[House Report 115-658]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
115th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 115-658
======================================================================
FREE VETERANS FROM FEES ACT
_______
April 27, 2018.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Bishop of Utah, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted
the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 3997]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 3997) to waive the application fee for any
special use permit for veterans demonstrations and special
events at war memorials on Federal land, 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 ``Free Veterans from Fees Act''.
SEC. 2. WAIVER OF SPECIAL USE PERMIT APPLICATION FEE FOR VETERANS
DEMONSTRATIONS AND SPECIAL EVENTS.
(a) Waiver.--The application fee for any special use permit solely
for a veterans demonstration or special event at war memorials on
Federal land shall be waived.
(b) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Demonstration; special event.--The terms
``demonstration'' and ``special event'' have the meaning given
those terms in section 7.96 of title 36, Code of Federal
Regulations.
(2) Veteran.--The term ``veteran'' has the meaning given that
term in section 101(2) of title 38, United States Code.
(3) Veterans demonstration or special event.--The term
``veterans demonstration or special event'' means a
demonstration or special event whose primary purpose is to
commemorate, or honor either a group of people because of their
service as veterans or immediate family members of veterans.
(4) War memorial.--The term ``war memorial'' means any
tangible object which has been erected or dedicated to
commemorate--
(A) war, conflict, victory, or peace;
(B) casualties who served in, were affected by, or
killed as a result of war, conflict, or peacekeeping;
or
(C) those who died as a result of accident or disease
while engaged in military service.
(c) Applicability.--This section shall apply to any special use
permit application submitted after the date of the enactment of this
Act.
(d) Applicability of Existing Laws.--Permit applicants remain subject
to all other laws, regulations, and policies regarding the application,
issuance and execution of special use permits for a veterans
demonstration or special event at war memorials on Federal land.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 3997 is to waive the application fee
for any special use permit for veterans demonstrations and
special events at war memorials on federal land.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Special use permits are required by the National Park
Service (NPS) for activities that provide a benefit to an
individual, group, or organization, and for activities that
require the use of a designated park location for a specific
purpose and length of time.\1\ According to NPS, special use
permits can be used for reoccurring events like sports
activities, picnics, weddings and family celebrations.\2\ Other
types of special use permits are used for special events
including entertainment, charity events, races, tournaments,
educational activities and demonstrations.\3\ The final type of
special use permits are for construction, research and
utilities that benefit the surrounding communities and often
involve access, infrastructure or research.\4\ Special use
permits are only issued by NPS for activities which are
appropriate for the purpose for which the park was established
and activities that can be sustained without causing
unacceptable impacts to the valuable resources of the park.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\National Park Service, Special Use Permits, https://www.nps.gov/
nace/planyourvisit/special-use-permits.htm.
\2\Ibid.
\3\Ibid 2
\4\Ibid 2
\5\Ibid 2
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
All applications for special use permits must be
accompanied by a payment for initial processing, unless
determined to be a First Amendment activity. Application fees
vary widely. Currently, NPS charges $120 for public gatherings
and special events applications and $90 for special use
applications on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.\6\ These
application fees do not preclude the recovery of other costs
associated with issuance of the permit.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\National Park Service, Permits & Reservations https://
www.nps.gov/nama/planyourvisit/permitsandreservations.htm.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In recognition of the significant sacrifices veterans have
made for our country, H.R. 3997 would waive the application fee
associated with special use permits for any veteran
demonstration or special event at war memorials on federal
land.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 3997 was introduced on October 10, 2017, by
Congressman Keith J. Rothfus (R-PA). The bill was referred to
the Committee on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to
the Subcommittee on Federal Lands. On April 11, 2018, the
Natural Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The
Subcommittee was discharged by unanimous consent. Congressman
Rob Bishop (R-UT) offered an amendment designated #1; it was
adopted by unanimous consent. No further amendments were
offered, and the bill, as amended, was 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 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, April 26, 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. 3997, the Free
Veterans from Fees Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Janani
Shankaran.
Sincerely,
Keith Hall,
Director.
Enclosure.
H.R. 3997--Free Veterans from Fees Act
H.R. 3997 would waive application fees for permits to hold
certain veterans' events at war memorials on federal land.
CBO is aware of two agencies that operate such war
memorials: the National Park Service (NPS) and the Department
of Defense (DoD). Current law authorizes the NPS to recover the
costs of providing necessary services at events held on NPS
lands. Permit application fees, which average $75 each, may be
applied toward that cost recovery. Those fees and any other
cost recovery payments are recorded as discretionary offsetting
collections. According to the NPS, however, the agency already
waives permit application fees for most veterans' events that
would be covered under the bill. According to DoD, veterans
typically have access to war memorials on military bases, and
it does not collect application fees for the type of permits
that would be covered under the bill. As a result, CBO
estimates that implementing H.R. 3997 would affect a small
number of permit applications and would increase net
discretionary spending by an insignificant amount.
Enacting H.R. 3997 would not affect direct spending or
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 3997 would not increase
net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2029.
H.R. 3997 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Janani
Shankaran (for the NPS) and David Newman (for DoD). The
estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy 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 waive the application fee for any
special use permit for veterans demonstrations and special
events at war memorials on federal land.
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 does not contain any
directed rule makings.
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
If enacted, this bill would make no changes to existing
law.
[all]