[House Report 110-552]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



110th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     110-552

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 NATIONAL FISH AND WILDLIFE FOUNDATION ESTABLISHMENT ACT AMENDMENT OF 
                                  2007

                                _______
                                

 March 31, 2008.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Rahall, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 3891]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the 
bill (H.R. 3891) to amend the National Fish and Wildlife 
Foundation Establishment Act to increase the number of 
Directors on the Board of Directors of the National Fish and 
Wildlife Foundation, 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. 3891 is to amend the National Fish and 
Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act to increase the number of 
Directors on the Board of Directors of the National Fish and 
Wildlife Foundation.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (Foundation) was 
established by Congress in 1984. The Foundation is a charitable 
and nonprofit corporation and is not an agency or establishment 
of the United States. The purposes of the Foundation are--
          (1) to encourage, accept, and administer private 
        gifts for the benefit of, or in connection with, the 
        activities and services of the United States Fish and 
        Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and 
        Atmospheric Administration, to further the conservation 
        and management of fish, wildlife, plants, and other 
        natural resources;
          (2) to undertake and conduct such other activities as 
        will further the conservation and management of fish, 
        wildlife, and plant resources of the United States, and 
        its territories and possessions, for present and future 
        generations of Americans; and
          (3) to participate with, and otherwise assist, 
        foreign governments, entities, and individuals in 
        undertaking and conducting activities that will further 
        the conservation and management of the fish, wildlife 
        and plant resources of other countries.
    The Foundation receives federal funds through 
appropriations and directly from federal agencies for the 
purposes of administering conservation programs. All 
appropriated monies received must be matched by private dollars 
on at least a one-to-one basis, thereby leveraging the impact 
of federal funds. In addition, appropriated funds may not be 
used for the administrative expenses of the Foundation, 
including for salaries, travel and transportation expenses, and 
other overhead expenses. While the Foundation and its 
conservation programs have grown dramatically since it was 
established, and fund-raising for conservation programs has 
also grown, it is more difficult to raise money for the 
administrative expenses of the Foundation which have also 
increased. Expanding the size of the Board of Directors should 
improve the ability of the Foundation to raise private funds to 
cover its administrative expenses and improve the 
implementation of its conservation programs.

                            Committee Action

    H.R. 3891 was introduced on October 18, 2007, by Henry E. 
Brown, Jr. (R-SC). The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee 
on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans. On February 13, 2008, the 
Subcommittee met to mark up the bill. It was adopted by 
unanimous consent without amendment. The bill was then 
forwarded to the Full Committee. On March 12, 2008 the Full 
Natural Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The bill 
was ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives 
by unanimous consent.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis


Section 1. Short title

    Section 1 cites the Act as the ``National Fish and Wildlife 
Foundation Establishment Act Amendment of 2007.''

Section 2. Board of Directors of the Foundation

    Section 2 amends section 3(a) of the National Fish and 
Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act (16 U.S.C. 3702(a)) by 
increasing the appointed number of Directors on the 
Foundation's governing Board of Directors to 30.

            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 Natural Resources' oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.

                   Constitutional Authority Statement

    Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United 
States grants 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 
revenues or 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. 3891--National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act 
        Amendments of 2007

    H.R. 3891 would amend the National Fish and Wildlife 
Foundation Establishment Act to increase the number of members 
on the Foundation's board of directors from 25 to 30. CBO 
estimates that implementing H.R. 3891 would have no effect on 
the federal budget. The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation 
is a nonprofit entity chartered by the federal government.
    H.R. 3891 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 Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                    Compliance With Public Law 104-4

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

                           Earmark Statement

    H.R. 3891 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.

                Preemption of State, Local or Tribal Law

    This bill is not intended to preempt any state, local or 
tribal law.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  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 (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

NATIONAL FISH AND WILDLIFE FOUNDATION ESTABLISHMENT ACT

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SEC. 3. BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE FOUNDATION.

  (a) Establishment and Membership.--
          [(1) In general.--The Foundation shall have a 
        governing Board of Directors (referred to in this Act 
        as the ``Board''), which shall consist of 25 Directors 
        appointed in accordance with subsection (b), each of 
        whom shall be a United States citizen.]
          (1) In general.--The Foundation shall have a 
        governing Board of Directors (referred to in this Act 
        as the ``Board''), which shall consist of 30 Directors 
        appointed in accordance with subsection (b), each of 
        whom shall be a United States citizen.

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