[House Report 110-865]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
110th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 110-865
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OREGON SURPLUS FEDERAL LAND ACT OF 2008
_______
September 22, 2008.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Oberstar, from the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 6370]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, to whom
was referred the bill (H.R. 6370) to transfer excess Federal
property administered by the Coast Guard to the Confederated
Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians, having
considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment
and recommend that the bill do pass.
PURPOSE OF THE LEGISLATION
H.R. 6370, the ``Oregon Surplus Federal Land Act of 2008'',
transfers 24 acres of excess Federal property administered by
the U.S. Coast Guard to the Secretary of the Interior to hold
in trust for the Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua,
and Siuslaw Indians.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
An Executive Order dated June 14, 1875, withdrew land at
Cape Arago, in Coos County, Oregon, for lighthouse purposes. In
1949, a portion of that land was removed from the withdrawal,
and ultimately transferred to the State of Oregon to be used as
park land. The Coast Guard has determined that it no longer
needs the property at Cape Arago, and has extinguished the
light at the Cape Arago Light Station. The Confederated Tribes
of the Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians want to manage
this land, which once served as a burial site and is sacred to
the Tribes.
SUMMARY OF THE LEGISLATION
H.R. 6370 requires the Commandant of the Coast Guard to
transfer approximately 24 acres of federally owned land, which
includes the Cape Arago Light Station, in Coos County, Oregon,
to the Secretary of the Interior as soon as practicable, but
not later than five years after the date of the enactment. The
land will be held in trust for the benefit of the Confederated
Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians.
The transfer of the jurisdiction of the Light Station is
subject to the conditions that the Tribes use and make
reasonable efforts to maintain the Station in accordance with
the National Historic Preservation Act, the Secretary of the
Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties
and any other applicable laws. If the Tribes would like to make
any changes to the Light Station, they shall submit the
proposed changes to the Secretary for approval.
H.R. 6370 prohibits the Confederated Tribes from selling,
conveying, assigning, exchanging or encumbering the property in
the future and prohibits the conduct of any commercial
activities on the property without the approval of the
Secretary. The Light Station is to be made available to the
general public for educational, park, recreational, cultural,
or historic preservation purposes. The Tribes shall allow the
United States to enter the Light Station, at any time without
notice, for the purposes of ensuring compliance of the
conditions of transfer.
If the Tribes fail to meet the conditions of transfer, the
Secretary has the option to revert the Light Station or any
associated historic artifact conveyed in conjunction with the
transfer and place it under the administrative control of the
Secretary.
After the date of enactment of this Act or as soon as
practicable, the Commandant shall file the maps entitled
``Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw
Land Transfer Maps'' and legal descriptions of the parcels that
will be transferred with the Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the
Senate. Each map and legal description shall be on file and
made available for public inspection at the Department of the
Interior.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY AND COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION
On June 26, 2008, Representative Peter A. DeFazio
introduced H.R. 6370, the ``Oregon Surplus Federal Land Act of
2008''. On July 31, 2008, the Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure met in open session to consider H.R. 6370. The
Committee ordered the bill reported favorably to the House by
voice vote with a quorum present.
RECORD VOTES
Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the House of Representatives
requires each committee report to include the total number of
votes cast for and against on each record vote on a motion to
report and on any amendment offered to the measure or matter,
and the names of those members voting for and against. There
were no recorded votes taken in connection with considering
H.R. 6370 or ordering the bill reported. A motion to order H.R.
6370 reported favorably to the House was agreed to by voice
vote with a quorum present.
COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(1) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee's oversight findings and recommendations are
reflected in this report.
COST OF LEGISLATION
Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives does not apply where a cost estimate and
comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974 has been timely submitted prior to the filing of the
report and is included in the report. Such a cost estimate is
included in this report.
COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII
1. With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(2) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, and
308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee
references the report of the Congressional Budget Office
included in the report.
2. With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(4) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
performance goals and objectives of this legislation are to
transfer the administrative control of Federal property from
the Coast Guard to the Secretary of the Interior.
3. With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(3) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the
Committee has received the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 6370
from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, August 26, 2008.
Hon. James L. Oberstar,
Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 6370, the Oregon
Surplus Federal Land Act of 2008.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Tyler
Kruzich.
Sincerely,
Peter H. Fontaine
(For Peter R. Orszag, Director).
Enclosure.
H.R. 6370--Oregon Surplus Federal Land Act of 2008
H.R. 6370 would require the U.S. Coast Guard to transfer to
the Department of the Interior (DOI) about 24 acres of federal
land in Coos County, Oregon. The land is home to the Cape Arago
Light Station. DOI would be required to hold the land in trust
for the Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua, and
Siuslaw Indians of Oregon.
Based on information from the Coast Guard and DOI, CBO
estimates that implementing H.R. 6370 would have no significant
effect, on the federal budget, The transfer of the property
from one federal agency to another would not affect
administrative costs. Further, the land does not currently
generate any receipts and is not expected to be sold within the
next 10 years.
H.R. 6370 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.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Tyler Kruzich.
This estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XXI
Pursuant to clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House
of Representatives, H.R. 6370 does not contain any
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff
benefits as defined in clause 9(d), 9(e), or 9(f) of rule XXI
of the Rules of the House of Representatives.
CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT
Pursuant to clause (3)(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, committee reports on a bill or
joint resolution of a public character shall include a
statement citing the specific powers granted to the Congress in
the Constitution to enact the measure. The Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure finds that Congress has the
authority to enact this measure pursuant to its powers granted
under article I, section 8 of the Constitution.
FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT
The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of Federal
mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform
Act (Public Law 104-4).
PREEMPTION CLARIFICATION
Section 423 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974
requires the report of any Committee on a bill or joint
resolution to include a statement on the extent to which the
bill or joint resolution is intended to preempt state, local,
or tribal law. The Committee states that H.R. 6370 does not
preempt any state, local, or tribal law.
ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT
No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b)
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act are created by this
legislation.
APPLICABILITY TO THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public
services or accommodations within the meaning of section
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act (Public Law
104-1).
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED
H.R. 6370 makes no changes in existing law.