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115th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 115-1053
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CLAUDE MOORE FARM LAND CONVEYANCE ACT
_______
November 27, 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
together with
DISSENTING VIEWS
[To accompany H.R. 6678]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 6678) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to
convey certain National Park Service land in Fairfax County,
Virginia, to the Friends of the Claude Moore Farm, 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. 6678 is to direct the Secretary of the
Interior to convey certain National Park Service land in
Fairfax County, Virginia, to the Friends of Clause Moore Farm.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
The Claude Moore Colonial Farm is a living history site in
McLean, Virginia, that depicts life for a typical tenant farm
family in 1771.\1\ Cultivated fields and livestock set the
stage for the Farm's staff and volunteers to provide
demonstrations of 18th century skills and educational programs
for visitors. The Farm is part of the George Washington
Memorial Parkway and was initially operated by the National
Park Service (NPS). A few years after opening in 1973, budget
constraints led NPS to redirect staff and funding away from the
Farm operation, threatening its future viability.\2\ Local
community members stepped up with an offer to operate the Farm
as a non-profit cooperative.\3\ The Friends of the Claude Moore
Colonial Farm at Turkey Run was chartered, and in 1981 signed a
cooperative agreement with NPS to operate the Farm and provide
visitor services.\4\
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\1\``Facts about the Farm: A Public/Private Partnership.'' Claude
Moore Colonial Farm website. http://1771.org/about/.
\2\``Facts about the Farm: A Public/Private Partnership.'' Claude
Moore Colonial Farm website. http://1771.org/savethefarm/
#1492393009739-13c6f134-d84c.
\3\Id.
\4\Agreement Between Friends of Turkey Run Farm, Inc. and United
States of America, Department of the Interior, National Park Service,
National Capital Region, George Washington Memorial Parkway--with
Amendments and Extensions. Entered into June 5, 1981. https://
www.nps.gov/clmo/learn/management/upload/CMCF-Agreement-compiled-
Accessible.pdf.
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The Farm has a uniquely independent status in the National
Park System and is a model of a successful public-private
partnership. Under the agreement, the Friends assumed
responsibility for funding, maintaining, improving, staffing,
and operating the Farm. The annual operating budget of the Farm
grew from $87,000 in 1982 to more than $400,000 in recent
years, due to the increased support of the community and the
popularity of the Farm's programs.\5\ Over the past 37 years,
more than $8 million in private funds have been raised and
expended for the operations of the Farm, and over $2 million in
additional private contributions have gone into capital
improvements.\6\ Since opening, the Farm has welcomed over two
million visitors.\7\
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\5\``Over Forty Years of Service and Growth''. About Us. Claude
Moore Colonial Farm website. http://1771.org/about/.
\6\Id.
\7\``Organizational Background''. About Us. Claude Moore Colonial
Farm website. http://1771.org/about/.
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The initial cooperative agreement between the Friends and
NPS was for 25 years and subsequently extended multiple times.
There were several amendments made to the agreement through the
years that further defined the terms of the arrangement.\8\ The
current agreement is set to expire on December 21, 2018.
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\8\Agreement Between Friends of Turkey Run Farm, Inc. and United
States of America, Department of the Interior, National Park Service,
National Capital Region, George Washington Memorial Parkway--with
Amendments and Extensions. Entered into June 5, 1981. https://
www.nps.gov/clmo/learn/management/upload/CMCF-Agreement-compiled-
Accessible.pdf.
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The Friends and NPS have considered long-term solutions for
the continued operation of the Farm including a potential
lease, a concessions contract, and a revised cooperative
agreement.\9\ Despite multiple attempts to reach consensus on a
path forward, differences remain on both sides. While NPS
wishes to update the agreement to bring it in-line with
existing park policies and regulations, the Friends believe the
stipulated requirements will be unduly burdensome and threaten
the viability of the Farm.\10\
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\9\``Information About Claude Moore Colonial Farm''. Claude Moore
Colonial Farm. National Park Service website. https://www.nps.gov/clmo/
learn/management/information-about-claude-moore-colonial-farm.htm.
\10\``Clarifications, and Why We Couldn't Accept the Ultimatum from
the Park Service''. Blog post dated May 8, 2018. Claude Moore Colonial
Farm website. http://1771.org/clarity/.
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H.R. 6678 will begin a new chapter for the Claude Moore
Colonial Farm by transferring the 69-acre tract currently
assigned for Farm operations to the Friends. Entrusting the
Friends with full ownership of the Farm site that they have
successfully operated for over three decades will allow the
group to operate and make capital improvements in the most
efficacious manner, and will ensure the stable, long-term
future of a local and national treasure. The Friends will pay
any costs associated with the conveyance, and the Secretary of
the Interior must complete the conveyance within a year of
receiving a request from the Friends. If the land conveyed
ceases to be used as an 18th century living history museum open
to the public, the land will revert back to the United States.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 6678 was introduced on August 24, 2018, by
Congresswoman Barbara Comstock (R-VA). The bill was referred to
the Committee on Natural Resources. On September 5, 2018, the
Natural Resources Committee met to consider the bill.
Congressman Raul M. Grijalva (D-AZ) offered an amendment
designated 111; it was not adopted by a roll call vote of 14
yeas and 18 nays, as follows:
No further amendments were offered, and the bill was
ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives by a
roll call vote of 18 yeas and 14 nays, as follows:
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
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, September 26, 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. 6678, the Claude
Moore Farm Land Conveyance 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. 6678--Claude Moore Farm Land Conveyance Act
H.R. 6678 would direct the National Park Service (NPS) to
convey, at the request of the Friends of the Claude Moore
Colonial Farm at Turkey Run, Inc. (Friends), the Claude Moore
Colonial Farm in McLean, Virginia. The bill would require the
Friends to pay all the costs of the conveyance. The Friends'
current agreement to operate the farm expires on December 21,
2018. Although CBO has no information on the NPS's plans for
the farm after that, the agency could pursue several options
under existing authority.
Using information on operating costs from recent years, CBO
estimates that the NPS would incur costs of about $2 million
over the 2019-2023 period to manage the farm itself. Such
spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated
funds. CBO expects that under H.R. 6678, the Friends would
request a conveyance from the NPS. In that event, implementing
the bill could reduce costs for the NPS.
Alternatively, the NPS could enter into a lease or a
cooperative agreement with a new partner organization to manage
the farm. If the farm was leased, the payments (which would be
recorded as offsetting receipts, or reductions in direct
spending) would be available to the NPS for spending without
further appropriation. Enacting the bill would reduce the
likelihood that the NPS would enter into such an arrangement,
and would thus reduce offsetting receipts and the subsequent
direct spending. However, CBO estimates that the change in net
direct spending would be negligible. Because enacting H.R. 6678
could affect direct spending; pay-as-you-go procedures apply.
Enacting the bill would not affect revenues.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 6678 would not
significantly increase net direct spending or on-budget
deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods
beginning in 2029.
H.R. 6678 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 direct the Secretary of the
Interior to convey certain National Park Service land in
Fairfax County, Virginia, to the Friends of Claude Moore Farm.
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.
DISSENTING VIEWS
H.R. 6678 directs the National Park Service (NPS) to
transfer ownership, without consideration, of 69 acres of NPS
land in the George Washington Memorial Parkway to the Friends
of Claude Moore Colonial Farm at Turkey Run, Inc. (Friends), a
partner organization that helps operate the site under a
cooperative agreement that has not been updated since the
1980s.
The agreement originally expired in 2006 and was extended
multiple times until NPS, rightly, insisted on updates to
ensure alignment with current management policies and
guidelines. During the latest round of negotiations, NPS
offered a 10-year extension with terms including 1) approval of
what is sold in the bookstore and giftshop, 2) financial
reporting, 3) annual work plans, and 4) guidelines for
operation of the pavilion on the farm. Requiring compliance
with concessions laws, workplace safety standards, and
financial audit requirement is simply good governance.
Unfortunately, the Friends group objected to the terms of the
new agreement, maintaining that the requirements are
``burdensome, oppressive, and impossible.''\1\
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\1\https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/national-park-service-
plans-to-close-claude-moore-
colonial-farm-m-mclean/2018/05/01/17e00bc4-4d65-11e8-b292-
edc09f8f590a_story.html?utm_
term=.6214db7734d7.
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This bill was originally slated for a legislative hearing--
an opportunity to solicit testimony and discuss the issue with
those involved in the negotiation--but the Republican Majority
decided to send the bill straight to mark-up. As such, there
was no opportunity to formally hear the administration's
perspective on the bill. However, according to NPS staff, the
Friends group refuses to acknowledge any of the standard
practices and procedures NPS uses for similar types of
agreements across the nation. As a result, the relationship has
deteriorated to the point where the Friends group wrote a
letter attempting to bar NPS from accessing the property to
perform a standard environmental assessment.
A 2015 draft NPS report evaluating operations at Claude
Moore Colonial Farm found revenue generating activity that did
not comply with NPS concession law, including allowing a
private business to serve as the sole caterer for events on the
farm, and selling book and other paraphernalia out of the
bookstore that have nothing to do with 18th century life.\2\
The report also documents failure to comply with general
industry safety standards, imminent fire risks, deficient food
preparation facilities, wastewater contamination, and even
employees sleeping at the site.
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\2\https://www.washingtonpost.com/apps/g/page/local/nps-report-on-
claude-moore-colonial-farm/2325/?noredirect=on.
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NPS, as the owner of the site, has an obligation to ensure
that it is operated in a manner that complies with all relevant
federal laws and regulations.
This legislation has the potential to disrupt the trust and
spirit of collaboration that exists between NPS and the
``friends'' groups and partner organizations that help operate
dozens of sites throughout the National Park System.
Transferring this site to the Friends could also disincentivize
the agency from utilizing similar arrangements in the future.
These are invaluable partnerships that enhance visitor
experience and multiply the taxpayer investment in our national
parks, but it is critical that NPS is allowed appropriate
oversight.
At mark-up, Ranking Member Raul M. Grijalva offered an
amendment to require adoption of a cooperative agreement that
ensures compliance with federal workplace safety and financial
reporting standards before a land conveyance can occur.
Unfortunately, the amendment was not agreed to on a party line
vote.
This committee has a responsibility to ensure that public
assets like this site are managed in a transparent way that
protects public health and prevents financial fraud, waste and
abuse. H.R. 6678 fails to meet these responsibilities and as a
result, we oppose the bill as reported.
Raul M. Grijalva,
Ranking Member, Committee on
Natural Resources.
Grace F. Napolitano.
Wm. Lacy Clay.
Nanette Diaz Barragan.
[all]
