[Senate Report 112-127]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 288
112th Congress Report
SENATE
2d Session 112-127
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AUTHORIZATION OF PEACE CORPS TO ESTABLISH COMMEMORATIVE WORK
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January 13, 2012.--Ordered to be printed
Filed, under authority of the order of the Senate of December 17, 2011
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Mr. Bingaman, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 1421]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (S. 1421) to authorize the Peace Corps
Commemorative Foundation to establish a commemorative work in
the District of Columbia and its environs, and for other
purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon
without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.
PURPOSE
The purpose of S. 1421 is to authorize the Peace Corps
Commemorative Foundation, a non-profit organization established
by the National Peace Corps Association, to establish a
commemorative work in the District of Columbia and its
environs, to commemorate the mission of the Peace Corps and the
ideals on which the Peace Corps was founded.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
The Peace Corps traces its roots and mission to 1960, when
then-Senator John F. Kennedy, during a speech to students at
the University of Michigan, challenged those young adults to
give two years of service to help people in developing
countries. Five months later, President Kennedy signed an
executive order establishing the Peace Corps as a federal
agency devoted to world peace and friendship, and appointed R.
Sargent Shriver to organize and direct the Corps.
Since that time, nearly 200,000 Peace Corps volunteers have
served in 139 host countries to train local people in
technologies and issues including agricultural production,
water quality improvement, basic education, health and AIDS
education, information technology, and environmental
protection.
S. 1421 would authorize the Peace Corps Commemorative
Foundation to establish a memorial to commemorate the Peace
Corps and the ideals on which it was founded.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
S. 1421 was introduced by Senators Portman and Udall of
Colorado on July 26, 2011. There are 12 cosponsors. The
Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on S. 1421 on
October 19, 2011. At its business meeting on November 10, 2011,
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 1421
favorably reported.
S. 1421 is similar to H.R. 4195, sponsored by
Representative Farr in the 111th Congress, which was passed by
the House of Representatives by voice vote on September 22,
2010. However, the Senate took no further action on the bill.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in
open business session on November 10, 2011, by a voice vote of
a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 1421.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1(a) authorizes the establishment of a memorial on
federal land in the District of Columbia and its environs to
commemorate the mission of the Peace Corps and the ideals on
which it was founded.
Subsection (b) directs that the memorial be established
according to the Commemorative Works Act (40 U.S.C. 9801 et
seq.).
Subsection (c) prohibits use of federal funds to pay for
the establishment of the memorial and directs the Peace Corps
Commemorative Foundation to be solely responsible for accepting
contributions for and paying expenses of the memorial.
Subsection (d) requires the Peace Corps Commemorative
Foundation to transmit any excess funds, upon completion of the
memorial and the establishment of a perpetual maintenance and
preservation fund for the memorial, to the Secretary of the
Interior for deposit into an account with the National Park
Foundation.
Section 2 contains language clarifying how budgetary
effects of the bill, if any, will be determined.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The following estimate of costs of this measure has been
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
S. 1421--A bill to authorize the Peace Corps Commemorative Foundation
to establish a commemorative work in the District of Columbia
and its environs, and for other purposes
S. 1421 would authorize a nonprofit organization to
establish a commemorative work on federal lands in the District
of Columbia. The bill would affect direct spending; therefore,
pay-as-you-go procedures apply. However, CBO estimates that the
net effect on the budget of enacting the legislation would be
insignificant in any year. Enacting the bill would have no
effect on revenues.
The legislation would authorize the Peace Corps
Commemorative Foundation to establish a memorial to honor the
Peace Corps. The memorial project, which would be completed
without the use of federal funds, would be subject to the
requirements of the Commemorative Works Act. Under that act,
any entity that receives a permit to construct a memorial in
the District of Columbia or its environs must donate to the
National Park Foundation (a nonprofit organization) an amount
equal to 10 percent of the memorial's estimated construction
cost. That amount, as well as any project funds remaining after
construction of the memorial, would be available in future
years for maintenance of the memorial.
Based on the experience of similar commemorative projects,
CBO expects that any amounts collected by the federal
government would not be received for several years and would be
offset by a transfer to the National Park Foundation (a
nonfederal entity) soon thereafter.
S. 1421 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal
governments.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Martin von
Gnechten. The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION
In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following
evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in
carrying out S. 1421.
The bill is not a regulatory measure in the sense of
imposing Government-established standards or significant
economic responsibilities on private individuals and
businesses.
No personal information would be collected in administering
the program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal
privacy.
Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the
enactment of S. 1421, as ordered reported.
CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING
S. 1421, as ordered reported, does not contain any
congressionally directed spending items, limited tax benefits,
or limited tariff benefits as defined in rule XLIV of the
Standing Rules of the Senate.
EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS
The testimony provided by the National Park Service at the
October 19, 2011, Subcommittee on National Parks hearing on S.
1421 follows.
Statement of William D. Shaddox, Acting Associate Director for Park
Planning, Facilities and Lands, National Park Service, Department of
the Interior
Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to appear
before your committee to present the views of the Department of
the Interior on S. 1421, a bill to authorize the Peace Corps
Commemorative Foundation to establish a commemorative work in
the District of Columbia and environs, and for other purposes.
The Department supports S. 1421, which would authorize a
memorial commemorating the formation of the Peace Corps and the
ideals of world peace and friendship upon which the Peace Corps
was founded. This proposal provides that no federal funds be
used for establishing the memorial.
Although this proposal does not seek any exceptions to the
Commemorative Works Act (CWA), it should be noted that this
proposal to honor the ideals upon which the Peace Corps was
founded does not fit the typical mold for commemoration. The
concept of establishing a memorial to ``ideals'' is not
explicitly described in the CWA. When testifying on H.R. 4195,
a similar bill introduced in the 111th Congress, we identified
our concerns that a bill such as that could set an unwelcome
precedent for any and all future concepts identified only as
``ideals,'' resulting in an untenable influx of memorial
proposals. However, there is precedent for such commemoration:
specifically, the National Peace Garden, which Congress
authorized in 1987, and the Memorial to Japanese American
Patriotism in World War II, which was authorized in 1992.
Our support for this proposal is based upon our
understanding that this memorial will recognize the
establishment of the Peace Corps and the significance of the
ideals it exemplifies, not the organization's members. The CWA
precludes a memorial to members of the Peace Corps as the
commemoration of groups may not be authorized until after the
25th anniversary of the death of the last surviving member of a
group.
The Department notes that S. 1421 reflects suggestions made
to strengthen the language in this proposal as recommended in
our testimony on H.R. 4195 in the 111th Congress, and by the
National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission (NCMAC) at its
meeting on April 21, 2010. The National Capital Memorial
Advisory Commission has not reviewed S. 1421, but in their June
23, 2011 review of the companion bill H.R. 854, which is almost
identical to this bill, they expressed support for the concept
of a memorial to the ideals of the Peace Corps. NCMAC found
that the provisions of H.R. 854 connect the ideals to the
exceptional aspects of American character that are exhibited in
the ideals of the Peace Corps. We share the Commission's
support for the idea of commemorating volunteerism and
international cooperation as worthy ideals and practice of the
Peace Corps.
Finally, S. 1421 provides that unspent funds raised for the
construction of the memorial be provided to the National Park
Foundation for deposit in an interest-bearing account as stated
in 40 U.S.C. Section 8906(b)(3), as recommended in our
testimony on H.R. 4195 in the 111th Congress. We appreciate the
inclusion of this provision, and would like to work with the
committee on an additional technical amendment to the language.
That concludes my testimony, Mr. Chairman. I would be
pleased to respond to any questions from you and members of the
committee
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no
changes in existing law are made by the bill S. 1421, as
ordered reported.