[Senate Report 114-325]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 598
114th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 114-325
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BLACK HILLS NATIONAL CEMETERY BOUNDARY EXPANSION ACT
_______
September 6, 2016.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Ms. Murkowski, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 2223]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (S. 2223) to transfer administrative
jurisdiction over certain Bureau of Land Management land from
the Secretary of the Interior to the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs for inclusion in the Black Hills National Cemetery, and
for other purposes, having considered the same, reports
favorably thereon with an amendment and recommends that the
bill, as amended, do pass.
The amendment is as follows:
1. Strike section 4.
PURPOSE
The purpose of S. 2223 is to transfer administrative
jurisdiction over certain Bureau of Land Management land from
the Secretary of the Interior to the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs for inclusion in the Black Hills National Cemetery.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
The Black Hills National Cemetery (Cemetery) is located
just outside of Sturgis, South Dakota. Established in 1948, it
currently houses 20,000 interments within its 106-acre
footprint. S. 2223 would provide for a permanent transfer of
approximately 200 acres for the purpose of expanding the
Cemetery. The land would be transferred from the Bureau of Land
Management to the Department of Veterans Affairs, and would
provide for necessary accommodation to properly honor veterans
with a dignified burial for generations to come.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
Senator Thune introduced S. 2223 on October 29, 2015. The
Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining held a
hearing on April 21, 2016, to consider S. 2223.
In the House of Representatives, Representative Noem
introduced a companion bill, H.R. 3839, on October 27, 2015.
The Subcommittee on Federal Lands held a hearing on May 12,
2016, and the Committee on Natural Resources ordered the bill
to be reported with amendments on June 15, 2016.
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources met in open
business session on July 13, 2016, and ordered S. 2223
favorably reported as amended.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
During its consideration of S. 2223, the Committee adopted
an amendment to delete section 4, which established a process
for the potential return of the public land transferred by the
bill.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in
open business session on July 13, 2016, by a majority voice
vote of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S.
2223, if amended as described herein.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Short title
Section 1 provides a short title for the measure.
Section 2. Definitions
Section 2 defines key terms.
Section 3. Transfer and withdrawal of Bureau of Land Management land
for Cemetery use
Section 3(a) transfers administrative jurisdiction of the
subject land from the Secretary of the Interior to the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs, requires publication and
availability of the legal description, and requires the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs to reimburse the Secretary of the
Interior for reasonable costs incurred for carrying out this
section.
Subsection (b) withdrawals the subject land from all forms
of appropriation, and requires the property to be treated as
property as defined in section 102(9) of title 40, United
States Code.
Subsection (c) modifies the boundary of the Cemetery to
include the Federal land.
Subsection (d) modifies the existing Public Land Order
2112, dated June 6, 1960 (25 Fed. Reg. 5243) to exclude the
Federal land.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The following estimate of the costs of this measure has
been provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
S. 2223--Black Hills National Cemetery Boundary Expansion Act
S. 2223 would require the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
to transfer 200 acres of land to the Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA) to expand a national cemetery. Based on
information provided by the affected agencies, CBO estimates
that enacting the legislation would have no significant effect
on the federal budget.
Because enacting the bill would not affect direct spending
or revenues, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO
estimates that enacting S. 2223 would not increase net direct
spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive
10-year periods beginning in 2027.
Under the bill, the affected lands would be withdrawn from
mining and mineral leasing activities. Based on information
provided by BLM, CBO expects that those activities would not
occur over the next 10 years and we estimate that withdrawing
the lands would not affect the federal budget. In addition, CBO
estimates that implementing S. 2223 would have insignificant
costs for VA to cover administrative expenses associated with
the transfer and make improvements to the Black Hills National
Cemetery.
S. 2223 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal
governments.
On August 30, 2016, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for
H.R. 3839, the Black Hills National Cemetery Boundary Expansion
Act, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural
Resources on June 15, 2016. H.R. 3839 contains a provision that
would require VA to pay any costs to decontaminate land that
the agency transfers back to BLM if it is not required for the
cemetery. CBO determined that it could not estimate the cost of
that provision. CBO's estimated costs to carry out other
provisions in the two bills are the same.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFave. The
estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, 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 S. 2223. The bill 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 S. 2223, as ordered reported.
CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING
S. 2223, as ordered 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 Bureau of Land Management at
the April 21, 2016, Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and
Mining hearing on S. 2223 follows:
Statement of Mike Pool, Acting Deputy Director Bureau of Land
Management Department of the Interior
Thank you for inviting the Department of the Interior to
testify on S. 2223, the Black Hills National Cemetery Boundary
Expansion Act, which transfers administrative jurisdiction of
approximately 200 acres of public land currently managed by the
Department's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to the Department
of Veterans Affairs' (VA) National Cemetery Administration
(NCA) for inclusion in the Black Hills National Cemetery in
Meade County, South Dakota. The Department of the Interior
supports S. 2223.
background
The Black Hills National Cemetery is located three miles
southeast of Sturgis, South Dakota, near the Black Hills.
Established in 1948, the cemetery currently encompasses 106
acres and has had over 20,000 interments. The BLM understands
that the NCA would use the additional land provided under S.
2223 to expand the Black Hills National Cemetery to provide
burial space for future needs. The BLM and the NCA have
discussed such a transfer for several years, but the BLM has
determined that no general authority exists for the agency to
grant a perpetual transfer of jurisdiction as required by the
NCA for a cemetery.
s. 2223
S. 2223 directs the Secretary of the Interior to transfer
administrative jurisdiction of approximately 200 acres of
public land to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to be
incorporated into the existing Black Hills National Cemetery,
subject to valid existing rights. The Secretary of Veterans
Affairs would be required to pay all survey costs and other
reasonable costs associated with the transfer. The Federal land
to be transferred would be withdrawn from all forms of
appropriation under the public land laws, including the mining,
mineral leasing, and geothermal leasing laws. Under the bill,
should the NCA ever determine that it no longer needs any
portion of the additional land, the Secretary of the Interior
could restore the unneeded land to the public domain. The
Secretary of Veterans Affairs would be responsible for costs of
any decontamination necessary for restoration to public land
status.
The Department of the Interior supports S. 2223 and the
transfer of administrative jurisdiction. We note that the
expansion area is currently part of the Fort Meade Recreation
Area / Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) and that
the Centennial Trail runs along the northern boundary of the
expansion area. We suggest adding bill language to provide a
100-foot setback boundary from the centerline of the trail. The
Administration would also like to work with the sponsor and the
Committee to clarify the provisions related to decontamination
and restoration of the land to public land status.
conclusion
Thank you again for the opportunity to testify in support
of S. 2223, the Black Hills National Cemetery Boundary
Expansion Act. We appreciate the work of the South Dakota
congressional delegation on this legislation, and we look
forward to collaborating with them and the Committee to meet
the needs of the Black Hills National Cemetery.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no
changes in existing law are made by the bill as ordered
reported.
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