Lands Bill Suspension - S. 47
The House and Senate passed S.47 to permanently reauthorizes the Land and Water Conservation Fund, provides for the transfer and exchange of federal lands, designates new National Park System units and federal wilderness areas, adjusts the boundaries of existing National Parks, modifies access for hunters and fishers to federal lands, and establishes a volcano monitoring system.
Lands Bill Suspension — S 47 The Senate-passed measure permanently reauthorizes the Land and Water Conservation Fund, provides for the transfer and exchange of federal lands, designates new National Park System units and federal wilderness areas, adjusts the boundaries of existing National Parks, modifies access for hunters and fishers to federal lands, and establishes a volcano monitoring system, among other provisions.
BACKGROUND: The Senate passed the bill by a 92-8 vote on Feb. 12. The Natural Resources Committee did not act on the measure.
The federal government owns roughly 640 million surface acres of land in the United States. This land is largely administered by four agencies: the Forest Service (USFS), a part of the Agriculture Department (USDA), and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and National Park Service (NPS), all parts of the Interior Department. BLM administers an additional about 700 million acres of subsurface mineral resources owned by the federal government.
These agencies have varying authority to acquire and dispose of their lands, and many land transfers require congressional approval. The BLM has relatively broad authority for both acquisitions and disposals, while NPS has almost no general authority to acquire land to create new park units or to dispose of park lands without congressional action.
Forest Service authority to acquire lands is limited mostly to lands within or contiguous to the boundaries of a national forest, including the authority to acquire access corridors to national forests across nonfederal lands. The agency has various authorities to dispose of land, but they are relatively constrained and infrequently used. FWS also has various authorities to acquire lands, but no general authority to dispose of its lands.
Land and Water Conservation Fund
The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) Act of 1965 was enacted to help preserve, develop, and assure access to outdoor recreation facilities. The fund is the principal source of funding for land acquisition for outdoor recreation by BLM, NPS, FWS, and USFS. The fund primarily generates revenue from offshore oil and gas leasing. According to the Congressional Research Service, the fund was authorized to accrue roughly $900 million in FY 2018, though lawmakers rarely appropriate the full authorized amount.
In addition to land acquisition, the LWCF also funds a matching grant program to assist states in recreational planning, acquiring recreational lands and waters, and developing outdoor recreational facilities. Beginning in FY 1998, LWCF has been used to fund other federal programs with related purposes, such as the Forest Legacy program of the Forest Service and grants under the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund of the Fish and Wildlife Service.
Authorization for the LWCF lapsed for the first time at the end of FY 2015. Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, the then-chairman of the Natural Resources Committee, attempted to pass a broad overhaul of the program that would have moved most of the fund's funding away from new land acquisition, but lawmakers ultimately extended the program's authorization for three years as part of the FY 2016 Omnibus spending measure (PL 114-113)
After the program's three-year reauthorization lapsed after Sept. 30, 2018, Senators attempted to pass a permanent LWCF reauthorization, which included several other federal lands provisions to attract additional votes. Despite agreements on the package between Republicans and Democrats in both chambers, Utah Sen. Mike Lee, a Republican, objected to a unanimous consent request to advance the bill, derailing its consideration in the Senate. Lee criticized the federal government's ability to expand and modify national monuments in Utah without the state government's consent.
Recent Actions
In the wake of the measure's failure to pass in the 115th Congress, Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., promised Senate Energy Committee Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and other lawmakers that he was prepared to bring the measure back to the Senate floor during the 116th Congress.
Meanwhile, despite earlier statements that he was considering changes to some of the concessions Democrats had agreed to in the bill last year when the party was still in the minority, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Raul M. Grijalva, D-Ariz., assured his Senate counterparts he would push House Democrat leaders to take up the bill if the upper chamber passed it without significant changes — which the Senate, in turn, did on Feb. 12.
SUMMARY: Following is a summary of the bill as passed by the Senate; House passage would clear the measure for the president.
This bill permanently reauthorizes the Land and Water Conservation Fund, and requires that at least 40% of the fund be used for state projects.
It reauthorizes through FY 2023, the U.S. Geological Survey's national volcano monitoring system, as well as several programs related to wildlife conservation, invasive species management, and prevention of illegal poaching and trafficking.
The bill includes a number of provisions related to the designation, regulation, exchange, and management of federal public lands and forests, including additions and boundary adjustments to several national parks, monuments, and historic sites, and the designation of several new wilderness areas. Many of these provisions were contained in individual bills passed by the House last Congress.
The measure authorizes and establishes procedures for the transfer of water and power facilities from the Bureau of Reclamation to state and local reclamation entities and authorizes a reclamation water management project in south-central Washington State. It also contains provisions related to federal land access for hunting, federal land designation studies, and the establishment of an online database of the awards of the amounts paid to entities that prevail in lawsuits against the United States.
Land & Water Conservation Fund
The bill permanently reauthorizes the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Under the measure, at least 40% of the funds deposited in the fund must be used for federal purposes, while at least 40% of the funds must be used to provide financial assistance to States.
It requires that not less than 3% or $15 million, whichever amount is greater, be allocated to improve and expand recreation access to federal lands.
General Public Lands Authorities
The measure reauthorizes and modifies several U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conservation programs, establishes new federal lands conservation programs and modifies existing ones, and opens up federal lands to hunting, fishing and recreation shooting.
Wildlife Habitat and Conservation
The bill reauthorizes through FY 2023 several wildlife conservation programs, including those for African and Asian elephants, rhinoceroses, tigers, great apes, and marine and freshwater turtles. It authorizes the Interior Department to award a multi-year grant for the development and implementation of a long-term conservation strategy for great apes. The measure also modifies the marine turtle conservation program to make U.S. territories eligible to receive conservation assistance.
It directs federal agencies with duties related to invasive species management to develop strategic plans for an invasive species program designed to reduce invasive species populations or infested acreage in managed areas. Under the measure, agencies must prioritize the use of methods that control and manage invasive species in the least costly manner, are based on sound science, and minimize environmental impacts.
The measure also reauthorizes through FY 2023 the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program, a voluntary program that provides technical assistance to private landowners to restore, enhance and manage private land to improve fish and wildlife habitats. The bill directs the department to establish a conservation incentives landowner education program to provide information on Federal conservation programs available to landowners interested in undertaking conservation actions on their land.
Finally, the bill reauthorizes the Neotropical Bird Conservation program, which provides grants to support migratory bird conservation in the Western Hemisphere. Under the bill, at least 75% of funds must be for projects outside of the United States.
Sportsmen's Access to Federal Lands
The measure opens federal lands administered by the National Forest System or Bureau of Land Management to hunting, noncommercial fishing and recreational shooting — unless the relevant agency acts to close the land under a procedure set out in the legislation. The procedure includes a public notice and comment period, requires agencies to justify temporary or permanent closures of land to hunting, fishing and recreation shooting, and limits temporary closures to no more than 180 days.
The bill also authorizes the Interior and Agriculture departments to lease or permit the use of certain federal lands for public shooting ranges and directs the departments to identify locations for hunting, fishing and recreation shooting opportunities on such lands.
It sets January 31 as the latest closing date for the hunting of ducks, mergansers and coots. The measure also directs the Interior Department to establish special hunting days separate from, and in addition to, the annual federal hunting season for youths, veterans and active duty military personal.
Other Public Lands Authorities
The measure modifies the Public Lands Corps Program, a joint federal-state program administered by the Interior Department that oversees programs that employ young adults to work on lands managed by the department and the Forest Service. It would allow the Commerce Department, specifically the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to participate in the program, codify the participating agencies direct hiring authority, establish an Indian Youth Service Corps to assist Indian tribes and related youth groups, and open the program to veterans under the age of 35.
It also creates a new process to expedite access to federal lands for eligible search-and-recovery groups. Under the measure, notification of approval or denial must be made in 48 hours and the federal government is released from liability.
The bill establishes the Every Kid Outdoors Program to provide free access to Federal land and waters for students and accompanying individuals. The program would sunset after 7 years.
National Park System
The bill establishes three new National Park System units, modifies boundaries at ten National Park System units, and redesignates and redefines several other National Park units. It directs the National Park Service (NPS) to conduct special resources studies to determine the suitability of designating five sites as National Parks System units. It also modifies existing and designates several new National Heritage Areas and National Scenic Trails.
New Park Units and Redesignations
The bill takes numerous actions to establish new units of the National Park System, as well as redesignate and reorganize existing parks and historic sites. It establishes the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument in Jackson, Miss., the Mill Springs Battlefield National Monument in Pulaski County, Ky., and the Camp Nelson Heritage National Monument in Jessamine County, Ky., as new units of the National Park System.
The measure also:
Establishes the "Pearl Harbor National Memorial" in Hawaii as a separate unit of the National Park System (Pearl Harbor is currently a part of the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument), and redesignates the portions of the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument in California and Alaska as the "Tule Lake National Monument" and the "Aleutian Islands World War II National Monument," respectively. It also redesignates the Honouliuli National Monument in Honolulu County, Hawaii as the "Honouliuli National Historic Site."
Combines the Fort Sumter National Monument, the Fort Moultrie National Monument, and the Sullivan’s Island Life Saving Station Historic District, all in Charleston County, S.C., as the "Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park."
Redesignates the Reconstruction Era National Monument in Beaufort County, S.C. as the "Reconstruction Era National Historical Park," and authorizes the NPS to acquire lands near the park. It also directs NPS to establish a Reconstruction Era National Historic Network program, and to solicit proposals from sites interested in being a part of the network.
Redesignates Golden Spike National Historic Site in Box Elder County, Utah, as "Golden Spike National Historical Park," and directs the NPS to establish a program on the history of the Transcontinental Railroad.
Redesignates the Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site in Cornish, N.H., as the "Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park."
Designates an NPS park in Washington, D.C. as "Robert Emmet Park," after the Irish patriot.
Finally, it directs NPS to conduct special resource studies on the feasability and suitability of designating the following five sites as units of the National Park System:
The James K. Polk Presidential Home in Columbia, Tenn.
The Thurgood Marshall School in Baltimore, Md.
President Street Station in Baltimore, Md.
George W. Bush's childhood home in Midland, Texas.
Camp Amache (also known as the Granada War Relocation Center), a World War II internment camp in Prowers County, Colo.
National Trails and Heritage Areas
The measure extends the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail by 1,200 miles from Wood River, Ill., to Pittsburgh, Pa., and it extends the North Country Scenic Trail by 1,400 miles from eastern New York to the Appalachian Trail in Vermont. It authorizes the Interior and Agriculture departments to accept donated signage for the American Discovery Trail, which runs from Delaware to California.
It also directs the Interior Department to conduct a study on the feasibility and suitability of establishing the Pike National Historic Trail, a 3,664 mile route following the route taken by Zebulon Pike during his 1806-07 expedition through lands of the Louisiana Purchase.
The bill establishes six new National Heritage Areas as part of the National Park System:
Appalachian Forest National Heritage Area in West Virginia and Maryland.
Maritime Washington National Heritage Area in Washington State.
Mountains-to-Sound Greenway National Heritage Area in Washington State.
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National Heritage Area in California.
Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area in Arizona.
Susquehanna National Heritage Area in Pennsylvania.
Under the bill, the local coordinating entity must submit a proposed management plan within three years of enactment, and the NPS has180 days to approve or reject the plan. The measure authorizes $10 million in appropriations for each heritage area, with termination of authority 15 years after enactment.
The bill also modifies the boundaries of the Lincoln National Heritage Area to include Livingston County and the cities of Jonesboro and Freeport in Illinois and directs the Interior Department to study the feasibility and suitability of designating the Finger Lakes area in New York State as a National Heritage Area.
Finally, the bill increases by $2 million the authorized funding levels for six existing National Heritage Areas, redesignates two National Heritage Areas, and sets the funding end-date for four National Heritage Areas at the end of FY 2021.
National Park System Boundary Adjustments
The bill authorizes the following boundary adjustments:
Confirms the inclusion of an additional 1,441 acres of land in Hancock County, Maine, as a part of Acadia National Park, modifies the park's boundary, and guarantees certain traditional uses, such as shellfish harvesting, within the park's boundaries.
Expands the boundary of the Shiloh National Military Park in Tennessee and Mississippi to include several nearby battlefield sites, and establishes Parker’s Crossroads Battlefield as an affiliated site.
Redesignates Ocmulgee National Monument in Georgia as the "Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park" and expands the site’s boundary to include an additional 2,100 acres.
Authorizes the NPS to acquire an additional eight acres to adjust the boundary of the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park in Georgia.
Increases the maximum acreage for the Fort Frederica National Monument in Georgia from 250 acres to 305 acres and authorize NPS to acquire additional land.
Modifies the boundary of the Fort Scott National Historic Site in Kansas to include an additional four acres.
Expands the boundary of the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument in Teller County, Colo., by an additional 300 acres.
Authorizes NPS to acquire additional land for Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota, and to transfer any administrative jurisdiction over any land currently managed by BLM within pack boundaries to NPS.
Authorizes NPS to accept the donation of certain properties in Missouri for inclusion in the Harry S. Truman National Historic Site.
Authorizes NPS to acquire 89 acres in Hyde Park, N.Y., for inclusion in the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site.
Transfers 28,923 acres of BLM land in San Bernardino County, Calif., and 6,369 acres in Inyo County to Death Valley National Park.
Transfers 25 acres of BLM land in Baker, Calif., to the Mojave National Preserve.
Transfers 4,500 acres of land, including 2,879 acres of BLM land to Joshua Tree National Park.
National Park System Management
The bill contains several miscellaneous provisions related to National Park System administration, including a provision that allows for the rerouting of a proposed natural gas pipeline through the Denali National Park to avoid a seismic hazard, provided the route remains out of wilderness and provides other benefits to the Park. The pipeline would deliver gas to NPS facilities in the park.
The measure also clarifies the ability of the District of Columbia to sign a cooperative management agreement with NPS, allowing the District to invest in urban parks owned and administered by NPS.
It reauthorizes the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Historic Preservation program through FY 2025, allows the NPS to collect fees for medical bills incurred within parks, authorizes the NPS to use qualified volunteers to assist with wildlife management and NPS lands, and authorizes the Interior Department to grant easements and rights-of-way within the Gateway National Recreation Area in New York and New Jersey to state and local governments for the construction, operation and maintenance of flood control projects.
The bill also:
Authorizes the transportation of secured, unloaded bows (including crossbows) through National Parks.
Creates a commission for the purposes of establishing a permanent memorial to John Adams in Washington, D.C.
Allows the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to accept the transfer of the James J. Howard Marine Sciences Laboratory from the State of New Jersey and requires NOAA to reach an agreement with the NPS for administration of the land.
Conveys the federal government’s reversionary interest in the Western Historic Trails Center in Council Bluffs, Ia., to Pottawattamie County.
Wilderness Areas and Wild & Scenic Rivers
The measure designates a number of new wilderness areas as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System and designates several rivers as wild and scenic rivers.
Wilderness Designations and Withdrawals
The bill designates nearly 294,000 acres of land in New Mexico and Oregon as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System, including lands located within the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument and Rio Grande del Norte National Monuments in New Mexico. The measure also releases 28,000 acres of land in New Mexico from wilderness study.
(Areas designated as Wilderness Study Areas by the Interior Department are managed by the Bureau of Land Management to protect their value as wilderness until Congress decides whether to designate them as wilderness or release them from study.)
The measure withdraws roughly 370,000 acres of land in Montana and Washington from mineral entry and leasing. Withdrawing federal lands effectively removes the area from settlement, sale, location, or entry for the purpose of limiting activities under those laws to maintain other public values in the area or reserving it for a particular public purpose or program.
Wild and Scenic Rivers
The bill designates nearly 280 miles of river in Oregon as a wild, scenic or recreational river. It also designates 225 miles of river segments in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Rhode Island as a wild and scenic river.
Utah Land Management
The bill establishes a comprehensive land management regime for Emery County, Utah, including the designation of certain federal lands as wilderness areas, the establishment of recreation areas, and the designation of certain river segments as wild, recreational or scenic river.
Specifically, it establishes the 217,000 acre San Rafael Swell Recreation Area on BLM land to provide for the protection, conservation and enhancement of the area's recreational, cultural, natural, scenic, wildlife, ecological, historical and educational resources. It directs the Interior Department to establish an advisory council to prepare a management plan for the area. The bill also establishes the Jurassic National Monument on 850 acres of BLM land in the county for education and scientific research.
It designates roughly 661,000 acres of BLM and U.S. Forest Service land in Emery County as wilderness, releases 17,420 acres of BLM land from wilderness study, and designates 63 miles of river in Emery County as recreational, or scenic river.
Finally, the measure provides for the transfer and the public disposal of federal lands in Emery County.
Other Public Lands Provisions
The measure contains numerous other federal lands provisions, including the adjustment, conveyance, transfer or exchange of 17 parcels of federal lands. It authorizes and establishes procedures for the transfer of water and power facilities from the Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) to state and local reclamation entities and authorizes a reclamation water management project in south-central Washington State.
California Desert Conservation Area
In addition to revising the boundaries of Joshua Tree National Park, Death Valley National Park, and Mojave National Preserve, the bill addresses the management of the California Desert Conservation Area, which covers nearly 4.2 million acres in California. The bill designates roughly 375,500 acres of NPS, BLM and Forest Service land as wilderness and releases other land from wilderness study.
It also designates 81,900 acres of land in Imperial County as the Vinagre Wash Special Management Area to conserve, protect and enhance the area's outstanding and nationally significant ecological, geological, scenic, recreational, archaeological, cultural, historic and other resources.
The bill designates 200,600 acres of BLM land in the California Desert Conservation Area as off-highway vehicle recreation areas and establishes 18,600 acres of BLM and Forest Service land as the Alabama Hills National Scenic Area within the Desert Conservation Area.
Finally, the bill contains several administrative provisions for federal lands within the Desert Conservation Area, including the authority to transfer lands, establish wildlife corridors, and take certain lands into trust for the benefit of various tribes. It also clarifies the military's ability to conduct military overflights in the area, designates certain rivers as wild and scenic river, cedes certain federal reversionary land claims, allows members of certain tribes to access areas for traditional cultural and religious purposes, and prohibits grazing, mineral extraction, vehicle use, and other activities on lands donated to the federal government.
Bureau of Reclamation Projects
The bill authorizes the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) to convey to a qualifying entity all federal right, title, and interest, without further authorization from Congress. Many USBR-owned projects are operated and maintained by local water districts. The bill permits the transfer of ownership to these local districts if the facilities have been paid off, there is support from the local water district or facility operator, and an agreement on legal and financial obligations has been reached. Larger more complicated projects that do not meet these criteria will still require congressional authorization before an ownership title transfer can occur.
The measure also modifies the USBR WaterSmart grant program and prohibits the program from providing grants to tribes unless the tribe agrees not to use any associated water savings to increase the total irrigated acreage more than the water right of that Indian tribe.
It reauthorizes the Upper Colorado and San Juan Endangered Fish Recovery Programs and authorizes $10 million to be appropriated each year through FY 2023 to the USBR program base funding. It directs the Interior Department to report to Congress by 2021 on the status of the four fish species covered by the programs.
It authorizes projects and the development of additional plans under the Yakima River Basin Water Enhancement Project, an integrated water management program aimed at boosting water storage, improving conservation, and enhancing fish and wildlife habitats in and along the Yakima River in Washington.
The measure also directs USBR to convey the maintenance complex and district office of the Arbuckle water project in Oklahoma to the local Arbuckle Master Conservancy District in Murray County, Okla., and the Contra Costa canal system to California's Contra Costa Water District. It also extends for an additional ten years the Wichita Equus Beds Aquifer Recharge and Recovery Project in Kansas.
Finally, it establishes new reporting requirements for USBR-transferred works and asset maintenance.
Miscellaneous Public Lands Management
The measure contains several miscellaneous public lands provisions, including a provision that authorizes Alaska Native Vietnam veterans to apply for an allotment of up to 160 acres of available federal land in Alaska. Under the measure, the Defense Department and Veterans Affairs Department are required to provide the Interior Department a list of eligible individuals.
It directs the Interior Department and USDA to establish research, development and testing programs to assess the use of unmanned aircraft system technologies in wildland fire management operations and the use of remote tracking systems in order to accelerate the deployment and integration of those technologies into operation.
It also provides for the resurvey of the Red River on the border between Oklahoma and Texas, designates 99,653 acres of Forest Service land in Oregon as the “Frank and Jeanne Moore Wild Steelhead Special Management Area," establishes the McCoy Flats Trail System on BLM land in Uintah County, Utah, and provides for the maintenance and replacement of facilities on USDA land at Smith Gulch, Idaho.
Under the measure, helium extraction on federal lands will receive equal treatment to oil and gas extraction under federal law.
Land Exchanges and Conveyance
The measure authorizes 17 land exchanges, conveyances and transfers:
Adjusts the boundary of the Arapaho National Forest in Colorado to incorporate an additional 93 acres.
Authorizes the State of Utah to select certain BLM lands eligible for disposal to fulfill certain land grants made by the federal government to the state.
Authorizes the conveyance of 66 acres of Forest Service land around Custer County Airport to Custer County, S.D.
Converts 40 acres of federal land in Arizona into trust land for the benefit of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona and conveys 13 acres of federal land to the Tucson Unified School District. It also authorizes the Interior Department to convey the federal governments reversionary interest in an additional 28 acres of land to the Tucson School District.
Conveys all right, title, and interest held by the United States in and to sand and gravel deposits underlying the surface estate owned by the Ukpeagvik Inupiat Corporation, an Alaska Native Corporation, to the Corporation.
Conveys 5,935 acres of BLM land to La Paz County, Ariz.
Conveys two acres of Forest Service Land in Nephi, Utah to Juah County for the purposes of fire suppression and mitigation activities.
Conveys 80 acres of land to the City of Hyde Park, Utah.
Conveys the federal government's reversionary interest in 173 acres of land in Tucson, Ariz.
Conveys 230 acres of federal lands in Louisiana to any individual, group, or corporation authorized to hold title to land or mineral interests with a claim to lands omitted from an 1838 survey.
Authorizes the Forest Service to exchange 83 acres of land and access easements in El Paso County, Colo., to a private hotel corporation for 320 acres in Teller County, Colo.
Authorizes the Forest Service to convey 2,025 acres of land to Fannin County, Texas.
Authorizes the Interior Department to convey less than an acre of Henry’s Lake Wilderness Study Area lands in Fremont County, Idaho to a private individual and a right-of-way to an electric utility.
Authorizes the exchange of 327 acres of BLM land in San Bernardino County, Calif., to the San Bernardino Valley Water Conservation District for 310 acres.
Authorizes the exchange of 345 acres of BLM land in Mohave County, Ariz. for 1,100 acres of land owned by Bullhead City, Ariz.
Authorizes the exchange of 80 acres of land in the Coconino National Forest in Arizona for 369 acres owned by Yavapai County, Ariz.
Authorizes the Interior Department to convey the federal government's reversionary interest in 16 acres of land in Yavapai County, Ariz., to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
Volcano Early Warning and Other Provisions
The bill directs the U.S. Geological Survey to establish a “National Volcano Early Warning and Monitoring System”, to monitor, warn and protect citizens of the United States from undue and avoidable harm from volcanic activity.
The system must include a national volcano watch office that is operational 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, a national volcano data center, and an external grants program to support research in volcano monitoring science and technology. Under the measure, the Interior Department must submit a five-year management plan for the system to Congress within 180 days of enactment.
It also reauthorizes for five years the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program, a USGS program that provides funds for the production of geologic maps in the United States and provides accurate geologic maps and framework models that help mitigate natural hazards.
Miscellaneous Provisions
The bill authorizes the Interior Department to designate one or more cities located in at least one state or a territory of the United States as an “American World War II Heritage City." It also designates several "national" museums and libraries, including the National Comedy Center in Jamestown, N.Y. (the hometown of Lucille Ball) and the National George C. Marshall Museum and Library in Lexington, Va.
The bill also requires the Administrative Conference of the United States to report to Congress on the amounts paid to entities that prevail in lawsuits against the United States during the prior fiscal year, and to maintain an online database of these awards.
Finally, the measure updates outdated and inappropriate terminology in statutes and regulations.
CBO Cost Estimate
As of press time, the Congressional Budget Office had not released a cost estimate for the Senate-passed bill.
AMENDMENTS: None permitted.
