[Senate Report 111-137]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                       Calendar No. 287
111th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     111-137

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                  NATIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT MUSEUM ACT

                                _______
                                

                 March 2, 2010.--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 S. 1053]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 1053) to amend the National Law 
Enforcement Museum Act to extend the termination date, having 
considered the same, reports favorably thereon without 
amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.

                                Purpose

    The purpose of S. 1053 is to amend the National Law Museum 
Act by extending the authority to begin construction of the 
museum by three years to November 9, 2013.

                          Background and Need

    The National Law Enforcement Museum Act (Public Law 106-
492) authorized the construction of a National Law Enforcement 
Museum in Washington, DC, to record and tell the story of U.S. 
law enforcement through exhibits, collections, research, and 
education. The law provided direction on planning, approval, 
design, and location of the museum. It required that no federal 
dollars be used for the design and construction and further 
directed the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund to 
finance and administer the project in coordination with the 
Commission of Fine Arts, the National Capital Planning 
Commission, and the National Park Service. Lastly, the law 
required that the construction begin within 10 years of the 
law's date of enactment, which was November 9, 2000.
    The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund 
(NLEOMF) has completed a substantial portion of the planning, 
coordination, and approval for the museum, and has successfully 
managed the current Law Enforcement Memorial since 1991. The 
Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning 
Commission have both given final approval of the design and 
construction plans for the museum. NLEOMF has worked closely 
with the National Park Service on the project and has submitted 
the construction documents to the Department of the Interior 
for final approval.
    However, because of current economic conditions, NLEOMF is 
unable to obtain all necessary bond financing from its lender 
to construct the museum. Without those funds, NLEOMF will not 
be able to break ground for the museum as required by the 2010 
statutory deadline. NLEOMF still anticipates being able to 
secure these bonds but needs additional time to do so. S. 1053 
extends the statutory deadline for an additional three years, 
to November 9, 2013.

                          Legislative History

    S. 1053 was introduced by Senator Murkowski on May 14, 
2009. The Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on the 
bill on July 15, 2009. (S. Hrg. 111-92.) At its business 
meeting on December 16, 2009, the Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resources ordered S. 1053 favorably reported without 
amendment.

                        Committee Recommendation

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on December 16, 2009, by a voice vote of a 
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 1053.

                           Summary of S. 1053

    S. 1053 amends section 4(f) of the National Law Enforcement 
Museum Act (Public Law 106-492) to extend the deadline to begin 
construction of the National Law Enforcement Museum by three 
years, from 2010 to 2013.

                   Cost and Budgetary Considerations

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

S. 1053--A bill to amend the National Law Enforcement Museum Act to 
        extend the termination date

    S. 1053 would extend through November 9, 2013, the 
authority of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial 
Fund to construct a museum honoring law enforcement officers on 
federal lands within the District of Columbia. The extension 
would give the foundation, a nonprofit organization, an 
additional three years to begin construction.
    Because the museum would be established with nonfederal 
funds, CBO estimates that enacting S. 1053 would have no 
significant effect on the federal budget.
    The bill 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 contact for this estimate is Matthew 
Pickford. The 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 S. 1053.
    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. 1053, as ordered reported.

                   Congressionally Directed Spending

    S. 1053, as ordered 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 
July 15, 2009, Subcommittee hearing on S. 1053 follows:

 Statement of Katherine H. Stevenson, Acting Deputy Director--Support 
    Services, National Park Service, U.S. 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. 1053, a bill to amend 
the National Law Enforcement Museum Act to extend the 
termination date.
    The Department has no objection to this legislation. S. 
1053 would amend section 4(f) of Public Law 106-492 to 
authorize construction of the Museum to begin up to 13 years 
after the date of enactment of that law. If amended, the 
authority to construct the Museum would terminate on November 
9, 2013.
    Public Law 106-492 authorizes the National Law Enforcement 
Officers Memorial Fund (the Fund) to design, plan, construct 
and maintain a National Law Enforcement Museum on land within 
U.S. Reservation 7 in the District of Columbia, south of the 
National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. Reservation 7 is 
one of the original public reservations of the City of 
Washington. With the exception of the Memorial, Reservation 7 
has been under the jurisdiction of the District of Columbia 
since 1970. Reservation 7 is also listed in the National 
Register of Historic Places as a significant element of the 
L'Enfant Plan.
    The Act for the new museum requires that the design be 
approved by the Secretary of the Interior, the National Capital 
Planning Commission (NCPC), and the U.S. Commission of Fine 
Arts (CFA). Over the past few years, the Fund has coordinated 
extensively with the National Park Service (NPS), on behalf of 
the Secretary of the Interior, as well as the courts, the NCPC, 
CFA, the D.C. State Historic Preservation Officer (DC SHPO), 
and the District of Columbia government. When the Department 
appeared before this Committee to testify on S. 1438, a bill to 
establish a National Law Enforcement Museum on Federal land in 
the District of Columbia, on April 27, 2000, we were concerned, 
from an historic preservation standpoint, about the impact of 
locating a new building within this complex of six historic 
public buildings dating from 1820 to 1939. However, the careful 
design and placement of the museum have resolved these 
concerns, as evidenced by the execution of a Memorandum of 
Agreement on June 23, 2008, by the DC SHPO, the Fund, the NPS, 
and NCPC, fulfilling the requirement of Section 106 of the 
National Historic Preservation Act. Site and building plans for 
the museum were approved by the CFA on May 24, 2008, the NCPC 
on August 28, 2008. The plans were prepared according to the 
requirements of the National Law Enforcement Museum Act and are 
the result of agreements on perimeter security, shared access 
to the loading facility, the design of the shared plaza, and a 
pavilion design that is compatible with the Courts' historic 
buildings at Judiciary Square.
    The Act prohibits the Fund from beginning construction of 
the museum unless the Secretary of the Interior ``determines 
that sufficient amounts are available to complete construction 
of the Museum.'' The Secretary currently cannot make this 
determination. On February 11, 2009, the Fund announced a new 
time line and budget for the project which were approved by its 
Board of Directors during the week of February 2, 2009. The 
announcement proposed a new start date in the fall of 2010, 
with an anticipated completion of mid-2013. Cost savings 
measures will reduce the construction budget from $80 million 
to $51 million, with a corresponding reduction in size from 
100,000 square feet to 55,000 square feet and a reduction in 
the number of floors from four to three. The Fund has advised 
that these changes will not impact the above-ground features of 
the museum but will require the re-design of the underground 
spaces. The reduced footprint will eliminate the need to 
relocate a number of utilities and will thereby diminish the 
potential impact to the adjacent Law Enforcement Officers 
Memorial.
    The Fund has also advised that the changes will not 
diminish the design or the visitors' experience; however, the 
revised plans have not yet been submitted for review. Though 
the NPS will not own, operate, or maintain the museum, we look 
forward to reviewing the revised design as required by the 
National Law Enforcement Museum Act.
    Mr. Chairman, this concludes my prepared testimony on S. 
1053, and I would be happy to answer any questions you may 
have.

                        Changes in Existing Law

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by 
the bill S. 1053 as ordered 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 LAW ENFORCEMENT MUSEUM ACT


            (Public Law 106-492; Approved November 9, 2000)


AN ACT To establish the National Law Enforcement Museum on Federal land 
                      in the District of Columbia.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``National Law Enforcement 
Museum Act''.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


SEC. 4. NATIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT MUSEUM.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


    (f) Failure To Construct.--If the Memorial Fund fails to 
begin construction of the Museum by the date that is [10 years] 
13 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the authority 
to construct the Museum shall terminate on that date.

                                  
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