H.R. 2333 would authorize the National Park Service (NPS) to acquire the Civil War-era structure known as the “Lunette Blair” blockhouse and to incorporate the structure into the Fort Scott National Historic Site in Bourbon County, Kansas. The bill also would authorize the NPS to acquire, by exchange, approximately 4 acres of private land, including facilities, adjacent to the historic site and would modify the boundary of the site to include those properties. (Under current law, the NPS may only acquire such properties by donation. The bill would not allow for acquisition by purchase.)
Based on an analysis of information provided by the NPS, CBO expects that the agency would likely acquire the blockhouse by donation; however, CBO expects that the owners of the other properties within the revised boundaries of the park would not be willing to donate or exchange those properties with the NPS. As a result, CBO expects that, if the legislation were enacted, the NPS would only acquire the blockhouse.
Once acquired, the NPS would incur costs to repair and maintain the blockhouse. Based on information provided by the agency, CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would cost about $200,000 over the 2017-2021 period and an additional $40,000 annually thereafter; that spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
Enacting H.R. 2333 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 2333 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2027.
H.R. 2333 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.
On October 26, 2016, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S. 2087, the Fort Scott National Historic Site Boundary Modification Act, as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on July 13, 2016. That bill would authorize the NPS to acquire properties for inclusion within the park by purchase using appropriated funds, whereas H.R. 2333 would not allow such purchases. As a result, CBO’s estimate of spending subject to appropriation is lower for H.R. 2333 than for S. 2087.