an offer to operate 

the Farm as a non-profit cooperative.3 The Friends of the Claude 

Moore Colonial Farm at Turkey Run was chartered, and in 1981 

signed a cooperative agreement with NPS to operate the Farm and 

provide visitor services.4

The Farm has a uniquely independent status in the National 

Park System and is a model of a successful public-private partnership. Under the agreement, the Friends assumed responsibility for 

funding, maintaining, improving, staffing, and operating the Farm. 

The annual operating budget of the Farm grew from $87,000 in 

1982 to more than $400,000 in recent years, due to the increased 

support of the community and the popularity of the Farm’s programs.5 Over the past 37 years, more than $8 million in private 

funds have been raised and expended for the operations of the 

Farm, and over $2 million in additional private contributions have 

gone into capital improvements.6 Since opening, the Farm has welcomed over two million visitors.7

The initial cooperative agreement between the Friends and NPS 

was for 25 years and subsequently extended multiple times. There 

were several amendments made to the agreement through the 

years that further defined the terms of the arrangement.8 The current agreement is set to expire on December 21, 2018. 

The Friends and NPS have considered long-term solutions for the 

continued operation of the Farm including a potential lease, a concessions contract, and a revised cooperative agreement.9 Despite 

multiple attempts to reach consensus on a path forward, differences remain on both sides. While NPS wishes to update the 

agreement to bring it in-line with existing park policies and regulations, the Friends believe the stipulated requirements will be unduly burdensome and threaten the viability of the Farm.10

H.R. 6678 will begin a new chapter for the Claude Moore Colonial Farm by transferring the 69-acre tract currently assigned for 

Farm operations to the Friends. Entrusting the Friends with full 

ownership of the Farm site that they have successfully operated for 

over three decades will allow the group to operate and make capital 

improvements in the most efficacious manner, and will ensure the 

stable, long-term future of a local and national treasure. The 


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Friends will pay any costs associated with the conveyance, and the 

Secretary of the Interior must complete the conveyance within a 

year of receiving a request from the Friends. If the land conveyed 

ceases to be used as an 18th century living history museum open 

to the public, the land will revert back to the United States. 

COMMITTEE ACTION

H.R. 6678 was introduced on August 24, 2018, by Congresswoman Barbara Comstock (R–VA). The bill was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources. On September 5, 2018, the Natural Resources Committee met to consider the bill. Congressman 

Raul M. Grijalva (D–AZ) offered an amendment designated 111; it 

was not adopted by a roll call vote of 14 yeas and 18 nays, as follows: 


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No further amendments were offered, and the bill was ordered 

favorably reported to the House of Representatives by a roll call 

vote of 18 yeas and 14 nays, as follows: 


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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 26, 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. 6678, the Claude Moore 

Farm Land Conveyance 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. 6678—Claude Moore Farm Land Conveyance Act 

H.R. 6678 would direct the National Park Service (NPS) to convey, at the request of the Friends of the Claude Moore Colonial 

Farm at Turkey Run, Inc. (Friends), the Claude Moore Colonial 

Farm in McLean, Virginia. The bill would require the Friends to 

pay all the costs of the conveyance. The Friends’ current agreement 

to operate the farm expires on December 21, 2018. Although CBO 

has no information on the NPS’s plans for the farm after that, the 

agency could pursue several options under existing authority. 

Using information on operating costs from recent years, CBO estimates that the NPS would incur costs of about $2 million over the 

2019–2023 period to manage the farm itself. Such spending would 

be subject to the availability of appropriated funds. CBO expects 

that under H.R. 6678, the Friends would request a conveyance 

from the NPS. In that event, implementing the bill could reduce 

costs for the NPS. 

Alternatively, the NPS could enter into a lease or a cooperative 

agreement with a new partner organization to manage the farm. If 

the farm was leased, the payments (which would be recorded as offsetting receipts, or reductions in direct spending) would be available to the NPS for spending without further appropriation. Enacting the bill would reduce the likelihood that the NPS would enter 

into such an arrangement, and would thus reduce offsetting reVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:46 Dec 06, 2018 Jkt 089006 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR1053.XXX HR1053

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ceipts and the subsequent direct spending. However, CBO estimates that the change in net direct spending would be negligible. 

Because enacting H.R. 6678 could affect direct spending; pay-asyou-go procedures apply. Enacting the bill would not affect revenues. 

CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 6678 would not significantly 

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

consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2029. 

H.R. 6678 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Janani Shankaran. 

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 direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain National Park Service land in Fairfax County, Virginia, to the 

Friends of Claude Moore Farm. 

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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1https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/national-park-service-plans-to-close-claude-moorecolonial-farm-m-mclean/2018/05/01/17e00bc4-4d65-11e8-b292-edc09f8f590a_story.html?utm_ 

term=.6214db7734d7. 2https://www.washingtonpost.com/apps/g/page/local/nps-report-on-claude-moore-colonial-farm/ 

2325/?noredirect=on. 

DISSENTING VIEWS 

H.R. 6678 directs the National Park Service (NPS) to transfer 

ownership, without consideration, of 69 acres of NPS land in the 

George Washington Memorial Parkway to the Friends of Claude 

Moore Colonial Farm at Turkey Run, Inc. (Friends), a partner organization that helps operate the site under a cooperative agreement 

that has not been updated since the 1980s. 

The agreement originally expired in 2006 and was extended multiple times until NPS, rightly, insisted on updates to ensure alignment with current management policies and guidelines. During the 

latest round of negotiations, NPS offered a 10-year extension with 

terms including 1) approval of what is sold in the bookstore and 

giftshop, 2) financial reporting, 3) annual work plans, and 4) guidelines for operation of the pavilion on the farm. Requiring compliance with concessions laws, workplace safety standards, and financial audit requirement is simply good governance. Unfortunately, 

the Friends group objected to the terms of the new agreement, 

maintaining that the requirements are ‘‘burdensome, oppressive, 

and impossible.’’ 1

This bill was originally slated for a legislative hearing—an opportunity to solicit testimony and discuss the issue with those involved 

in the negotiation—but the Republican Majority decided to send 

the bill straight to mark-up. As such, there was no opportunity to 

formally hear the administration’s perspective on the bill. However, 

according to NPS staff, the Friends group refuses to acknowledge 

any of the standard practices and procedures NPS uses for similar 

types of agreements across the nation. As a result, the relationship 

has deteriorated to the point where the Friends group wrote a letter attempting to bar NPS from accessing the property to perform 

a standard environmental assessment. 

A 2015 draft NPS report evaluating operations at Claude Moore 

Colonial Farm found revenue generating activity that did not comply with NPS concession law, including allowing a private business 

to serve as the sole caterer for events on the farm, and selling book 

and other paraphernalia out of the bookstore that have nothing to 

do with 18th century life.2 The report also documents failure to 

comply with general industry safety standards, imminent fire risks, 

deficient food preparation facilities, wastewater contamination, and 

even employees sleeping at the site. 

NPS, as the owner of the site, has an obligation to ensure that 

it is operated in a manner that complies with all relevant federal 

laws and regulations. 


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This legislation has the potential to disrupt the trust and spirit 

of collaboration that exists between NPS and the ‘‘friends’’ groups 

and partner organizations that help operate dozens of sites 

throughout the National Park System. Transferring this site to the 

Friends could also disincentivize the agency from utilizing similar 

arrangements in the future. These are invaluable partnerships that 

enhance visitor experience and multiply the taxpayer investment in 

our national parks, but it is critical that NPS is allowed appropriate oversight. 

At mark-up, Ranking Member Rau ́l M. Grijalva offered an 

amendment to require adoption of a cooperative agreement that ensures compliance with federal workplace safety and financial reporting standards before a land conveyance can occur. Unfortunately, the amendment was not agreed to on a party line vote. 

This committee has a responsibility to ensure that public assets 

like this site are managed in a transparent way that protects public health and prevents financial fraud, waste and abuse. H.R. 6678 

fails to meet these responsibilities and as a result, we oppose the 

bill as reported. 

RAU ́ L M. GRIJALVA, 

Ranking Member, Committee 

on Natural Resources. 

GRACE F. NAPOLITANO. 

WM. LACY CLAY. 

NANETTE DIAZ BARRAGA ́ N. 

Æ 


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