[House Report 106-918]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



106th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     106-918

======================================================================



 
                  NATIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT MUSEUM ACT

                                _______
                                

 September 29, 2000.--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

                             together with

                            DISSENTING VIEWS

                        [To accompany H.R. 2710]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 2710) to establish the National Law Enforcement Museum on 
Federal land in the District of Columbia, having considered the 
same, report favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend 
that the bill as amended do pass.
    The amendment is as follows:
    Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``National Law Enforcement Museum 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDING.

    Congress finds that there should be established a National Law 
Enforcement Museum to honor and commemorate the service and sacrifice 
of law enforcement officers in the United States.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
          (1) Memorial fund.--The term ``Memorial Fund'' means the 
        National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, Inc.
          (2) Museum.--The term ``Museum'' means the National Law 
        Enforcement Museum established under section 4(a).
          (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
        the Interior.

SEC. 4. NATIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT MUSEUM.

    (a) Establishment.--The Memorial Fund may construct a National Law 
Enforcement Museum on Federal land located on United States Reservation 
#7, on the property directly south of the National Law Enforcement 
Officers Memorial, bounded by--
          (1) E Street, NW., on the north;
          (2) 5th Street, NW., on the west;
          (3) 4th Street, NW., on the east; and
          (4) Indiana Avenue, NW., on the south.
    (b) Design and Plans.--
          (1) In general.--In carrying out subsection (a), the Memorial 
        Fund shall be responsible for preparation of the design and 
        plans for the Museum.
          (2) Approval.--The design and plans for the Museum shall be 
        subject to the approval of--
                  (A) the Secretary;
                  (B) the Commission of Fine Arts; and
                  (C) the National Capital Planning Commission.
          (3) Design Requirement.--The Museum shall be designed so that 
        not more than 35 percent of the volume of the structure is 
        above the floor elevation at the north rear entry of Court 
        Building D, also known as ``Old City Hall''.
    (c) Operation.--The Memorial Fund shall own, operate, and maintain 
the Museum after completion of construction.
    (d) Federal Share.--The United States shall pay no expense incurred 
in the establishment or construction of the Museum.
    (e) Funding Verification.--The Secretary shall not permit 
construction of the Museum to begin unless the Secretary determines 
that sufficient amounts are available to complete construction of the 
Museum in accordance with the design and plans approved under 
subsection (b).
    (f) Failure To Construct.--If the Memorial Fund fails to begin 
construction on the Museum by the date that is 10 years after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the authority to construct the Museum shall 
terminate on that date.

                          purpose of the bill

    The purpose of H.R. 2710 is to establish the National Law 
Enforcement Museum on federal land in the District of Columbia.

                  background and need for legislation

    As reported, H.R. 2710 would establish a National Law 
Enforcement Museum adjacent to the National Law Enforcement 
Officers Memorial in the District of Columbia. The proposed 
sight for the museum lies on federally-owned property located 
on E Street, between 4th and 5th Streets, NW. The proposed 
museum would be the most comprehensive law enforcement museum 
and research facility in the world. The purpose of the National 
Law Enforcement Museum would be to help increase the public's 
understanding of the law enforcement profession as well as 
increase public awareness and appreciation for the great 
personal risks law enforcement officers encounter on the job.
    All funds to construct the museum would come from private 
donations and be the responsibility of the National Law 
Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, Inc. The projected 70,000 
square foot building, the majority of which will be underneath 
the ground, is estimated to cost $25 million. H.R. 2710 would 
prohibit the construction of the museum from commencing until 
the Secretary of the Interior had determined that adequate 
funds to build and operate the museum had been raised. 
Furthermore, the design and plans for the Museum are subject to 
the approval of the Commission on Fine Arts and the National 
Capitol Planning Commission.

                            committee action

    H.R. 2710 was introduced by Congressman Joel Hefley (R-CO) 
on August 4, 1999. The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on 
National Parks and Public Lands. On September 20, 2000, the 
Resources Committee met to consider H.R. 2710. The Subcommittee 
on National Parks and Public Lands was discharged from further 
consideration of the bill by unanimous consent. Congressman 
Joel Hefley offered an amendment in the nature of a substitute 
to conform the bill to the language of the companion Senate 
bill, S. 1438. The amendment was adopted by voice vote. The 
bill, as amended, was then ordered favorably reported to the 
House of Representatives by voice vote.

            committee oversight findings and recommendations

    Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of 
rule XIII 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 this bill.

                    compliance with house rule xiii

    1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) 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 this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B) 
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 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
    2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2) 
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this 
bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending 
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in 
revenues or tax expenditures.
    3. Government Reform Oversight Findings. Under clause 
3(c)(4) of rule XIII 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 on this bill.
    4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause 
3(c)(3) of rule XIII 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 this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office.

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                Washington, DC, September 26, 2000.
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 H.R. 2710, the National 
Law Enforcement Museum Act.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is John R. 
Righter.
            Sincerely,
                                          Barry B. Anderson
                                    (For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
    Enclosure.

H.R. 2710--National Law Enforcement Museum Act

    H.R. 2710 would authorize the National Law Enforcement 
Officers Memorial Fund, Inc., to construct on federal land a 
museum honoring law enforcement officers. The museum would be 
located in the District of Columbia across the street from the 
National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. Because the 
Memorial Fund would be responsible for all costs associated 
with constructing, operating, and maintaining the museum, CBO 
estimates that implementing H.R. 2710 would have no significant 
impact on the federal budget.
    The bill would not affect direct spending or receipts; 
therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply. H.R. 2710 
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as 
defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would not 
impose significant costs on state, local, or tribal 
governments.
    On June 13, 2000, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S. 
1438, the National Law Enforcement Museum Act, as ordered 
reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and National 
Resources on June 7, 2000. The two bills are identical, as are 
our cost estimates.
    The CBO staff contact is John R. Righter. This estimate was 
approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for 
Budget Analysis.

                    coMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

               PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL, OR TRIBAL LAW

    This bill is not intended to preempt State, local, or 
tribal law.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing 
law.

                            DISSENTING VIEWS

    No one would minimize the sacrifices made by the men and 
women who serve in law enforcement. The National Law 
Enforcement Officer's Memorial is a powerful and poignant 
reminder of the importance of their service and the risks a 
career in law enforcement entails. In addition, if a private 
entity wishes to raise the funds and construct a museum in 
honor of law enforcement officers, the Congress should provide 
appropriate assistance. However, we have serious concerns 
regarding the specific approach taken in H.R. 2710.
    The bill would authorize a private entity known as the 
National Law Enforcement Officer's Memorial Fund to construct a 
National Law Enforcement Museum on federal land located near 
the existing National Law Enforcement Officer's Memorial. 
Currently, the land is part of the District of Columbia 
Superior Court complex, however, ownership of the property has 
yet to be determined precisely. It is our understanding that 
the parcel in question was once owned by the National Park 
Service and was ceded over to the District of Columbia in the 
early 1970's but the details of that transaction have yet to be 
established. Clear title to the parcel in question, and this 
legislation's effects on that title, must be established before 
we move forward with this proposal.
    Once we have established clear title, we could then explore 
how the property is to be transferred. Since the bill is silent 
on the issue of valuation, it would appear that proponents of 
H.R. 2710 support simply giving this land to the Fund free of 
charge. While this might be appropriate in some instances, 
transferring half a city block in the heart of downtown 
Washington to a private entity without any compensation to the 
City is inequitable and unwise.
    A variety of other important questions have been raised 
including the effects of the new building on the historic area 
in which it will sit. The Administration, as well as the 
Delegate from the District of Columbia, have expressed strong 
reservations regarding this bill based on these and other 
concerns. Unfortunately, no hearings were held on H.R. 2710 
during which these concerns might have been addressed. We would 
urge our colleagues to oppose H.R. 2710 in its current form and 
seek to work with the sponsor to craft legislation once we have 
gathered additional information.

                                   George Miller.
                                   Carlos Romero-Barcelo.

                                  
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