[Senate Report 110-320]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 672
110th Congress Report
SENATE
2d Session 110-320
======================================================================
NATIONAL UNDERGROUND RAILROAD NETWORK TO FREEDOM AMENDMENTS ACT OF 2007
_______
April 10, 2008.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Bingaman, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 1239]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the Act (H.R. 1239) to amend the National Underground
Railroad Network to Freedom Act of 1998 to authorize additional
funding to carry out the Act, and for other purposes, having
considered the same, reports favorably thereon without
amendment and recommends that the Act do pass.
Purpose
The purpose of H.R. 1239 is to increase the authorization
ceiling for the operation of the National Underground Network
to Freedom program, and to reduce the authorization for the
Underground Railroad grant program.
Background and Need
The National Underground Network to Freedom program was
authorized by Congress in 1998 (Public Law 105-203) to
coordinate and facilitate Federal and non-Federal activities to
commemorate, honor, and interpret the history of the
Underground Railroad. The law authorizes the Secretary of the
Interior to produce and disseminate educational materials,
enter into agreements to provide technical assistance to a
variety of public and private entities in the United States,
Mexico, Canada, and the Caribbean, and to create a symbol for
the network. The network was to include both units and programs
within the National Park Service and other entities outside the
Service that had a verifiable connection to the Underground
Railroad story.
Since the program was established, 328 sites, programs, and
facilities in 30 States and the District of Columbia have been
included in the Network to Freedom. Through this program, the
National Park Service coordinates preservation and education
efforts nationwide, integrating local historical sites,
museums, and interpretive programs into a mosaic of community,
regional, and national stories of the Underground Railroad.
H.R. 1239 would increase the authorization for operating
the program from its current annual level of $500,000 to $2
million, and reduce the authorization for related grant
programs from $2.5 million annually to $500,000.
Legislative History
H.R. 1239, sponsored by Congressman Hastings, passed the
House of Representatives by a voice vote on July 23, 2007. S.
1709 was introduced by Senators Biden and others on June 27,
2007. The Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on both
bills on September 27, 2007. (S. Hrg. 110-266.)
At its business meeting on January 30, 2008, the Committee
on Energy and Natural Resources ordered H.R. 1239 favorably
reported, without amendment.
Committee Recommendation
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open
business session on January 30, 2008, by a voice vote of a
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 1239.
Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1 contains the short title, the ``National
Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Amendments Act of
2007.''
Section 2 amends Public Law 105-203 (16 U.S.C. 469l et
seq.) to authorize $2 million annually for the National
Underground Railroad Network to Freedom program, authorized in
section 3 of that law. The section authorizes $500,000 annually
for the grant program authorized in section 4 of that Act, a
reduction from the current $2.5 million annual authorization.
Cost and Budgetary Considerations
The following estimate of costs of this measure has been
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
H.R. 1239--National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Amendments
Act of 2007
Summary: H.R. 1239 would authorize the appropriation of
$2.5 million a year to carry out activities of the National
Underground Railroad Network to Freedom, a program administered
by the National Park Service (NPS) that is dedicated to the
preservation, interpretation, and dissemination of Underground
Railroad history. Under the legislation, $2 million of the
amounts authorized for each year would be spent on NPS projects
and $0.5 million would be provided to nonfederal entities for
historic preservation of eligible sites.
Assuming appropriation of the authorized amount, CBO
estimates that implementing H.R. 1239 would cost between $2
million and $3 million annually over the 2009-2013 period.
Enacting the legislation would have no effect on direct
spending or revenues.
H.R. 1239 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)
and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal
governments.
Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated
budgetary impact of H.R. 1239 is shown in the following table.
The costs of this legislation fall within budget function 300
(natural resources and environment).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
By fiscal year, in millions of
dollars--
---------------------------------------
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION
Authorization Level............. 3 3 3 3 3
Estimated Outlays............... 2 3 3 3 3
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Basis of estimate: For this estimate, CBO assumes that the
legislation will be enacted before the start of fiscal year
2009 and that the authorized amount will be appropriated for
each year.
The Network to Freedom encompasses over 250 programs,
sites, and partners in 27 states and the District of Columbia.
H.R. 1239 would amend the National Underground Railroad Network
to Freedom Act to authorize the appropriation of $2.5 million
per year to carry out activities under the program. For fiscal
year 2008, NPS received an appropriation of about $1 million
for those activities.
Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: H.R. 1239
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined in UMRA and would impose no costs on state, local, or
tribal governments.
Previous CBO estimate: On July 18, 2007, CBO transmitted a
cost estimate for H.R. 1239 as ordered reported by the House
Committee on Natural Resources on June 28, 2007. The two pieces
of legislation are identical, and the cost estimates are the
same.
Estimate prepared by: Federal costs: Matthew Pickford;
Impact on state, local, and tribal governments: Melissa
Merrell; Impact on the private sector: Amy Petz.
Estimate approved by: Theresa Gullo, 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 H.R. 1239. The Act 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 H.R. 1239, as ordered reported.
Congressionally Directed Spending
H.R. 1239, as 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
September 27, 2007 Subcommittee hearing on H.R. 1239 follows:
Statement of Daniel N. Wenk, Deputy Director, National Park Service,
Department of the Interior
Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to appear
before your committee to present the views of the Department of
the Interior on S. 1709 and H.R. 1239, bills to amend the
National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Act of 1998.
Both bills would adjust the authorized funding levels for the
National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom program and
for the associated grant program. S. 1709 would also require a
minimum number of staff for the program.
The Department supports enactment of H.R. 1239 as passed by
the House. We support increasing the authorization ceiling for
operation of the National Underground Railroad Network to
Freedom program and decreasing the authorization for the
associated grant program, as both H.R. 1239 and S. 1709 would
do. However, we object to requiring a minimum number of staff
for the program, as S. 1709 would do. That provision was also
included H.R. 1239 as introduced, but H.R. 1239 was amended to
remove that provision before it was passed by the House.
The Network to Freedom program was authorized by Congress
in 1998 through Public Law 105-203 to coordinate and facilitate
Federal and non-Federal activities to commemorate, honor, and
interpret the history of the Underground Railroad--the story of
extraordinary actions of ordinary men and women working in
common purpose to free a people. The law calls for producing
and disseminating educational materials, entering into
agreements to provide technical assistance to a variety of
public and private entities in the United States, Mexico,
Canada, and the Caribbean, and creating a symbol for the
network. The network was to include both units and programs
within the National Park Service and other entities outside the
Service that had a verifiable connection to the Underground
Railroad story.
Since the program was established, 328 sites, programs, and
facilities in 30 States and the District of Columbia have been
included in the Network to Freedom. Through this program, which
is national in scope but managed from the Midwest Regional
Office, the National Park Service coordinates preservation and
education efforts nationwide, integrating local historical
sites, museums, and interpretive programs into a mosaic of
community, regional, and national stories of the Underground
Railroad.
In 2000, Congress authorized the Underground Railroad
matching grants program through Public Law 106-291 to provide
support for preservation of buildings and other structures and
related research to members of the network. Funds for these
matching grants have been appropriated three times--$250,000 in
Fiscal 2002; $295,800 in Fiscal 2005, and $375,000 in Fiscal
2006. In total, 52 grants have been awarded for projects.
Several projects involved stabilizing and preserving historic
buildings, such as Eleutherian College in Indiana, Constitution
Hall in Topeka, Kansas, Mayhew Cabin in Nebraska, and the
Oswego School District Public Library in New York. Other
projects focused on expanding research in support of site
interpretation, such as the archeological survey at John Rankin
House in Ohio, or education, such as the ``Discovering New
Bedford's Underground Railroad History'' program in
Massachusetts, a cooperative project among three local
partners.
Through its establishment, the Network to Freedom has
brought traditional National Park Service strengths in
preservation, interpretation, and planning to new communities.
The program carries the message about the cultural and historic
aspect of national parks directly to communities of color and
opens the door for public participation in the expansion and
design of the program at a grassroots level. The program has
become an essential part of our ongoing effort to enhance
diversity in our parks and programs.
The Network to Freedom's work with outside partners led to
the establishment of Friends of the Network to Freedom in 2006.
The Friends group will work to raise funds to support
cooperative projects, but the funding will not substitute for
regular operations funding.
H.R. 1239 and S. 1709 would increase the authorization
ceiling for operating the Network to Freedom program from
$500,000 annually, the amount that was set in the 1998 law, to
$2 million. Along with increasing the funding level, S. 1709
would require the Secretary to appoint at least eight full-time
equivalent staff to carry out the program. In addition, both
bills would reduce the authorization ceiling for the
Underground Railroad grant program from $2.5 million annually,
the amount set in the 2000 law, to $500,000.
When the Network to Freedom program was first authorized,
it appeared that $500,000 annually would be sufficient to
operate the program. However, with the addition of the grant
program, the growth of the network to more than 300 members,
and nine years worth of increases in pay and other fixed costs,
the program could justify more than $500,000 a year in
subsequent budget requests. NPS is spending $487,000 in FY
2007. An authorization ceiling of $2 million would enable the
Administration to request, and Congress to appropriate,
additional funding for this program, subject to overall NPS
priorities and the availability of funds.
For the grant program, we believe it is appropriate to
reduce the authorization ceiling from $2.5 million annually to
$500,000. In the seven years of its existence, Congress has not
appropriated any amount larger than $375,000 for grants. With
the amounts provided, program staff has been able to provide
grants to nearly all network members who have sought them and
who have also been able to raise the necessary matching funds.
S. 1709 would require NPS to increase the staff of Network
to Freedom program from six to eight. We do not believe it is
appropriate to establish a minimum staffing requirement in law.
The National Park Service needs to have the flexibility to
determine appropriate staffing based on program needs and
available funds. Establishing a minimum number of staff in law
could hinder efforts to achieve management efficiencies. If the
committee acts on S. 1709, we recommend striking Section 2, as
was done in the House-passed version of H.R. 1239.
In addition, we do not support providing for funds
appropriated pursuant to this authorization to remain available
until expended for operations funding, as S. 1709 would do.
Allowing such funding to be available until expended would
establish budgetary treatment for this program that is
different from all other operations funding in the National
Park Service. We do support allowing funding for grants to be
available until expended, as S. 1709 would also do. If the
committee acts on S. 1709, we recommend amending Section 3 to
make this distinction. H.R. 1239, as passed by the House, does
not provide for funding to be available until expended for
either type of spending.
Mr. Chairman, that concludes my testimony and I am prepared
to answer any questions that you or other members of the
committee might have at this time.
Changes in Existing Law
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by
the Act H.R. 1239, as ordered reported, are shown as follows
(existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black
brackets, new matter is printed in italic, existing law in
which no change is proposed is shown in roman):
Public Law 105-203
AN ACT To establish within the United States National Park Service the
National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom program, and for other
purposes
Approved July 21, 1998
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``National Underground
Railroad Network to Freedom Act of 1998''.
* * * * * * *
SEC. 3. NATIONAL UNDERGROUND RAILROAD NETWORK TO FREEDOM PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of the Interior (in this Act
referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall establish in the
National Park Service a program to be known as the ``National
Underground Railroad Network to Freedom'' (in this Act referred
to as the ``national network''). Under the program, the
Secretary shall--
(1) produce and disseminate appropriate educational
materials, such as handbooks, maps, interpretive
guides, or electronic information;
(2) enter into appropriate cooperative agreements and
memoranda of understanding to provide technical
assistance under subsection (c); and
(3) create and adopt an official, uniform symbol or
device for the national network and issue regulations
for its use.
(b) Elements.--The national network shall encompass the
following elements:
(1) All units and programs of the National Park
Service determined by the Secretary to pertain to the
Underground Railroad.
(2) Other Federal, State, local, and privately owned
properties pertaining to the Underground Railroad that
have a verifiable connection to the Underground
Railroad and that are included on, or determined by the
Secretary to be eligible for inclusion on, the National
Register of Historic Places.
(3) Other governmental and nongovernmental facilities
and programs of an educational, research, or
interpretive nature that are directly related to the
Underground Railroad.
(c) Cooperative Agreements and Memoranda of
Understanding.--To achieve the purposes of this Act and to
ensure effective coordination of the Federal and non-Federal
elements of the national network referred to in subsection (b)
with National Park Service units and programs, the Secretary
may enter into cooperative agreements and memoranda of
understanding with, and provide technical assistance to--
(1) the heads of other Federal agencies, States,
localities, regional governmental bodies, and private
entities; and
(2) in cooperation with the Secretary of State, the
governments of Canada, Mexico, and any appropriate
country in the Caribbean.
[(d) Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this Act not more than $500,000 for
each fiscal year. No amounts may be appropriated for the
purposes of this Act except to the Secretary for carrying out
the responsibilities of the Secretary as set forth in section
3(a).]
SEC. 4. PRESERVATION OF HISTORIC SITES OR STRUCTURES.
(a) Authority To Make Grants.--The Secretary of the
Interior may make grants in accordance with this section for
the preservation and restoration of historic buildings or
structures associated with the Underground Railroad, and for
related research and documentation to sites, programs, or
facilities that have been included in the national network.
(b) Grant Conditions.--Any grant made under this section
shall provide that--
(1) no change or alteration may be made in property
for which the grant is used except with the agreement
of the property owner and the Secretary;
(2) the Secretary shall have the right of access at
reasonable times to the public portions of such
property for interpretive and other purposes; and
(3) conversion, use, or disposal of such property for
purposes contrary to the purposes of this Act, as
determined by the Secretary, shall result in a right of
the United States to compensation equal to all Federal
funds made available to the grantee under this Act.
(c) Matching Requirement.--The Secretary may obligate funds
made available for a grant under this section only if the
grantee agrees to match, from funds derived from non-Federal
sources, the amount of the grant with an amount that is equal
to or greater than the grant. The Secretary may waive the
requirement of the preceding sentence with respect to a grant
if the Secretary determines that an extreme emergency exists or
that such a waiver is in the public interest to assure the
preservation of historically significant resources.
[(d) Funding.--There are authorized to be appropriated to
the Secretary for purposes of this section $2,500,000 for
fiscal year 2001 and each subsequent fiscal year. Amounts
authorized but not appropriated in a fiscal year shall be
available for appropriation in subsequent fiscal years.]
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.*
(a) Amounts.--There are authorized to be appropriated to
carry out this Act $2,500,000 for each fiscal year, to be
allocated as follows:
(1) $2,000,000 is to be used for the purposes of
section 3.
(2) $500,000 is to be used for the purposes of
section 4.
(b) Restrictions.--No amounts may be appropriated for the
purposes of this Act except to the Secretary for carrying out
the responsibilities of the Secretary as set forth in this Act.
*Note: The changes in law take effect at the beginning of
the fiscal year immediately following the date of enactment of
this Act.