[House Report 107-221]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                                       
107th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                    107-221

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



 
 AUTHORIZING THE AMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC TO ESTABLISH A 
     MEMORIAL TO HONOR TOMAS G. MASARYK IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

                                _______
                                

 September 28, 2001.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Hansen, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 1161]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 1161) to authorize the American Friends of the Czech 
Republic to establish a memorial to honor Tomas G. Masaryk in 
the District of Columbia, having considered the same, report 
favorably thereon with amendments and recommend that the bill 
as amended do pass.
    The amendments are as follows:
    Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH MEMORIAL.

  (a) In General.--The Government of the Czech Republic is authorized 
to establish a memorial to honor Tomas G. Masaryk on the Federal land 
in the District of Columbia.
  (b) Compliance With Standards for Commemorative Works.--The 
establishment of the memorial shall be in accordance with the 
Commemorative Works Act (40 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.), except that sections 
2(c), 6(b), and 10(c) of that Act shall not apply with respect to the 
memorial.
  (c) Limitation on Payment of Expenses.--The United States Government 
shall not pay any expense for the establishment of the memorial or its 
maintenance.

  Amend the title so as to read:

    A bill to authorize the Government of the Czech Republic to 
establish a memorial to honor Tomas G. Masaryk in the District 
of Columbia.

                          purpose of the bill

    The purpose of H.R. 1161, as ordered reported, is to 
authorize the Government of the Czech Republic to establish a 
memorial to honor Tomas G. Masaryk in the District of Columbia.

                  background and need for legislation

    Thomas Garrigue Masaryk (1850-1937), the first president of 
Czechoslovakia, embodies the close ties between the government 
of the United States and Czechoslovakia. He was well acquainted 
with the United States from the personal experience he derived 
from repeated trips to this country over the course of four 
decades as a philosopher, scholar and teacher. He taught at 
major universities in the United States and married a native of 
Brooklyn, New York, named Charlotte Garrigue, whose surname he 
adopted. President Masaryk's close personal relationship with 
many notable Americans, including president Woodrow Wilson, 
ultimately led to the recognition by the United States of a 
free Czechoslovakia in 1918. For six months, President Masaryk 
traveled throughout the United States writing the Joint 
Declaration of Independence from Austria which was signed in 
Philadelphia and issued in Washington on October 18, 1918, 
where he was declared the President of Czechoslovakia.
    As introduced, H.R. 1161 stated that the federal land upon 
which the memorial would be constructed is located across the 
street from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. 
Although the National Park Service (NPS) is responsible for 
maintenance and upkeep of the small plot of land where the 
memorial would be located, the World Bank and the NPS executed 
a voluntary Maintenance Agreement in 1998 specifying that the 
World Bank would assume primary responsibility for maintenance 
of the park for a period of five years, including installation 
and maintenance of pavement, benches, trash receptacles and 
plant material in accordance with NPS regulations. The park is 
very close to the location of the former Hotel Powhatten where 
President Masaryk once resided and frequently met with 
officials of the Woodrow Wilson Administration. As ordered 
reported, the bill removes the requirement for a specific 
location for the memorial apart from federal land in the 
District of Columbia.
    The adoption of this bill would not result in any expense 
to the federal government. As noted by the Congressional Budget 
Office, enactment of H.R. 1161 would require the federal 
government to collect 10 percent of the cost of the Memorial 
from the Czech Government under the Commemorative Works Act 
(CWA) to provide an emergency fund for long-term maintenance of 
the Memorial. However, because the legislation prohibits the 
federal government from spending any funds on maintenance, it 
is the intention of the Committee that this CWA requirement be 
waived. The Committee will pursue this clarifying amendment 
when the bill is considered by the House of Representatives.

                            committee action

    H.R. 1161 was introduced on March 22, 2001, by Congressman 
Benjamin Gilman (R-NY). The bill was referred to the Committee 
on Resources and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on 
National Parks, Recreation and Public Lands. On May 8, 2001, 
the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On May 17, 2001, 
the Subcommittee met to mark up the bill. Congressman Joel 
Hefley (R-CO) offered an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute to address three concerns. First, the amendment 
specified that the proposed memorial would come from the 
Government of the Czech Republic rather than from the American 
Friends of the Czech Republic. Second, the amendment deleted 
all language in the original bill that specified the exact 
location of the memorial in Washington, DC. The new language 
merely specified that the memorial would be established on 
federal land in the District of Columbia. Finally, the 
amendment specified that the United States Government would pay 
no expenses associated with the establishment or maintenance of 
the memorial. The original bill was silent on the obligation of 
the federal government to maintain the memorial. The Bush 
Administration recommended all of these changes to make the 
bill consistent with the Commemorative Works Act. The amendment 
in the nature of a substitute was adopted by voice vote. The 
bill was then ordered favorably reported to the Full Committee. 
On September 12, 2001, the Full Resources Committee met to 
consider the bill. No further amendments were offered and 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 the 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 tax 
expenditures. According to the Congressional Budget Office, 
enactment of H.R. 1161 would require the federal government to 
collect 10 percent of the cost of the Memorial from the Czech 
Government under the Commemorative Works Act (CWA) to provide 
an emergency fund for long-term maintenance of the Memorial. 
However, this would have ``no significant impact on the federal 
budget.''
    3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. This bill does 
not authorize funding and therefore, clause 3(c)(4) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives does not 
apply.
    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 21, 2001.
Hon. James V. Hansen,
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. 1161, a bill to 
authorize the government of the Czech Republic to establish a 
memorial to honor Tomas G. Masaryk in the District of Columbia.
    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. 1161--A bill to authorize the government of the Czech Republic to 
        establish a memorial to honor Tomas G. Masaryk in the District 
        of Columbia

    H.R. 1161 would authorize the Czech Republic to establish a 
memorial honoring Tomas G. Masaryk on federal land in 
Washington, D.C. The memorial would be constructed without the 
use of federal funds and in accordance with the Commemorative 
Works Act, which requires that any entity that receives a 
permit to build a memorial in the District must deposit an 
amount equal to 10 percent of the estimated construction cost 
in the U.S. Treasury.
    CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1161 would have no 
significant impact on the federal budget. Pay-as-you-go 
procedures would apply to the bill because implementing it 
would require the federal government to collect 10 percent of 
the memorial's cost from the builder. We estimate, however, 
that such collections (probably in fiscal year 2002) would be 
negligible. H.R. 1161 contains no intergovernmental or private-
sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 
and would have no impact on the budgets of state, local, or 
tribal governments.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis. 
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 any State, local or 
tribal law.

                        changes in existing law

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

                                  
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