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115th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 115-695
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CAMP NELSON HERITAGE NATIONAL MONUMENT ACT
_______
May 21, 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. 5655]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 5655) to establish the Camp Nelson Heritage
National Monument in the State of Kentucky as a unit of the
National Park System, 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 H.R. 5655 is to establish the Camp Nelson
Heritage National Monument in the State of Kentucky as a unit
of the National Park System.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
H.R. 5655 establishes the Camp Nelson Heritage National
Monument in Nicholasville, Kentucky, as a unit of the National
Park System.
Located in southern Jessamine County, Kentucky, and founded
in 1863, Camp Nelson was constructed by Major General Ambrose
Burnside and the 9th Corps of the Army of Ohio to serve as a
supply depot, hospital facility, and training and recruiting
center for the Union Army during the Civil War.\1\
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\1\``Camp Nelson.'' National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the
Interior, www.nps.gov/nr/travel/underground/Camp_Nelson.html.
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Camp Nelson provided the Union Army with over 10,000
African American soldiers, making it the third largest
recruiting and training depot for African American soldiers in
the country. African American troops were trained and served at
Camp Nelson. As freed slaves, many had no option but to bring
their families along with them to the camp as they trained to
fight.\2\
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\2\Ibid 1.
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In November 1864, Brigadier General Speed S. Fry ordered
the families staying with the soldiers out of the camp.
Tragically, the expulsion from the camp resulted in more than a
hundred refugees dying from exposure due to the freezing
temperatures.\3\
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\3\Camp Nelson Civil War Heritage Park, Camp Nelson Restoration &
Preservation Foundation, www.campnelson.org/history/african.htm.
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General Fry's actions infuriated the African American
recruits and undermined African American recruitment efforts.
Because of the complaints and reactions, officials in
Washington, D.C. ordered General Fry to establish a camp for
the refugees within Camp Nelson. A superintendent for the
refugees was appointed and Reverend John G. Fee encouraged the
building of duplex cottages. In a collaborative effort, the
American Missionary Association assisted the Army in caring for
the refugee families.\4\ Camp Nelson and the refugee site
served as a shelter for over 3,000 of the soldiers' wives and
children.
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\4\Ibid at 3.
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The original Camp Nelson covered 4,000 acres and had
roughly 300 buildings including a school, hospital and mess
hall, among other accommodations.\5\
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\5\Camp Nelson: Overview, Camp Nelson Restoration and Preservation
Foundation, www.campnelson.org/introduction.htm.
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In 1998, Camp Nelson Civil War Heritage Park was
established by the Jessamine County Fiscal Court using local,
State, and federal funds to preserve large tracts of land,
construct a visitor center, construct replica barracks,
recreate a fort, develop informational trails, and educate the
public.
Camp Nelson Civil War Heritage Park was designated as part
of the National Park Service's National Underground Railroad
Network to Freedom in 2008 and was later designated as a
National Historic Landmark in 2013.
On February 28, 2018, the Subcommittee on Federal Lands
held a hearing on a related bill, H.R. 1992, the Camp Nelson
Heritage Park Study Act. Following the hearing, H.R. 5655 was
introduced.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 5655 was introduced on April 27, 2018, by Congressman
Andy Barr (R-KY). The bill was referred to the Committee on
Natural Resources. On May 8, 2018, the Natural Resources
Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee was
discharged by unanimous consent. No amendments were offered,
and the bill 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, May 11, 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. 5655, the Camp
Nelson Heritage 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. 5655--Camp Nelson Heritage National Monument Act
H.R. 5655 would establish the Camp Nelson Heritage National
Monument in Nicholasville, Kentucky. 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 land for the monument by means
of donation, purchase using donated funds, or through a land
exchange. Based on the experience of creating other system
units, CBO expects that the monument would not be formally
established for several years.
Using information from the NPS on the costs of operating
new system units, CBO estimates that the agency would incur
about $200,000 annually in administrative costs in the
monument's early years. The bill also would require the NPS to
develop a general management plan for the monument. Based on
the costs of similar projects, CBO estimates that developing
the plan would cost less than $500,000. In total, CBO estimates
that implementing H.R. 5655 would cost about $1 million over
the 2019-2023 period; such spending would be subject to the
availability of appropriated funds.
Enacting H.R. 5655 would not affect direct spending or
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 5655 would not increase
net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2029.
H.R. 5655 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 reviewed 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 is to establish the Camp Nelson Heritage
National Monument in the State of Kentucky as a unit of the
National Park System.
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.
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