Union Calendar No. 456

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3752

[Report No. 104–835]

A BILL

To preserve the sovereignty of the United States

quired lands.eral lands surrounding those public lands and acereignty and private property rights in non-Fedthe United States, and to preserve State sovover public lands and acquired lands owned by

SEPTEMBER 24, 1996

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Commitordered to be printed tee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and
IB

Union Calendar No. 456

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3752

[Report No. 104–835]

To preserve the sovereignty of the United States over public lands and

acquired lands owned by the United States, and to preserve State sovereignty and private property rights in non-Federal lands surrounding

those public lands and acquired lands.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 27, 1996

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Resources

SEPTEMBER 24, 1996

Additional sponsors: Mr. COBURN, Mr. NETHERCUTT, Mr. BONO, Mrs.

CHENOWETH, Mr. MILLER of Florida, Mr. HERGER, Mrs. VUCANOVICH,

Mr. HOSTETTLER, Mr. BARR of Georgia, Mr. STOCKMAN, Mr. STUMP,

Mr. SOLOMON, Mr. TAYLOR of North Carolina, Ms. DUNN of Washington, Mr. HUTCHINSON, Mr. RADANOVICH, Mr. KIM, Mr. POMBO, Mr.

WELDON of Florida, Mr. HASTINGS of Washington, Mr. DUNCAN, Mrs.

SMITH of Washington, Mrs. CUBIN, Mr. SKEEN, Mr. COOLEY of Oregon,

Mr. DICKEY, and Mr. CREMEANS

SEPTEMBER 24, 1996

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on June 27, 1996]

A BILL

To preserve the sovereignty of the United States over public
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lands and acquired lands owned by the United States,

and to preserve State sovereignty and private property

rights in non-Federal lands surrounding those public

lands and acquired lands.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘American Land Sov5 ereignty Protection Act of 1996’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:

8 (1) The power to dispose of and make all needful

9 rules and regulations governing lands belonging to the

10 United States is vested in the Congress under article

11 IV, section 3, of the Constitution.

12 (2) Some Federal land designations made pursu13 ant to international agreements concern land use

14 policies and regulations for lands belonging to the

15 United States which under article IV, section 3, of the

16 Constitution can only be implemented through laws

17 enacted by the Congress.

18 (3) Some international land designations, such

19 as those under the United States Biosphere Reserve

20 Program and the Man and Biosphere Program of the

21 United Nations Scientific, Educational, and Cultural

22 Organization, operate under independent national
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1 committees, such as the United States National Man

2 and Biosphere Committee, which have no legislative

3 directives or authorization from the Congress.

4 (4) Actions by the United States in making such

5 designations may affect the use and value of nearby

6 or intermixed non-Federal lands.

7 (5) The sovereignty of the States is a critical

8 component of our Federal system of government and

9 a bulwark against the unwise concentration of power.

10 (6) Private property rights are essential for the

11 protection of freedom.

12 (7) Actions by the United States to designate

13 lands belonging to the United States pursuant to

14 international agreements in some cases conflict with

15 congressional constitutional responsibilities and State

16 sovereign capabilities.

17 (8) Actions by the President in applying certain

18 international agreements to lands owned by the Unit19 ed States diminishes the authority of the Congress to

20 make rules and regulations respecting these lands.

21 (b) PURPOSE.—The purposes of this Act are the follow22 ing:

23 (1) To reaffirm the power of the Congress under

24 article IV, section 3, of the Constitution over inter-
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1 national agreements which concern disposal, manage2 ment, and use of lands belonging to the United States.

3 (2) To protect State powers not reserved to the

4 Federal Government under the Constitution from Fed5 eral actions designating lands pursuant to inter6 national agreements.

7 (3) To ensure that no United States citizen suf8 fers any diminishment or loss of individual rights as

9 a result of Federal actions designating lands pursu10 ant to international agreements for purposes of im11 posing restrictions on use of those lands.

12 (4) To protect private interests in real property

13 from diminishment as a result of Federal actions des14 ignating lands pursuant to international agreements.

15 (5) To provide a process under which the

16 United States may, when desirable, designate lands

17 pursuant to international agreements.

18 SEC. 3. CLARIFICATION OF CONGRESSIONAL ROLE IN

19 WORLD HERITAGE SITE LISTING.

20 Section 401 of the National Historic Preservation Act

21 Amendments of 1980 (16 U.S.C. 470a–1) is amended—

22 (1) in subsection (a) in the first sentence, by—

23 (A) inserting ‘‘(in this section referred to as

24 the ‘Convention’)’’ after ‘‘1973’’; and
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1 (B) inserting ‘‘and subject to subsections

2 (b), (c), (d), (e), and (f)’’ before the period at the

3 end;

4 (2) in subsection (b) in the first sentence, by in5 serting ‘‘, subject to subsection (d),’’ after ‘‘shall’’; and

6 (3) adding at the end the following new sub7 sections:

8 ‘‘(d) The Secretary of the Interior shall not nominate

9 any lands owned by the United States for inclusion on the

10 World Heritage List pursuant to the Convention unless such

11 nomination is specifically authorized by a law enacted after

12 the date of enactment of the American Land Sovereignty

13 Protection Act of 1996. The Secretary may from time to

14 time submit to the Speaker of the House and the President

15 of the Senate proposals for legislation authorizing such a

16 nomination.

17 ‘‘(e) The Secretary of the Interior shall object to the

18 inclusion of any property in the United States on the list

19 of World Heritage in Danger established under Article 11.4

20 of the Convention unless—

21 ‘‘(1) the Secretary has submitted to the Speaker

22 of the House and the President of the Senate a report

23 describing the necessity for including that property on

24 the list; and
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1 ‘‘(2) the Secretary is specifically authorized to

2 assent to the inclusion of the property on the list, by

3 a joint resolution of the Congress enacted after the

4 date that report is submitted.

5 ‘‘(f) The Secretary of the Interior shall submit an an6 nual report on each World Heritage Site within the United

7 States to the Chairman and Ranking Minority member of

8 the Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives

9 and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of

10 the Senate, that contains the following information for each

11 site:

12 ‘‘(1) An accounting of all money expended to

13 manage the site.

14 ‘‘(2) A summary of Federal full time equivalent

15 hours related to management of the site.

16 ‘‘(3) A list and explanation of all nongovern17 mental organizations contributing to the management

18 of the site.

19 ‘‘(4) A summary and account of the disposition

20 of complaints received by the Secretary related to

21 management of the site.’’.
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1 SEC. 4. PROHIBITION AND TERMINATION OF UNITED

2 NATIONS BIOSPHERE RESERVES.

3 Title IV of the National Historic Preservation Act

4 Amendments of 1980 (16 U.S.C. 470a–1 et seq.) is amended

5 by adding at the end the following new section:

6 ‘‘SEC. 403. (a) No Federal official may nominate any

7 lands in the United States for designation as a Biosphere

8 Reserve under the Man and Biosphere Program of the Unit9 ed Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organiza10 tion.

11 ‘‘(b) Any designation of an area in the United States

12 as a Biosphere Reserve under the Man and Biosphere Pro13 gram of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and

14 Cultural Organization shall not have, and shall not be

15 given, any force or effect, unless the Biosphere Reserve—

16 ‘‘(1) is specifically authorized by a law enacted

17 after the date of enactment of the American Land

18 Sovereignty Protection Act of 1996 and before Decem19 ber 31, 1999;

20 ‘‘(2) consists solely of lands that on the date of

21 that enactment are owned by the United States; and

22 ‘‘(3) is subject to a management plan that spe23 cifically ensures that the use of intermixed or adja24 cent non-Federal property is not limited or restricted

25 as a result of that designation.
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1 ‘‘(c) The Secretary of State shall submit an annual

2 report on each Biosphere Reserve within the United States

3 to the Chairman and Ranking Minority member of the

4 Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives

5 and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of

6 the Senate, that contains the following information for each

7 reserve:

8 ‘‘(1) An accounting of all money expended to

9 manage the reserve.

10 ‘‘(2) A summary of Federal full time equivalent

11 hours related to management of the reserve.

12 ‘‘(3) A list and explanation of all nongovern13 mental organizations contributing to the management

14 of the reserve.

15 ‘‘(4) A summary and account of the disposition

16 of the complaints received by the Secretary related to

17 management of the reserve.’’.

18 SEC. 5. INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS IN GENERAL.

19 Title IV of the National Historic Preservation Act

20 Amendments of 1980 (16 U.S.C. 470a–1 et seq.) is further

21 amended by adding at the end the following new section:

22 ‘‘SEC. 404. (a) No Federal official may nominate, clas23 sify, or designate any lands owned by the United States

24 and located within the United States for a special or re25 stricted use under any international agreement unless such
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1 nomination, classification, or designation is specifically au2 thorized by law. The President may from time to time sub3 mit to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the

4 President of the Senate proposals for legislation authorizing

5 such a nomination, classification, or designation.

6 ‘‘(b) A nomination, classification, or designation of

7 lands owned by a State or local government, under any

8 international agreement shall have no force or effect unless

9 the nomination, classification, or designation is specifically

10 authorized by a law enacted by the State or local govern11 ment, respectively.

12 ‘‘(c) A nomination, classification, or designation of

13 privately owned lands under any international agreement

14 shall have no force or effect without the written consent of

15 the owner of the lands.

16 ‘‘(d) This section shall not apply to—

17 ‘‘(1) sites nominated under the Convention on

18 Wetlands of International Importance Especially as

19 Waterfowl Habitat (popularly known as the Ramsar

20 Convention);

21 ‘‘(2) agreements established under section 16(a)

22 of the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (16

23 U.S.C. 4413); and
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1 ‘‘(3) conventions referred to in section 3(h)(3) of

2 the Fish and Wildlife Improvement Act of 1978 (16

3 U.S.C. 712(2)).

4 ‘‘(e) In this section, the term ‘international agreement’

5 means any treaty, compact, executive agreement, conven6 tion, or bilateral agreement between the United States or

7 any agency of the United States and any foreign entity or

8 agency of any foreign entity, having a primary purpose

9 of conserving, preserving, or protecting the terrestrial or

10 marine environment, flora, or fauna.’’.

11 SEC. 6. CLERICAL AMENDMENT.

12 Section 401(b) of the National Historic Preservation

13 Act Amendments of 1980 (16 U.S.C. 470a–1(b)) is amended

14 by striking ‘‘Committee on Natural Resources’’ and insert15 ing ‘‘Committee on Resources’’.