[Senate Report 108-90]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]




                                                       Calendar No. 198
108th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session                                                     108-90

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



 
                    MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. MEMORIAL

                                _______
                                

                 July 11, 2003.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

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

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 470]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 470) to extend the authority for the 
construction of a memorial to Martin Luther King, Jr., having 
considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an 
amendment and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.
    The amendment is as follows:
    Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu 
thereof the following:

SECTION 1. MEMORIAL TO MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

    Section 508(b) of the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act 
of 1996 (Public Law 104-333, as amended) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(b) Compliance With Standards for Commemorative Works.--
          ``(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the establishment 
        of the memorial shall be in accordance with chapter 89 of title 
        40, United States Code.
          ``(2) Notwithstanding section 8903(e) of title 40, United 
        States Code, the authority provided by this section terminates 
        on November 12, 2006.''.

                         Purpose of the Measure

    The purpose of S. 470 is to extend the authority for the 
construction of a memorial to Martin Luther King, Jr. for an 
additional three years.

                          Background and Need

    Section 508 of the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Act (40 
U.S.C. 8903 note; Public Law 104-333) authorized the 
establishment of a memorial to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. 
pursuant to the Commemorative Works Act. Section 10(b) of the 
Commemorative Works Act (which has since been enacted as 
positive law and recodified as 40 U.S.C. 8903(e)) provides that 
legislative authority for a commemorative work expires seven 
years after the date of enactment of the original authorization 
unless a construction permit for the commemorative work has 
been issued.
    Much progress has been made toward establishing the 
Memorial. Congress has authorized placement of the Memorial 
within Area I (Public Law 105-201), and a site on the northwest 
side of the Tidal Basin has been approved. A design has been 
chosen and pledges have been received for about a quarter of 
the funds needed to build the Memorial.
    Nonetheless, the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial 
Project Foundation, Inc., the organization responsible for 
establishing the memorial, will not be able to begin 
construction by November 12, 2003, as required by the 
Commemorative Works Act. This legislation is needed to give the 
Foundation an additional three years to raise the funds needed 
to begin construction.

                          Legislative History

    S. 470 was introduced by Senators Sarbanes, Warner, 
Mikulski, Lugar, and Durbin on February 27, 2003. The 
Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on S. 470 on June 
3, 2003.
    At the business meeting on June 25, 2003, the Committee on 
Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 470, as amended, 
favorably reported.

                        Committee Recommendation

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on June 25, 2003, by unanimous vote of a 
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 470, if 
amended as described herein.

                          Committee Amendment

    During its consideration of S. 470, the Committee adopted 
an amendment in the nature of a substitute. The substitute 
clarifies the intent of the bill.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis

    Section 1 amends section 508(b) of the Omnibus Parks and 
Public Lands Management Act of 1996 to extend the authority for 
the construction of a memorial to Martin Luther King, Jr., for 
an additional 3 years, to November 12, 2006.

                   Cost and Budgetary Considerations

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

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                     Washington, DC, June 27, 2003.
Hon. Pete V. Domenici,
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 S. 470, a bill to 
extend the authority for the construction of a memorial to 
Martin Luther King, Jr., 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,
                                          Peter H. Fontaine
                               (For Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Director).
    Enclosure.

S. 470--A bill to extend the authority for the construction of a 
        memorial to Martin Luther King, Jr., in the District of 
        Columbia

    S. 470 would extend until November 12, 2006, the authority 
to construct a memorial to Martin Luther King, Jr., on federal 
lands in Washington, DC. The extension would give the Alpha Phi 
Alpha Fraternity, Inc. (the site's sponsor) an additional three 
years to obtain the necessary funds and complete the project. 
Under current law, authority to construct the site will expire 
on November 12, 2003.
    Because the prospective memorial is to be established with 
nonfederal funds, extending the authority to build it would not 
affect the federal budget. Enacting the legislation would not 
affect direct spending or revenues.
    S. 470 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.
    On June 16, 2003, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 
1209, a similar bill that was ordered reported by the House 
Committee on Resources on June 11, 2003. The CBO cost estimates 
for the two bills are identical.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate 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 S. 470. 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 S. 470, as ordered reported.

                        Executive Communications

    On May 12, 2003, 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 S. 470. These reports 
had not been received at the time the report on S. 470 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 P. Daniel Smith, Special Assistant to the Director, 
           National Park Service, Department of the Interior

    Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to appear 
before you today to present the views of the Department of the 
Interior on S. 470, a bill that would grant a three-year 
extension of the legislative authority for construction of the 
memorial to Martin Luther King, Jr., in Washington, D.C.
    The Department supports this legislation. We believe it is 
wholly appropriate for Congress to grant more time to the 
Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, 
Inc., the organization responsible for establishing the 
memorial, to raise the funds necessary to build what we believe 
will be a fitting tribute to the man who is recognized as the 
preeminent leader of the American civil rights movement of the 
20th Century.
    The authorization to establish the Martin Luther King, Jr. 
Memorial was enacted on November 12, 1996, as Public Law 104-
333. Under the Commemorative Works Act of 1986, authorizations 
for memorials expire at the end of the seven-year period after 
an authorization is enacted, unless a construction permit for 
the memorial has been issued. The Foundation does not expect to 
have raised the necessary funds to receive the construction 
permit by November 12, 2003. Therefore, the authorization for 
the memorial will expire on the date unless it is extended by 
law.
    Much progress has been made toward establishing the Martin 
Luther King, Jr. Memorial since it was authorized in 1996. In 
1998, an ``Area I'' authorization was enacted. Area I 
authorizations are joint resolutions that Congress must pass 
deeming a subject matter of ``preeminent historical and lasting 
significance to the Nation'' in order for a memorial to be 
built in the area designated as Area I under the Commemorative 
Works Act. Area I, the heart of the monumental core, 
encompasses the National Mall and Tidal Basin areas.
    In 1999, a site for the memorial, on the northwest side of 
the Tidal Basin, was approved by the Secretary of the Interior, 
the National Capital Planning Commission, and the Commission of 
Fine Arts. A competition was held and a design concept for the 
memorial was chosen from the approximately 900 entries 
submitted. Currently, the Foundation is preparing an 
environmental assessment, which is necessary for final approval 
of the design. It is expected to be released for public comment 
shortly. In the meantime, the Foundation is actively engaged in 
fundraising for the memorial. Foundation representatives told 
the National Capital Memorial Commission recently that they 
have received pledges for about $25 million of the 
approximately $100 million needed and intend to raise the 
balance in the next three years.
    Extensions of legislative authority have been granted 
before for other memorial projects. Memorials authorized to be 
constructed in the Nation's Capital must go through time-
consuming procedural steps. If they are relatively large 
memorials, as the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial will be, 
raising the necessary funds is often a daunting challenge. 
Three recently constructed memorials--Women in Military Service 
for America, World War II and George Mason--were granted time 
extensions. Three authorized but not yet constructed 
memorials--Black Revolutionary War Patriots, Thomas Paine, and 
Victims of Commission--were granted extensions similar to that 
proposed under S. 470.
    Establishing a sunset clause for memorial projects has been 
a policy of the Congress for more than 60 years. This policy 
ensures that memorial sites will not be held indefinitely if, 
for funding or other reasons, the sponsors of a memorial are 
not able to build it. Nevertheless, the granting of at least 
one extension to the initial authorization has precedent, 
particularly in those circumstances when a memorial sponsor has 
taken the time required to obtain an Area I authorization.
    Mr. Chairman, that concludes my testimony and 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, changes in existing law made by 
the bill S. 470, as ordered reported, are shown as follows 
(existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black 
brackets, new matter is printed in italic, existing law in 
which no change is proposed is shown in roman):

          Public Law 104-333 as amended by Public Law 106-176


AN ACT To provide for the administration of certain Presidio properties 
    at minimal cost to the Federal taxpayer, and for other purposes

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


SEC. 508. MEMORIAL TO MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

    (a) In General.--

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    [(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.).]
    (b) Compliance With Standards for Commemorative Works.--
          (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the 
        establishment of the memorial shall be in accordance 
        with chapter 89 of title 40, United States Code.
          (2) Notwithstanding section 8903(e) of title 40, 
        United States Code, the authority provided by this 
        section terminates on November 12, 2006.

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