[Senate Report 104-190]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 284
104th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE

 1st Session                                                    104-190
_______________________________________________________________________


 
 AUTHORIZING THE ALPHA PHI ALPHA FRATERNITY TO ESTABLISH A MEMORIAL TO 
          MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

                                _______


               December 19, 1995.--Ordered to be printed

_______________________________________________________________________


 Mr. Warner, from the Committee on Rules and Administration, submitted 
                             the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 426]

    The Committee on Rules and Administration, having 
considered S. 426, a bill to authorize the Alpha Phi Alpha 
Fraternity to establish a memorial to Martin Luther King, Jr., 
in the District of Columbia, having considered the same, 
reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that 
the bill do pass.

                   purpose and background of the bill

    S. 426 is a bill to authorize the Alpha Phi Alpha 
Fraternity, the oldest black fraternity in the United States, 
to establish, without cost to the federal government, a 
memorial in the District of Columbia and its environs to the 
late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
    Similar bills were introduced in the 100th, 101st, 102nd 
and 103rd Congresses and were reported favorably by the 
Committee on Rules and Administration. In the 100th Congress 
and the 102nd Congress, the bill passed the Senate.
    The measure is subject to the provisions of Public Law 99-
652, the Commemorative Works Act (40 U.S.C. 1001, et seq.) 
approved November 14, 1986, which, in order to conserve the 
limited space available in the District of Columbia and 
environs, established conditions and criteria for future 
memorials. Under the Act, work on the memorial, including site 
selection and approval, could not begin until April 1993, 
twenty-five years after the death of Dr. King. The twenty-fifth 
anniversary having been reached, this measure is now fully 
endorsed by the National Capital Planning Commission.
    The floor statement made by Senator Sarbanes when 
introducing this measure follows:

             [From the Congressional Record, Feb. 15, 1995]

    Mr. Sarbanes. Mr. President, since 1926 this Nation has 
designated February as the month to honor the contributions of 
African-Americans and their proud heritage, which has so 
powerfully enriched our land. As we honor the accomplishments 
of African-American citizens throughout the country. I wanted 
to bring to the attention of my colleagues legislation 
introduced today by myself and the distinguished Senator from 
Virginia, Senator Warner, to recognize and honor Dr. Martin 
Luther King, Jr.
    As you know, Dr. King's life was one of extraordinary 
accomplishments and has had a significant and lasting impact on 
our Nation's history. The legislation Senator Warner and I have 
introduced today would recognize these accomplishments by 
authorizing the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, the oldest African-
American fraternity in the United States, to establish a 
monument to Dr. King on Federal land in the District of 
Columbia. Identical legislation passed the Senate in the 102d 
Congress with 60 cosponsors, but was unfortunately not passed 
by the House of Representatives before adjournment sine die.
    Pursuant to this proposal, the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity 
of which Dr. King was a member, will coordinate the design and 
funding of the monument. The bill provides that the monument be 
established entirely with private contributions at no cost to 
the Federal Government. The Department of the Interior, in 
consultation with the National Capital Park and Planning 
Commission and the Commission on Fine Arts, will select the 
site and approve the design.
    Alpha Phi Alpha was founded in 1906 at Cornell University 
and has hundreds of chapters across the country and many 
prominent citizens as members, including the late Supreme Court 
Justice Thurgood Marshall. Alpha Phi Alpha has strongly 
endorsed the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial project and is 
committing its considerable human resources to the project's 
development.
    Since 1955, when in Montgomery, AL, Dr. King became a 
national hero and an acknowledged leader in the civil rights 
struggle, until his tragic death in Memphis, TN in 1968. Martin 
Luther King, Jr. made an extraordinary contribution to the 
evolving history of our Nation. His courageous stands and 
unyielding belief in the tenent of non-violence reawakened our 
Nation to the injustice and discrimination which continued to 
exist 100 years after the Emancipation Proclamation and the 
enactment of the guarantees of the 14th and 15th amendments to 
the Constitution.
    A memorial to Dr. King erected in the nation's Capital will 
provide continuing inspiration to all who visit it, and 
particularly to the thousands of students and young people who 
visit Washington, DC ever year. While these young people may 
have no personal memory of the condition of civil rights in 
America before Dr. King nor of the struggle in which he was the 
major figure, they do understand that there is much more that 
still needs to be done. As Coretta King said so articulately:
    ``Young people in particular need nonviolent role models 
like him. In many ways, the Civil Rights movement was a youth 
movement. Young people of all races, many of whom were jailed, 
were involved in the struggle, and some give their lives for 
the cause. Yet none of the youth trained by Martin and his 
associates retaliated in violence, including members of some of 
the toughest gangs of urban ghettos in cities like Chicago and 
Birmingham. This was a remarkable achievement. It has never 
been done before; it has not been duplicated since.''
    It is our hope that the young people who visit this 
monument will come to understand that it represents not only 
the enormous contribution of this great leader, but also two 
very basic principles necessary for the effective functioning 
of our society--The first is that change, even every 
fundamental change, is to be achieved through nonviolent means; 
that this is the path down which we should go as a nation in 
resolving some of our most difficult problems. The other basic 
principle is that the reconciliation of the races, the 
inclusion into the mainstream, of American Life of all its 
people, is essential to the fundamental health of our Nation.
    Mr. President, Martin Luther King, Jr., dedicated his life 
to achieving equal treatment and enfranchisement for all 
Americans through nonviolent means. As we continue to celebrate 
Black History Month--I urge all of my colleagues to join 
Senator Warner and me in this effort to ensure that the 
essential principles taught and practiced by Dr. King are never 
forgotten.

                            committee action

    On December 14, 1995, the Committee on Rules and 
Administration held a markup session on S. 426. The National 
Capital Memorial Commission provided the Committee with their 
views on this measure by a letter dated December 14, 1995 and 
signed by John G. Parsons, Chairman. After discussion, quorum 
being present, S. 426 was passed by rollcall vote and was 
ordered reported favorably by the Committee. The letter 
received from the National Capital Planning Commission is set 
forth following the record of the rollcall vote.

                        committee rollcall vote

    In compliance with paragraphs 7 (b) and (c) of rule XXVI of 
the Standing Rules of the Senate, the record of the rollcall 
vote in the Committee on Rules and Administration during its 
consideration of this measure was:
        YEAS--12                      NAYS--0
McConnell
Cochran
Santorum
Nickles
Ford
Pell
Byrd
Inouye
Moynihan
Dodd
Feinstein
Warner

    Proxy votes in favor of the bill were submitted by Mr. 
Hatfield and Mr. Stevens.
    A proxy vote in opposition to the bill was submitted by Mr. 
Helms.

                   U.S. Department of the Interior,
                                     National Park Service,
                                 Washington, DC, December 14, 1995.
Hon. John Warner,
Chairman, Committee on Rules and Administration, U.S. Senate, 
        Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: We are pleased to respond to your 
request for the views of the National Capital Memorial 
Commission regarding S. 426, a bill that would authorize the 
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity to erect a memorial to Martin Luther 
King, Jr., in the District of Columbia.
    The National Capital Memorial Commission was established by 
the Commemorative Works Act in 1986 to review all proposals to 
erect memorials on Department of the Interior and General 
Services Administration lands in the District of Columbia and 
its environs, and to provide its recommendations on these 
proposals to Committees of Congress. I am happy to provide this 
report to you, dated July 26, 1995, which states that the 
Commission echoed its 1993 endorsement of a memorial to Martin 
Luther King, Jr., and voted unanimously to recommend that the 
Secretary of the Interior support S. 426.
    If there are any questions please contact me or Ms. Nancy 
Young of my staff.
            Sincerely,
                                   John G. Parsons,
                                 Chairman, National Capital
                                               Memorial Commission.

                             cost estimate

    In compliance with paragraph 11(a) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee does not consider 
that enactment of S. 426 would entail any cost to the Federal 
government. The letter received from the Congressional Budget 
Office is set forth below:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                 Washington, DC, December 18, 1995.
Hon. John W. Warner,
Chairman, Committee on Rules and Administration, U.S. Senate, 
        Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
reviewed S. 426, a bill to authorize the Alpha Phi Alpha 
Fraternity to establish a memorial to Martin Luther King, Jr., 
in the District of Columbia, and for other purposes, as ordered 
reported by the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration on 
December 14, 1995. The bill would require the Alpha Phi Alpha 
Fraternity to establish the memorial in accordance with Public 
Law 99-652, the Commemorative Works Act, and without the use of 
federal funds.
    CBO estimates that enacting this legislation would result 
in no significant cost to the federal government and in no cost 
to state or local governments. Enacting S. 426 would not affect 
direct spending or receipts; therefore, pay-as-you-go 
procedures would not apply.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is John R. 
Righter.
            Sincerely,
                                         June E. O'Neill, Director.

                      regulatory impact evaluation

    In accordance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee does not consider 
that enactment of S. 426 would have any regulatory impact.

                        changes in existing law

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of the rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee considers that the 
bill proposes no changes in existing law.