[Senate Report 109-145]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 237
109th Congress Report
SENATE
1st Session 109-145
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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.