[House Report 109-628]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



109th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     109-628

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TO AUTHORIZE THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE TO PAY FOR SERVICES RENDERED BY 
   SUBCONTRACTORS UNDER A GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION INDEFINITE 
DELIVER/INDEFINITE QUANTITY CONTRACT ISSUED FOR WORK TO BE COMPLETED AT 
                     THE GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK

                                _______
                                

 September 6, 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. 3961]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 3961) to authorize the National Park Service to pay for 
services rendered by subcontractors under a General Services 
Administration Indefinite Deliver/Indefinite Quantity Contract 
issued for work to be completed at the Grand Canyon National 
Park, 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. 3961 is to authorize the National Park 
Service to pay for services rendered by subcontractors under a 
General Services Administration Indefinite Deliver/Indefinite 
Quantity Contract issued for work to be completed at the Grand 
Canyon National Park.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    During 2002 and 2003, the National Park Service (NPS) 
issued approximately 43 task orders to Pacific General, Inc. 
(PGI), a California-based construction firm, under an 
Indefinite Deliver/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract for work 
to be performed at the Grand Canyon National Park (GCNP).
    PGI subcontractors performed work on numerous projects at 
GCNP, including new entrance stations at North Rim and Desert 
View, rehabilitated cabins at North Rim, improvements to the 
Colorado River Bridge at Phantom Ranch and a new South Rim 
wastewater treatment plant. These projects have benefitted 
thousands of tourists who visit the Park each year. Although 
PGI certified that payments were being sent to subcontractors 
and suppliers, complaints were received from many 
subcontractors that they had not received payment. The NPS had 
paid over $10 million to PGI, of which $1.3 million was owed, 
but unpaid to subcontractors. In addition, the NPS never 
verified that PGI was indeed bonded.
    Today, PGI is out of business and 38 small companies based 
in Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah and Washington still have 
not been paid and many are close to bankruptcy. The NPS does 
not have the authority to pay the subcontractors directly for 
their work. H.R. 3961 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior 
to pay subcontractors for work performed at the Park under the 
PGI IDIQ contract between 2002 and 2003.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 3961 was introduced on September 29, 2005, by 
Congressman Rick Renzi (R-AZ). The bill was referred to the 
Committee on Resources, and within the Committee to the 
Subcommittee on National Parks. On March 30, 2006, the 
Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On July 19, 2006, the 
Full Resources Committee met to consider the bill, at which 
time the Subcommittee on National Parks was discharged from 
further consideration of the bill by unanimous consent. No 
amendments were offered and the bill was ordered favorably 
reported to the House of Representatives by unanimous consent.

                   CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

    Article I, section 8, clause 3 and Article IV, section 3, 
clause 2 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, credit 
authority, or an increase or decrease in revenues or tax 
expenditures. According to the Congressional Budget Office, 
enactment of H.R. 3961 would result in direct spending of $1 
million in 2007, but that amount would be offset by less 
spending over the 2008-1010 period, and the net impact on 
direct spending over 2007-2010 would thus be ``insignificant.''
    3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. The 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. 3961--A bill to authorize the National Park Service to pay for 
        services rendered by subcontractors under a General Services 
        Administration Indefinite Deliver/Indefinite Quantity Contract 
        issued for work to be completed at the Grand Canyon National 
        Park

    Summary: H.R. 3961 would require the National Park Service 
(NPS) to make payments to certain subcontractors who performed 
work at the Grand Canyon National Park but were not paid by the 
prime contractor. CBO estimates that implementing the bill 
would increase direct spending by about $1 million in 2007, but 
that amount would be offset by less spending over the 2008-2010 
period, and the net impact of the bill on direct spending over 
the 2007-2010 period would be insignificant.
    The legislation contains no intergovernmental or private-
sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 
(UMRA) and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal 
governments.
    Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated 
budgetary impact of H.R. 3961 is shown in the following table. 
The costs of this legislation fall within budget function 300 
(natural resources and environment).

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                       By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
                                                                    --------------------------------------------
                                                                       2007     2008     2009     2010     2011
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           CHANGES IN DIRECT SPENDING

Estimated budget authority.........................................        1        *        *        *        0
Estimated outlays..................................................        1        *        *        *        0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: * = less than $500,000.

    Basis of estimate: H.R. 3961 would require the NPS to use 
collections from the Grand Canyon National Park's entrance fees 
to pay subcontractors associated with Pacific General, Inc. 
(PGI), a California-based firm for construction work performed 
in 2002 and 2003. The NPS has paid $10 million to PGI through a 
General Services Administration contract for numerous Grand 
Canyon National Park construction projects, and $1.3 million of 
that amount was owed, but not paid to the firm's 
subcontractors. PGI has since gone out of business.
    Entrance fees collected by the NPS are recorded in the 
budget as offsetting receipts and are available without further 
appropriation. For this estimate, CBO assumes that H.R. 3961 
will be enacted near the start of fiscal year 2007. CBO expects 
that requiring the NPS to pay PGI's subcontractors would cost 
$1.3 million in 2007. CBO estimates that spending of park 
entrance fees would be reduced by $1.3 million over the 2008-
2010 period. Thus, the bill's net impact on spending over the 
2007-2010 period would not be significant.
    Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: The 
legislation contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in UMRA and would impose no costs on state, 
local, or tribal governments.
    Estimate prepared by: Federal costs: Matthew Pickford; 
Impact on state, local, and tribal governments: Marjorie 
Miller; Impact on the private sector: Amy Petz.
    Estimate 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 to existing 
law.

                                  
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