[House Report 113-219]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
113th Congress } { Report
1st Session } HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES { 113-219
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NEW PHILADELPHIA, ILLINOIS, STUDY ACT
_______
September 20, 2013.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Hastings of Washington, from the Committee on Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 930]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 930) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior
to conduct a special resource study of the archeological site
and surrounding land of the New Philadelphia town site in the
State of Illinois, and for other purposes, having considered
the same, report favorably thereon with an amendment and
recommend that the bill as amended do pass.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``New Philadelphia, Illinois, Study
Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) Frank McWorter, an enslaved man, bought his freedom and
the freedom of 15 family members by mining for crude niter in
Kentucky caves and processing the mined material into
saltpeter;
(2) New Philadelphia, founded in 1836 by Frank McWorter, was
the first town planned and legally registered by a free
African-American before the Civil War;
(3) the first railroad constructed in the area of New
Philadelphia bypassed New Philadelphia, which led to the
decline of New Philadelphia; and
(4) the New Philadelphia site--
(A) is a registered National Historic Landmark;
(B) is covered by farmland; and
(C) does not contain any original buildings of the
town or the McWorter farm and home that are visible
above ground.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of
the Interior.
(2) Study area.--The term ``Study Area'' means the New
Philadelphia archeological site and the surrounding land in the
State of Illinois.
SEC. 4. SPECIAL RESOURCE STUDY.
(a) Study.--The Secretary shall conduct a special resource study of
the Study Area.
(b) Contents.--In conducting the study under subsection (a), the
Secretary shall--
(1) evaluate the national significance of the Study Area;
(2) determine the suitability and feasibility of designating
the Study Area as a unit of the National Park System;
(3) consider other alternatives for preservation, protection,
and interpretation of the Study Area by--
(A) Federal, State, or local governmental entities;
or
(B) private and nonprofit organizations;
(4) consult with--
(A) interested Federal, State, or local governmental
entities;
(B) private and nonprofit organizations; or
(C) any other interested individuals;
(5) identify cost estimates for any Federal acquisition,
development, interpretation, operation, and maintenance
associated with the alternatives considered under paragraph
(3); and
(6) determine the effect of the designation of the Study Area
as a unit of the National Park System on--
(A) existing commercial and recreational activities,
including but not limited to hunting, fishing,
recreational shooting, and on the authorization,
construction, operation, maintenance or improvement of
energy production and transmission infrastructure; and
(B) the effect of the authority of State and local
governments to manage those activities; and
(7) identify any authorities, including condemnation, that
will compel or permit the Secretary to influence or participate
in local land use decisions (such as zoning) or place
restrictions on nonfederal land if the Study Area is designated
a unit of the National Park System.
(c) Applicable Law.--The study required under subsection (a) shall be
conducted in accordance with section 8 of Public Law 91-383 (16 U.S.C.
1a-5).
(d) Report.--Not later than 3 years after the date on which funds are
first made available for the study under subsection (a), the Secretary
shall submit to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of
the Senate a report containing--
(1) the results of the study; and
(2) any conclusions and recommendations of the Secretary.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 930 is to authorize the Secretary of
the Interior to conduct a special resource study of the
archeological site and surrounding land of the New Philadelphia
town site in the State of Illinois.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Born enslaved in South Carolina and moved to Kentucky by
his enslaver, New Philadelphia founder Frank McWorter purchased
freedom for his wife in 1817, thus ensuring their soon to be
born child and future children would be born free. McWorter
purchased his own freedom in 1819 and subsequently freed an
additional 14 family members from slavery.
In 1836, he founded a town with the intention of applying
proceeds earned through lot sales to free children and
grandchildren who remained in bondage. McWorter called the town
he founded Philadelphia and sold lots to African and European
Americans. An integrated town, New Philadelphia, as it came to
be known, was a place where free-born and formerly enslaved
African Americans lived alongside European Americans in a
region and era of intense racial strife.
Situated on fertile prairie land between the Illinois and
Mississippi Rivers and near major transportation networks, the
town grew from a small settlement with three dwellings in the
1840s, and peaked in the 1860s with as many as 160 residents.
However, when the Hannibal to Naples Railroad bypassed the town
in 1869, New Philadelphia fell into a decline from which it
could not recover. Although a few families remained, most of
the population moved away by the late 1940s. The once thriving
town is now an archaeological site with only a few building
foundations visible on the landscape.
New Philadelphia was listed on the National Register of
Historic Places in 2005 and in 2009, the town site was
designated a National Historic Landmark for its potential to
yield information of major scientific importance and to affect
archaeological theories, concepts and ideas. New Philadelphia
was included in the National Park Service National Underground
Railroad Network to Freedom Program in 2013 for its
participation in the movement to resist and end slavery by
concealing, harboring and sometimes accompanying runaway
African Americans seeking freedom to Canada.
H.R. 930 authorizes the National Park Service to conduct a
special resource study to determine the suitability and
feasibility of establishing as a unit of the park system the
resources associated with the New Philadelphia archeological
site.
During full Committee markup, the Committee adopted an
amendment offered by Congressman Rob Bishop (R-UT) adding clear
guidance that in the course of the study, the National Park
Service must consider the impact of a designation on important
commercial and recreational activities. The Committee is aware
of examples where Park boundaries are exploited to prohibit
activities that could benefit communities. This amendment
requires that the Park Service document the effect a
designation could have on such things as energy transmission,
or even hunting and fishing.
The amendment also requires the Park Service to identify
those authorities that allow it to condemn private property, or
insert itself into local matters such as zoning. It is
appropriate that communities are made aware of the consequences
that come with the National Park Service as their new neighbor.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 930 was introduced on February 28, 2013, by
Congressman Aaron Schock (R-IL). The bill was referred to the
Committee on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the
Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation. On
July 23, 2013, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On
July 31, 2013, the full Natural Resources Committee met to
consider the bill. The Subcommittee on Public Lands and
Environmental Regulation was discharged by unanimous consent.
Congressman Rob Bishop offered an amendment designated #1 to
the bill; the amendment was adopted by unanimous consent. No
further amendments were offered, and the bill, as amended, was
then adopted and ordered favorably reported to the House of
Representatives by unanimous consent.
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
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(2)(B)
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974. Under clause 3(c)(3) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section
403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has
received the following cost estimate for this bill from the
Director of the Congressional Budget Office:
H.R. 930--New Philadelphia, Illinois, Study Act
H.R. 930 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to
conduct a study of the New Philadelphia archaeological site in
Illinois to evaluate the national significance of the area and
to determine the feasibility of designating the site as a unit
of the National Park System. Based on information provided by
the National Park Service and assuming the availability of
appropriated funds, CBO estimates that conducting the study
would cost about $250,000 over the next three years. Enacting
H.R. 930 would not affect direct spending or revenues;
therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
H.R. 930 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 Martin von
Gnechten. The estimate was approved by Theresa Gull, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
2. Section 308(a) of Congressional Budget Act. As required
by clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives and section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget
Act of 1974, this bill does not contain any new budget
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in
revenues or tax expenditures. Based on information provided by
the National Park Service and assuming the availability of
appropriated funds, CBO estimates that conducting the study
would cost about $250,000 over the next three years.
3. 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 authorize the Secretary of the
Interior to conduct a special resource study of the
archeological site and surrounding land of the New Philadelphia
town site in the State of Illinois.
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. The Chairman does not believe that
this bill directs any executive branch official to conduct any
specific rule-making proceedings.
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 in existing
law.