[Senate Report 106-419]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 828
106th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     106-419

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          ESTABLISHMENT OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN INTERPRETIVE CENTER

                                _______
                                

  September 25 (legislative day, September 22), 2000.--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 H.R. 3084]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the Act (H.R. 3084) to authorize the Secretary of the 
Interior to contribute funds for the establishment of an 
interpretative center on the life and contributions of 
President Abraham Lincoln, having considered the same, reports 
favorably thereon with an amendment and recommends that the 
Act, as amended, do pass.
    The amendment is as follows:
    On page 4, between lines 2 and 3, insert the following:

          ``(3) Competitive bidding guidelines.--As a condition 
        of the receipt of a grant under subsection (a), the 
        Secretary of the Interior shall require that the grant 
        recipient comply with sections 303, 303A, and 303B of 
        the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 
        1949 (41 U.S.C. 253-253b) as implemented by the Federal 
        Acquisition Regulation issued pursuant to section 25 of 
        the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 
        421) in planning, designing, and constructing the 
        interpretive center.''.

                         Purpose of the Measure

    The purpose of H.R. 3084 is to authorize the Secretary of 
the Interior to contribute funds for the establishment of an 
interpretive center on the life and contributions of President 
Abraham Lincoln.

                          Background and Need

    The National Park Service manages five sites that were 
established to honor President Lincoln, and the story of 
Lincoln's life is also preserved and interpreted at venues such 
as the Smithsonian Institution, the National Archives, and 
others. The Illinois State Historical Library collection of 
Lincoln artifacts includes over 46,000 items, but has no 
adequate space to appropriately display or interpret them. 
Despite Lincoln's undeniable significance to the Nation, there 
is no single location where the Lincoln story can be told 
completely.
    Planning and design for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential 
Library is currently in progress by the State of Illinois. The 
160,000 square-foot facility will occupy nearly two downtown 
city blocks on land donated by the City of Springfield, and 
will house the entire 12 million piece collection of the 
Illinois State Historical Library, including the Lincoln 
collection. The planned two-part presidential library and 
interpretive center will include both a museum portion and a 
library and archives.
    H.R. 3084 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to make 
grants to contribute up to $50 million for the construction of 
the center, and requires that the non-Federal funds contributed 
to the project be in an amount at least double the Federal 
share. The measure also specifies that none of the grant 
amounts may be used for operations or maintenance of the 
center.

                          Legislative History

    H.R. 3084 passed the House of Representatives on June 19, 
2000.
    Companion legislation, S. 1734, was introduced by Senators 
Durbin and Fitzgerald on October 14, 1999. The Subcommittee on 
National Parks, Historic Preservation and Recreation held a 
hearing on S. 1734 and H.R. 3084 on July 27, 2000. At the 
business meeting on September 20, 2000, the Committee on Energy 
and Natural Resources ordered H.R. 3084, as amended, favorably 
reported.

                        Committee Recommendation

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on September 20, 2000, by a majority vote of a 
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 3084, if 
amended as described herein.

                          Committee Amendment

    During the consideration of H.R. 3084, the Committee 
adopted an amendment to require the recipients of grants under 
the bill to comply with Federal competitive bidding procedures.

                      section-by-section analysis

    Section 1(a) requires the Secretary of the Interior to make 
grants to an entity selected by the Secretary to contribute to 
the establishment of an interpretive center on the life and 
contributions of Abraham Lincoln.
    Subsection (b) specifies that the entity selected by the 
Secretary must, within 18 months of the date of enactment of 
the legislation, prepare and submit to the Secretary a plan and 
design for the interpretive center. The plan and design must be 
prepared in consultation with the Secretary and the Governor of 
Illinois, and in cooperation with other public, municipal, and 
private entities that the Secretary considers appropriate.
    Subsection (c) requires that the State of Illinois or other 
non-Federal sources provide a match of the Federal grant in an 
amount at least double the amount of the grant. A further 
condition of the grant is that the recipient of the grant must 
agree to operate the interpretive center in cooperation with 
other Federal and non-Federal historic sites, parks, and 
museums that represent significant locations or events in the 
life of Abraham Lincoln. Such cooperative efforts may include 
the use of cooperative agreements, cross references, cross 
promotion, and shared exhibits. The recipients of grants must 
also comply with Federal competitive bidding procedures.
    Subsection (d) specifies that the grant amounts may not be 
used for the maintenance or operation of the interpretive 
center.
    Subsection (e) permits the Secretary to be involved in the 
actual operation of the interpretive center only at the request 
of the non-Federal entity responsible for its operation.
    Subsection (f) authorizes the appropriation of $50 million, 
to remain available through fiscal year 2006.

                    cost and budgetary consideration

    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, 20516, September 22, 2000.
Hon. Frank H. Murkowski,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3084, an act to 
authorize the Secretary of the Interior to contribute funds for 
the establishment of an interpretive center on the life and 
contributions of President Abraham Lincoln.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Deborah Reis.
            Sincerely,
                                          Barry B. Anderson
                                    (For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
    Enclosure.

H.R. 3084--An act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
        contribute funds for the establishment of an interpretive 
        center on the life and contributions of President Abraham 
        Lincoln

    H.R. 3048 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to 
contribute up to $50 million toward the construction of an 
interpretive center in Illinois on the life and contributions 
of President Abraham Lincoln. Any grants, to be made to a 
nonfederal entity chosen by the Secretary, would be contingent 
on nonfederal groups raising twice the amount of the federal 
contribution. The act would authorize the appropriation of $50 
million, to be available through fiscal year 2006. No federal 
funds would be used to operate or maintain the center.
    Assuming appropriation of the authorized amount, CBO 
estimates that the federal government would spend $47 million 
over the next five years, if nonfederal contributions become 
available to match the federal funding. (In fiscal year 2000, 
$3 million was appropriated for the center.)
    H.R. 3084 would not affect direct spending or receipts; 
therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply. The 
legislation contains no private-sector or intergovernmental 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
    On June 16, 2000, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 
3048 as ordered reported by the House Committee on Resources on 
June 7, 2000. The two versions of the legislation are 
identical, as are the cost estimates.
    The CBO staff contact is Deborah Reis. This estimate was 
approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for 
Budget Analysis.

                      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 H.R. 3084. 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 H.R. 3048, as ordered reported.

                        executive communications

    On September 15, 2000, 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 H.R. 3048 was filed. 
When the 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 National Park 
Service at the Subcommittee hearing follows:

 Statement of Denis P. Galvin, Deputy Director, National Park Service, 
                       Department of the Interior

    Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to present the 
views of the Department on S. 1734 and H.R. 3084. If enacted, 
these bills would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
contribute funds for the establishment of an interpretive 
center in Springfield, Illinois, on the life and contributions 
of President Abraham Lincoln.
    The Department has concerns with these two bills. Our 
position in no way reflects on the merits of an interpretive 
center on the life of President Abraham Lincoln. Our primary 
concern is the use of National Park Service appropriations to 
fund major construction projects for non-Park Service 
facilities. At a time when the National Park Service has a long 
list of deferred maintenance and construction projects in the 
national parks, we are unable to support legislation that would 
authorize $50 million in grants to a non-Federal entity for the 
construction of an Abraham Lincoln Interpretive Center. We are 
open to working with the sponsors to see if there are ways to 
accomplish this result without the use of National Park Service 
construction funds and in a manner that provides for suitable 
Federal participation in the design and planning of this 
project.
    Presently the National Park Service manages five sites that 
were established to honor President Lincoln. These include: 
Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site, Kentucky; 
Lincoln Boyhood Home National Memorial, Indiana; Lincoln Home 
National Historic Site; Illinois; Ford's Theatre (including the 
House Where Lincoln Died); and the Lincoln Memorial, 
Washington, DC. Other units, including such sites as Mount 
Rushmore National Memorial, South Dakota and Gettysburg 
National Military Park Pennsylvania, also recognize the 
contributions made by President Lincoln. The National Park 
Service has significant responsibilities for interpreting the 
role President Abraham Lincoln played in the history of the 
United States.
    The National Park Service has been involved with a proposed 
Abraham Lincoln Center since 1990. In May 1990, a supplemental 
appropriation for FY 1990 included $150,000 to study the 
feasibility of developing a research and interpretive center in 
Springfield, Illinois. In the FY 1992 Department of the 
Interior appropriations, $2.7 million was included for 
planning, land acquisition and site preparation of an Abraham 
Lincoln Center. An additional $1.7 million was included in the 
FY 1993 appropriations. However, an Abraham Lincoln Center had 
not been authorized.
    The National Park Service, with assistance from a private 
architectural and engineering firm working under a contract, 
prepared a Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) for Location of 
the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Center. The subsequent public 
review resulted in a ``Finding of No Significant Impact'' and 
the EA was approved by the National Park Service Midwest 
Regional Director. Meanwhile, an additional $3 million in 
construction funds was included in the FY 1994 Department of 
the Interior appropriations, subject to an authorization for 
the center. In 1994 the National Park Service, in partnership 
with the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency and historical 
consultants, developed a ``Draft Interpretive Prospectus'' that 
determined the thematic focus of the proposed center.
    While authorization for the proposed Abraham Lincoln Center 
(to be managed by the National Park Service as part of Lincoln 
Home National Historic Site) had strong support in the House of 
Representatives, it met opposition in the Senate. The 103rd 
Congress adjourned without the Senate voting on the project and 
no additional funds were appropriated for FY 1995. Thereafter, 
absent an authorization, the National Park Service placed the 
project on hold, including any planning and land acquisition. 
The federal funding that had been appropriated, $7.3 million 
less the amounts already expended, was eventually rescinded.
    The FY 2000 National Park Service appropriation for 
construction includes $2.775 million for the ``Lincoln 
Library''. The National Park Service will provide a grant to 
the State of Illinois for the Illinois Historic Preservation 
Agency to continue work with architectural and engineering 
firms. However, the Conference Report states that any future 
funding for the Lincoln Library will be contingent on enacted 
legislation.
    We remain interested in working in an advisory capacity 
with the State of Illinois on a proposed Lincoln Interpretive 
Center. However, we do not support the diversion of National 
Park Service construction funds from the national parks to a 
non-Federal construction project that S. 1734 and H.R. 3084 
would effect. This concludes my statement. I would be happy to 
answer any questions you may 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 H.R. 3084, as 
ordered reported.

                                  
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