[Senate Report 104-263]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 397
104th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE

 2d Session                                                     104-263
_______________________________________________________________________


 
                     UNITED STATES CIVIL WAR CENTER

                                _______


                  May 9, 1996.--Ordered to be printed

_______________________________________________________________________


  Mr. Murkowski, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                      [To accompany S.J. Res. 42]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the joint resolution (S.J. Res. 42) designating the 
Civil War Center at Louisiana State University as the United 
States Civil War Center, making the center the flagship 
institution for planning the sesquicentennial commemoration of 
the Civil War, and for other purposes, having considered the 
same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment in the nature 
of a substitute and an amendment to the preamble and recommends 
that the joint resolution, as amended, do pass.
    The amendments are as follows:

    1. Amend the preamble to read as follows:

    Whereas the sesquicentennial of the beginning of the Civil War will 
occur in the year 2011;
    Whereas the sesquicentennial will be the last significant 
opportunity for most Americans alive in the year 2011 to recall and 
commemorate the Civil War;
    Whereas the Civil War Center in Louisiana State University in Baton 
Rouge, Louisiana, has as its principal missions to create a 
comprehensive database that contains all Civil War materials and to 
facilitate the study of the Civil War from the perspectives of all 
ethnic cultures and all professions; academic disciplines, and 
occupations;
    Whereas the two principal missions of the Civil War Center are 
consistent with commemoration of the sesquicentennial;
    Whereas the missions of the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg 
College parallel those of the Civil War Center; and
    Whereas advance planning to facilitate the four-year commemoration 
of the sesquicentennial is required: Now, therefore, be it.

    2. Strike all after the resolving clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. DESIGNATION OF THE UNITED STATES CIVIL WAR CENTER

    The Civil War Center, located on Raphael Semmes Drive at Louisiana 
State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, (hereinafter referred to as 
the ``center'') shall be known and designated as the ``United States 
Civil War Center''.

SEC. 2. LEGAL REFERENCES.

    Any reference in any law, regulation, paper, record, map, or any 
other document of the United States to the center referred to in 
section 1 shall be deemed to be a reference to the ``United States 
Civil War Center''.

SEC. 3. FLAGSHIP INSTITUTIONS.

    The center and the Civil War Institute of Gettysburg College, 
located at 233 North Washington Street in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, 
shall be the flagship institutions for planning the sesquicentennial 
commemoration of the Civil War.

                         purpose of the measure

    The purpose of S.J. Res. 42 is to designate the Civil War 
Center at Louisiana State University as the ``United States 
Civil War Center.''

                          background and need

    The sesquicentennial of the beginning of the Civil War will 
occur in the year 2011. There is a significant opportunity to 
commemorate this event and to study the impact that the Civil 
War had on the history of the United States. The implementation 
of a sesquicentennial commemoration of the Civil War in the 
years 2011-2015 will require advance planning and coordination.
    The United States Civil War Center at Louisiana State 
University was created to serve as a center for all Civil War 
interests in the United States. The Center combines scholarly 
pursuits with projects and programs designed to enhance the 
general public's view of the Civil War. The mission of the 
Civil War Center is to facilitate the creation of a database 
that includes information on all private and institutional 
holdings on Civil War materials through the Nation; and to 
promote the study of the Civil War from the prospective of all 
academic disciplines; professions and occupations.
    The Center has developed a proposal for the 
sesquicentennial commemoration of the Civil War which states 
that the principal missions of the Center are ideally aligned 
with a nationwide Sesquicentennial commemoration of the Civil 
War. The proposal requests that the Center be designated as the 
flagship institution for planning the commemoration activities. 
Members of the United States Civil War Center's advisory board 
have signed a petition and submitted letters in support of the 
goal.
    Activities of the sesquicentennial highlighted in the 
proposal include the development of an on-line database, the 
establishment of State commissions, and local and international 
committees, educational programs, media, conferences, symposia, 
conventions, exhibits and publications.

                          legislative history

    S.J. Res. 42 was introduced by Senators Breaux and Johnston 
on November 2, 1995. A hearing was held by the Subcommittee for 
Parks, Historic Preservation and Recreation on March 21, 1996, 
S.J. Res. 42, as amended, was favorably reported by the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources as amended on May 1, 
1996. Identical legislation has been included in H.R. 1296, 
which passed the Senate by unanimous consent on May 1, 1996.

                        committee recommendation

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on May 1, 1996, by a unanimous voice vote of a 
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S.J. Res. 42 as 
amended.

                          committee amendments

    During the consideration of S.J. Res. 42, amendments were 
adopted to designate the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg 
College, in conjunction with the United States Civil War 
Center, as the flagship institutions for planning the 
sesquicentennial commemoration of the Civil War.

                      section-by-section analysis

Section 1

    Designates the Civil War Center (Center) at Louisiana State 
University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as the ``United States 
Civil War Center''.

Section 2

    Directs that the Center be referenced as such in law, maps, 
regulation, document, paper or other record of the United 
States.

Section 3

    States that the Center and the Civil War Institute at 
Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, shall be the 
flagship institutions for the purpose of planning the 
sesquicentennial commemoration of the Civil War.

                   cost and budgetary considerations

    On May 7, 1996 the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources requested a Congressional Budget Office estimate on 
S.J. Res. 42. This estimate had not been received at the time 
the report on S.J. Res. 42 was filed. When this estimate 
becomes available, the Chairman will request that it be printed 
in the Congressional Record for the advice of the Senate.

                      regulatory impact evaluation

    In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following 
evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in 
carrying out S.J. Res. 42. The bill is not a regulatory measure 
in the sense of imposing Government-established standards or 
significant economic responsibilities on private individuals 
and businesses.
    No personal information would be collected in administering 
the program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal 
privacy.
    Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the 
enactment of S.J. Res. 42, as ordered reported.

                        executive communications

    On March 5, 1996, and March 20, 1996, the Committee on 
Energy and Natural Resources requested legislative reports from 
the Department of the Interior and the Office of Management and 
Budget setting forth Executive agency recommendations on S.J. 
Res. 42. These reports had not been received at the time the 
report on S.J. Res. 42 was filed. When these reports become 
available, the Chairman will request that they be printed in 
the Congressional Record for the advice of the Senate. The 
testimony provided by the National Park Service at the 
Subcommittee hearing on S.J. Res. 42 as follows:

   statement of katherine h. stevenson, associate director, cultural 
     resource stewardship and partnerships, national park service, 
                       department of the interior

    S.J. Res. 42 would designate the Civil War Center at 
Louisiana State University as the United States Civil War 
Center, making the center the flagship institution for planning 
the sesquicentennial commemoration of the Civil War. Mr. 
Chairman, we do not support the resolution and provide the 
following comments for your consideration. Our comments are not 
a statement on the integrity or academic credentials of the 
Civil War Center at Louisiana State University.
    We commend Congress for thinking in advance about this 
important anniversary in our Nation's history. To commemorate 
the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War, we feel that 
Congress should develop a more in-depth process or program for 
determining where and how that celebration would be organized 
and what organization should have the lead in that celebration 
or be the ``flagship institution for planning the 
sesquicentennial commemoration.'' Numerous Civil War experts 
and historians exist at many institutions around the country. 
In addition to the Civil War Center at Louisiana State 
University, there are numerous groups and organizations 
throughout the United States involved in studying and 
interpreting the Civil War that would clearly be interested in 
being designated the flagship institution for this anniversary.
    We believe it would be more appropriate for the Congress to 
develop a Civil War Commemoration Commission and appoint 
experts from throughout the country to develop an appropriate 
plan and program for commemorating this important period in our 
Nation's history.
    Mr. Chairman, this concludes my prepared remarks. We 
welcome the opportunity to work with members of the Committee 
where we have recommended changes to these bills. I would be 
pleased to answer any questions you may have at this time.

                        changes in existing law

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no 
changes in existing law are made by S.J. Res. 42, as ordered 
reported.