H. Rept. 115-1088 - RESTORE OUR PARKS AND PUBLIC LANDS ACT115th Congress (2017-2018)
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115th Congress } { Rept. 115-1088
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { Part 1
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RESTORE OUR PARKS AND PUBLIC LANDS ACT
_______
December 20, 2018.--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
ADDITIONAL VIEWS
[To accompany H.R. 6510]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 6510) to establish, fund, and provide for the
use of amounts in a National Park Service and Public Lands
Legacy Restoration Fund to address the maintenance backlog of
the National Park Service, United States Fish and Wildlife
Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Bureau of Indian
Education, and for other purposes, having considered the same,
report favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that
the bill as amended do pass.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Restore Our Parks and Public Lands
Act''.
SEC. 2. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE AND PUBLIC LANDS LEGACY RESTORATION FUND.
(a) In General.--There is established in the Treasury of the United
States a fund, to be known as the ``National Park Service and Public
Lands Legacy Restoration Fund'' (referred to in this section as the
``Fund'').
(b) Deposits.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), for
each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023, there shall be
deposited in the Fund an amount equal to 50 percent of all
energy development revenues due and payable to the United
States from oil, gas, coal, or alternative or renewable energy
development on Federal land and water that would otherwise be
credited, covered, or deposited as miscellaneous receipts under
Federal law.
(2) Maximum amount.--The amount deposited in the Fund under
paragraph (1) shall not exceed $1,300,000,000 for any fiscal
year.
(3) Effect on other revenues.--Nothing in this section
affects the disposition under Federal law, including the Gulf
of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 (43 U.S.C. 1331 note;
Public Law 109-432), the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et
seq.), and chapter 2003 of title 54, United States Code, of
energy development revenues--
(A) to special funds, trust funds, or States; or
(B) that have been otherwise appropriated under
Federal law.
(c) Availability of Funds.--Amounts deposited in the Fund shall be
available to the Secretary of the Interior without further
appropriation or fiscal year limitation.
(d) Investment of Amounts.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of the Interior may request
the Secretary of the Treasury to invest any portion of the Fund
that is not, as determined by the Secretary of the Interior,
required to meet the current needs of the Fund.
(2) Requirement.--An investment requested under paragraph (1)
shall be made by the Secretary of the Treasury in a public debt
security--
(A) with a maturity suitable to the needs of the
Fund, as determined by the Secretary of the Interior;
and
(B) bearing interest at a rate determined by the
Secretary of the Treasury, taking into consideration
current market yields on outstanding marketable
obligations of the United States of comparable
maturity.
(3) Credits to fund.--The income on investments of the Fund
under this subsection shall be credited to, and form a part of,
the Fund.
(e) Use of Funds.--Amounts in the Fund shall be used as follows:
(1) 80 percent of amounts in the Fund shall be allocated for
priority deferred maintenance projects, including other
infrastructure deficiencies directly related to such deferred
maintenance projects, as determined by the Secretary of the
Interior and the Director of the National Park Service, with
the goal of ensuring overall parity between amounts allocated
to transportation and non-transportation projects.
(2) 10 percent of amounts in the Fund shall be allocated for
purposes of addressing the national wildlife refuge system
maintenance backlog, as determined by the Secretary of the
Interior and the Director of the United States Fish and
Wildlife Service.
(3) 5 percent of amounts in the Fund shall be allocated for
the purposes of addressing the public access and recreation
backlog on public lands, as determined by the Secretary of the
Interior and the Director of the Bureau of Land Management.
(4) 5 percent of amounts in the Fund shall be for the
purposes of addressing the Bureau of Indian Education school
construction and deferred maintenance backlogs, as determined
by the Secretary of the Interior and the Director of the Bureau
of Indian Education.
(f) Limit on Use of Funds.--No more than 10 percent of the amounts in
the Fund may be used for administrative costs incurred in implementing
this Act.
(g) Prohibited Use of Funds.--No amounts in the Fund shall be used--
(1) for land acquisition;
(2) to supplant discretionary funding made available for the
annually recurring facility operations, maintenance, and
construction needs of the entities for which amounts from the
Fund are allocated under subsection (e); or
(3) for performance awards for Federal employees who are
employed in implementing this Act.
(h) Submission to Congress.--The Secretary of the Interior shall
submit to the Committees on Appropriations and Energy and Natural
Resources of the Senate and to the Committees on Appropriations and
Natural Resources in the House of Representatives, with the annual
budget submission of the President, a list of projects for which the
amounts in the Fund are allocated under this section, including a
description of each such project.
(i) Public Donations.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of the Interior, the Director
of the National Park Service, the Director of the United States
Fish and Wildlife Service, the Director of the Bureau of Land
Management, and the Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs may
accept public cash or in-kind donations that advance efforts--
(A) to reduce the deferred maintenance backlog of the
National Park Service, the national wildlife refuge
system maintenance backlog of the United States Fish
and Wildlife Service, the public access and recreation
backlog of the Bureau of Land Management, and the
school construction backlog of the Bureau of Indian
Education, respectively; and
(B) to encourage relevant public-private
partnerships.
(2) Credits to fund.--Any cash donations accepted under
paragraph (1) shall be credited to, and form a part of, the
Fund.
(3) Reporting.--Each donation received under paragraph (1)
that is used for, or directly related to, the reduction of the
deferred maintenance backlog of the National Park Service, the
national wildlife refuge system maintenance backlog of the
United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the public access and
recreation backlog of the Bureau of Land Management, and the
school construction backlog of the Bureau of Indian Education,
shall be included with the annual budget submission of the
President to Congress.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 6510 is to establish, fund, and provide
for the use of amounts in the National Park Service and Public
Lands Legacy Restoration Fund to address the maintenance
backlog of the National Park Service, United States Fish and
Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, and the Bureau of
Indian Education.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Federal land management agencies are facing a deferred
maintenance backlog that is exhausting agency budgets and
negatively impacting visitor access, enjoyment, and safety on
federal lands. The Department of the Interior's (DOI) total
deferred maintenance backlog currently stands at $16
billion.\1\ Although the National Park Service (NPS) backlog of
$11.6 billion makes up the majority of the DOI's total, the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) also have significant maintenance backlogs.\2\
FWS has an estimated deferred maintenance backlog of $1.4
billion.\3\ The BLM's total is estimated at $810 million, which
has increased 65 percent over the past decade.\4\
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\1\NPS. ``National Park Service Asset Inventory Summary'' Data as
of September 30, 2017. https://www.nps.gov/subjects/
plandesignconstruct/upload/FY17-Asset-Inventory-Summary-AIS-
Servicewide_Report_508-3.pdf.
\2\DOI Press Release. ``President's $11.7 Billion Proposed FY2019
Budget for Interior''. February 12, 2018. https://www.doi.gov/
pressreleases/presidents-117-billion-proposed-fy-2019-budget-interior-
includes-legislation.
\3\``U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service FY2019 Budget in Brief.'' U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service. Accessed March 1, 2018. https://www.doi.gov/
sites/doi.gov/files/uploads/fy2019_bib_bh059.pdf.
\4\Vincent, Carol Hardy. ``Deferred Maintenance of Federal Land
Management Agencies: FY2007-FY2016.'' April 25, 2017. https://fas.org/
sgp/crs/misc/R43997.pdf.
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The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) serves 47,000 students
in 23 States. Although many of the schools are controlled and
operated by tribes, the BIE is responsible for the maintenance
of facilities, which comprise 169 school buildings and 14
dormitories. The estimated deferred maintenance backlog for BIE
schools is $634 million.\5\
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\5\All BIE statistics from: The Department of the Interior, FY2019
Budget https://edit.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/uploads/
fy2019_bib_dh005.pdf.
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The deferred maintenance backlog of the NPS has long been
an issue of interest to lawmakers, federal agencies, and the
public. Attention to the problem and the need for a solution
has grown as cost estimates for addressing the backlog have
increased to nearly $12 billion in recent years.\6\ Among other
management challenges, the deferred maintenance backlog
negatively impacts visitor access, enjoyment, and safety on
public lands.\7\
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\6\National Park Service, Planning, Design and Construction
Management, NPS Deferred Maintenance Reports https://www.nps.gov/
subjects/plandesignconstruct/defermain.htm.
\7\The Department of the Interior, FY2019 Budget https://
edit.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/uploads/fy2019_bib_dh005.pdf.
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Funding to address agency maintenance backlogs comes from
discretionary appropriations and other sources. However, as the
federal estate expands, existing infrastructure ages, and
visitation increases, federal land managers are increasingly
unable to fund necessary repairs. The cost to repair facilities
often increases exponentially with time compounding the
problem. Many agencies are actively working to address the
shortfall through alternative strategies. NPS, for example, is
utilizing a holistic funding model that includes accepting
philanthropic donations, utilizing volunteers, partnering with
friends' groups, expanding private concessions operations,
partnering with States to apply for transportation grants, and
approving private leasing properties.
Despite efforts to address deferred maintenance through
alternative funding sources and improved asset management, the
backlog has grown considerably over the past decade. From
Fiscal Year 2006 through Fiscal Year 2015, NPS spent roughly
$10.5 billion on maintenance projects, and yet the backlog
still increased by $1.7 billion as of Fiscal Year 2016.\8\
Thus, there is a significant need for innovative, substantial,
and effective solutions to the deferred maintenance backlog
problem.
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\8\Government Accountability Office. ``National Park Service:
Process Exists for Prioritizing Asset Maintenance Decisions, but
Evaluation Could Improve Efforts.'' GAO-17-136. Dec 13, 2016. http://
www.gao.gov/assets/690/681581.pdf.
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The Restore Our Parks and Public Lands Act would
significantly reduce the maintenance backlog on our federal
lands through establishment of the National Park Service and
Public Lands Legacy Restoration Fund. The Fund will receive 50%
of receipts generated from energy development on federal land
not otherwise allocated for other purposes. Leveraging revenue
from federal energy leasing to support conservation of public
land is a not a new concept. Receipts derived from energy
leasing are invested in the Reclamation Fund, the Land and
Water Conservation Fund, the Historic Preservation Fund, and
the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act. The National Park
Service and Public Lands Legacy Restoration Fund established by
H.R. 6510 expands this funding mechanism to assist federal land
management agencies and BIE schools, but does not divert
funding from these other accounts.
The Fund would receive mandatory funding for the deferred
maintenance needs at our national parks, refuges, BLM sites,
and BIE schools. The Fund draws from all sources of federal
energy revenue including onshore and offshore development and
alternative and renewable energy sources such as solar, wind,
geothermal, and hydropower. This Fund will enable the land
management agencies to launch a targeted effort to aggressively
reduce the deferred maintenance backlog with a dedicated
funding stream, while ensuring existing revenue structures
remain intact and fulfilled.
The Restore Our Parks and Public Lands Act is consistent
with the President's Fiscal Year 2019 DOI budget proposal that
calls upon Congress to establish a Public Lands Infrastructure
Fund to help address and make long-overdue repairs and
improvements to facilities on federal lands.\9\
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\9\The Department of the Interior, FY2019 Interior Budget in Brief
https://www.doi.gov/budget/appropriations/2019/highlights.
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The Subcommittee on Federal Lands held a hearing on two
similar bills that address the deferred maintenance backlog
(H.R. 2584 and H.R. 5120) on March 20, 2018.\10\ In addition,
the Natural Resources Committee held an oversight hearing on
the DOI maintenance backlog on March 6, 2018.\11\
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\10\https://naturalresources.house.gov/calendar/
eventsingle.aspx?EventID=404182.
\11\https://naturalresources.house.gov/calendar/
eventsingle.aspx?EventID=404079.
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Similar legislation has been introduced in the Senate (S.
3172) by Senator Rob Portman (R-OH). The Senate Committee on
Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 3172 favorably reported
with an amendment in the nature of a substitute on October 2,
2018.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF BILL AS REPORTED
Section 1. Short title
This act may be cited as the Restore Our Parks and Public
Lands Act.
Section. 2. National Park Service and Public Lands Legacy Restoration
Fund
Subsection (a) establishes the National Park Service and
Public Lands Legacy Restoration Fund.
Subsection (b):
1. Deposits into the Fund 50% of all energy revenue
due to the United States from oil, gas, coal,
alternative, and renewable energy development on
federal land and water, not otherwise allocated to
other funds and which would otherwise be deposited as
miscellaneous receipts. Deposits these monies for five
fiscal years from 2019-2023.
2. Sets the maximum amount that can be deposited into
the Fund in any fiscal year at $1.3 billion.
3. Clarifies that enactment of the bill and
implementation of the Fund will not affect:
A. Revenues due to the United States, special
funds, trust funds, or States;
B. Revenues designated for the Gulf of Mexico
Energy Security Act of 2006, the Mineral
Leasing Act, or the Land and Water Conservation
Fund.
Subsection (c) provides that amounts deposited in the Fund
are available to the Secretary of the Interior without further
appropriation or fiscal year limitation.
Subsection (d) provides that amounts in the Fund may be
invested by the Secretary of the Treasury (at the request of
the Secretary of the Interior), with investment income becoming
part of the Fund.
Subsection (e) provides that amounts in the Fund shall be
used as follows:
1. 80% allocated to the NPS for priority maintenance
needs, striving for parity between transportation and
non-transportation projects;
2. 10% allocated to FWS to address the national
wildlife refuge system maintenance backlog;
3. 5% allocated to BLM to address public access and
recreation backlog;
4. 5% allocated to BIE for school construction and
deferred maintenance backlogs.
Subsection (f) provides that no more than 10% of the Fund
may be used for administrative costs.
Subsection (g) provides that no amounts in the Fund will be
used for land acquisition, to supplant discretionary funding
for facility operations, construction and maintenance, or for
federal employee performance awards.
Subsection (h) requires the Secretary of the Interior to
submit to the relevant Congressional committees with the annual
budget of the President a list and description of projects to
be funded.
Subsection (i) provides that the Secretary of the Interior
is authorized to accept cash and in-kind donations, and to
encourage public-private partnerships to reduce the maintenance
backlogs at NPS, FWS, BLM and BIE school construction.
Donations will be included with the annual budget submission to
Congress and deposited into the Fund.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 6510 was introduced on July 25, 2018, by Congressman
Rob Bishop (R-UT). The bill was referred primarily to the
Committee on Natural Resources and additionally to the
Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure. On September 13, 2018, the
Natural Resources Committee met to consider the bill.
Congressman Rob Bishop offered an amendment in the nature of a
substitute designated 082. The following amendments were
offered to the amendment in the nature of a substitute:
Congressman Raul M. Grijalva (D-AZ) offered and withdrew an
amendment designated 001. Congressman Mike Johnson (R-LA)
offered an amendment designated 052; it was not adopted by
voice vote. Congressman Mike Johnson (R-LA) offered an
amendment designated 053; it was not adopted by voice vote.
Congressman Mike Johnson (R-LA) offered an amendment designated
054; it was not adopted by voice vote. Congressman Garret
Graves (R-LA) offered an amendment designated #1; it was not
adopted by voice vote. Congressman Garret Graves (R-LA) offered
an amendment designated #2; it was not adopted by voice vote.
Congressman Garret Graves (R-LA) offered an amendment
designated #3; it was not adopted by voice vote. Congressman
Garret Graves (R-LA) offered an amendment designated #15; it
was not adopted by voice vote. Congressman Garret Graves (R-LA)
offered an amendment designated #25; it was not adopted by
voice vote. Congressman Garret Graves (R-LA) offered amendments
designated #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14,
#16, #19, #20 en bloc; the en bloc amendment was not adopted by
voice vote. The amendment in the nature of a substitute was
adopted by voice vote. The bill, as amended, 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 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, October 12, 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. 6510, the Restore
Our Parks and Public Lands Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Janani
Shankaran.
Sincerely,
Mark P. Hadley
(For Keith Hall, Director).
Enclosure.
H.R. 6510--Restore Our Parks and Public Lands Act
Summary: H.R. 6510 would require that proceeds from certain
leases involving energy resources on public lands be deposited
into a new fund in the Treasury. Under the bill, the Department
of the Interior (DOI) could spend amounts in the fund without
further appropriation, including interest credited to unspent
balances, on deferred maintenance and infrastructure projects
administered by the National Park Service (NPS), U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (USFWS), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and
Bureau of Indian Education. The department also could accept
and spend any cash or in-kind donations received from the
public for such projects.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 6510 would increase net
direct spending by $6.5 billion over the 2019-2028 period;
therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. The bill would not
affect revenues.
CBO also estimates that enacting H.R. 6510 would not
increase net direct spending by more than $2.5 billion or on-
budget deficits by more than $5 billion in any of the four
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2029.
H.R. 6510 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA).
Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated
budgetary effect of H.R. 6510 is shown in the following table.
The costs of the legislation fall within budget functions 300
(natural resources and the environment) and 450 (community and
regional development).
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By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
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2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2019-2023 2019-2028
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INCREASES IN DIRECT SPENDING
Estimated Budget Authority........................ 1,300 1,333 1,371 1,398 1,407 112 81 56 32 16 6,809 7,106
Estimated Outlays................................. 0 78 218 449 753 1,045 1,197 1,130 947 655 1,498 6,472
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Basis of estimate: For this estimate, C130 assumes that the
legislation will be enacted near the start of 2019.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 6510 would make $7.1
billion in new budget authority available to DOI for deferred
maintenance and infrastructure projects; resulting outlays
would total $6.5 billion over the 2019-2028 period. Those funds
would be available to DOI without further appropriation.
Energy leases
H.R. 6510 would establish the National Park Service and
Public Lands Legacy Restoration Fund in the Treasury and would
deposit 50 percent of the proceeds received from federal
offshore and onshore energy leases over the 2019-2023 period
into that fund, subject to an annual limit of $1.3 billion.
Amounts in the fund would be available to DOI for
infrastructure projects, subject to various conditions,
including a requirement that amounts available under current
law for revenue sharing with states and other purposes not be
affected.
CBO estimates that future proceeds from energy leases would
be sufficient to allow $1.3 billion to be deposited into the
fund each fiscal year from 2019 through 2023. In CBO's April
2018 baseline, CBO projects that gross offsetting receipts from
offshore and onshore leases will total about $40 billion over
that five-year period. CBO estimates that approximately 55
percent of the gross receipts collected in 2018 will be
distributed to states or allocated for other purposes under
current law. Although that percentage could change, CBO
anticipates that there will be more than the bill's limit of
$1.3 billion available, so that the maximum amount would be
deposited each year.\1\
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\1\The amounts deposited into the fund could be affected by factors
(such as the mix of leases for offshore and onshore activities, which
are distributed differently under current law) or by policy changes
(for example, the authority to transfer certain proceeds from energy
leases to the Land and Water Conservation Fund expired at the end of
fiscal year 2018).
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Intragovernmental interest
H.R. 6510 would authorize the department to spend any
interest credited to unspent balances in the fund. Under the
bill, the Department of the Treasury would be authorized to pay
interest on any balances that are not needed for current
expenditures. Based on the projected spending patterns for the
activities authorized by the bill (discussed below) and the
economic assumptions underlying CBO's baseline projections, CBO
estimates that implementing this provision would increase the
amounts added to the fund by $606 million over the 2019-2028
period.
Spendout of funds
CBO expects that under H.R. 6510, amounts would be
deposited into the fund at the end of a fiscal year and
effectively would not be available for spending until the
following year. Accordingly, CBO estimates that there would be
no spending in 2019. As specified in the bill, amounts in the
fund would be allocated to agencies to address deferred
maintenance and infrastructure needs as follows: 80 percent for
the NPS; 10 percent for USFWS; 5 percent for BLM; and 5 percent
for the Bureau of Indian Education. The bill would cap overall
administrative spending at 10 percent.
Using information from the NPS and the USFWS, CBO expects
that initially the agencies would hire additional staff for
project management, planning, and design work. CBO anticipates
that projects funded would include a mix of transportation,
water and utility, and restoration and reconstruction
projects.\2\ According to the NPS, the time from start to
completion has ranged from 30 months (for smaller-scale
projects) to five years (for transportation projects). Using
information from the agencies, and based on historical spending
patterns for similar activities, CBO estimates that spending
from the fund would be comparatively slow in the early years
and would peak over the 2024-2027 period as larger-scale
projects were completed. Most projects would be completed by
2028, however we expect that DOI would continue to spend any
remaining balances in the fund after 2028.
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\2\The costs of individual projects depend on type and scale. For
example, the NPS estimated the cost of deferred maintenance along the
George Washington Memorial Parkway near Washington, D.C., at about $475
million in 2015. (See Government Accountability Office, National Park
Service: Process Exists for Prioritizing Asset Maintenance Decisions,
but Evaluation Could Improve Efforts, GAO-17-136, December 2016,
www.gao.goviproducts/GA0-17-136.) The estimated cost to rehabilitate a
flood protection levee at the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National
Wildlife Refuge is about $4 million, and the estimated cost to
rehabilitate a campground at Yosemite National Park is $1 million. More
information about DOI's projects is included in Department of the
Interior, Budget Justifications and Performance Information: Fiscal
Year 2019, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (February 2018), and Budget
Justifications and Performance Information: Fiscal Year 2019, National
Park Service (February 2018), www.doi.govibpp/budget-justifications.
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Donations
H.R. 6510 would authorize DOI to accept cash and in-kind
donations; such collections are treated as reductions in direct
spending. The donations would become part of the special fund
and would be available to spend without further appropriation.
CBO expects that donations would be offset by expenditures and
that the net effect on direct spending would be negligible.
Uncertainty: CBO aims to produce cost estimates that
generally reflect the middle of a range of the most likely
budgetary outcomes that would result if the legislation was
enacted. Spending could be higher or lower for several reasons:
Prices or quantities of energy resources produced
on federal lands could be significantly lower in the future
than what CBO estimated in its baseline projections; in that
case less money would be available for the infrastructure
projects authorized by the bill. (If prices or quantities
produced were significantly higher, no more money would be
available for infrastructure projects because the amount that
can be deposited into the fund is capped at $1.3 billion each
year through 2023.)
The number, type, and scale of projects pursued by
DOI could be different than CBO estimated, so spending from the
fund each year could be different.
Finally, the amount of interest that would be
credited to the fund could be different if the amount of
deposits and spending as discussed in the first two points were
different and if interest rates differ from the projections in
CBO's baseline.
Pay-As-You-Go considerations: The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go
Act of 2010 establishes budget-reporting and enforcement
procedures for legislation affecting direct spending or
revenues. The net changes in outlays that are subject to those
pay-as-you-go procedures are shown in the following table.
CBO Estimate of Pay-As-You-Go Effects for H.R. 6510, the Restore Our Parks and Public Lands Act, as Ordered Reported by the House Committee on Natural
Resources on September 13, 2018
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By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
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2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2019-2023 2019-2028
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NET INCREASE IN THE DEFICIT
Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Impact........................... 0 78 218 449 753 1,045 1,197 1,130 947 655 1,498 6,472
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Increase in long-term direct spending and deficits: CBO
estimates that enacting H.R. 6510 would not increase net direct
spending by more than $2.5 billion or on-budget deficits by
more than $5 billion in any of the four consecutive 10-year
periods beginning in 2029.
Mandates: H.R. 6510 contains no intergovernmental or
private-sector mandates as defined in UMRA.
Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Janani Shankaran
(Department of the Interior), Kathleen Gramp (energy receipts);
Mandates: Zachary Byrum.
Estimate reviewed by: Kim P. Cawley, Chief, Natural and
Physical Resources Cost Estimates Unit; H. Samuel Papenfuss,
Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis; Theresa Gullo,
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, fund, and provide for
the use of amounts in the National Park Service and Public
Lands Legacy Restoration Fund to address the maintenance
backlog of the National Park Service, United States Fish and
Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, and the Bureau of
Indian Education.
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 contains no directed
rulemakings.
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
This bill makes no changes in existing law.
ADDITIONAL VIEWS
Modeled after the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF),
which gets the first dollars from offshore energy development,
H.R. 6510 would direct money derived from energy revenues to
support infrastructure and maintenance at national parks and
public lands. This is a legitimate attempt to identify a
dedicated source of funding to support infrastructure and
maintenance across public lands managed by the Department of
the Interior, including the $11.6 billion in deferred
maintenance across the National Park System. Unlike the Trump
administration's initial proposal, this bill does not condition
money for parks on increased energy production; it simply
invests money that would otherwise be sent to the Treasury.
Addressing deferred maintenance is a bipartisan priority
that deserves a dedicated solution, but it should not be used
as a justification to ignore or sidestep other key conservation
priorities, including reauthorizing and funding the LWCF.
Congress must address deferred maintenance, both through
increased appropriations and by identifying a dedicated source
of funding, while prioritizing LWCF and the future of public
lands conservation.
To highlight this critical point, Ranking Member Grijalva
at markup offered and withdrew an amendment to permanently
authorize and provide full funding for LWCF. The amendment,
which was subject to a point of order at committee markup,
underscored the importance of pairing mandatory money for LWCF
with any mandatory spending for deferred maintenance. These two
priorities must move together.
H.R. 6510 was reported out of committee by voice vote.
However, it is important to note that this bill is a patch, not
a permanent fix. If we want our parks and public lands to
succeed, Congress must support sustained base funding for all
our public land agencies and enact a permanent solution for the
future of LWCF.
Raul M. Grijalva,
Ranking Member, Committee on
Natural Resources.
Jared Huffman.
Wm. Lacy Clay.
Grace F. Napolitano.
Nanette Diaz Barragan.
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