[House Report 106-391]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
106th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 106-391
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MINUTEMAN MISSILE NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE ESTABLISHMENT ACT OF 1999
_______
October 18, 1999.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Young of Alaska, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 382]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(S. 382) to establish the Minuteman Missile National Historic
Site in the State of South Dakota, and for other purposes,
having considered the same, report favorably thereon without
amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of S. 382 is to establish the Minuteman Missile
National Historic Site in the State of South Dakota.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
In 1961, at the height of the Cold War, the United States
deployed the Minuteman Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
(ICBM). By 1963, Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota had a
large combat-ready Minuteman Missile wing with 165 sites. With
the collapse of the Soviet Union the Cold War effectively ended
and in 1991 the United States signed the Strategic Arms
Reduction Treaty (START) with the Soviet Union. START required
that all Minuteman II missiles be deactivated. Recognizing the
potential historical significance of these sites, the National
Park Service and the Air Force, through an interagency
agreement, determined that several sites should be preserved
until a study could be completed on their suitability as
national historic sites. That study concluded that the
combination of the Delta One and Delta Nine sites at Ellsworth
Air Force Base were suitable and feasible for inclusion into
the National Park System as a national historic site and, in
fact, the Delta Nine launch silo is the only ICBM launch tube
remaining. However, the interagency agreement governing these
sites has expired, which now allows for the total destruction
of the Delta Nine site and the Delta One site, except for the
above-ground facilities at Delta One.
S. 382 would establish the Minuteman Missile National
Historic Site in South Dakota as a unit of the National Park
System. The site will be comprised of separate and discrete
areas consisting of the Delta One Launch Control Facility
(LCF), the Delta Nine Launch Facility (LF), and a proposed
visitors center-administrative facility. The LCF is the entire
launch control facility while the LF is the missile silo
complex. The Delta One site (6.35 acres) and the Delta Nine
site (1.58 acres) are located approximately 11 miles apart
along Interstate 90 in the southwest quadrant of South Dakota.
S. 382 directs the Secretary of the Interior to prepare a
management plan for the site in coordination with the Badlands
National Park within three years of enactment and to form
cooperative agreements with appropriate public and private
entities. This bill also authorizes the Secretary to acquire
lands within the boundaries of the historic site by donation,
purchase or exchange from another federal agency, unless the
land has been determined to be contaminated with hazardous
substances. Any funds appropriated to the U.S. Air Force in
fiscal year 1999 for use of the proposed historic site shall be
transferred to the National Park Service for the sites'
establishment, operation, or maintenance.
COMMITTEE ACTION
S. 382 was introduced on February 4, 1999, by Senator Tim
Johnson (D-SD). On March 25, 1999, the Senate passed the bill
without amendment by unanimous consent. S. 382 was then
referred to the Committee on Resources, and within the
Committee to the Subcommittee on National Parks and Public
Lands. On September 14, 1999, the Subcommittee held a hearing
on the bill, where the National Park Service testified in
support of the bill. On September 23, 1999, the Subcommittee
met to consider S. 382. No amendments were offered and the bill
was ordered favorably reported to the Full Committee by voice
vote. On October 6, 1999, the Full Resources Committee met to
consider S. 382. No amendments were offered and the bill was
ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives by
voice vote.
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 Resources' oversight findings and recommendations
are reflected in the body of this report.
CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT
Article I, section 8 and Article IV, section 3 of the
Constitution of the United States grant Congress the authority
to enact this bill.
COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) 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)(3)(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.
2. 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, spending
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in
revenues or tax expenditures.
3. Government Reform Oversight Findings. Under clause
3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives, the Committee has received no report of
oversight findings and recommendations from the Committee on
Government Reform on this bill.
4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. 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:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, October 13, 1999.
Hon. Don Young,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 382, the Minuteman
Missile National Historic Site Establishment Act of 1999.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Deborah Reis.
Sincerely,
Barry B. Anderson
(For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
Enclosure.
S. 382--Minuteman Missile National Historic Site Establishment Act of
1999
Assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts, CBO
estimates that implementing S. 382 would cost the federal
government about $8.4 million over the 2000-2004 period.
Subsequent ongoing costs after this period would be about $0.7
million annually. S. 382 would not affect direct spending or
receipts; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply.
S. 382 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would have no significant impact on the budgets of state,
local, or tribal governments.
S. 382 would establish the Minuteman Missile National
Historic Site in South Dakota as a unit of the National Park
System. The new park unit would consist of the Delta 1 and
Delta 9 launch facilities and one of two support facility areas
that are under consideration for a visitor and administrative
site. The National Park Service (NPS) would have three years in
which to complete a general management plan for the new park
unit, including an evaluation of the alternative areas for the
visitor and administrative facility.
Based on information provided by the NPS, CBO estimates
that the government would spend about $350,000 over the 2000-
2002 period to develop the general management plan for the
Minuteman unit. The NPS would incur additional costs of about
$8 million over the 2000-2004 period to establish and begin
operating the site, most of which would be used to build a
visitor and administrative center. In subsequent years, the
agency would spend about $0.7 million to operate and maintain
the new park.
On March 11, 1999, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S.
382 as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources on March 4, 1999. The two versions of the
legislation are identical, as are the cost estimates.
The CBO staff contact is Deborah Reis. This estimate was
approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for
Budget Analysis.
compliance with public law 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
preemption of state, local, or tribal law
This bill is not intended to preempt State, local, or
tribal law.
changes in existing law
If enacted, this bill makes no changes in existing law.