[Senate Report 110-314]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]




                                                       Calendar No. 666
110th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     110-314

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               COLUMBIA SPACE SHUTTLE MEMORIAL STUDY ACT

                                _______
                                

                 April 10, 2008.--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. 807]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the Act (H.R. 807) to direct the Secretary of the 
Interior to conduct a special resource study to determine the 
feasibility and suitability of establishing a memorial to the 
space shuttle Columbia in the State of Texas and for its 
inclusion as a unit of the National Park System, having 
considered the same, reports favorably thereon without 
amendment and recommends that the Act do pass.

                                PURPOSE

    The purpose of H.R. 807 is to direct the Secretary of the 
Interior to conduct a special resource study to determine the 
feasibility and suitability of establishing a memorial to the 
space shuttle Columbia in the State of Texas and for its 
inclusion as a unit of the National Park System.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    The space shuttle Columbia (STS-107) mission lifted off on 
January 16, 2003, for a 17-day science mission featuring 
numerous microgravity experiments. 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.
    H.R. 807 would direct the Secretary to conduct a study to 
determine the feasibility and suitability of establishing a 
memorial as a unit of the National Park System to the space 
shuttle Columbia on land in the State of Texas. The study would 
cover at least three sites on which large debris from the 
Columbia was removed.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    H.R. 807, sponsored by Representative Gohmert, passed the 
House of Representatives by voice vote on March 5, 2007. The 
Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on H.R. 807 on 
September 11, 2007. (S. Hrg. 110-213.) During the 109th 
Congress, the Committee reported a similar bill (S. 242; Rpt. 
109-145) and the Senate passed the bill by unanimous consent on 
November 16, 2005 although no further action was taken in the 
House. At its business meeting on January 30, 2008, the 
Committee ordered H.R. 807 favorably reported, without 
amendment.

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on January 30, 2008, by a voice vote of a 
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 807.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

    Section 1 contains the short title, the ``Columbia Space 
Shuttle Memorial Study Act.''
    Section 2 provides the definitions of ``Memorial'' and 
``Secretary.''
    Section 3(a) directs the Secretary of the Interior to 
conduct a special resource study to determine the suitability 
and feasibility of establishing a memorial honoring the space 
shuttle Columbia. The study is to be completed within three 
years after the date funds are made available.
    Subsection (b) provides a description of the parcels of 
lands in four areas within the State of Texas, on which debris 
from the shuttle was recovered, as possible sites for the 
memorial.
    Subsection (c) provides that the Secretary may recommend to 
Congress additional sites in the State of Texas for 
establishment of memorials related to the Columbia Space 
Shuttle.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

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

H.R. 807--Columbia Space Shuttle Memorial Study Act

    H.R. 807 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to 
conduct a study to determine the suitability and feasibility of 
establishing a memorial to the Columbia space shuttle in Texas 
and incorporating that memorial into the National Park System. 
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 less than 
$500,000 over the 2008-2011 period. Enacting H.R. 807 would not 
affect direct spending or revenues.
    H.R. 807 contains 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.
    The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Deborah Reis 
and Daniel Hoople. This estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, 
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. 807. 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 H.R. 807, as ordered reported.

                   CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

    H.R. 807, as reported, does not contain any congressionally 
directed spending items, limited tax benefits, or limited 
tariff benefits as defined in rule XLIV of the Standing Rules 
of the Senate.

                        EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

    The testimony provided by the National Park Service at the 
September 11, 2007 subcommittee hearing on H.R. 807 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 H.R. 807, a bill to 
direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special 
resource study to determine the feasibility and suitability of 
establishing a memorial to the space shuttle Columbia in the 
State of Texas and for its inclusion as a unit of the National 
Park System.
    The Department supports enactment of H.R. 807. The 
Department testified on April 28, 2005, that we could not 
support S. 242, a similar bill in the 109th Congress that would 
have designated the areas covered in this bill as units of the 
National Park System. At that time we recommended to the 
subcommittee that the bill be amended to authorize the 
Secretary to study the sites to determine if they are suitable 
and feasible as additions to the National Park System.
    We appreciate that H.R. 807 would authorize such a study. A 
study would provide the opportunity to consult with other 
agencies and organizations, including the National Aeronautics 
and Space Administration (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 
would 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.
    Studies of this type typically take approximately three 
years to complete after funds are made available and cost 
between $300,000 and $500,000. Also, priority should be given 
to the 37 previously authorized studies for potential units of 
the National Park System, potential new National Heritage 
Areas, and potential additions to the National Trails System 
and National Wild and Scenic River System that have not yet 
been transmitted to the Congress.
    H.R. 807 would direct the Secretary to study areas in the 
Texas cities of Nacogdoches, Hemphill, Lufkin and San 
Augustine. Large amounts of debris from the Columbia were found 
on the 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. As a part of the study, 
the Secretary is also authorized 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 three-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. 
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.
    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 answer 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 H.R. 807, as 
ordered reported.

                                  
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