[Senate Report 107-77]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 179
107th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session                                                     107-77

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



 
                             ADAMS MEMORIAL

                                _______
                                

                October 1, 2001.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

   Mr. Bingaman, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 1668]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the Act (H.R. 1668) to authorize the Adams Memorial 
Foundation to establish a commemorative work on Federal land in 
the District of Columbia and its environs to honor former 
President John Adams and his legacy, having considered the 
same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and 
recommends that the Act do pass.

                                Purpose

    The purpose of H.R. 1668 is to authorize the Adams Memorial 
Foundation to establish a commemorative work in the District of 
Columbia or its environs to honor former President John Adams, 
his wife Abigail Adams, their son, former President John Quincy 
Adams, and the family's legacy of public service.

                          background and need

    The family including our second President John Adams, his 
wife Abigail Adams, and their son, the sixth President John 
Quincy Adams has made a distinguished contribution to American 
history. Historian and author David McCullough contends that 
the force of John Adams' argument on the floor of the Second 
Continental Congress was critical in securing sufficient 
support for the Declaration of Independence. During the 
Revolutionary War, Adams negotiated a loan from the Dutch that 
allowed the former colonists to carry on the fight for 
independence, and he later helped to negotiate the Treaty of 
Paris, ending the American Revolution. Following his service as 
the Nation's first Vice President, John Adams was elected 
President in 1797, the first to live in the White House. As 
President, John Adams managed to avoid a potentially disastrous 
military confrontation with France, despite considerable 
political pressure to declare war.
    John Adams' wife, Abigail Smith Adams, was an early 
advocate of women's rights, a fierce patriot, and a staunch 
abolitionist. She is still regarded as one of the most 
influential first ladies. Their son John Quincy Adams was the 
only former president to be elected to the House of 
Representatives. Prior to his election as President in 1825, 
John Quincy Adams served in the Senate and later as Secretary 
of State under the Monroe Administration. During his tenure in 
the House of Representatives, John Quincy Adams was known as 
``Old Man Eloquent'' for championing unpopular causes with 
distinction and for his leadership in opposition to slavery.
    H.R. 1668 would honor the family's legacy of public service 
by authorizing the Adams Memorial Foundation to construct a 
commemorative work in the District of Columbia or its environs 
in accordance with the requirements of the Commemorative Works 
Act.

                          legislative history

    H.R. 1668 was introduced by Representative Roemer on May 1, 
2001. The Act passed the House of Representatives by a voice 
vote on June 25. The Subcommittee on National Parks held a 
hearing on the bill on July 17, 2001. At its business meeting 
on August 2, 2001, the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources ordered H.R. 1668 favorably reported without 
amendment.

                        committee recommendation

    The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 
open business session on August 2, 2001, by a voice vote of a 
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 1668 as 
described herein.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis

    Section 1(a) contains congressional findings.
    Subsection (b) authorizes the Adams Memorial Foundation to 
establish a commemorative work in the District of Columbia or 
its environs to honor former President John Adams, his wife 
Abigail Adams, their son, former President John Quincy Adams, 
and the family's legacy of public service.
    Subsection (c) requires that the memorial be established in 
accordance with the Commemorative Works Act (40 U.S.C. 1001 et 
seq.).
    Subsection (d) precludes the use of Federal funds to pay 
for any expense relating to the establishment of the memorial. 
The Commemorative Works Act requires the sponsoring entity to 
raise the entire cost of construction, plus an additional 10 
percent to be used to fund perpetual maintenance of the 
commemorative work.
    Subsection (e) provides that if the Adams Memorial 
Foundation raises funds beyond the amount required, including 
the maintenance reserve, then any additional funds are to be 
transmitted to the Treasury in accordance with section 8(b)(1) 
of the Commemorative Works Act.
    Section 2 states that the terms ``commemorative work'' and 
``the District of Columbia and its environs'' have the same 
meaning as they are defined in the Commemorative Works Act.

                   Cost and Budgetary Considerations

    The following estimate of the costs of this measure has 
been provided by the Congressional Budget Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                   Washington, DC, August 17, 2001.
Hon. Jeff Bingaman,
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. 1668, an act to 
authorize the Adams Memorial Foundation to establish a 
commemorative work on federal land in the District of Columbia 
and its environs to honor former President John Adams and his 
legacy.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Deborah Reis.
            Sincerely,
                                         Robert A. Sunshine
                                    (For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
    Enclosure.

               CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

H.R. 1668--An act to authorize the Adams Memorial Foundation to 
        establish a commemorative work on federal land in the District 
        of Columbia and its environs to honor former President John 
        Adams and his legacy

    H.R. 1668 would authorize the Adams Memorial Foundation to 
establish (without the use of federal funds) a memorial in 
accordance with the Commemorative Works Act. Under that act, 
any association that receives a permit to construct a memorial 
in the District of Columbia or its environs must deposit an 
amount equal to 10 percent of the memorial's estimated 
construction cost in the U.S. Treasury. The funds deposited are 
then available without further appropriation for maintenance 
and preservation of the memorial.
    CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1668 would have no 
significant impact on federal discretionary spending. Because 
the act would affect offsetting receipts (from the payment of 
10 percent of construction funds) and direct spending (from 
using a portion of this money for annual maintenance), pay-as-
you-go procedures would apply. CBO cannot estimate the effect 
of these transactions because a design or concept for the 
memorial does not exist at this time. Based on the experience 
with similar commemorative projects, however, we expect that no 
amounts would be received or spent by the federal government 
for several years after the legislation is enacted and that 
such collections and spending would offset each other over 
time.
    The legislation 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 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. 1668. The Act is not a regulatory measure in 
the sense of imposing government-established standards or 
significant 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. 1668

                        Executive Communications

    On July 27, 2001, 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. 1668. These 
reports had not been received at the time this report was 
filed. The testimony provided by the National Park Service and 
the National Capital Planning Commission at the Subcommittee 
hearing follows:

 Statement of John G. Parsons, Associate Regional Director for Lands, 
    Resources, and Planning, National Capital Region, National Park 
                  Service, Department of the Interior

    Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to present the 
Department of the Interior's views on H.R. 1668, which would 
authorize the Adams Memorial Foundation to establish a memorial 
in the District of Columbia and its environs to honor former 
President John Adams, along with his wife Abigail Adams and his 
son, former President John Quincy Adams, and the family's 
legacy of public service.
    The Department supports enactment of H.R. 1668 as amended 
and passed by the House of Representatives on June 25, 2001. 
This position is consistent with the recommendation of the 
National Capital Memorial Commission, which endorsed the 
proposed legislation by a unanimous vote on April 26, 2001.
    H.R. 1668 authorizes the establishment of the Adams 
memorial in accordance with the Commemorative Works Act of 
1986. The Act established a process under which, following 
authorization of the subject matter by Congress, the Secretary 
of the Interior submits a plan for the site and design of the 
memorial for approval by the National Capital Planning 
Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts. The bill also 
provides that no Federal funds shall be used to pay any expense 
of the establishment of the commemorative work. The Adams 
Memorial Foundation would be responsible for not only the cost 
of construction of the memorial, but also for establishing a 
fund in the Treasury equal to ten percent of the cost of 
construction for catastrophic maintenance and preservation, as 
provided for in Section 8(b) of the Commemorative Works Act.
    A memorial to John Adams, Abigail Adams, and John Quincy 
Adams in the Nation's Capital would be quite appropriate. As 
one of the findings in H.R. 1668 states, ``Few families have 
contributed as profoundly to the United States as the family 
that gave the Nation its second president, John Adams; its 
sixth president, John Quincy Adams; first ladies Abigail Smith 
Adams and Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams; and succeeding 
generations of statesmen, diplomats, advocates, and authors.'' 
One of the three Library of Congress buildings is named after 
John Quincy Adams but, otherwise, there is no major public work 
in the District of Columbia that recognizes or memorializes 
John Adams or John Quincy Adams. We agree with the sponsors of 
this bill that these father-and-son presidents and their 
family's legacy of public service deserve a memorial in 
Washington.
    As noted above, this legislation simply authorizes the 
process for developing an Adams memorial to move forward. The 
Adams Memorial Foundation has not yet proposed a design or site 
for the memorial, nor have there been any decisions made by the 
National Capital Memorial Commission, the Commission of Fine 
Arts, or the National Capital Planning Commission other than 
endorsement of H.R. 1668 by the National Capital Memorial 
Commission. However, because the three commissions have 
established policies against siting any more memorials in the 
``reserve,'' the area that represents the Mall east to west and 
the White House to the Jefferson Memorial north to south, the 
memorial would not be located there. Instead, the recommended 
site would likely be one of the 100 sites that have been 
identified in a master plan for memorials and museums in the 
District of Columbia and its environs by the three commissions 
as sites that are appropriate for new memorials.
    Mr. Chairman, that concludes my statement. I would be 
pleased to answer any questions you or other members of the 
Subcommittee may have.

   Testimony of Patricia E. Gallagher, Executive Director, National 
                      Capital Planning Commission

    Mr. Chairman, thank you for this opportunity to speak on 
behalf of the National Capital Planning Commission regarding 
the proposal to construct a memorial honoring former President 
John Adams; his wife, Abigail; and his son and former President 
John Quincy Adams. The Commission recognizes the enduring 
legacy and remarkable contributions the Adams family made to 
the social and political life of our nation. Commemorating John 
Adams and his family's life and work in our Nation's Capital is 
a fitting and appropriate tribute.
    The Commission is particularly pleased to support this 
proposal because this is among the first memorials whose 
location and development will be guided by the new Memorials 
and Museums Master Plan. The Commission developed the master 
plan in cooperation with the Commission of Fine Arts and the 
National Capital Memorial Commission and released it in draft 
form several months ago. The plan is the result of a two-year 
collaborative effort to preserve the historic open space of 
Washington's Monumental Core while identifying sites for new 
cultural and commemorative facilities.
    A key feature of the master plan is a Commemorative Zone 
Policy that establishes a Reserve in the central cross-axis of 
the Mall in which the three commissions have agreed to approve 
no new memorial sites. The area immediately adjacent--Area I--
is a sensitive area designated for memorials of preeminent and 
historic national significance. Finally, the Commemorative Zone 
Policy delineates an Area II that encompasses the rest of the 
city and where the review agencies will encourage development 
of future commemorative works. The plan integrates key natural 
features--rivers, ridges, overlooks--with the avenues, parks 
and squares created by Pierre L'Enfant and subsequent planning. 
Although it builds on these earlier plans, it also introduces 
new elements that strengthen Washington's symbolic and 
commemorative character.
    The master plan identifies approximately 100 sites for new 
museums and memorials and provides general guidelines for how 
these facilities should be developed. The plan seeks to reach 
public consensus on locations in the National Capital that are 
appropriate for these important public spaces and offers 
memorial sponsors suitable locations for their projects. The 
plan is also intended to ensure that future generations of 
Americans have a sufficient supply of desirable sites for their 
own commemorative and cultural needs. For your information, we 
have provided maps of the Commemorative Zone Policy and the 
proposed master plan sites.
    In preparing the master plan, we have consulted with a team 
of nationally recognized planning and design professionals and 
with the District of Columbia government and local and 
community and professional groups. Released in draft form for 
public comment this past December, the plan has enjoyed broad 
public acceptance. Benjamin Forgey, the Architecture Critic of 
the Washington Post has called the plan ``a brilliant piece of 
work.'' The Washington Chapter of the American Institute of 
Architects has applauded the plan, and the Virginia Chapter of 
the American Planning Association has recognized it with its 
highest award. We are now incorporating the comments we 
received from the public and expect to release the final 
version in September.
    The Commission believes that with the help of the master 
plan, the Adams Memorial Foundation will be able to identify 
several highly desirable possible locations for its project. We 
look forward to working with the Adams Memorial Foundation to 
identify a location of beauty and significance and to approve a 
design that is worthy of this remarkable family. We believe 
that the Memorials and Museums Master Plan offers a new 
landscape of commemoration in the Nation's Capital and that 
this memorial will permit us to demonstrate that we can pay 
tribute to our national history in a way that makes us all 
proud.
    Mr. Chairman, that concludes my statement and I will be 
happy to answer any questions.


                        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 Act H.R. 1668 as 
ordered reported.

                                  
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