[Senate Report 104-378]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 602
104th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE

 2d Session                                                     104-378
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                FIRST LADIES WHITE HOUSE ENDOWMENT FUND

                                _______
                                

               September 30, 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. 951]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 951) to commemorate the service of First 
Ladies Jacqueline Kennedy and Patricia Nixon to improving and 
maintaining the Executive Residence of the President and to 
authorize grants to the White House Endowment Fund in their 
memory to continue their work, having considered the same, 
reports favorably thereon with an amendment and an amendment to 
the title and recommends that the bill as amended do pass.
    The amendments are as follows:
    1. Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in 
lieu thereof the following:

``SECTION 1. GRANTS TO THE WHITE HOUSE ENDOWMENT FUND.

    ``Subject to appropriations, the Secretary of the Interior is 
authorized to make grants totaling not more than $10,000,000 to the 
White House Endowment Fund to support the acquisition of objects for, 
and the preservation of, the public rooms of the White House and its 
collection of Fine and Decorative Arts; and to serve as a memorial to 
the Nation's First Ladies, whose interest and dedication have done so 
much to preserve and enhance the historic integrity of the White 
House.''.

    2. Amend the title so as to read:

    ``A bill to commemorate the service of the Nation's First 
Ladies to improving and maintaining the Executive Residence of 
the President and to authorize grants to the White House 
Endowment Fund in their memory to continue their work.''.

                         purpose of the measure

    The purpose of S. 951 is to direct the President of the 
United States to make grants to the White House Endowment Fund 
to be used for the preservation and conservation of the public 
rooms of the White House and the acquisition of historical 
objects for the White House collection of fine and decorative 
American art.

                          background and need

    Over 1.5 million people visit the White House each year. It 
has been estimated that the public rooms of the White House 
require a complete refurbishing every eight to ten years.
    The White House historic preservation program was initiated 
by Jacqueline Kennedy in 1961. Mrs. Kennedy initiated the 
program in order to restore the historic integrity of the 
public rooms of the White House; to establish a fine and 
decorative arts collection; and to establish the White House 
Historical Association to publish and distribute educational 
materials describing the White House and its history.
    Patricia Nixon provided the leadership for the most 
extensive acquisition of fine and decorative arts in the 
history of the White House. Her plan for refurbishing the 
public rooms remains intact after more than twenty years. The 
fine and decorative arts donated to the White House during the 
leadership of Mrs. Kennedy and Mrs. Nixon, valued today at tens 
of millions of dollars, far exceed those received during all 
other modern Presidential administrations combined.
    With the leadership of First Lady Barbara Bush, the White 
House Endowment Fund was established in 1990 to create a 
permanent endowment of $25,000,000 to maintain the public rooms 
and collection of the White House. As of February, 1996, the 
combined total of contributions and pledges to the Endowment 
Fund was $14,528,548.
    S. 951, as amended, would authorize an unrestricted grant 
of $10 million, subject to appropriations, to be used for the 
preservation and conservation of the public rooms of the White 
House and the acquisition of historical objects for the White 
House collection of fine and decorative American art. The grant 
would also commemorate the service of all the Nation's First 
Ladies and their efforts in improving and maintaining the 
Executive Residence of the President.

                          legislative history

    Senator Hutchison introduced S. 951 on June 21, 1995. The 
Subcommittee on Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation 
held a hearing on the bill on April 25, 1996. At the business 
meeting on June 19, 1996, the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources ordered S. 951 favorably reported, as amended.

                        committee recommendation

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on September 12, 1996, by a unanimous voice 
vote of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 
951, if amended as described herein.

                          committee amendment

    During the consideration of S. 951, the Committee adopted 
an amendment in the nature of a substitute. The amended bill 
commemorates the service of all the Nation's First Ladies and 
their efforts in improving and maintaining the Executive 
Residence of the President, and amends the title of the bill to 
reflect this change. The amended bill eliminates the 
``Findings'' section; revises and clarifies the grant language; 
and includes a provision to make the authorization subject to 
appropriation.

                      section-by-section analysis

    S. 951 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to make 
grants totaling not more that $10,000,000 to the White House 
Endowment Fund to be used for the preservation and conservation 
of the public rooms of the White House and the acquisition of 
historical objects for the White House collection of fine and 
decorative art. The funds would serve as a memorial to the 
Nation's First Ladies and their efforts to enhance and preserve 
the historic integrity of the White House.

                   cost and budgetary considerations

    The following estimate of the cost of this measure has been 
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                Washington, DC, September 17, 1996.
Hon. Frank H. Murkowski,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, U.S. Senate, 
        Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
reviewed S. 951, a bill to commemorate the service of the 
nation's First Ladies to improving and maintaining the 
Executive Residence of the President and to authorize grants to 
the White House Endowment Fund in their memory to continue 
their work, as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on 
Energy and Natural Resources on September 12, 1996. Subject to 
the appropriation of the necessary funds, CBO estimates that S. 
951 would increase outlays of the federal government by $10 
million in the year in which it is appropriated. Enacting S951 
would not affect direct spending or receipts; therefore, pay-
as-you-go procedures would not apply.
    S. 951 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
make grants totaling up to $10 million to the White House 
Endowment Fund, a nonprofit corporation, to assist in the 
acquiring of objects for and the preserving of the White House. 
Once the funds are appropriated, the Department of the Interior 
would transfer the $10 million to the White House Endowment 
Fund.
    S. 951 contains no private-sector or intergovernmental as 
defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Public Law 
104-4) and would have no impact on the budgets of state, local, 
or tribal governments.
    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 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. 951. 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. 951, as ordered reported.

                        executive communications

    On September 13, 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. 951. These reports 
had not been received at the time the report on S. 951 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 
Department of the Interior at the Subcommittee hearing follows:

   Statement of Denis P. Galvin, Associate Director for Professional 
      Services, National Park Service, Department of the Interior

    Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to appear 
before your committee to testify on S. 951, a bill to 
commemorate the service of First Ladies Jacqueline Kennedy and 
Patricia Nixon to improving and maintaining the Executive 
Residence of the President and to authorize grants to the White 
House Endowment Fund in their memory to continue their work.
    We strongly support the efforts of the White House 
Historical Association, through the White House Endowment Fund, 
to raise private funds for the preservation of White House 
public rooms and historical objects. The Fund provides 
substantial support for the National Park Service (NPS) mission 
at the White House and increases the preservation and 
interpretation of the museum character of the public areas of 
the White House for the benefit of its 1.5 million annual 
visitors.
    The Association was established in 1961 and has been quite 
successful without Federal funding. We do not believe that 
financing this non-profit corporation should now become a 
Federal responsibility. Consequently, we do not believe that 
the grants proposed in S. 951 are necessary to complete the 
endowment.
    The White House Endowment Fund was incorporated January 12, 
1990, under the laws of the State of Maryland to operate 
exclusively for charitable, educational, scientific, and 
literary purposes within the meaning of the Internal Revenue 
Code. The Internal Revenue Service has determined that the 
Endowment Fund is exempt from Federal income tax under IRS 
Section 501(c)(3).
    The Endowment Fund was established for the purpose of 
raising a $25 million endowment to provide permanent support of 
the White House collection of fine art and furnishings and to 
preserve the historic character of the public museum rooms of 
the White House.
    The Endowment Fund was incorporated as a wholly owned 
subsidiary of the White House Historical Association. The 
Association is also a not-for-profit charitable and educational 
organization, founded in 1961 as a National Park Service 
cooperating association, for the purpose of enhancing the 
public's understanding and appreciation of the history of the 
White House. The board of directors of the Endowment Fund are 
elected to annual terms by the board of directors of the 
Association.
    As of February 29, 1996, the total contributions and 
pledges to the Endowment Fund was $14,524,548. The total amount 
contributed from revenue by the Endowment Fund to White House 
projects was $711,000. In addition, $428,000 has been set aside 
for projects in FY 1996. This brings the total amount expended 
for White House preservation to $1,139,000 through September, 
1996. Operating and management costs in 1995 represented 5% of 
the total increase in assets in the Endowment Fund during the 
year.
    Two hundred twenty private donors have contributed to the 
Endowment Fund. There have been 62 corporations, 45 
foundations, and 113 individuals. The size of gifts range from 
$3 from a young boy attending a White House function to 
$1,000,000 each from a foundation and an individual.
    In 1995, the restoration of the Blue Room of the White 
House was the first complete renovation of a state room in the 
White House totally underwritten by the Endowment Fund. The 
work included new reproduction wall covering and carpet, 
gilding and reconditioning of the woodwork, and the 
conservation of the French Empire furniture purchased and 
brought to the White House by President Monroe. The Endowment 
Fund contributed $355,611 to this historic preservation 
project.
    Requests for funding from the Endowment Fund are made 
jointly by the White House Chief Usher and White House Curator 
with the approval of the Committee for the Preservation of the 
White House. The Chairman and Administrator of the Endowment 
Fund advise the Curator and Chief Usher each year of the amount 
of funds available for expenditure, based on the investment 
income received and a spending policy established by the fund's 
board of directors.
    The Director of the National Park Service serves as 
Chairman of the Committee for the Preservation of the White 
House and as an ex officio member of the board of directors of 
the White House Historical Association. The Director, 
therefore, has a role in determining the policies and programs 
related to the Endowment Fund and can ensure that the highest 
standards of resources stewardship will be applied to the work 
funded with the Endowment Fund proceeds.
    We support the efforts of the Endowment Fund to raise 
private donations to provide permanent support of the historic 
character and interpretation of the museum rooms of the White 
House, which are open to all visitors to our Nation's Capital. 
We do not believe, however, that this legislation is necessary.
    Mr. Chairman, this concludes my prepared remarks. I would 
be glad to answer any questions you might have.

                        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 the bill S. 951 as ordered 
reported.