[Deschler's Precedents, Volume 4, Chapters 15 - 17]
[Chapter 17. Committees]
[D. Jurisdiction of Committees]
[§ 40. Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
[Page 2905-2919]
CHAPTER 17
Committees
C. COMMITTEE PROCEDURE
Sec. 40. Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs
The Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs came into being on
Feb. 2, 1951, when the Committee on Public Lands was renamed. Four
years earlier, on the effective date [Jan. 2, 1947] of the Legislative
Reorganization Act of 1946,(10) the Committee on Public
Lands had assumed the jurisdiction of the former Committees on Indian
Affairs, Insular Affairs, Irrigation and Reclamation, Mines and Mining,
and Territories.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
10. 60 Stat. 812.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The jurisdiction of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs
pursuant to the 1973 rules (11) read as follows:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
11. Rule XI clause 10, House Rules and Manual Sec. 702 (1973). See Rule
X clause 1(k), House Rules and Manual Sec. 680 (1979).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(a) Forest reserves and national parks created from the public
domain.
[[Page 2906]]
(b) Forfeiture of land grants and alien ownership, including
alien ownership of mineral lands.
(c) Geological Survey.
(d) Interstate compacts relating to apportionment of waters for
irrigation purposes.
(e) Irrigation and reclamation, including water supply for
reclamation projects, and easements of public lands for irrigation
projects, and acquisition of private lands when necessary to
complete irrigation projects.
(f) Measures relating to the care, education, and management of
Indians, including the care and allotment of Indian lands and
general and special measures relating to claims which are paid out
of Indian funds.
(g) Measures relating generally to Hawaii, Alaska, and the
insular possessions of the United States, except those affecting
the revenue and appropriations.
(h) Military parks and battlefields; national cemeteries
administered by the Secretary of the Interior.
(i) Mineral land laws and claims and entries thereunder.
(j) Mineral resources of the public lands.
(k) Mining interests generally.
(l) Mining schools and experimental stations.
(m) Petroleum conservation on the public lands and conservation
of the radium supply in the United States.
(n) Preservation of prehistoric ruins and objects of interest
on the public domain.
(o) Public lands generally, including entry, easements, and
grazing thereon.
(p) Relations of the United States with the Indian and the
Indian tribes.
The committee's jurisdiction in 1973 also extended to several
subject areas not expressly listed in the rules. These subjects
(12) include:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
12. This list and other information noted, infra, was prepared by
Robert C. Ketcham for the use of the Select Committee on
Committees. See ``Monographs on the Committees of the House of
Representatives'' (93d Cong. 2d Sess., Dec. 13, 1974),
committee print, p. 74.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Admission of states to the Union.
2. Energy (mineral) research and development.
3. Jurisdiction over acquired lands.
4. Outdoor recreation.
5. The reservation at Arkansas Hot Springs.
6. Saline water.
7. Water research.
8. Water resources planning.
In 1973, the committee maintained seven subcommittees each of whose
jurisdiction was expressly delineated, as follows: (13)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
13. Robert C. Ketcham, ``Monographs on the Committees of the House of
Representatives'' (93d Cong. 2d Sess., Dec. 13, 1974),
committee print, p. 81.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subcommittee on the Environment
Environmental impacts of any laws or programs under the
jurisdiction of the Committee.
Subcommittee on Indian Affairs
Relations of the United States with the Indians and Indian
tribes, and other Indian matters.
[[Page 2907]]
Subcommittee on Mines and Mining
(a) Mining interests generally; Mineral resources of the public
lands; Mineral land laws, and claims and entries thereunder.
(b) Geological survey; Mining schools and experimental
stations.
(c) Petroleum conservation on the public and other Federal
lands and conservation of the radium supply in the United States.
(d) Proposed long-range domestic minerals and energy programs,
including availability of domestic minerals and energy to fulfill
all domestic requirements.
Subcommittee on National Parks and Recreation
The national park system, its units, and related units which
are established for the protection, conservation, preservation, or
recreational development of nationally significant areas.
Subcommittee on Public Lands
(a) Public lands generally, including entry, easements,
withdrawals, and grazing.
(b) Forfeiture of land grants and alien ownership, including
alien ownership of mineral lands.
(c) Forest reserves created from the public domain.
(d) National Wilderness Preservation System.
Subcommittee on Territorial and Insular Affairs
Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa,
Antarctica, and Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, and the
insular possessions of the United States, except matters affecting
revenue and appropriations.
Subcommittee on Water and Power Resources
(a) Irrigation and reclamation projects and other water
resources development programs, including policies and procedures
relating thereto.
(b) Compacts relating to the use and apportionment of
interstate waters.
(c) Water rights.
(d) Saline water research and development program and water
resources research program.
(e) Water resources planning conducted pursuant to the Water
Resources Planning Act.
(f) Activities of the National Water Commission.
(g) Legislation affecting the use of geothermal resources for
the production of water and power.
The jurisdiction of the committee and of its predecessors has also
extended to such subjects as the financing and marketing of power on
public lands,(14~) the seaward boundaries of inland
waters,(15~) the disposition of proceeds from the sale of
oil shale lands,(16) the establishment of a Pennsylvania
Avenue historic site commission,(17)~ the renaming of
certain reservoirs,18~ the reestablishment of a Civilian
Conservation
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
14. Sec. 40.3, infra.
15. Sec. Sec. 40.7, 40.8, infra.
16. Sec. 40.12, infra.
17. Sec. 40.21, infra.
18. Sec. 40.22, infra.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 2908]]
Corps,(19) and matters pertaining to certain employees of
the Bureau of Land Management.(20)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
19. Sec. 40.1, infra.
20. Sec. 40.2, infra.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Committee Reform Amendments of 1974 deleted from the
committee's jurisdiction the subject of Indian education, removed
specific references to Hawaii and Alaska, and granted the committee
jurisdiction over parks within the District of Columbia. The amendments
also vested in the committee specific oversight jurisdiction over all
government activities dealing with Indians. [Rule X clause 3(e), House
Rules and Manual Sec. 693 (1979).] (21) In the 95th
Congress, the committee was given legislative jurisdiction over
regulation of the domestic nuclear industry, including regulation of
research and development reactors and nuclear regulatory research, and
oversight jurisdiction over nonmilitary nuclear research and
development in eluding the disposal of nuclear waste, when the
legislative jurisdiction of the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy was
abolished.(22)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
21. H. Res. 988, 120 Cong. Rec. 34447-70, 93d Cong. 2d Sess., Oct. 8,
1974, effective Jan. 3, 1975.
22. H. Res. 5, 121 Cong. Rec. 53-55, 95th Cong. 1st Sess., Jan. 4,
1977. -------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Civilian Conservation Corps
Sec. 40.1 The Committee on Public Lands (now the Committee on Interior
and Insular Affairs), and not the Committee on Education and Labor
had jurisdiction of bills to provide for the reestablishment of a
Civilian Conservation Corps, an agency which would provide for the
conservation of natural resources and the development of human
resources through the employment of youthful citizens in the
performance of useful work on public lands or on private lands only
if related to irrigation or resource improvements.
On Mar. 15, 1950,(23) John Lesinski, of Michigan,
Chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor, acting by direction
of the committee, obtained unanimous consent to have it discharged from
further consideration of three identical bills (H.R. 7462, H.R. 7463,
and H.R. 7523), and to have the bills rereferred to the Committee on
Public Lands (now the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
23. 96 Cong. Rec. 3420, 81st Cong. 2d Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 2909]]
Bureau of Land Management--Employees' Activities
Sec. 40.2 The Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs and not the
Committee on the Judiciary has jurisdiction of a bill relating to
the activities of temporary and certain other employees of the
Bureau of Land Management.
On May 1, 1951,(24) Emanuel Celler, of New York,
Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary, obtained unanimous consent
to have his committee discharged from further consideration of the bill
(H.R. 2976), and to have it rerefered to the Committee on Interior and
Insular Affairs.(25)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
24. 97 Cong. Rec. 4614, 82d Cong. 1st Sess.
25. H.R. 2976 was reported by the Committee on Interior and Insular
Affairs on July 10, 1951 (H. Rept. No. 689).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Financing and Marketing of Power
Sec. 40.3 In the 87th Congress, the Committee on Interior and Insular
Affairs, and not the Committee on Public Works, had jurisdiction of
matters relating to the financing of the Bonneville Power
Administration and the marketing of power.
On Mar. 13, 1961,(1) Mr. John A. Blatnik, of Minnesota,
a member of the Committee on Public Works, requested unanimous consent
to have that committee discharged from further consideration of a
letter from the Assistant Secretary of the Interior (Exec. Comm. No.
472), transmitting a draft of proposed legislations entitled ``A bill
to amend the Bonneville Project Act as amended.'' Mr. Blatnik
simultaneously requested that the communication be rereferred to the
Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. 107 Cong. Rec. 3799, 87th Cong. 1st Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Speaker Sam Rayburn, of Texas, inquired as to whether there was any
objection, Mr. Frederick D. Schwengel, of Iowa, reserved the right to
object and requested a further explanation from Mr. Blatnik.
The following exchange then took place:
Mr. Blatnik: This is merely a request to transfer an executive
communication from the Department of the Interior, which was
submitted to our Committee on Public Works. It deals with the
Bonneville Power Administration, and the subject matter deals
entirely with financing; a revolving fund. In consulting with the
minority and with the chairman of the Committee on Interior and
Insular Affairs, the gentleman from New York [Charles A.
[[Page 2910]]
Buckley, Chairman of the Committee on Public Works] agreed that the
Committee on Public Works was interested in the construction phase
but not financing, which very properly belonged under Interior and
Insular Affairs.
Mr. [Wayne N.] Aspinall [of Colorado, Chairman of the Committee
on Interior and Insular Affairs]: Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman
yield?
Mr. Blatnik: I yield to the gentleman from Colorado.
Mr. Aspnall: Three of these executive communications came up
from downtown at the same time. Two of them came to our committee,
and this one went to the other committee. It so happens that the
Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs has jurisdiction of
marketing procedures. That is the difference. It is merely a
formality.
When the Speaker renewed his inquiry as to whether there was any
objection to Mr. Blatnik's request, none was heard, and the
communication was rereferred by unanimous consent.
Forest and Wilderness Areas
Sec. 40.4 The Committee on Public Lands (now the Committee on Interior
and Insular Affairs), and not the Committee on Agriculture had
jurisdiction of a bill to add certain lands to the Cleveland
National Forest in Orange County, California, created from the
public domain.
On Feb. 14, 1939,(2) Mr. Harry R. Sheppard, of
California, obtained unanimous consent to have the bill (H.R. 2728),
discharged from the Committee on Agriculture and rereferred to the
Committee on Public Lands (now the Committee on Interior and Insular
Affairs). In so doing, he noted that he had ``the consent of the
chairmen of both of those committees in making this request.''
(3)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. 84 Cong. Rec. 1400, 76th Cong. 1st Sess.
3. H.R. 2728 was reported by the Committee on Public Lands on June 27,
1939 (H. Rept. No. 950).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sec. 40.5 The Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, and not the
Committee on Agriculture, has jurisdiction of bills designating and
setting aside certain national forest lands, created from the
public domain, as wilderness areas as defined by law [act of Sept.
3, 1964, Pub. L. No. 88-577].
On May 6, 1969,(4) William R. Poage, of Texas, Chairman
of the Committee on Agriculture, obtained unanimous consent that his
committee be discharged from further consideration of the bills (H.R.
393, H.R. 3682), and that they be rereferred to the Com
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. 115 Cong. Rec. 11459, 91st Cong. 1st Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 2911]]
mittee on Interior and Insular Affairs. These bills authorized the
Secretary of Agriculture to classify as wilderness, national forest
lands in the Lincoln Back Country, and parts of the Lewis and Clark and
Lolo National Forests in Montana.
Parliamentarian's Note: The Committee on Interior and Insular
Affairs has jurisdiction, under Rule X clause 1(k) [House Rules and
Manual Sec. 680 (1979)] over forest reserves and national parks created
from the public domain, while the Committee on Agriculture has
jurisdiction, under Rule X clause 1(a) [House Rules and Manual Sec. 670
(1979)] over forestry in general and forest reserves other than those
created from the public domain. See also 123 Cong. Rec. 23434, 95th
Cong. 1st Sess., July 18, 1977 [H.R. 8223], indicating that the
Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs had jurisdiction over a bill
amending section 1862 of title 18 to limit the application of a
criminal trespass provision applying in a reserve in a national forest
created from the public domain. (The bill in this instance had been
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary because it solely addressed
a federal criminal statute, but that committee later agreed that the
measure should be properly considered by the Committee on Interior and
Insular Affairs along with the other legislation affecting the
reserve.)
Sec. 40.6 The Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, and not the
Committee on Agriculture, has jurisdiction of a bill directing the
Secretary of Agriculture to set aside for recreational use certain
lands which have been established as wilderness areas pursuant to
the Wilderness Act of 1964 (78 Stat. 890).
On Apr. 5, 1965,(5) Harold D. Cooley, of North Carolina,
Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture obtained unanimous consent to
have his committee discharged from further consideration of the bill
(H.R. 6891),(6) and to have it rereferred to the Committee
on Interior and Insular Affairs.(7)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. 111 Cong. Rec. 6822, 89th Cong. 1st Sess.
6. H.R. 6891 provided for the winter recreational use of a portion of
the San Gorgonio Wilderness Area, San Bernardino National
Forest, California, without reducing the area set aside for
wilderness preservation.
7. See the Parliamentarian's Note in Sec. 40.5, supra, for additional
information as to the nature of this jurisdiction.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 2912]]
Inland Waters, Boundaries of
Sec. 40.7 In the 82d Congress, the Committee on Interior and Insular
Affairs and not the Committee on the Judiciary had jurisdiction of
a resolution relative to establishment of seaward boundaries of
inland waters.
On June 26, 1952,(8) Emanuel Celler, of New York,
Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary, obtained unanimous consent
to have his committee discharged from further consideration of the
resolution (H. Res. 684), and to have it rereferred to the Committee on
Interior and Insular Affairs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
8. 98 Cong. Rec. 8244, 82d Cong. 2d Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sec. 40.8 In the 82d Congress, the Committee on Interior and Insular
Affairs and not the Committee on the Judiciary had jurisdiction of
a joint resolution declaring the boundaries of the inland or
internal waters of the United States to be as far seaward as is
permissible under international law, and providing for a survey of
such boundaries to be made by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey.
On May 26, 1952,(9) Emanuel Celler, of New York,
Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary, obtained unanimous consent
to have his committee discharged from further consideration of the
joint resolution (H.J. Res. 373), and to have it rereferred to the
Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
9. 98 Cong. Rec. 5968, 82d Cong. 2d Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Irrigation and Reclamation Matters
Sec. 40.9 The Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs and not the
Committee on Public Works has jurisdiction of a bill to provide the
basis for authorization of irrigation works in connection with
Chief Joseph Dam, to provide for financial assistance thereto from
power revenues.
On May 7, 1952,(10) Mr. Thaddeus M. Machrowicz, of
Michigan, obtained unanimous consent to have the Committee on Public
Works discharged from further consideration of the bill (H.R. 6163),
and to have it rereferred to the Committee on Interior and Insular
Affairs.(11)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
10. 98 Cong. Rec. 4895, 4896, 82d Cong. 2d Sess.
11. H.R. 6163 was reported by the Committee on Interior and Insular
Affairs on June 27, 1952 (H. Rept. No. 2327).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 2913]]
Sec. 40.10 The Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs and not the
Committee on Public Works has jurisdiction of a bill to amend the
act of June 28, 1946, authorizing the performance of necessary
reclamation protection work between the Yuma project and Boulder
Dam by the Bureau of Reclamation.
On June 24, 1957,(12) Mr. Clifford Davis, of Tennessee,
obtained unanimous consent to have the Committee on Public Works
discharged from further consideration of the bill (H.R. 7534), and to
have it rereferred to the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
12. 103 Cong. Rec. 10124, 85th Cong. 1st Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indian Lands
Sec. 40.11 The Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs and not the
Committee on Appropriations has jurisdiction of a bill to authorize
a $100 per capita payment to members of the Red Lake Band of
Chippewa Indians from the proceeds of the sale of timber and lumber
on the Red Lake Reservation.
On Apr. 21, 1955,(13) Clarence Cannon, of Missouri,
Chairman of the Committee on Appropriations, obtained unanimous consent
to have his committee discharged from further consideration of the bill
(H.R. 5478), and to have it rereferred to the Committee on Interior and
Insular Affairs.(14)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
13. 101 Cong. Rec. 4896, 84th Cong. 1st Sess.
14. H.R. 5478 was reported by the Committee on Interior and Insular
Affairs on Mar. 26, 1956 (H. Rept. No. 1946).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oil Shale Lands--Proceeds From Disposal Of
Sec. 40.12 The Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, and not the
Committee on Armed Services, has jurisdiction of bills providing
that proceeds from the disposal of oil shale lands [other than
naval oil shale reserves] shall go to a special Treasury account,
available for disbursement by the Secretary of the Treasury for
educational purposes.
On Aug. 3, 1967,(15) L. Mendel Rivers, of South
Carolina, Chairman of the Committee on Armed Services, obtained
unanimous consent to have his committee dis
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
15. 113 Cong. Rec. 21179, 90th Cong. 1st Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 2914]]
charged from consideration of the bill (H.R. 10531), and to have it
rereferred to the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs.
Land Claims of United States Based on Accretion or Avulsion
Sec. 40.13 A bill relating to claims by the United States to lands
along the Colorado River, where it forms the boundary between
states and where the government's claim is founded upon accretion
or avulsion, is referred to the Committee on Interior and Insular
Affairs, not the Committee on the Judiciary.
On June 28, 1967,(16) Emanuel Celler, of New York,
Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary, obtained unanimous consent
to have his committee discharged from further consideration of the bill
(H.R. 10256), and to have it rereferred to the Committee on Interior
and Insular Affairs.(17)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. 113 Cong. Rec. 17738, 90th Cong. 1st Sess.
17. H.R. 10256 was reported by the Committee on Interior and Insular
Affairs on Sept. 4, 1968 (H. Rept. No. 1859).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Land Acquisition by the Navy
Sec. 40.14 The Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs and not the
Committee on Armed Services has jurisdiction of bills to authorize
the Secretary of the Navy to acquire certain land on the Island of
Guam.
On May 5, 1958,(18) Wayne N. Aspinall, of Colorado,
Chairman of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, obtained
unanimous consent that the Committee on Armed Services be discharged
from further consideration of three identical bills (H.R. 12018, H.R.
12055, and H.R. 12129), and that the bills be referred to his
committee. In so doing, Mr. Aspinall observed that, ``It is the sense
of the Committee on Armed Services that these bills properly come
within the scope and jurisdiction of the Committee on Interior and
Insular Affairs.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. 104 Cong. Rec. 7999, 85th Cong. 2d Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Outer Continental Shelf--Reserving Areas for Department of Defense
Sec. 40.15 The Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, and not the
Committee on the Judiciary, has jurisdiction of proposals to
reserve for the use of the Department of Defense certain areas in
the Outer Continental Shelf, and
[[Page 2915]]
to exclude them from the mineral leasing provisions of the Outer
Continental Shelf Lands Act.
On May 16, 1963,(19) Speaker John W. McCormack, of
Massachusetts, recognized Mr. Byron G. Rogers, of Colorado, a member of
the Committee on the Judiciary, who made the following statement:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
19. 109 Cong. Rec. 8777, 88th Cong. 1st Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on the Judiciary, I
ask unanimous consent to rerefer Executive Communication 761, by
the Department of the Navy, containing a draft of proposed
legislation to provide for the restriction of certain areas in the
Outer Continental Shelf, known as the Corpus Christi Offshore
Warning Area, for defense purposes and for other purposes, to the
Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs.
Immediately thereafter, Mr. Rogers' request was agreed to.
Parliamentarian's Note: The bill, H.R. 6417, on this subject was
referred to the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs upon
introduction on May 20, 1963.
Military Parks
Sec. 40.16 The Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs has
jurisdiction of military parks (including the cemeteries therein),
administered by the Secretary of the Interior and the National Park
Service.
On Oct. 20, 1967,(1) by direction of the Committee on
Rules, Mr. Richard Bolling, of Missouri, called up a resolution (H.
Res. 241), and asked for its immediate consideration. The Clerk read
the resolution; a quorum call followed, after which the House
considered and agreed to the committee amendments.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. 113 Cong. Rec. 29560, 90th Cong. 1st Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The resolution, with committee amendments, reads as follows:
Resolved, That clause 10 of rule XI of the Rules of the House
of Representatives is amended by striking out paragraph (h)
(2) and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Rule XI clause 10 prescribed the jurisdiction of the Committee on
Interior and Insular Affairs; paragraph (h) read [H. Jour.
1482, 89th Cong. 2d Sess. (1966)] thusly: ``Military parks and
battlefields and national cemeteries.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
``(h) Military parks and battlefields.''
Sec. 2. Clause 19 of rule XI of the Rules of the House of
Representatives (3) is amended by inserting a new
subsection (b), as follows:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. At the time, clause 19 [H. Jour. 1483, 89th Cong. 2d Sess. (1966)]
prescribed the jurisdiction of the Committee on Veterans'
Affairs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
``(b) Cemeteries of the United States in which veterans of
any war
[[Page 2916]]
or conflict are or may be buried whether in the United States
or abroad, except cemeteries administered by the Secretary of
the Interior''.
In the course of the ensuing discussion, Speaker John W. McCormack,
of Massachusetts, recognized Mr. James H. Quillen, of Tennessee, who
offered the following explanation for the proposal:(4)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. 113 Cong. Rec. 29562, 90th Cong. 1st Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. Speaker, as the able gentleman from Missouri [Mr. Bolling]
has ably stated, House Resolution 241 as amended and reported by
the Committee on Rules attempts to achieve a more orderly
jurisdictional division in the matter of national cemeteries. At
the present time there is a bit of a problem because the Rules of
the House basically divide the jurisdiction between the Committee
on Veterans' Affairs and the Committee on Interior and Insular
Affairs. Additionally the Committee on Foreign Affairs has some
interest in overseas cemeteries. For some time it has been clear to
members of the interested committees that the problem could be
broken down into two rather clearly distinguished types of
cemeteries; those which are being actively used as national
cemeteries in which our military veterans are being buried, and
those which are not active cemeteries. This latter group of
cemeteries primarily associated with major battlefields of the
Civil War is, as a general rule closed to present and future
burials. They have become, along with these battlefield sites,
military parks of an historical significance, regularly bringing
Americans from all over the country to view and visit them.
This second group of cemeteries has long been administered by
the Secretary of the Interior. Those cemeteries still open and
available for the burial of our service men ought uniformly to be
under the jurisdiction of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. This
committee is charged with the overall direction and formulation of
our national policy with regard to our service veterans. The
committee also deals on a regular and day to day basis with the
Veterans' Administration, the agency which handles the matter of
veteran burials.
House Resolution 241 has been before the Committee on Rules for
some 6 months. . . . If the resolution is adopted and the rules
amended, the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs will retain
jurisdiction over ``national cemeteries administered by the
Secretary of the Interior''--in other words, those cemeteries which
are part of military parks and battlefield monuments. The Committee
on Veterans' Affairs will have jurisdiction over national
cemeteries ``in which veterans of any war or conflict are or may be
buried whether in the United States or abroad, except cemeteries
administered by the Secretary of the Interior.''
As I have indicated, all interested committees have been
consulted and agree with the resolution. The intention of the
Committee on Rules is to assist these committees by adjusting the
jurisdictional lines to more accurately reflect the interests of
the committees and protect our veterans.
Shortly thereafter, the House agreed to the resolution, as
[[Page 2917]]
amended, by a unanimous roll call vote.(5)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. Id. at p. 29566.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In light of this jurisdictional change, Wayne N. Aspinall, of
Colorado, Chairman of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs,
subsequently obtained unanimous consent to have 66 bills and two
resolutions rereferred from that committee to the Committee on
Veterans' Affairs.(6)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. Id. at p. 29567.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sec. 40.17 The Committee on Public Lands (now the Committee on Interior
and Insular Affairs), and not the Committee on Military Affairs
(now the Committee on Armed Services), had jurisdiction of a bill
to revise the boundaries of the Chickamauga-Chattanooga National
Military Park in the States of Georgia and Tennessee.
On Jan. 9, 1942,(7) Mr. Estes Kefauver, of Tennessee,
obtained unanimous consent to have the Committee on Military Affairs
(now the Committee on Armed Services), discharged from further
consideration of the bill (H.R. 6332), and to have it rereferred to the
Committee on Public Lands (now the Committee on Interior and Insular
Affairs).(8)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. 88 Cong. Rec. 207, 77th Cong. 2d Sess.
8. H.R. 6332 was reported by the Committee on Public Lands on Jan. 26,
1942 (H. Rept. No. 1684).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mineral Leases of United States
Sec. 40.18 The Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, and not the
Committee on the Judiciary, has exercised jurisdiction of a private
bill providing for the reinstatement and validation of a U.S. oil
and gas lease.
On Aug. 5, 1959,(9) Mr. Walter E. Rogers, of Texas, a
member of the Committee on the Judiciary obtained unanimous consent to
have that committee discharged from further consideration of the
private bill (H.R. 8437), and to have it rereferred to the Committee on
Interior and Insular Affairs.(10)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
9. 105 Cong. Rec. 15190, 86th Cong. 1st Sess.
10. H.R. 8437 was reported by the Committee on Interior and Insular
Affairs on Aug. 24, 1959 (H. Rept. No. 962).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Missouri River Basin Project
Sec. 40.19 Under the rule in effect in the 86th Congress, the Committee
on Interior and
[[Page 2918]]
Insular Affairs, and not the Committee on Public Works, had
jurisdiction of bills to provide for the inclusion of the Nebraska
Mid-State unit in the Missouri River Basin reclamation project.
On Sept. 8, 1959,(11) Mr. Frank E. Smith, of
Mississippi, obtained unanimous consent to have the Committee on Public
Works discharged from further consideration of the bill (H.R. 8985) and
to have it rereferred to the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
11. 105 Cong. Rec. 18587, 86th Cong. 1st Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sec. 40.20 The Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs and not the
Committee on Public Works has jurisdiction of a bill to make
certain provisions in connection with the construction of the
Garrison Diversion Unit, Missouri River Basin reclamation project,
by the Secretary of the Interior.
On May 20, 1957,(12) Mr. Clifford Davis, of Tennessee,
obtained unanimous consent to have the Committee on Public Works
discharged from further consideration of the bill (H. R. 7068), and to
have it rereferred to the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
12. 103 Cong. Rec. 7257, 85th Cong. 1st Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pennsylvania Avenue as Historic Site
Sec. 40.21 The Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, and not the
Committee on the District of Columbia, has jurisdiction of
proposals to establish a Commission on Pennsylvania Avenue to
initiate plans for the further development of the avenue as a
national historic site.
On Oct. 21, 1965,(13) Speaker John W. McCormack, of
Massachusetts, recognized John L. McMillan, of South Carolina, Chairman
of the Committee on the District of Columbia, who proceeded to make the
following requests:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
13. 111 Cong. Rec. 27803, 89th Cong. 1st. Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the
District of Columbia be discharged from further consideration of
the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 678) to provide for the
administration and development of Pennsylvania Avenue as a national
historic site, and that the bill be rereferred to the Interior and
Insular Affairs Committee, which more appropriately should handle
such legislation.
Also, I make the same request with respect to the Executive
communication thereon, dated September 30,
[[Page 2919]]
1965, and printed as House Document No. 296, which was also
referred to the Committee on the District of Columbia.
Immediately thereafter, the House granted unanimous consent.
Parliamentarian's Note: The executive communication which contained
the genesis of this proposal, No. 1629 of Sept. 30, 1965, and House
Joint Resolution 678, were both rereferred by this request. It should
be noted, however, that the two were not identical. Mr. William B.
Widnall, of New Jersey, who sponsored House Joint Resolution 678, had
added to it a new section 3(d) which directed the commission to develop
a plan for the relocation of the John F. Kennedy Center for the
Performing Arts from the Potomac site to one on Pennsylvania Avenue.
This particular addition, while itself a matter which fell within the
jurisdiction of the Committee on Public Works, was subsidiary to the
main purpose of the legislation.
Renaming Reservoirs
Sec. 40.22 In the 93d Congress, the Committee on Interior and Insular
Affairs, and not the Committee on Public Works, had jurisdiction of
a bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior to rename the
Alamogordo Reservoir in New Mexico, although that reservoir was a
flood control project.
On June 28, 1973,(14) Mr. Ray Roberts, of Texas, a
member of the Committee on Public Works, obtained unanimous consent to
have that committee discharged from further consideration of the bill
(H.R. 8094), and to have it rereferred to the Committee on Interior and
Insular Affairs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
14. 119 Cong. Rec. 22103, 93d Cong. 1st Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Parliamentarian's Note: The Alamogordo Reservoir was authorized as
a flood control project by 53 Stat. 1414, a bill reported by the
Committee on Public Works.