FUNDS NOT TO BE USED FOR PUBLICITY SEC. 7. Moneys derived from the sources listed in section 2 of this Act shall not be available for publicity [purposes.] purposes, except to the extent that the Secretary of the Interior determines necessary in order to advertise and promote any entrance or user fee program estabished pursuant to section 2(a) of this Act. SEC. 8. [Not to exceed $30,000,000 of the money authorized to be appropriated from the fund by section 3 of this Act may be obligated by contract during each of fiscal years 1969 and 1970 for the acquisition of lands, waters, or interests therein within areas specified in section 6(a)(1) of this Act.] Not to exceed $30,000,000 of the money authorized to be appropriated from the Fund by Section 3 of this Act may be obligated by contract during each fiscal year for the acquisition of lands, waters, or interest therein within areas specified in Section 6(a)(1) of this Act. Any such contract may be executed by the head of the department concerned, within limitations prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior. Any such contract so entered into shall be deemed a contractual obligation of the United States and shall be liquidated with money appropriated from the fund specifically for liquidation of such contract obligation. No contract may be entered into for the acquisition of property pursuant to this section unless such acquisition is otherwise authorized by Federal law. SEC. 9. The Secretary of the Interior may enter into contracts for options to acquire lands, waters, or interests therein within the exterior boundaries of any area the acquisition of which is authorized by law for inclusion in the national park system. The minimum period of any such option shall be two years, and any sums expended for the purchase thereof shall be credited to the purchase price of said area. Not to exceed $500,000 of the sum authorized to be appropriated from the fund by section 3 of this Act may be expended by the Secretary in any one fiscal year for such options. TITLE II-MOTORBOAT FUEL TAX PROVISIONS TRANSFERS TO AND FROM LAND AND WATER CONSERVATION FUND SEC. 201. (a) There shall be set aside in the land and water conservation fund in the Treasury of the United States provided for in title I of this Act the amounts specified in section 209 (f) (5) of the Highway Revenue Act of 1956 (relating to special motor fuels and gasoline used in motorboats). (b) There shall be paid from time to time from the land and water conservation fund into the general fund of the Treasury amounts estimated by the Secretary of the Treasury as equivalent to (1) the amounts paid before July 1, 1973, under section 6421 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (relating to amounts paid in respect of gasoline used for certain nonhighway purposes or by local transit systems) with respect to gasoline used after December 31, 1964, in motorboats, on the basis of claims filed for periods ending before October 1, 1972; and (2) 80 percent of the floor stocks refunds made before July 1, 1973, under section 6412(a) (2) of such Code with respect to gasoline to be used in motorboats. AMENDMENTS TO HIGHWAY REVENUE ACT OF 1956 SEC. 202. (a) Section 209 (f) of the Highway Revenue Act of 1956 (relating to expenditures from highway trust fund) is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new paragraph: "(5) TRANSFERS FROM THE TRUST FUND FOR SPECIAL MOTOR FUELS AND GASOLINE USED IN MOTORBOATS.-The Secretary of the Treasury shall pay from time to time from the trust fund into the land and water conservation fund provided for in title I of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 amounts as determined by him in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce equivalent to the taxes received, on or after January 1, 1965, under section 4041 (b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 with respect to special motor fuels used as fuel for the propulsion of motorboats and under section 4081 of such Code with respect to gasoline used as fuel in motorboats." (b) Section 209 (f) of such Act is further amended (1) by adding at the end of paragraph (3) the following new sentence: "This paragraph shall not apply to amounts estimated by the Secretary of the Treasury as paid under section 6421 of such Code with respect to gasoline used after December 31, 1964, in motorboats."; and (2) by inserting after "such Code" in paragraph (4) (C) the following: "(other than gasoline to be used in motorboats, as estimated by the Secretary of the Treasury)". SECTION 210 OF THE FLOOD CONTROL ACT OF 1968 (Public Law 90-483; 82 Stat. 746) [SEC. 210. No entrance or admission fees shall be collected after March 31, 1970, by any officer or employee of the United States at public recreation areas located at lakes and reservoirs under the jurisdiction of the Corps of Engineers, United States Army. User fees at these lakes and reservoirs shall be collected by officers and employees of the United States only from users of highly developed facilities requiring continuous presence of personnel for maintenance and supervision of the facilities, and shall not be collected for access to or use of water areas, undeveloped or lightly developed shoreland, picnic grounds, overlook sites, scenic drives, or boat launching ramps where no mechanical or hydraulic equipment is provided.] Mr. BIBLE, from the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany S. 560] The Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 560) to provide for the establishment of the William Howard Taft National Historic Site, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon, with amendments and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass. The purpose of S. 560, introduced by Mr. Bible for himself and Mr. Dirksen, is to recognize the birthplace of William Howard Taft, the 27th President of the United States, as a national historic site and to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to administer it as such. NEED Alphonso Taft, father of William Howard Taft, purchased the Taft House and its 2-acre lot in 1851. He promptly added a rear wing, and there, the future President was born in 1857. For the next 25 years, this house was young Taft's home. A lawyer, Taft held appointive office under Presidents McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt before acceding to the Presidency himself in 1909. Several of these offices were: in 1882, Collector of Internal Revenue for Cincinnati; in 1890, Solicitor General of the United States; and in 1892, Federal circuit court judge, and in 1901, head of the American rule of the Philippine Islands. During Taft's administration, trusts were prosecuted with great vigor, with over 80 antitrust suits initiated. With Taft's support, Congress submitted to the States constitutional amendments to establish an income tax and for direct election of Senators. Taft established a postal savings system, and directed the Interstate Commerce Commission to set railroad rates. After serving as President, Taft was named Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court by President Harding in 1921, thus becoming the only man in our Nation's history to have held both the Presidency and Chief Justiceship. The Taft home on Auburn Avenue was acquired by the Taft Memorial Association in 1968. The president of the association is Charles P. Taft, a son of the former President. The property now consists of the house and one-half acre of ground. The house is two stories with basement; the original portion is of brick on stone foundation walls, and the 1851 addition is entirely brick with the basement exposed. If authorized, the Park Service is to restore the house as it was when William Howard Taft lived there and to interpret his early life and environment. COST The Taft Memorial Association, the owner of the house, has agreed to donate it to the Park Service. In addition they have agreed to purchase or provide the funds for purchase of an adjoining 0.28-acre tract to be used for parking. The Department estimates the operating costs for the facility will be $62,600 per year after the first 2 years. AMENDMENTS Page 1, lines 6 and 7, strike out the words "or appropriated”. Strike out all of section 3 and substitute the following: SEC. 3. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated not to exceed $318,000 to provide for the restoration and development of the William Howard Taft National Historic Site. It is not intended that this amendment will have any effect on the authority of the Secretary to request appropriations for annual operation and maintenance of the site. The Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs recommends enactment of S. 560. DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS The favorable reports of the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of the Budget are set forth as follows: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, Hon. HENRY M. JACKSEN, Chairman, Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: Your committee has requested the views of this Department on S. 560, a bill to provide for the establishment of the William Howard Taft National Historic Site. We recommend that the bill be enacted with an amendment. The bill authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to acquire such lands and interests therein, together with buildings and improvements S. Rept. 91-396 thereon, at or in the vicinity of Auburn Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio, as he deems necessary for the establishment of the William Howard Taft National Historic Site. This acquisition may be by donation or purchase with donated or appropriated funds. Section 2 directs the Secretary to administer, develop, preserve, and maintain the site in accordance with the provisions of the act of August 25, 1916 (16 U.S.C. 1 et seq.), and the act of August 21, 1935 (6 U.S.C. 461 et seq.). Section 3 authorizes the appropriation of a sum not to exceed $250,000 for land acquisition and development in connection with the site. William Howard Taft was born September 15, 1857. Educated at Yale and Cincinnati Law School, he practiced law briefly before entering public life. He held a variety of Federal posts from 1890 to 1913, the last which was the Presidency. He was appointed Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1921 and served in that capacity until a few weeks before his death on March 8, 1930. In this respect Taft was uniquely distinguished. He is the only man in history who held both the Presidency and the Chief Justiceship. The William Howard Taft House in Cincinnati, Ohio, is a registered national historic landmark. It was the birthplace of the future President, and his home for 25 years. The property is owned by the William Howard Taft Memorial Association, of which Mr. Charles P. Taft, son of the late President, is president. In April 1968 the Secretary's Advisory Board on National Parks, Historic Sites, Buildings, and Monuments, recommended that the home be made a national historic site and administered as part of the national park system. The National Park Service has prepared a master plan for a William Howard Taft National Historic Site, encompassing the 0.5-acre Taft House and an adjacent 0.28-acre parcel for visitor parking. The Taft Memorial Association has offered to donate the Taft House and funds sufficient to enable the Government to purchase and demolish the existing building on the adjacent parcel. Restoration of the home and development of the grounds and parking will be the responsibility of the Government, augmented by whatever funds the association can raise and donate for the purpose. Our estimate of the cost of restoration and development is $318,000; estimated operating costs. are $62,600 per year after the first 2 years. Our current estimate of the cost of developing this area exceeds the monetary limitation set forth in section 3 of the bill by $68,000. In order that this legislation might accurately reflect these development costs, and to clearly authorize annual operating appropriations, we recommend that section 3 be amended to read as follows: "SEC. 3. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of the Interior such sums as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act, not to exceed $318,000 thereof for restoration and development." The Bureau of the Budget has advised that there is no objection to the presentation of this report and enactment as recommended. herein would be in accord with the President's program. Sincerely yours, WALTER J. HICKEL, S. Rept. 91-396 |