[House Report 105-363]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



105th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 1st Session                                                    105-363
_______________________________________________________________________


 
                         GUNSTON HALL EXTENSION

                                _______
                                

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. 423]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the Act 
(S. 423) to extend the legislative authority for the Board of 
Regents of Gunston Hall to establish a memorial to honor George 
Mason, having considered the same, report favorably thereon 
without amendment and recommend that the Act do pass.

                          purpose of the bill

    The purpose of S. 423 is to extend the legislative 
authority for the Board of Regents of Gunston Hall to establish 
a memorial honoring George Mason.

                  background and need for legislation

    In 1990, Congress enacted Public Law 101-358, which 
authorized the Board of Regents of Gunston Hall to establish a 
memorial to George Mason, a Virginia patriot, and author of 
Virginia's 1776 ``Declaration of Rights,'' and an active 
participant in the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania. Gunston Hall is the ancestral home of George 
Mason, located in Fairfax County, Virginia, and the Board of 
Regents is the non-profit organization responsible for its 
care.
    George Mason was a contemporary of George Washington, 
Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, and is widely recognized 
for his role in events surrounding the drafting of the U. S. 
Constitution and its first ten amendments, the Bill of Rights. 
However, he died in 1792, decades before his colleagues, and 
for this reason his accomplishments, and basic philosophy that 
a national government should not come at the cost of individual 
rights, have been overlooked. It is significant that George 
Mason did not sign the Constitution because it did not contain 
the Bill of Rights in the fundamental document. James Madison's 
drafting of the Bill of Rights drew heavily from Mason's 
influence, and ultimately validated the importance of George 
Mason's participation in the founding of the American 
democratic form of government.
    In 1992, the Secretary of the Interior approved a proposal 
to locate the memorial in the ``monumental core area'' within 
the District of Columbia defined by the Commemorative Works 
Act, and Congress ratified the location in Public Law 102-277. 
The memorial, which will be known as the ``George Mason 
Memorial Garden,'' will be located between Ohio Drive and the 
George Mason Memorial Bridge (a span of the 14th Street 
Bridge), within sight of the Jefferson Memorial and Franklin D. 
Roosevelt Memorial. The legislative authority for establishment 
of this memorial expired on August 10, 1997.
    Section 8 of the Commemorative Works Act (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.
    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. S. 423 
would extend the legislative authority for the George Mason 
Memorial Garden for an additional three years, through August 
10, 2000. The Board of Regents of Gunston Hall is committed to 
raising the approximately $1 million necessary to complete the 
memorial. The National Park Service will maintain the memorial 
upon completion, although the maintenance costs will be paid by 
the maintenance endowment fund.

                            committee action

    S. 423 was introduced on March 11, 1997, by Senators 
Charles Robb (D-VA) and John Warner (R-VA). The Senate passed 
S. 423 on July 11, 1997, by unanimous consent. In the House of 
Representatives, the bill 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. 423, where the Administration 
testified in support of the extension of the legislative 
authority for the George Mason Memorial Garden. Immediately 
following the hearing on S. 423, at the request of the Ranking 
Minority Member, the Subcommittee met to mark up S. 423. No 
amendment 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. 423. No 
amendment was 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. 423.

                        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. 423. 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. 423 
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. 423.
    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. 423 
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, U.S. House of Representatives, 
        Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 423, an act to 
extend the legislative authority for the Board of Regents of 
Gunston Hall to establish a memorial to honor George Mason.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Deborah Heis.
            Sincerely,
                                              James L. Blum
                                   (for June E. O'Neill, Director).
    Enclosure.

               congressional budget office cost estimate

S. 423--An act to extend the legislative authority for the Board of 
        Regents of Gunston Hall to establish a memorial to honor George 
        Mason

    CBO estimates that enacting S. 423 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. 423 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. 423 would extend until August 10, 2000, the authority to 
establish a memorial to George Mason, the author of the 
Virginia Declaration of Rights. The extension would give the 
Board of Regents of Gunston Hall (the site's sponsor) an 
additional three years to obtain the necessary financing for 
the project. Under current law, authority to construct the site 
expired on August 10, 1997. Because the prospective memorial is 
to be established with nonfederal funds, there would be no 
impact on the federal budget from extending the authority to 
establish it.
    On June 19, 1997, CBO prepared an estimate for S. 423 as 
ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources on June 11, 1997. The two versions of S. 423 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. 423 contains no unfunded mandates.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    If enacted, S. 423 would make no changes in existing law.

                                     

                                
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