S243JUL29

TheWeekInCongress.com

Week Ending July 29, 2005

S 243 A bill to establish a program and criteria for National Heritage Areas in the United States, and for other purposes.

BRIEF

The committee research on the matter resulted in this explanation for the bill, “The National Park Service has defined a Natural Heritage Area as a `place designated by the United States Congress where natural, cultural, historic and recreational resources combine to form a cohesive nationally distinctive landscape arising from patterns of human activity shaped by geography.' Heritage Areas are established to commemorate, conserve and promote important areas that include natural, scenic, historic, cultural or recreational resources. Unlike areas that are under the sole jurisdiction of the National Park Service, such as national parks or monuments, heritage areas typically remain in non-Federal ownership and are managed by local communities and partners. To date, Congress has designated 27 National Heritage Areas.

“National Heritage Areas receive financial and technical assistance through cooperative agreements with the National Park Service. They also receive funds from other agencies and non-Federal sources. Most heritage areas are authorized to receive appropriations of up to $1 million each year, with a maximum total appropriation of $10 to $15 million. Generally, the authorizing legislation for each heritage area includes a requirement that Federal funds must be matched equally by non-Federal funds. For fiscal years 1997 through 2002 National Heritage Areas received $310 million in funding. Of this total, approximately $154 million came from State and local governments and private sources and $156 million came from the Federal Government.

“Although the National Park Service has developed criteria for assessing whether an area may qualify as a National Heritage Area, there are currently no statutory criteria, no systematic process for identifying or evaluating potential heritage areas and no formal program for managing them. Of the 27 existing heritage areas, ten have been designated by Congress without a thorough National Park Service review. Of those ten, six, a quarter of the existing heritage areas, were designated by Congress despite the agency's recommendation that designation be deferred. Not surprisingly, the opportunity for Federal funding has resulted in an increase in proposals for new heritage areas, with more than 30 heritage areas proposed during the 108th Congress. The sizable number of new proposals before Congress has raised some concern regarding the most effective means to manage the program in the future.

“The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently published a report that examined heritage areas and suggested ways to improve their accountability (GAO04-593T, March 30, 2004). The report recommends that standardized criteria be adopted for evaluating potential National Heritage Areas. The GAO report also suggests, given the magnitude of funds appropriated, that certain key management controls be instituted to ensure accountability and program consistency. S. 243 will establish program requirements and criteria for evaluating potential National Heritage Areas, as well as place limitations on Federal funding for the program.”

Sponsor: Senator Thomas Craig (WY)

Vote: Passed Senate by Unanimous Consent (July 27, 2005)

Cost to the taxpayers: “CBO estimates that enacting S. 243--by itself--would have no effect on the federal budget.” The bill only sets down criteria for establishing the NHAs, doesn’t fund them.