[Senate Report 109-145]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 237
109th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session                                                    109-145

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



 
           COLUMBIA SPACE SHUTTLE MEMORIAL STUDY ACT OF 2005

                                _______
                                

                October 19, 2005.--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 242]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 242) to establish 4 memorials to the 
Space Shuttle Columbia in the State of Texas, having considered 
the same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment and an 
amendment to the title and recommends that the bill, as 
amended, do pass.
    1. Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in 
lieu thereof the following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Columbia Space Shuttle Memorial 
Study Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
          (1) Memorial.--The term ``memorial'' means a memorial to the 
        Space Shuttle Columbia the suitability and feasibility of the 
        establishment of which is a subject of the study under section 
        3(a).
          (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
        the Interior, acting through the Director of the National Park 
        Service.

SEC. 3. STUDY OF SUITABILITY AND FEASIBILITY OF ESTABLISHING MEMORIALS 
                    TO THE SPACE SHUTTLE COLUMBIA.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 3 years after the date on which 
funds are made available to carry out this Act, the Secretary shall 
carry out a study to determine the suitability and feasibility of 
establishing, as units of the National Park System on land in the State 
of Texas described in subsection (b) (on which large debris from the 
Space Shuttle Columbia was recovered), memorials to the Space Shuttle 
Columbia.
    (b) Description of Land.--The parcels of land referred to in 
subsection (a) are--
          (1) the parcel of land owned by the Fredonia Corporation, 
        located at the southwest corner of the intersection of East 
        Hospital Street and North Fredonia Street, Nacogdoches, Texas;
          (2) the parcel of land owned by Temple Island Inc., 10 acres 
        of a 61-acre tract bounded by State Highway 83 and Bayou Bend 
        Road, Hemphill, Texas;
          (3) the parcel of land owned by the city of Lufkin, Texas, 
        located at City Hall Park, 301 Charlton Street, Lufkin, Texas; 
        and
          (4) the parcel of land owned by San Augustine County, Texas, 
        located at 1109 Oaklawn Street, San Augustine, Texas.
    (c) Administration.--In carrying out the study, the Secretary shall 
assume that, if established after completion of the study, each 
memorial shall be administered by the Secretary.
    (d) Additional Sites.--The Secretary may recommend to Congress 
additional sites in the State of Texas relating to the Space Shuttle 
Columbia for establishment as memorials to the Space Shuttle Columbia.
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this Act.

    2. Amend the title so as to read: ``To direct the Secretary 
of the Interior to carry out a study to determine the 
suitability and feasibility of establishing memorials to the 
Space Shuttle Columbia on parcels of land in the State of 
Texas.''.

                         PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE

    The purpose of S. 242, as ordered reported, is to authorize 
the Secretary of the Interior, to study the potential to 
establish four memorials to the Space Shuttle Columbia as units 
of the National Park System, to be located on the four parcels 
of land in Texas on which large debris from the Space Shuttle 
was recovered.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    The Space Shuttle Columbia mission lifted off on January 
16, 2003, for a 17-day science mission. Upon reentering the 
atmosphere on February 1, 2003, the Columbia suffered a 
catastrophic failure while flying over Texas, only 15 minutes 
before the scheduled landing at the Kennedy Space Center in 
Florida. The cause of the explosion was later determined to 
have been caused by a breach that occurred during launch, when 
falling foam from the external fuel tank struck the reinforced 
carbon panels on the underside of the left wing. The Columbia's 
explosion killed its seven crew members, Rick D. Husband, 
William C. McCool, David Brown, Laurel Blair Salton Clark, 
Michael P. Anderson, Ilan Ramon, and Kalpana Chawla.
    As ordered reported, S. 242 would direct the Secretary of 
the Interior to study the possible establishment as units of 
the National Park System four memorials in Texas to commemorate 
the Columbia tragedy. The four sites identified in the bill are 
ones on which large debris from Columbia was removed.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    S. 242 was introduced by Senators Hutchison and Cornyn on 
February 1, 2005. During the 108th Congress similar legislation 
(S. 2034) was introduced by Senator Hutchinson.
    The Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on S. 242 
on April 28, 2005, (S. Hrg. 109-74). At its business meeting on 
September 28, 2005, the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources ordered S. 242 favorably reported with an amendment 
in the nature of a subsitute.

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on September 28, 2005, by a voice vote of a 
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 242 if 
amended as described herein.

                          COMMITTEE AMENDMENT

    During its consideration of S. 242 the Committee adopted an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute. As introduced, S. 242 
would have established four memorials in Texas as units of the 
National Park System. The substitute amendment directs the 
Secretary of the Interior to study the sites in Texas to 
determine whether they are appropriate for designation as a 
National Park System unit. The amendment is explained in detail 
in the section-by-section analysis, below.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

    Section 1 entitles the bill the ``Columbia Space Shuttle 
Memorials Study Act of 2005.''
    Section 2 defines key terms used in the bill.
    Section 3(a) directs the Secretary of the Interior to 
conduct a study to determine the suitability and feasibility of 
establishing as units of the National Park System memorials to 
be located in the State of Texas to be located on the land 
described in subsection (b).
    Subsection (b) describes the four parcels of land in Texas 
that are to be the memorial sites.
    Subsection (c) directs that the memorials be administered 
by the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the National 
Park Service.
    Subsection (d) authorizes the Secretary to recommend to 
Congress additional sites in Texas for establishment as 
memorials to Columbia.
    Subsection (e) authorizes the appropriation of such sums as 
are necessary to carry out the Act.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

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

S. 242--Columbia Space Shuttle Memorial Study Act of 2005

    S. 242 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to 
conduct a study to determine the suitability and feasibility of 
establishing memorials to the Columbia Space Shuttle on four 
sites in Texas. Based on information provided by the National 
Park Service and assuming the availability of appropriated 
funds, CBO estimates that carrying out the proposed study would 
cost about $250,000 over the next three years. Enacting S. 242 
would not affect direct spending or revenues.
    S. 242 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would impose no costs on 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.

                      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. 242. 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. 242, as ordered reported.

                        EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

    The views of the Administration on S. 242 were included in 
testimony received by the Committee at a hearing on the bill on 
April 28, 2005 as follows:

   Statement of Michael Soukup, Associate Director, Natural Resource 
   Stewardship and Science, National Park Service, Department of the 
                                Interior

    Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, thank you for 
the opportunity to appear before you today to present the 
Department of the Interior's views on S. 242, a bill to 
establish 4 memorials to the space shuttle Columbia in the 
State of Texas.
    The Department does not support S. 242, unless amended to 
authorize a study to determine the most appropriate and 
effective way to establish a memorial to honor the brave men 
and women on the crew of the Columbia. We believe it is 
critical that National Aeronautics and Space Administration 
(NASA), the crew's family members, and others intimately 
involved in the shuttle mission, disaster, and recovery be part 
of a process to determine what is most appropriate. A study 
would provide this opportunity by including consultation with 
other agencies and organizations, including NASA, to determine 
what other commemorative efforts have been undertaken to 
memorialize the space shuttle Columbia as well as taking into 
account the wishes and desires of the crew's families regarding 
how they might like their loved ones remembered. A study also 
would look at a variety of alternatives that could include 
National Park Service (NPS) management or could focus on 
administering the site through State or local governments or 
private organizations.
    Because a study can provide these important benefits, a 
suitability and feasibility study typically is conducted prior 
to designation of a new unit of the National Park System. 
Indeed, Congress established in the National Parks Omnibus 
Management Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-391) a process for authorizing 
studies before the designation of new units. Studies of this 
type typically take approximately 3 years to complete after 
funds are made available. We currently have 30 other similar 
studies in progress, and we hope to complete and transmit 15 to 
Congress by the end of calendar year 2005. We believe that 
available funding should be first directed toward completing 
previously authorized studies.
    S. 242 would establish units of the National Park System 
without a study first determining whether the proposed units 
would be suitable and feasible additions to the National Park 
System or whether management by the NPS would be the most 
effective and efficient form of commemoration.
    S. 242 would establish four units of the National Park 
System in the Texas cities of Nacogdoches, Hemphill, Lufkin and 
San Augustine. Large amounts of debris from the Columbia were 
found on each of the four parcels specified in the bill, a 
combination of public and private land, and the Lufkin civic 
center served as NASA's command center for retrieval efforts. 
The legislation specifies that the memorials would be 
administered by the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) and 
authorizes the Secretary to recommend additional sites in Texas 
for establishment of memorials to Columbia.
    Columbia, the first space shuttle to orbit the earth, was 
NASA's oldest shuttle. On the morning of February 1, 2003, 
after a 3-week mission devoted to scientific and medical 
experiments, the Columbia began its return to earth. As re-
entry into the earth's atmosphere continued over the Pacific, 
problems were noticed by NASA, contact with the shuttle was 
lost, and it began to break apart. Debris from the shuttle was 
observed from California to Louisiana, however the remains of 
the seven astronauts and the most significant parts of the 
shuttle were found in several communities across Texas. Soon 
after the crash, an independent accident investigation board 
was established and the first volume of the board's findings 
was issued in August 2003, identifying the factors that led to 
the shuttle disaster and making recommendations for future 
actions.
    Many memorials and remembrances have been established in 
honor of Columbia's crew, including a memorial at Arlington 
Cemetery and on Devon Island in the Canadian High Arctic. 
Asteroids have been named for members of the crew, as has a 
highway in Washington and an elementary school in California. A 
memorial is planned at the U.S. Naval Academy for Commander 
William McCool on the cross-country course where he raced as a 
midshipman. On May 12, 2004, NASA dedicated its new ``Altix'' 
supercomputer to the memory of Kalpana ``KC'' Chawla, flight 
engineer and mission specialist on the Columbia.
    If the Committee recommends immediate establishment of 
these new units of the National Park System, we suggest that 
the bill be clarified in several areas. The legislation is 
unclear whether the intent of the bill is to authorize the 
Secretary to manage a process that would produce a 
commemorative work--such as a plaque, statue, or other art that 
would be located on the properties identified in the 
legislation, or if the bill is authorizing the purchase of 
these properties to be developed as units of the National Park 
System that would then require onsite management, development, 
and funding. The costs for establishing and managing these four 
areas as units of the National Park System would be difficult 
to determine at this time, but they could be expensive given 
the dispersed sites. These costs could best be estimated 
through the completion of a study.
    Also, the bill does not clearly state a purpose for the 
memorials. In her floor speech introducing the legislation, 
Senator Hutchison spoke about memorializing the spirit and 
adventure of the space program and the men and women who accept 
the dangers and challenges of accomplishing NASA's mission. She 
also recognized the impact and efforts of four Texas 
communities and citizens that provided support and assisted 
with the collection and identification of debris and the 
remains of the crew. A clear and concise purpose would help 
guide the efforts to meet the legislation's intent.
    NASA and other communities and organizations have already 
established a variety of memorials that recognize the tragedy 
as well as the enduring spirit of the crew and others 
associated with the final voyage of the Columbia. An NPS 
suitability and feasibility study would determine how, or if, 
this proposal would complement or add to those already 
established memorials.
    Mr. Chairman, that concludes my remarks and I would be 
happy to respond to any questions that you or other members of 
the subcommittee may have.

                        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 bill S. 242, as ordered 
reported.

                                  
