[House Report 109-400]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



109th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     109-400

======================================================================
 
   VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL VISITOR CENTER DEADLINE ENFORCEMENT ACT

                                _______
                                

 March 28, 2006.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

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

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 4882]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 4882) to ensure the proper remembrance of Vietnam 
veterans and the Vietnam War by providing a deadline for the 
designation of a visitor center for the Vietnam Veterans 
Memorial, having considered the same, report favorably thereon 
without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.

                          Purpose of the Bill

    The purpose of H.R. 4882 is to ensure the proper 
remembrance of Vietnam veterans and the Vietnam War by 
providing a deadline for the designation of a visitor center 
for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    On November 1, 2003, legislation authorizing the 
construction of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Visitor Center 
was signed into law by President George W. Bush (Public Law 
108-126). Since then, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) 
and the National Park Service (NPS) have worked jointly and 
extensively to complete a analysis of the site for the visitor 
center. They have completed all the necessary evaluations and 
environmental analysis required by the National Capital 
Planning Commission (NCPC) under the Commemorative Works Act. 
Their work continued through November 2005, when VVMF and NPS 
transmitted to NCPC an extensive traffic analysis in 
preparation for a December 1, 2006, meeting, at which time NCPC 
was to take final comments on the preferred site for the 
visitor center. However, the night before the meeting, the NCPC 
unexpectedly removed the visitor center from its agenda. The 
NCPC requested that NPS and VVMF conduct an additional 
environmental assessment, which would be in addition to the 
already completed environmental analysis.
    In February 2006, a meeting with Resources Committee 
Chairman Richard Pombo, the author of the original law 
authorizing the visitor center, took place with representatives 
from VVMF, NPS and NCPC. During the meeting, Chairman Pombo 
asked the Chairman of the NCPC when the process would be 
completed and the decision made on a site for the visitor 
center. His reply was that the NCPC could not give a date 
certain--that it was still collecting information and studying 
the recommendations. Thus, it was clear that legislation was 
necessary to assert Congressional authority to reduce the 
unusual delays associated with selecting a site for the Vietnam 
Veterans Memorial Visitor Center.

                            Committee Action

    H.R. 4882 was introduced on March 7, 2006, by Congressman 
Richard Pombo (R-CA). The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Resources. On March 15, 2006, the Committee on Resources met to 
consider the bill. No amendments were offered and the bill was 
ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives by a 
roll call vote of 32 to 0, as follows:

                             ROLLCALL NO. 32
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            Yea        Nay      Present
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. Pombo, CA, Chairman................         X   .........  .........
Mr. Rahall, WV.........................         X   .........  .........
Mr. Young, AK..........................  .........  .........  .........
Mr. Miller, CA.........................  .........  .........  .........
Mr. Saxton, NJ.........................  .........  .........  .........
Mr. Markey, MA.........................         X   .........  .........
Mr. Gallegly, CA.......................  .........  .........  .........
Mr. Kildee, MI.........................         X   .........  .........
Mr. Duncan, TN.........................  .........  .........  .........
Mr. DeFazio, OR........................         X   .........  .........
Mr. Gilchrest, MD......................         X   .........  .........
Mr. Faleomavaega, AS...................  .........  .........  .........
Mr. Calvert, CA........................  .........  .........  .........
Mr. Abercrombi, HI.....................         X   .........  .........
Mrs. Cubin, WY.........................         X   .........  .........
Mr. Ortiz, TX..........................         X   .........  .........
Mr. Radanovich, CA.....................         X   .........  .........
Mr. Pallone, NJ........................  .........  .........  .........
Mr. Jones, NC..........................  .........  .........  .........
Mrs. Christensen, VI...................         X   .........  .........
Mr. Cannon, UT.........................  .........  .........  .........
Mr. Kind, WI...........................  .........  .........  .........
Mr. Peterson, PA.......................         X   .........  .........
Mr. Inslee, WA.........................         X   .........  .........
Mr. Gibbons, NV........................         X   .........  .........
Mrs. Napolitano, CA....................         X   .........  .........
Mr. Walden, OR.........................         X   .........  .........
Mr. Tom Udall, NM......................         X   .........  .........
Mr. Tancredo, CO.......................         X   .........  .........
Mr. Mark Udall, CO.....................  .........  .........  .........
Mr. Hayworth, AZ.......................         X   .........  .........
Mr. Grijalva, AZ.......................         X   .........  .........
Mr. Flake, AZ..........................  .........  .........  .........
Mr. Cordoza, CA........................  .........  .........  .........
Mr. Renzi, AZ..........................         X   .........  .........
Ms. Bordallo, Guam.....................         X   .........  .........
Mr. Pearce, NM.........................         X   .........  .........
Ms. Herseth, SD........................         X   .........  .........
Mr. Brown, SC..........................         X   .........  .........
Mr. Costa, CA..........................         X   .........  .........
Mrs. Drake, VA.........................         X   .........  .........
Mr. Melancon, LA.......................  .........  .........  .........
Mr. Fortuno, PR........................         X   .........  .........
Mr. Boren, OK..........................         X   .........  .........
Miss McMorris, WA......................         X   .........  .........
Mr. Jindal, LA.........................         X   .........  .........
Mr. Gohmert, TX........................  .........  .........  .........
Mrs. Musgrave, CO......................         X   .........  .........
                                        --------------------------------
      Total............................        32   .........  .........
------------------------------------------------------------------------

            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, and Article IV, section 3 of the 
Constitution of the United States grant 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 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:

H.R. 4882--Vietnam Veterans Memorial Visitor Center Deadline 
        Enforcement Act

    H.R. 4882 would designate a location for a visitor center 
for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. The bill 
also would require that the administrative process for 
approving plans for the center, as delineated in the 
Commemorative Works Act (CWA), be completed within 30 days of 
enactment.
    CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 4882 would have no 
effect on the federal budget. In 2003, Public Law 108-126 
authorized the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc., to build a 
visitor center near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Under the 
CWA, the design and location of the center is subject to 
approval by the National Capital Planning Commission, which has 
not yet acted on these matters. H.R. 4882 would provide the 
necessary approvals to allow the project to move forward. 
Enacting S. 1913 would not affect revenues or direct spending.
    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. 
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 the following changes to 
existing law:
  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (new matter is 
printed in italics and existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

                     SECTION 6 OF PUBLIC LAW 96-297


   AN ACT To authorize the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc., to 
                         establish a memorial.

SEC. 6. VISITOR CENTER.

  (a)  * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

  (e) Deadline.--Notwithstanding any other law, the visitor 
center authorized by subsection (a) shall be located in the 
open land in the triangular land area between Henry Bacon 
Drive, 23rd Street, Constitution Avenue, and the Lincoln 
Memorial, and final approval of the visitor center shall occur 
no later than 30 days following enactment of the Vietnam 
Veterans Memorial Visitor Center Deadline Enforcement Act.

                                  
