[House Report 107-524]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
107th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 107-524
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AUTHORIZING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A MEMORIAL WITHIN THE AREA IN THE
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA REFERRED TO IN THE COMMEMORATIVE WORKS ACT AS
``AREA I'' OR ``AREA II'' TO THE VICTIMS OF TERRORIST ATTACKS ON THE
UNITED STATES, TO PROVIDE FOR THE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF SUCH A
MEMORIAL, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
_______
June 24, 2002.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Hansen, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 2982]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 2982) to authorize the establishment of a memorial within
the area in the District of Columbia referred to in the
Commemorative Works Act as ``Area I'' or ``Area II'' to the
victims of terrorist attacks on the United States, to provide
for the design and construction of such a memorial, and for
other purposes, having considered the same, report favorably
thereon with amendments and recommend that the bill as amended
do pass.
The amendments are as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. AUTHORIZATION OF MEMORIAL.
(a) In General.--The Advisory Board established in section 2(a) is
authorized to establish a memorial (referred to hereafter in this Act
as the ``Memorial'') in accordance with this Act on Federal lands
administered by the National Park Service in the District of Columbia
and its environs (as defined in section 2(e) of the Commemorative Works
Act (40 U.S.C. 1002(e)) to victims who died as a result of terrorist
acts against the United States or its people, at home or abroad, except
those individuals identified by the Attorney General of the United
States as participating or conspiring in terrorist-related activities.
(b) Detail of Employees.--The Secretary of the Interior (referred to
hereafter in this Act as the ``Secretary'') shall detail to the
Advisory Board such support staff as are necessary to assist the
members of the Advisory Board in carrying out its responsibilities.
(c) Relationship to the Commemorative Works Act.--The Commemorative
Works Act (40 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) shall apply to the Memorial, with
the exception of section 3(c) of that Act which shall not apply to the
Memorial.
SEC. 2. ADVISORY BOARD.
(a) Establishment.--There is established an advisory board to be
known as the ``Victims of Terrorism Memorial Advisory Board'' (referred
to hereafter in this Act as the ``Advisory Board'').
(b) Members.--The Advisory Board shall consist of 13 members who
shall be appointed, not later than 3 months after the date of the
enactment of this Act, by the President (in consultation with the
Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Defense) from interested
persons, including representatives of organizations dedicated to
assisting victims of terrorism and their families.
(c) Chairperson.--The Chairperson of the Advisory Board shall be one
of its Members elected by a majority of the Members at the first
meeting of the Advisory Board.
(d) Terms; Vacancies.--Members of the Advisory Board shall serve for
the life of the Advisory Board. The President shall make appointments
to fill any vacancies that occur.
(e) Duties.--The Advisory Board shall--
(1) raise necessary funds to establish, design, construct,
and maintain the Memorial; and
(2) begin consultation under section 7 of the Commemorative
Works Act not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment
of this Act.
(f) Donations.--The Advisory Board may accept donations on behalf of
the United States for the establishment, design, construction, and
maintenance of the Memorial.
(g) Termination.--The Advisory Board shall terminate not later than
120 days after completion of the Memorial.
(h) FACA.--The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall
not apply to the Advisory Board.
SEC. 3. DEPOSIT OF EXCESS FUNDS.
If, upon payment of all expenses of the establishment of the Memorial
(including the maintenance and preservation amount provided for in
section 8(b) of the Commemorative Works Act), or upon expiration of the
authority for the Memorial under section 10(b) of that Act, there
remains a balance in the funds received under section 3(f) for
maintenance of the Memorial, the Chairperson of the Advisory Board
shall transfer the amount of the balance to the Secretary of the
Treasury for deposit in the account provided for in section 8(b)(1) of
that Act.
Amend the title so as to read:
A bill to authorize the establishment of a memorial to
victims who died as a result of terrorist acts against the
United States or its people, at home or abroad.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 2982, as ordered reported, is to
authorize the establishment of a memorial to victims who died
as a result of terrorist acts against the United States or its
people, at home or abroad.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Since the murder of U.S. Ambassador to Sudan Cleo Noel in
1973 by members of the Black September organization,
Americans--military and civilian, home and abroad--have become
victims of organized terrorist attacks. Terrorist attacks
against Americans include, among others, the 1975 bombing in
New York City by Puerto Rican nationalists that killed four
people; the 1983 bombing of the U.S. barracks in Beirut,
Lebanon, that killed 242 Americans; the 1988 bombing of Pan
American Flight 103 by Libyan terrorists over Lockerbie,
Scotland, that killed over 200 Americans; the 1995 bombing of
the Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, by right-wing
extremists that killed 165 people; the 1998 bombing of the U.S.
Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed six Americans, and
the September 11, 2001, horrific terrorist attack on the United
States, which killed over 3,000 people in New York City,
Washington, DC, and Somerset County, Pennsylvania.
Today, only two memorials exist to commemorate those killed
from attacks on America: the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial in Hawaii
and the Oklahoma City National Memorial, which commemorates the
168 people killed in the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah
Building. H.R. 2982, as amended, would fill a long overdue void
by establishing a National Memorial in the Nation's Capital to
recognize all victims who died as a result of terrorist acts
against the United States or its people, except those
individuals identified by the U.S. Attorney General as
participating or conspiring in terrorist-related activities.
The Committee believes a National Memorial is appropriate so
that all victims killed domestically and overseas could be
commemorated at a single national memorial.
The sponsor of the legislation and several Members of the
Committee foresee a ``living memorial'' that will commemorate
victims from past and future terrorist acts by listing the date
and location where it occurred and, at a minimum, the number of
people who perished in the attack.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 2982 was introduced on October 2, 2001, by Congressman
Jim Turner (D-TX). The bill was referred to the Committee on
Resources and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on
National Parks, Recreation, and Public Lands. On March 19,
2002, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On May 22,
2002, the full Resources Committee met to consider the bill.
The Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation, and Public
Lands was discharged from further consideration of the bill by
unanimous consent. Congressman George Radanovich (R-CA) offered
an amendment in the nature of a substitute that made the
following changes to the original text: (1) clarified that the
Advisory Board, not the Secretary of the Interior, will be
responsible for establishing the memorial and raising all the
necessary funds for the design, construction, and maintenance
of the memorial; (2) removed all unreasonable time lines
associated with the development of the memorial and clarified
the responsibilities for the Planning Commission; (3) changed
the size and the appointment process for the development of the
Advisory Board; and (4) removed unnecessary provisions
associated with the establishment of the memorial. The
amendment was agreed to by unanimous consent. No further
amendments were offered and the bill as amended was then
ordered favorably reported by unanimous consent to the House of
Representatives.
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 Resources' oversight findings and recommendations
are reflected in the body of this report.
FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT
The functions of the proposed advisory committee authorized
in the bill are not currently being nor could they be performed
by one or more agencies, an advisory committee already in
existence or by enlarging the mandate of an existing advisory
committee.
CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT
Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United
States grants Congress the authority to enact this bill.
COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) 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)(3)(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.
2. 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.
3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. This bill does
not authorize funding and therefore, clause 3(c)(4) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives does not
apply.
4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. 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:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, June 21, 2002.
Hon. James V. Hansen,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 2982, a bill to
authorize the establishment of a memorial to victims who died
as a result of terrorist acts against the United States or its
people, at home or abroad.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Deborah Reis.
Sincerely,
Barry B. Anderson
(For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
Enclosure.
H.R. 2982--A bill to authorize the establishment of a memorial to
victims who died as a result of terrorist acts against the
United States or its people, at home or abroad
H.R. 2982 would create a 13-member Victims of Terrorism
Memorial Advisory Board. The bill would authorize the advisory
board to establish a memorial to victims of terrorism on
federal property in the District of Columbia. For this purpose,
the board would be authorized to accept donations on behalf of
the United States.
The costs of implementing H.R. 2982 would depend greatly on
the design of the memorial, which has not yet been determined.
The costs of establishing other memorial projects in the
District have varied significantly. For example, the National
Law Enforcement Officers Memorial (built in 1989) cost around
$4 million, while the costs of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
(built in 1984) and the Korean War Veterans Memorial (built in
1995) were around $7.5 million and $12 million, respectively.
Depending on the scale of the proposed project, CBO estimates
design and construction costs would probably be between $5
million and $15 million over several years, assuming
appropriation of the necessary amounts. This estimate is based
on information provided by the National Park Service, private
foundations, and the costs of other memorials on federal
grounds.
The cost of establishing the memorial could be offset by
donations from private sources, but there is no basis for
estimating such future revenues. Because the bill could affect
federal revenues, pay-as-you-go procedures would apply.
The bill 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 Deborah Reis.
The estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
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 in existing
law.