[House Report 110-230]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]





110th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                    110-230

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


 
   TO DESIGNATE THE FEDERAL BUILDING UNDER CONSTRUCTION AT 799 FIRST 
 AVENUE IN NEW YORK, NEW YORK, AS THE ``RONALD H. BROWN UNITED STATES 
                MISSION TO THE UNITED NATIONS BUILDING''

                                _______
                                

   July 11, 2007.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be 
                                printed

                                _______
                                

Mr. Oberstar, from the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 735]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, to whom 
was referred the bill (H.R. 735) to designate the Federal 
building under construction at 799 First Avenue in New York, 
New York, as the ``Ronald H. Brown United States Mission to the 
United Nations Building'', having considered the same, report 
favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill 
do pass.

                       PURPOSE OF THE LEGISLATION

    H.R. 735 designates the Federal building being constructed 
at 799 First Avenue in New York, New York, as the ``Ronald H. 
Brown United States Mission to the United Nations Building''.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    Ronald Harmon Brown was born on August 1, 1941. His early 
school days were spent at Hunter College Elementary School, a 
public school on Manhattan's East Side. He subsequently 
attended high school at White Plains High School and the Rhodes 
School in Manhattan. In 1962, Brown graduated from Middlebury 
College in Vermont. After college, he served in the Army from 
1962 to 1967, commanding several units in the United States, 
Germany, and South Korea. Brown was discharged from the Army in 
1967. After serving in the Army, he attended St. John's Law 
School and began working as a job developer and trainee adviser 
for the National Urban League. By 1976, Brown served as the 
National Urban League's Deputy Executive Director for programs 
and governmental affairs.
    He left the National Urban League in 1979 to work for 
Senator Edward M. Kennedy, who sought the Democratic Party's 
presidential nomination. In 1981, Brown began a career as a 
lawyer and lobbyist. In 1988, he was elected Chairman of the 
Democratic National Committee. From 1989 to 1992, he served as 
Chairman used his skills as a negotiator and pragmatic bridge 
builder to help reunite the Democratic Party after its defeat 
in the 1988 presidential election.
    In 1993, President William J. Clinton appointed Ronald H. 
Brown as Secretary of Commerce. During his tenure, Secretary 
Brown effectively utilized and expanded the role of the U.S. 
Department of Commerce. Secretary Brown was known for his 
amiable political style and his deft skill in negotiations and, 
as Secretary, he used these qualities effectively to promote 
U.S. trade, expand foreign markets for American businesses, and 
spur domestic job growth and economic development.
    Tragically, on April 3, 1996, while on an official 
Department of Commerce trade mission, Secretary Brown and 34 
others were killed in an airplane crash in Croatia. The 
Department of State had requested that Secretary Brown 
personally undertake the trade mission to highlight and find 
opportunities for U.S. businesses to boost economic 
reconstruction of the war torn region of former Yugoslavia. The 
trip itinerary included stops in Zagreb, the capital of 
Croatia; visiting American troops in Tuzla, Bosnia-Herzegovina; 
and Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia. The trade mission was on 
its way to Dubrovnik, Croatia, when the plane crashed on the 
coast of the Adriatic Sea.
    Throughout his life, Secretary Brown broke many barriers. 
He was the first African-American to serve as Secretary of 
Commerce and the first African-American Chairman of a national 
political party.
    Congress has previously designated Federal buildings that 
serve as Department of State facilities on four separate 
occasions. In 2000, Congress designated the Department of State 
headquarters as the ``Harry S Truman Federal Building''. P.L. 
106-218. In 2004, Congress designated the Foreign Service 
Institute as the George P. Schultz National Foreign Affairs 
Training Center''. P.L. 108-136. In 2005, Congress designated 
the United States Embassy Annex in Rome, Italy, as the ``Mel 
Sembler Building''. P.L. 108-447. In 2005, Congress also 
designated the Federal building in Kingston, Jamaica, as the 
``Colin L. Powell Residential Plaza''. P.L. 109-89.
    Secretary Brown died in service to his country on a mission 
undertaken at the request of the Department of State. It is 
fitting and proper to honor Secretary Brown's extraordinary 
service to his country by designating the Federal building 
being constructed at 799 First Avenue in New York, New York, as 
the ``Ronald H. Brown United States Mission to the United 
Nations Building''.

                       SUMMARY OF THE LEGISLATION

Section 1 Designation.

    Section 1 designates that the Federal building under 
construction at 799 First Avenue in New York, New York, shall 
be known and designated as the ``Ronald H. Brown United States 
Mission to the United Nations Building''.

Section 2 References.

    Section 2 declares any reference in law, map, regulation, 
document, paper, or other record of the United States to the 
Federal building referred to in Section 1 shall be deemed to be 
a reference to the ``Ronald H. Brown United States Mission to 
the United Nations Building''.

            LEGISLATIVE HISTORY AND COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

    Representative Rangel first introduced this bill (H.R. 
1702) in the 108th Congress. On October 1, 2003, the Committee 
on Transportation and Infrastructure ordered the bill reported 
favorably to the House by voice vote (H. Rpt. 108-315). No 
further action was taken. In the 109th Congress, Representative 
Rangel reintroduced the bill (H.R. 1434). No further action was 
taken.
    In the 110th Congress, Representative Rangel introduced 
H.R. 735 on January 30, 2007. On March 1, 2007, the Committee 
on Transportation and Infrastructure met in open session, and 
ordered the bill reported favorably to the House by voice vote.

                              RECORD VOTES

    Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the House of Representatives 
requires each committee report to include the total number of 
votes cast for and against on each record vote on a motion to 
report and on any amendment offered to the measure or matter, 
and the names of those members voting for and against. There 
were no recorded votes taken in connection with ordering H.R. 
735 reported. A motion to order H.R. 735 reported favorably to 
the House was agreed to by voice vote with a quorum present.

                      COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS

    With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(I) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee's oversight findings and recommendations are 
reflected in this report.

                          COST OF LEGISLATION

    Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives does not apply where a cost estimate and 
comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974 has been timely submitted prior to the filing of the 
report and is included in the report. Such a cost estimate is 
included in this report.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII

    1. With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(2) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, and 
308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee 
references the report of the Congressional Budget Office 
included in the report.
    2. With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(4) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
performance goals and objective of this legislation are to 
designate the Federal building being constructed at 799 First 
Avenue in New York, New York, as the ``Ronald H. Brown United 
States Mission to the United Nations Building''.
    3. With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(3) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the 
Committee has received the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 735 
from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                     Washington, DC, March 5, 2007.
Hon. James L. Oberstar, Chairman,
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
reviewed the following bills as ordered reported by the House 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on March 1, 
2007:
     H.R. 753, a bill to redesignate the federal 
building located at 167 North Main Street in Memphis, 
Tennessee, as the ``Clifford Davis and Odell Horton Federal 
Building'';
     H.R. 1045, a bill to designate the federal 
building located at 21 0 Walnut Street in Des Moines, Iowa, as 
the ``Neal Smith Federal Building'';
     H.R. 1019, a bill to designate the United States 
customhouse building located at 31 Gonzalez Clemente Avenue in 
Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, as the ``Rafael Martinez Nadal United 
States Customhouse Building'';
     H.R. 735, a bill to designate the federal building 
under construction at 799 First Avenue in New York, New York, 
as the ``Ronald H. Brown United States Mission to the United 
Nations Building''; and .
     H.R. 1138, a bill to designate the federal 
building and United States courthouse located at 306 East Main 
Street in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, as the ``J. Herbert 
W. Small Federal Building and United States Courthouse.''
    CBO estimates that enactment of these bills would have no 
significant impact on the federal budget and would not affect 
direct spending or revenues. These bills contain no 
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would impose no costs on 
state, local, or tribal governments. If you wish further 
details on this estimate, we will be pleased to provide them. 
The CBO staff contact is Matthew Pickford.
            Sincerely,
                                           Peter R. Orszag,
                                                          Director.

                     COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XXI

    Pursuant to clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House 
of Representatives, H.R. 735 does not contain any congressional 
earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as 
defined in clause 9(d), 9(e), or 9(f) of rule XXI of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives.

                   CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

    Pursuant to clause (3)(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, committee reports on a bill or 
joint resolution of a public character shall include a 
statement citing the specific powers granted to the Congress in 
the Constitution to enact the measure. The Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure finds that Congress has the 
authority to enact this measure pursuant to its powers granted 
under article I, section 8 of the Constitution.

                       FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT

    The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of Federal 
mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform 
Act (Public Law 104-4).

                        PREEMPTION CLARIFICATION

    Section 423 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 
requires the report of any Committee on a bill or joint 
resolution to include a statement on the extent to which the 
bill or joint resolution is intended to preempt state, local, 
or tribal law. The Committee states that H.R. 735 does not 
preempt any state, local, or tribal law.

                      ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT

    No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) 
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act are created by this 
legislation.

                APPLICABILITY TO THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

    The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to 
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public 
services or accommodations within the meaning of section 
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act (Public Law 
104-1).

         CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

    H.R. 735 makes no changes in existing law.

                                  
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