[Senate Report 110-103]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 233
110th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session                                                    110-103

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



 
         BRIGADIER GENERAL FRANCIS MARION MEMORIAL ACT OF 2007

                                _______
                                

                 June 26, 2007.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

   Mr. Bingaman, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following 

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 497]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the Act (H.R. 497) to authorize the Marion Park 
Project, a committee of the Palmetto Conservation Foundation, 
to establish a commemorative work on Federal land in the 
District of Columbia, and its environs to honor Brigadier 
General Francis Marion, having considered the same, reports 
favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the Act 
do pass.

                         PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE

    The purpose of H.R. 497 is to authorize the Marion Park 
Project, a committee of the Palmetto Conservation Foundation, 
to establish a commemorative work on Federal land in the 
District of Columbia and its environs to honor Brigadier 
General Francis Marion.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    H.R. 497 would establish a commemorative work on federal 
land in or around Washington, DC to honor Brigadier General 
Francis Marion (born c. 1732-died 1795), who commanded the 
Williamsburg Militia Revolutionary force in South Carolina and 
was instrumental in delaying the advance of British forces. 
Nicknamed the ``Swamp Fox'' by the British, Marion led 
successful efforts to disrupt the British supply lines, and has 
been credited for inventing and applying innovative battle 
tactics, which were instrumental to the Americans' ultimate 
victory in the Revolutionary War.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    H.R. 497, sponsored by Congressman Wilson, passed the House 
of Representatives by a vote of 390-0 on March 5, 2007. A 
companion measure, S. 312, was introduced by Senators Graham 
and DeMint on January 17, 2007. During the 109th Congress, the 
House passed a similar measure, H.R. 5057, by a voice vote on 
July 24, 2006.
    The Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on H.R. 
497 and S. 312 on April 26, 2007. At its business meeting on 
May 23, 2007, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 
ordered H.R. 497 favorably reported, without amendment.

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in an 
open business session on May 23, 2007, by a unanimous voice 
vote of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 
497.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

    Section 1 contains the short title, the ``Brigadier General 
Francis Marion Memorial Act of 2007.''
    Section 2(a) contains Congressional findings.
    Subsection (b) authorizes the Marion Park Project, a 
committee of the non-profit Palmetto Conservation Foundation, 
to establish a commemorative work on Federal land in the 
District of Columbia or its environs to honor Brigadier General 
Francis Marion.
    Subsection (c) requires that the memorial be established in 
accordance with the Commemorative Works Act (40 U.S.C. 8901 et 
seq.).
    Subsection (d) prohibits the use of Federal funds for the 
establishment of the memorial. The Marion Park Project is to be 
solely responsible for funding the establishment of the 
memorial.
    Subsection (e) states that if there are excess funds after 
payment of all expenses associated with the establishment of 
the memorial, the balance shall be transmitted to the Secretary 
of the Treasury as provided in the Commemorative Works Act.
    Subsection (f) clarifies that the terms ``commemorative 
work'' and ``the District of Columbia and its environs'' have 
the same meaning as used in the Commemorative Works Act.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

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

                                                      May 31, 2007.
Hon. Jeff Bingaman,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 497, the Brigadier 
General Francis Marion Memorial Act of 2007.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Deborah Reis.
            Sincerely,
                                                   Peter R. Orszag.
    Enclosure.

H.R. 497--Brigadier General Francis Marion Memorial Act of 2007

    H.R. 497 would authorize a nonprofit organization to 
establish a commemorative work honoring Brigadier General 
Francis Marion. CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 497 would 
have no significant impact on the federal budget. Enacting the 
legislation would affect revenues and direct spending, but we 
estimate that such effects would not be significant.
    The legislation 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.
    H.R. 497 would authorize the Palmetto Conservation 
Foundation to establish the monument to the Revolutionary War 
hero on federal land in Washington, DC, subject to the 
requirements of the Commemorative Works Act (CWA) and without 
the use of federal funds. Under the CWA, any entity that 
receives a permit to construct a memorial in the District of 
Columbia or its environs must deposit an amount equal to 10 
percent of the memorial's estimated construction cost in the 
U.S. Treasury. The funds deposited are then available without 
further appropriation for maintenance and preservation of the 
structure.
    Based on information provided by the National Park Service, 
CBO estimates that the federal government would collect a 
deposit from the nonprofit organization of less than $100,000 
once the memorial has been built. Based on the history of 
similar commemorative projects, we expect that the deposit 
would not be received for several years, and spending of any 
amounts received would be minimal in any fiscal year. The act 
also would require the organization to pay the Treasury any 
amounts that it collects from contributors in excess of 
construction costs, but CBO estimates that no such amounts 
would be paid.
    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 H.R. 497. The Act 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 H.R. 497, as ordered reported.

                        EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

    The testimony provided by the National Park Service at the 
April 26, 2007 subcommittee hearing on H.R. 497 follows:

 Statement of Daniel N. Wenk, Deputy Director, 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. 312 and H.R. 497, 
bills to authorize the Marion Park Project, a committee of the 
Palmetto Conservation Foundation, to establish a commemorative 
work on Federal land in the District of Columbia and its 
environs to honor Brigadier General Francis Marion.
    The Department of the Interior supports enactment of S. 312 
and H.R. 497, and we suggest that a technical correction be 
made to S. 312 to make it consistent with the House-passed 
companion bill, H.R. 497. The Senate bill references ``the 
Marion Park Project and Committee of the Palmetto Conservation 
Foundation'' as the entities authorized to establish the 
commemorative work. We suggest an amendment to change this 
reference to ``the Marion Park Project, a committee of the 
Palmetto Conservation Foundation.'' The National Capital 
Memorial Advisory Commission considered proposals to establish 
this memorial on June 27, 2006, and unanimously endorsed the 
establishment of a memorial in the Nation's Capital to 
Brigadier General Francis Marion.
    S. 312 and H.R. 497 would establish a commemorative work on 
Federal land to honor Brigadier General Francis Marion in 
accordance with the Commemorative Works Act. They would 
prohibit Federal funds from being used to pay any expense of 
the establishment of the commemorative work, requiring the 
Marion Park Project and Committee of the Palmetto Conservation 
Foundation to be solely responsible for funding and 
establishment. After payment of the expenses for establishing 
the commemorative work, which includes the offset for the 
maintenance and preservation of the memorial, or upon 
expiration of the authority for the commemorative work, S. 312 
and H.R. 497 would direct all remaining funds to be transmitted 
to the Secretary of the Treasury for deposit in an account 
provided for this purpose. S. 312 also would direct any funds 
remaining for the commemorative work upon expiration of 
legislative authority to be transferred to the same account.
    Memorials built in the District of Columbia and its 
environs on lands managed by the National Park Service or the 
General Services Administration are established in accordance 
with the Commemorative Works Act. If a memorial is proposed on 
lands managed by the National Park Service, the Commemorative 
Works Act requires that within 7 years from the date of 
enactment, the sponsor obtain approvals for its location and 
design from the Secretary of the Interior, the National Capital 
Planning Commission, and the Commission of Fine Arts and 
complete its fundraising for the memorial. The National Park 
Service issues a permit to begin construction of the memorial 
as soon as construction documents are certified and evidence of 
sufficient funds to complete the memorial have been provided by 
the sponsor. The Commemorative Works Act also requires an 
additional 10 percent of the construction cost to be provided 
to defray future unbudgeted maintenance costs. Since 1986, 
memorials that range from large-scale memorials to memorial 
plaques have been established under the terms of the 
Commemorative Works Act. These have fully met the requirements 
to obtain a permit to begin construction.
    Although S. 312 and H.R. 497 do not designate a specific 
site for the memorial, they recognize that U.S. Reservation 18 
has been named Marion Park since 1878 but lacks a formal 
commemoration to Brigadier General Francis Marion. Marion Park 
is located between 4th and 6th Streets, SE at the intersection 
E Street and South Carolina Avenue, SE in Washington, DC This 
site is located in Area II under the Commemorative Works Act, 
which requires that the subject be of ``lasting historical 
significance to the American people.'' While Marion Park is the 
logical place to locate this memorial, we would like the 
opportunity to study alternative locations with potential nexus 
to Brigadier General Marion under the provisions of the 
Commemorative Works Act. Site selection is an important part of 
the process established by the Commemorative Works Act. Thus, 
recognizing Marion Park in the findings of the bill, rather 
than designating it as the site for the commemorative work, is 
appropriate.
    Brigadier General Francis Marion commanded the Williamsburg 
Militia Revolutionary force in South Carolina and was 
instrumental in delaying the advance of British forces by 
leading his troops in disrupting supply lines. He is credited 
for inventing and applying innovative battle tactics in this 
effort, keys to an ultimate victory for the American Colonies 
in the Revolutionary War. Additionally, Brigadier General 
Marion's troops are believed to have been the first racially 
integrated force fighting for the United States. In our 
judgment he is certainly worthy of being commemorated in our 
Nation's Capital.
    Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to comment. 
This concludes my prepared remarks and I will be happy to 
answer any questions you or other subcommittee members might 
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 Act H.R. 497, as 
ordered reported.

                                  
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