[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 91 (Thursday, June 24, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S7596]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KYL:

[[Page S7596]]

  S. 1275. A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to produce 
and sell products and to sell publications relating to the Hoover Dam, 
and to deposit revenues generated from the sales into the Colorado 
River Dam fund; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.


                   HOOVER DAM MISCELLANEOUS SALES ACT

  Mr. KYL. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce a bill to authorize 
the Bureau of Reclamation to produce commemorative items for sale at 
the Hoover Dam Visitor Center.
  Mr. President, the Hoover Dam receives more than one million visitors 
a year. Many of those visitors have expressed an interest in purchasing 
books, maps, photos, and other memorabilia relating to the Colorado 
River and the design, construction, and operation of the Dam. This bill 
would authorize the production and sale of such items, including the 
minting of commemorative coins from scrap copper that came from 
electrical cabinets and boxes which were used when the Dam was manually 
operated. Four to five tons of copper are available for this purpose.
  Mr. President, this bill not only responds to the public's demand for 
Hoover Dam-related items, it also creates a revenue source to help 
repay the cost of constructing the visitor center and of providing 
guided tours of the Dam and its power plant. Currently, purchasers of 
Hoover Dam power in Arizona, California, and Nevada are paying for the 
construction of the visitor center, which ended up costing 
approximately $125 million, nearly four times as much as the original 
estimate. This bill further authorizes the Bureau to select a private 
concessionaire to manage the gift shop selling these items, thereby 
creating a new business opportunity for a private or a non-profit 
entity. Thus, this bill would enhance the visitor experience at Hoover 
Dam in a taxpayer-friendly way.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be printed in 
the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 1275

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Hoover Dam Miscellaneous 
     Sales Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds that--
       (1) the sale and distribution of general public information 
     about the use of public land and water areas for recreation, 
     fish, wildlife, and other purposes serve significant public 
     benefits;
       (2) publications and other materials educate the public and 
     provide general information about Bureau of Reclamation 
     programs and projects;
       (3) in 1997, more than 1,000,000 visitors, including 
     300,000 from foreign countries, toured the Hoover Dam;
       (4) hundreds of thousands of additional visitors stopped to 
     view the dam;
       (5) visitors often ask to purchase maps, publications, and 
     other items to enhance their experience or serve educational 
     purposes;
       (6) in many cases the Bureau of Reclamation is the sole 
     source of those items;
       (7) the Bureau is in a unique position to fulfill public 
     requests for those items; and
       (8) as a public agency, the Bureau should be responsive to 
     the public by having appropriate items available for sale.

     SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

       The purposes of this Act are--
       (1) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to offer for 
     sale to members of the public that visit the Hoover Dam 
     Visitor Center educational materials and memorabilia; and
       (2) to use revenue from those sales to repay the costs 
     relating to construction of the Hoover Dam Visitor Center.

     SEC. 4. AUTHORITY TO CONDUCT SALES.

       With respect to the Hoover Dam, the Secretary of the 
     Interior, acting through the Commissioner of Reclamation, 
     may--
       (1) conduct sales of--
       (A) materials generated by the Bureau of Reclamation such 
     as posters, maps, brochures, photographs, and similar 
     publications, videotapes, and computer information discs that 
     are related to programs or projects of the Bureau; and
       (B) memorabilia and other commemorative items that depict 
     programs or projects of the Bureau;
       (2) convert unneeded property or scrap material into Bureau 
     memorabilia for sale purposes; and
       (3) enter into agreements with nonprofit organizations, 
     other Federal agencies, State and local governments, and 
     commercial entities for--
       (A) the production or sale of items described in paragraphs 
     (1) and (2); and
       (B) the sale of publications described in paragraph (1).

     SEC. 5. COSTS AND REVENUES.

       (a) Costs.--All costs incurred by the Bureau of Reclamation 
     under this Act shall be paid from the Colorado River Dam fund 
     established by section 2 of the Act of December 21, 1928 (43 
     U.S.C. 617a).
       (b) Revenues.--
       (1) Use for repayment of sales costs.--All revenues 
     collected by the Bureau of Reclamation under this Act shall 
     be credited to the Colorado River Dam fund to remain 
     available, without further Act of appropriation, to pay costs 
     associated with the production and sale of items in 
     accordance with section 4.
       (2) Use for repayment of construction costs.--All revenues 
     collected by the Bureau of Reclamation under this Act that 
     are not needed to pay costs described in paragraph (1) shall 
     be transferred annually to the general fund of the Treasury 
     in repayment of costs relating to construction of the Hoover 
     Dam Visitor Center.
                                 ______