[House Report 107-524]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



107th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     107-524

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



 
AUTHORIZING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A MEMORIAL WITHIN THE AREA IN THE 
  DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA REFERRED TO IN THE COMMEMORATIVE WORKS ACT AS 
  ``AREA I'' OR ``AREA II'' TO THE VICTIMS OF TERRORIST ATTACKS ON THE 
  UNITED STATES, TO PROVIDE FOR THE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF SUCH A 
  MEMORIAL, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

                                _______
                                

 June 24, 2002.--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. 2982]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 2982) to authorize the establishment of a memorial within 
the area in the District of Columbia referred to in the 
Commemorative Works Act as ``Area I'' or ``Area II'' to the 
victims of terrorist attacks on the United States, to provide 
for the design and construction of such a memorial, and for 
other purposes, 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. AUTHORIZATION OF MEMORIAL.

  (a) In General.--The Advisory Board established in section 2(a) is 
authorized to establish a memorial (referred to hereafter in this Act 
as the ``Memorial'') in accordance with this Act on Federal lands 
administered by the National Park Service in the District of Columbia 
and its environs (as defined in section 2(e) of the Commemorative Works 
Act (40 U.S.C. 1002(e)) to victims who died as a result of terrorist 
acts against the United States or its people, at home or abroad, except 
those individuals identified by the Attorney General of the United 
States as participating or conspiring in terrorist-related activities.
  (b) Detail of Employees.--The Secretary of the Interior (referred to 
hereafter in this Act as the ``Secretary'') shall detail to the 
Advisory Board such support staff as are necessary to assist the 
members of the Advisory Board in carrying out its responsibilities.
  (c) Relationship to the Commemorative Works Act.--The Commemorative 
Works Act (40 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) shall apply to the Memorial, with 
the exception of section 3(c) of that Act which shall not apply to the 
Memorial.

SEC. 2. ADVISORY BOARD.

  (a) Establishment.--There is established an advisory board to be 
known as the ``Victims of Terrorism Memorial Advisory Board'' (referred 
to hereafter in this Act as the ``Advisory Board'').
  (b) Members.--The Advisory Board shall consist of 13 members who 
shall be appointed, not later than 3 months after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, by the President (in consultation with the 
Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Defense) from interested 
persons, including representatives of organizations dedicated to 
assisting victims of terrorism and their families.
  (c) Chairperson.--The Chairperson of the Advisory Board shall be one 
of its Members elected by a majority of the Members at the first 
meeting of the Advisory Board.
  (d) Terms; Vacancies.--Members of the Advisory Board shall serve for 
the life of the Advisory Board. The President shall make appointments 
to fill any vacancies that occur.
  (e) Duties.--The Advisory Board shall--
          (1) raise necessary funds to establish, design, construct, 
        and maintain the Memorial; and
          (2) begin consultation under section 7 of the Commemorative 
        Works Act not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 
        of this Act.
  (f) Donations.--The Advisory Board may accept donations on behalf of 
the United States for the establishment, design, construction, and 
maintenance of the Memorial.
  (g) Termination.--The Advisory Board shall terminate not later than 
120 days after completion of the Memorial.
  (h) FACA.--The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall 
not apply to the Advisory Board.

SEC. 3. DEPOSIT OF EXCESS FUNDS.

  If, upon payment of all expenses of the establishment of the Memorial 
(including the maintenance and preservation amount provided for in 
section 8(b) of the Commemorative Works Act), or upon expiration of the 
authority for the Memorial under section 10(b) of that Act, there 
remains a balance in the funds received under section 3(f) for 
maintenance of the Memorial, the Chairperson of the Advisory Board 
shall transfer the amount of the balance to the Secretary of the 
Treasury for deposit in the account provided for in section 8(b)(1) of 
that Act.

  Amend the title so as to read:

    A bill to authorize the establishment of a memorial to 
victims who died as a result of terrorist acts against the 
United States or its people, at home or abroad.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 2982, as ordered reported, is to 
authorize the establishment of a memorial to victims who died 
as a result of terrorist acts against the United States or its 
people, at home or abroad.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    Since the murder of U.S. Ambassador to Sudan Cleo Noel in 
1973 by members of the Black September organization, 
Americans--military and civilian, home and abroad--have become 
victims of organized terrorist attacks. Terrorist attacks 
against Americans include, among others, the 1975 bombing in 
New York City by Puerto Rican nationalists that killed four 
people; the 1983 bombing of the U.S. barracks in Beirut, 
Lebanon, that killed 242 Americans; the 1988 bombing of Pan 
American Flight 103 by Libyan terrorists over Lockerbie, 
Scotland, that killed over 200 Americans; the 1995 bombing of 
the Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, by right-wing 
extremists that killed 165 people; the 1998 bombing of the U.S. 
Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed six Americans, and 
the September 11, 2001, horrific terrorist attack on the United 
States, which killed over 3,000 people in New York City, 
Washington, DC, and Somerset County, Pennsylvania.
    Today, only two memorials exist to commemorate those killed 
from attacks on America: the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial in Hawaii 
and the Oklahoma City National Memorial, which commemorates the 
168 people killed in the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah 
Building. H.R. 2982, as amended, would fill a long overdue void 
by establishing a National Memorial in the Nation's Capital to 
recognize all victims who died as a result of terrorist acts 
against the United States or its people, except those 
individuals identified by the U.S. Attorney General as 
participating or conspiring in terrorist-related activities. 
The Committee believes a National Memorial is appropriate so 
that all victims killed domestically and overseas could be 
commemorated at a single national memorial.
    The sponsor of the legislation and several Members of the 
Committee foresee a ``living memorial'' that will commemorate 
victims from past and future terrorist acts by listing the date 
and location where it occurred and, at a minimum, the number of 
people who perished in the attack.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 2982 was introduced on October 2, 2001, by Congressman 
Jim Turner (D-TX). The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Resources and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on 
National Parks, Recreation, and Public Lands. On March 19, 
2002, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On May 22, 
2002, the full Resources Committee met to consider the bill. 
The Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation, and Public 
Lands was discharged from further consideration of the bill by 
unanimous consent. Congressman George Radanovich (R-CA) offered 
an amendment in the nature of a substitute that made the 
following changes to the original text: (1) clarified that the 
Advisory Board, not the Secretary of the Interior, will be 
responsible for establishing the memorial and raising all the 
necessary funds for the design, construction, and maintenance 
of the memorial; (2) removed all unreasonable time lines 
associated with the development of the memorial and clarified 
the responsibilities for the Planning Commission; (3) changed 
the size and the appointment process for the development of the 
Advisory Board; and (4) removed unnecessary provisions 
associated with the establishment of the memorial. The 
amendment was agreed to by unanimous consent. No further 
amendments were offered and the bill as amended was then 
ordered favorably reported by unanimous consent to the House of 
Representatives.

            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.

                  FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT

    The functions of the proposed advisory committee authorized 
in the bill are not currently being nor could they be performed 
by one or more agencies, an advisory committee already in 
existence or by enlarging the mandate of an existing advisory 
committee.

                   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. 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, June 21, 2002.
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. 2982, a bill to 
authorize the establishment of a memorial to victims who died 
as a result of terrorist acts against the United States or its 
people, at home or abroad.
    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. 2982--A bill to authorize the establishment of a memorial to 
        victims who died as a result of terrorist acts against the 
        United States or its people, at home or abroad

    H.R. 2982 would create a 13-member Victims of Terrorism 
Memorial Advisory Board. The bill would authorize the advisory 
board to establish a memorial to victims of terrorism on 
federal property in the District of Columbia. For this purpose, 
the board would be authorized to accept donations on behalf of 
the United States.
    The costs of implementing H.R. 2982 would depend greatly on 
the design of the memorial, which has not yet been determined. 
The costs of establishing other memorial projects in the 
District have varied significantly. For example, the National 
Law Enforcement Officers Memorial (built in 1989) cost around 
$4 million, while the costs of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial 
(built in 1984) and the Korean War Veterans Memorial (built in 
1995) were around $7.5 million and $12 million, respectively. 
Depending on the scale of the proposed project, CBO estimates 
design and construction costs would probably be between $5 
million and $15 million over several years, assuming 
appropriation of the necessary amounts. This estimate is based 
on information provided by the National Park Service, private 
foundations, and the costs of other memorials on federal 
grounds.
    The cost of establishing the memorial could be offset by 
donations from private sources, but there is no basis for 
estimating such future revenues. Because the bill could affect 
federal revenues, pay-as-you-go procedures would apply.
    The bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal 
governments.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis. 
The 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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