[House Report 105-362]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



105th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 1st Session                                                    105-362
_______________________________________________________________________


 
                     NATIONAL PEACE GARDEN MEMORIAL

                                _______
                                

October 31, 1997.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

_______________________________________________________________________


  Mr. Young of Alaska, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 731]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the Act 
(S. 731) to extend the legislative authority for construction 
of the National Peace Garden memorial, and for other purposes, 
having considered the same, report favorably thereon without 
amendment and recommend that the Act do pass.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of S. 731 is to extend the legislative 
authority for the construction of the National Peace Garden 
memorial.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    In 1987, Congress enacted Public Law 100-63, which 
authorized the National Peace Garden Foundation, a non-profit 
organization, to construct the National Peace Garden in the 
District of Columbia, on a site to be determined by the 
Secretary of the Interior ``to honor the commitment of the 
people of the United States to world peace.'' In 1988, the 
National Park Service designated a 10-acre site on Hains Point 
as the location for the memorial.
    Section 8 of the Commemorative Works Act of 1986 (Public 
Law 99-652) requires the Secretary of the Interior, prior to 
issuing a construction permit for a memorial or monument, to 
make a determination that: (1) the location and design of the 
memorial have been approved by the Secretary, the National 
Capital Planning Commission, and the Commission on Fine Arts; 
and (2) that the organization authorized to construct the 
memorial has raised the necessary funds to complete 
construction, along with an additional 10 percent to be used 
for a maintenance endowment fund.
    After numerous design changes, the final design for the 
National Peace Garden was approved by the appropriate agencies 
in 1993. However, the Foundation has yet to raise most of the 
estimated $13 million required to complete construction, as 
well as the $1.3 million for the maintenance fund. The 
Foundation has recently added several members to its Board of 
Directors with fundraising expertise and is currently 
implementing a major fundraising campaign.
    Section 10(b) of the Commemorative Works Act provides that 
the legislative authority to construct a memorial shall expire 
seven years after the date the memorial was authorized. In 
1994, Congress enacted Public Law 103-321, extending the 
legislative authority for the National Peace Garden memorial 
and two other memorials through June 30, 1997. S. 731 would 
extend the legislative authority for the National Peace Garden 
through June 30, 2002.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    S. 731 was introduced on May 8, 1997, by Senator Dale 
Bumpers (D-AR). The bill passed the Senate on July 11, 1997, by 
unanimous consent. In the House of Representatives, S. 731 was 
referred to the Committee on Resources, and within the 
Committee to the Subcommittee on National Parks and Public 
Lands. On October 7, 1997, the Subcommittee held a hearing on 
S. 731, where the Administration testified in support of the 
extension of the legislative authority for the National Peace 
Garden memorial. Immediately following the hearing on S. 731, 
at the request of the Ranking Minority Member, the Subcommittee 
met to mark up S. 731. No amendment to S. 731 was offered, and 
the bill was then ordered favorably reported to the Full 
Committee by voice vote. On October 22, 1997, the Full 
Resources Committee met to consider S. 731. No amendments were 
offered. The bill was then ordered favorably reported to the 
House of Representatives by voice vote.

            COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

    With respect to the requirements of clause 2(l)(3) of rule 
XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, and clause 
2(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, 
the Committee on Resources' oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.

                   CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

    Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United 
States grants Congress the authority to enact S. 731.

                        COST OF THE LEGISLATION

    Clause 7(a) 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 
S. 731. However, clause 7(d) 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 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

                     COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XI

    1. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(B) of 
rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, S. 731 
does not contain any new budget authority, spending authority, 
credit authority, or an increase or decrease in revenues or tax 
expenditures.
    2. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(D) of 
rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee has received no report of oversight findings and 
recommendations from the Committee on Government Reform and 
Oversight on the subject of S. 731.
    3. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(C) of 
rule XI 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 S. 731 
from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office.

               CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                  Washington, DC, October 24, 1997.
Hon. Don Young,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 731, an act to 
extend the legislative authority for construction of the 
National Peace Garden memorial, and for other purposes.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Deborah Reis.
            Sincerely,
                                             James L. Blum,
                                   (For June E. O'Neill, Director).
    Enclosure.

S. 731--An act to extend the legislative authority for construction of 
        the National Peace Garden memorial, and for other purposes

    CBO estimates that enacting S. 731 would have no effect on 
the federal budget. Because the legislation would not affect 
direct spending or receipts, pay-as-you-go procedures would not 
apply. S. 731 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 
and would have no impact on the budgets of state, local, or 
tribal governments.
    S. 731 would extend the authority to construct the National 
Peace Garden until June 30, 2002. The extension would provide 
an additional five years for the private sponsors of the site 
to obtain the necessary financing and building permits. In 
1994, the deadline for the site was extended from June 30, 
1994, to June 30, 1997. Because the memorial is to be 
constructed with private funds, extending the construction 
authority would have no impact on the federal budget.
    On June 19, 1997, CBO prepared an estimate for S. 731 as 
ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources on June 11, 1997. The two versions of S. 731 are 
identical, as are the estimates.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis. 
This estimate was approved by Paul N. Van de Water, Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                    compliance with public law 104-4

    S. 731 contains no unfunded mandates.

                        changes in existing law

    If enacted, S. 731 would make no changes in existing law.

                                
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