[House Report 113-287]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
113th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 113-287
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NATIVE AMERICAN VETERANS' MEMORIAL AMENDMENTS ACT OF 2013
_______
December 11, 2013.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Hastings of Washington, from the Committee on Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 2319]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 2319) to clarify certain provisions of the
Native American Veterans' Memorial Establishment Act of 1994,
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 ``Native American Veterans' Memorial
Amendments Act of 2013''.
SEC. 2. NATIVE AMERICAN VETERANS' MEMORIAL.
(a) Authority To Establish Memorial.--Section 3 of the Native
American Veterans' Memorial Establishment Act of 1994 (20 U.S.C. 80q-5
note; 108 Stat. 4067) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b), by striking ``within the interior
structure of the facility provided for by'' and inserting ``on
property under the jurisdiction of the Museum on the site
described in''; and
(2) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ``, in consultation
with the Museum, is'' and inserting ``and the National Museum
of the American Indian are''.
(b) Payment of Expenses.--Section 4(a) of the Native American
Veterans' Memorial Establishment Act of 1994 (20 U.S.C. 80q-5 note; 108
Stat. 4067) is amended--
(1) in the heading, by inserting ``and National Museum of the
American Indian'' after ``American Indians''; and
(2) in the first sentence, by striking ``shall be solely''
and inserting ``and the National Museum of the American Indian
shall be''.
Purpose of the Bill
The purpose of H.R. 2319 is to clarify certain provisions
of the Native American Veterans' Memorial Establishment Act of
1994.
Background and Need for Legislation
In 1994, Congress passed the Native American Veterans'
Memorial Establishment Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-384). This
Act authorized the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of
the American Indian to build a Native American veterans
memorial inside the museum. However, due to the limited space
within the museum and the difficulty in collecting funds to
build a memorial, an amendment to the law is necessary. The
bill will allow the museum to place a memorial ``on the
property'' of the National Museum of the American Indian, allow
the museum to hold a competition to select a design, and accept
responsibility for the expenses of the establishment of the
memorial.
Committee Action
H.R. 2319 was introduced on June 11, 2013, by Congressman
Markwayne Mullin (R-OK). The bill was referred to the Committee
on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the
Subcommittees on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation and
Indian and Alaska Native Affairs. On July 23, 2013, the
Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs held a hearing
on the bill. On December 4, 2013, the Natural Resources
Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittees on Public
Lands and Environmental Regulation and Indian and Alaska Native
Affairs were discharged by unanimous consent. Congressman
Mullin offered an amendment designated #1 to the bill; the
amendment was adopted by unanimous consent. No further
amendments were offered, and the bill, as amended, was then
adopted and ordered favorably reported to the House of
Representatives by unanimous consent.
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
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(2)(B)
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974. Under clause 3(c)(3) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section
403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has
received the following cost estimate for this bill from the
Director of the Congressional Budget Office:
H.R. 2319--Native American Veterans' Memorial Amendments Act of 2013
H.R. 2319 would amend the Native American Veterans'
Memorial Establishment Act of 1994. The bill would authorize
the memorial to be built on the property of the National Museum
of the American Indian (part of the Smithsonian Institution) in
lieu of the current requirement that the memorial be placed
inside of that museum. Additionally, the legislation would make
the museum, along with the National Congress of American
Indians (NCAI), responsible for accepting contributions for and
paying the expenses of the memorial. Under current law, the
NCAI is solely responsible for those activities.
Based on information provided by the National Park Service
and the Smithsonian Institution, CBO estimates that
implementing H.R. 2319 would have no significant impact on the
federal budget. Enacting H.R. 2319 would not affect direct
spending or revenues because the receipt and expenditure of
gifts to the Smithsonian are not recorded in the federal
budget; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
H.R. 2319 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
govenments.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Martin von
Gnechten. The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
2. Section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act. As
required by clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives and section 308(a) of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this bill does not contain
any new budget authority, spending authority, credit authority,
or an increase or decrease in revenues or tax expenditures.
Based on information provided by the National Park Service and
the Smithsonian Institution, CBO estimates that implementing
H.R. 2319 would have no significant impact on the federal
budget.
3. 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 clarify certain provisions of the
Native American Veterans' Memorial Establishment Act of 1994.
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. The Chairman does not believe that
this bill directs any executive branch official to conduct any
specific rule-making proceedings.
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 Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
NATIVE AMERICAN VETERANS' MEMORIAL ESTABLISHMENT ACT OF 1994
* * * * * * *
SEC. 3. AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH MEMORIAL.
(a) In General.--The National Museum of the American Indian
(established by the National Museum of the American Indian Act
(20 U.S.C. 80q et seq.)), in close consultation with the
National Congress of American Indians and other Native American
groups, is authorized to construct and maintain a National
Native American Veterans' Memorial (hereafter in this Act
referred to as the ``memorial'').
(b) Location.--The memorial shall be located at a site
determined to be suitable by the Museum [within the interior
structure of the facility provided for by] on property under
the jurisdiction of the Museum on the site described in section
7(a) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 80q-5(a)) (relating to housing the
portion of the Museum to be located in the District of
Columbia).
(c) Design and Plans.--(1) The National Congress of American
Indians[, in consultation with the Museum, is] and the National
Museum of the American Indian are authorized to hold a
competition to select the design of the Memorial. Any design so
selected shall be compatible with both the purpose of the
Museum, as set forth in section 3(b) of the National Museum of
the American Indian Act (20 U.S.C. 80q-1), and with any
existing design plans for the Museum's structure and its
surroundings.
(2) Any design so selected shall be subject to the approval
of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution.
SEC. 4. PAYMENT OF EXPENSES AND USE OF NAME.
(a) Responsibility of National Congress of American Indians
and National Museum of the American Indian.--The National
Congress of American Indians [shall be solely] and the National
Museum of the American Indian shall be responsible for
acceptance of contributions for, and payment of the expenses
of, the establishment of the memorial. No Federal funds may be
used to pay any expense of the establishment of the memorial.
(b) Use of Name.--Use of the name of the Smithsonian
Institution or the National Museum of the American Indian in
any material regarding the memorial produced by the National
Congress of American Indians, other than in a manner simply
describing the location of the memorial, shall be subject to
consultation with, and the approval of, the Board of Regents of
the Smithsonian Institution.