[Senate Report 105-322]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 563
105th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE

 2d Session                                                     105-322
_______________________________________________________________________


 
 TO ESTABLISH THE FOUR CORNERS INTERPRETIVE CENTER ACT, AND FOR OTHER 
                                PURPOSES

                                _______
                                

               September 9, 1998.--Ordered to be printed

_______________________________________________________________________


   Mr. Campbell, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 1998]

    The Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the 
bill (S. 1998) to establish the Four Corners Interpretive 
Center Act, and for other purposes, having considered the same, 
reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that 
the bill do pass.

                                purposes

    The purpose of S. 1998 is to establish the Four Corners 
Interpretive Center within the boundaries of the existing Four 
Corners Monument Tribal Park to interpret and commemorate the 
Four Corners Monument, to highlight the natural splendor and 
beauty of the American southwest for tourism and related 
purposes. The Four Corners area is the only location in the 
United States linking four states: Arizona, Colorado, New 
Mexico and Utah.

                               background

    The Four Corners Monument was erected in 1899 to honor the 
only geographic location in the nation where the boundaries of 
four states (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah) meet. The 
Four Corners Monument Tribal Park itself is located on lands 
that fall within the Navajo Nation and Ute Mountain Ute 
reservations. In 1996, these tribes entered a Memorandum of 
Understanding (MOU) governing future development of the park.
    Once the house of the Anasazi people, the Four Corners Area 
is unique in terms of it's geography, history, culture, and 
archaeology, and is visited each year by more than 250,000 
domestic and international travelers. Though endowed with 
natural assets, permanent facilities such as restrooms, 
roadways, parking, water, electrical services, telephone, and 
sewage at the park are sorely lacking and are thought to hinder 
the full development of the park and surrounding economies.

                  summary of the provisions of s. 1998

    This legislation would establish the Four Corners 
Interpretive Center within the boundaries of the tribal park on 
lands to be provided by the Navajo Nation or the Ute Mountain 
Ute Tribe. The Interpretive Center is to serve as an 
educational hub providing cultural, historical, and 
archaeological information, and is to be complemented by an 
array of amenities to attract domestic and international 
visitors to the area.
    The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to award 
federal construction grant funds in an amount not to exceed two 
million dollars ($2,000,000) to any of the four states involved 
or a consortium of two or more of such states for up to fifty 
percent (50%) of the total cost of construction of the center.
    To be eligible for such grant funds, the states must supply 
matching funds for planning, design, construction, furnishing, 
startup and operational expenses in equal contributions of five 
hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) per state. Such matching 
funds may be made in cash or in kind, and may be provided by 
the states, the Navajo Nation, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, or 
private sources.
    Grant applications must include provisions regarding 
applicable laws, building codes and regulations. Grant 
applicants must enter into memoranda of understanding with the 
Secretary of Interior regarding the planning and construction 
of the center, and specifications for the operation of the 
center. Such applicants must also include a financing plan 
developed jointly by the Navajo Nation and Ute Mountain Ute 
Tribe regarding leveraged funding sources; fee assessments by 
the center to cover operating expenses; a strategic objective 
of center self-sufficiency no later than 5 years after 
enactment; and defined vendor standards and business activities 
at the tribal park.

                          legislative history

    The Four Corners Center Interpretive Act (S. 1998) was 
introduced on April 28, 1998, by Senator Orrin Hatch, for 
himself, and for Senators Robert Bennett and Jeff Bingaman. The 
bill was referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs. On June 
24, 1998, the Committee on Indian Affairs convened a business 
meeting to consider S. 1998 and other measures that had been 
referred to it. The Committee reported the bill favorably 
without amendment

            committee recommendation and tabulation of vote

    On June 24, 1998, the Committee on Indian Affairs, in an 
open business session, considered S. 1998 and ordered it 
favorably reported without amendment, with a recommendation 
that the bill do pass.

                    cost and budgetary consideration

    The cost estimate for S. 1998 as calculated by the 
Congressional Budget Office, is set forth below:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                     Washington, DC, July 21, 1998.
Hon. Ben Nighthorse Campbell,
Chairman, Committee on Indian Affairs,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared that enclosed cost estimate for S. 1998, the Four 
Corners Interpretive Center Act.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Kristen 
Layman.
            Sincerely,
                                         June E. O'Neill, Director.
    Enclosure.

S. 1998--Four Corners Interpretive Center Act

    S. 1998 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
establish the Four Corners Interpretive Center to commemorate 
the Four Corners Monument, located where the boundaries of 
Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah meet. The interpretive 
center would be built on land made available by the Navajo 
Nation or the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe within Four Corners 
Monument Tribal Park S. 1998 would authorize the Secretary to 
award a federal grant to Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, 
or any consortium of these states for up to 50 percent of the 
cost of constructing the center. S. 1998 would authorize the 
appropriation of $2.25 million over fiscal years 1999 through 
2004 to carry out the bill. In addition, the bill would 
authorize the Secretary to accept donations from private or 
public entities for planning, building, and operating the 
interpretive center.
    CBO estimates that implementing S. 1998 would increase 
discretionary outlays by about $2 million over the 1999-2000 
period, and by about $50,000 a year for fiscal years 2001 
through 2004, assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts. 
Because enacting the bill could affect direct spending and 
governmental receipts; pay-as-you-go procedures would apply, 
but CBO estimates that any such effects would be insignificant. 
The legislation contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
    The CBO staff contact is Kristen Layman. This estimate was 
approved by Paul N. Van de Water, Assistant Director for Budget 
Analysis.

                      regulatory impact statement

    Paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the 
Senate requires that each report accompanying a bill to 
evaluate the regulatory paperwork impact that would be incurred 
in implementing the legislation. The Committee has concluded 
that enactment of S. 1998 will create only de minimis 
regulatory or paperwork burdens.

                        Executive Communications

    The Committee has received no official communications from 
the Administration on the provisions of the bill.

                        changes in existing law

    In compliance with subsection 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of Senate, changes in existing law made by the 
bill are required to be set out in the accompanying Committee 
report. The Committee states that enactment of S. 1998 will not 
result in any changes in existing law.