[House Report 115-632]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
115th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 115-632
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MEDGAR EVERS HOME NATIONAL MONUMENT ACT
_______
April 11, 2018.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Bishop of Utah, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted
the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 4895]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 4895) to establish the Medgar Evers National
Monument in the State of Mississippi, and for other purposes,
having considered the same, report favorably thereon with
amendments and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.
The amendments are as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Medgar Evers Home National Monument
Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Monument.--The term ``Monument'' means the Medgar Evers
Home National Monument established by section 3.
(2) Historic district.--The term ``Historic District'' means
the Medgar Evers Historic District, as included on the National
Register of Historic Places, and as generally depicted on the
Map.
(3) Map.--The term ``Map'' means the map entitled ``Medgar
Evers Home National Monument'', numbered 515/142561, and dated
February 2018.
(4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of
the Interior, acting through the Director of the National Park
Service.
(5) College.--The term ``College'' means Tougaloo College, a
private educational institution located in Tougaloo,
Mississippi.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF MEDGAR EVERS HOME NATIONAL MONUMENT.
(a) Establishment.--
(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), there is
established the Medgar Evers Home National Monument in the
State of Mississippi as a unit of the National Park System to
preserve, protect, and interpret for the benefit of present and
future generations resources associated with Medgar Evers'
pivotal role in the American Civil Rights Movement.
(2) Conditions.--The Monument shall not be established until
the date on which the Secretary--
(A) has entered into a written agreement with the
College providing that all parcels within the Medgar
Evers Home National Monument boundary as depicted on
the Map shall be donated to the United States for
inclusion in the Monument to be managed consistently
with the purposes of the Monument; and
(B) has otherwise acquired sufficient land or
interests in land within the boundaries of the Monument
to constitute a manageable unit.
(b) Boundaries.--The boundaries of Monument shall be the boundaries
generally depicted on the Map.
(c) Availability of Map.--The Map shall be on file and available for
public inspection in the appropriate offices of the National Park
Service.
(d) Acquisition of Authority.--The Secretary may only acquire any
land or interest in land located within the boundary of the Monument
by--
(1) donation;
(2) purchase with donated funds; or
(3) exchange.
(e) Administration.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall administer the Monument
in accordance with--
(A) this Act; and
(B) the laws generally applicable to units of the
National Park System.
(2) Management plan.--
(A) Not later than 3 years after the date on which
funds are first made available to the Secretary for
this purpose, the Secretary shall prepare a general
management plan for the Monument in accordance with
section 100502 of title 54, United States Code.
(B) On completion of the general management plan
under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall submit it
to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources of the Senate.
(f) Cooperative Agreements.--
(1) Monument.--The Secretary shall enter into a cooperative
agreement with the College for interpretive and educational
programming related to the Monument, and may enter into other
cooperative agreements for the purposes of carrying out this
Act.
(2) Historic district.--The Secretary may enter into
cooperative agreements with the owner of a nationally
significant property within the Historic District, to identify,
mark, interpret, improve, restore, and provide technical
assistance with respect to the preservation and interpretation
of the property.
(g) No Buffer Zones.--Nothing in this Act, the establishment of the
Monument, or the management of the Monument shall be construed to
create buffer zones outside of the Monument. The fact that an activity
or use can be seen, heard, or detected from within the Monument shall
not preclude the conduct of that activity or use outside of the
Monument.
Amend the title so as to read:
A bill to establish the Medgar Evers Home National Monument
in the State of Mississippi, and for other purposes.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 4895, as ordered reported, is to
establish the Medgar Evers Home National Monument in the State
of Mississippi.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Medgar Wiley Evers was born in Decatur, Mississippi, on
July 2, 1925. Medgar served in the U.S. Army in France and
Germany during World War II. Following his military service, he
attended Alcorn State University where he met his future wife,
Myrlie.\1\
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\1\``Medgar Evers.'' Biography.com. January 24, 2018. Accessed
February 01, 2018. http://www.biography.com/people/medgar-evers-
9542324.
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In February 1954, Evers applied to the then-segregated
University of Mississippi Law School. When his application was
rejected, Evers became the focus of an National Association for
the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) campaign to
desegregate the school. In December of that year, Evers became
the NAACP's first field officer in Mississippi.\2\
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\2\``NAACP History: Medgar Evers.'' NAACP.com. Accessed February 1,
2018. http://www.naacp.org/oldest-and-boldest/naacp-history-medgar-
evers/.
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On June 12, 1963, as he returned home from a NAACP planning
meeting, Evers was shot in the back by Byron De La Beckwith, a
member of the White Citizens' Council. He died at a local
hospital less than an hour later and was buried with full
military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.\3\
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\3\ Id.
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The widowed Mrs. Evers and her children continued to live
in their home in Jackson, Mississippi, for a year after the
murder of her husband, but given continued social unrest, Mrs.
Evers decided that she and her family could not remain and
relocated her family to California. Subsequently, she donated
the house to Tougaloo College in Tougaloo, Mississippi. The
home, now a museum operated by Tougaloo College, contains
period furnishings, exhibits, and family photographs that honor
Medgar Evers' legacy as one of the icons of the Civil Rights
Movement in America.\4\ The home was listed on the National
Register of Historic Places in 2000 and in 2017 was designated
as a National Historic Landmark.\5\ The Medgar Evers Historic
District was added to the National Register of Historic Places
in 2013.\6\
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\4\Legislative Hearing on H.R. 959 Before the Subcommittee on
Federal Lands, United States House of Representatives, 114th Cong.
(2015) (statement of Karen E. Mouritsen, Deputy Assistant Director,
Energy, Minerals, and Realty Management--BLM).
\5\``Interior Department Announces 24 New National Historic
Landmarks.'' DOI.gov. January 11, 2017. Accessed February 1, 2018.
https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/interior-department-announces-24-new-
national-historic-landmarks.
\6\``Medgar Evers Historic District.'' National Parks Service.
Accessed February 01, 2018. https://www.nps.gov/nr/feature/places/
13000737.htm.
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The Board of Trustees of Tougaloo College is interested in
donating the Evers home to the National Park Service and has
written in support of this legislation. Last year, through
Public Law 115-31, Congress authorized the Secretary of the
Interior to conduct special resource studies of significant
civil rights sites in the State of Mississippi, one of which
was the Medgar Evers home.
H.R. 4895 establishes the Medgar Evers Home National
Monument provided that his home is donated to the United
States. The Secretary of the Interior will develop a management
plan for the monument and enter into a cooperative agreement
with Tougaloo College for interpretative and educational
program relating to the monument.
The bill is supported by Tougaloo College, the Jackson
Historic Preservation Commission, and the Mississippi
Department of Archives and History.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 4895 was introduced on January 29, 2018, by
Congressman Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS). The bill was referred to
the Committee on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to
the Subcommittee on Federal Lands. On February 6, 2018, the
Subcommittee held a hearing on the legislation. On February 14,
2018, the Natural Resources Committee met to consider the bill.
The Subcommittee was discharged by unanimous consent.
Congressman Rob Bishop (R-UT) offered an amendment designated
#1; it was adopted by unanimous consent. No further amendments
were offered, and the bill, as amended, was 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 AND CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET ACT
1. Cost of Legislation and the Congressional Budget Act.
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) and (3) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
sections 308(a) and 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974, the Committee has received the following estimate for the
bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, April 5, 2018.
Hon. Rob Bishop,
Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 4895, the Medgar
Evers Home National Monument Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Janani
Shankaran.
Sincerely,
Keith Hall,
Director.
Enclosure.
H.R. 4895--Medgar Evers Home National Monument Act
H.R. 4895 would establish the Medgar Evers Home National
Monument in Jackson, Mississippi. Under the bill, the site
would become a unit of the National Park System and would be
owned and operated by the National Park Service (NPS). The bill
would direct the NPS to acquire the Medgar Evers home by means
of donation from Tougaloo College. Based on the expected date
of that donation and the experience of other system units, CBO
expects the monument would not be formally established for
several years.
Using information from the NPS on the costs for operating
new system units, CBO estimates that the agency would incur
about $200,000 annually in administrative costs in its initial
years. The bill also would require the NPS to develop a general
management plan for the monument. Based on the costs of similar
tasks, CBO estimates that developing the plan would cost less
than $500,000. In total, CBO estimates that implementing H.R.
4895 would cost about $1 million over the 2018-2022 period;
such spending would be subject to the availability of
appropriated funds.
Enacting H.R. 4895 would not affect direct spending or
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 4895 would not increase
net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
H.R. 4895 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Janani
Shankaran. The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss,
Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
2. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or
objective of this bill, as ordered reported, is to establish
the Medgar Evers Home National Monument in the State of
Mississippi.
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. This bill does not contain any
directed rule makings.
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 to existing
law.
[all]