[Senate Report 111-198]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 406
111th Congress Report
SENATE
2d Session 111-198
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LEGISLATIVE AUTHORITY EXTENSION FOR VIETNAM MEMORIAL VISITOR CENTER
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May 24, 2010.--Ordered to be printed
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Mr. Bingaman, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 3689]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the Act (H.R. 3689) to provide for an extension of the
legislative authority of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund,
Inc. to establish a Vietnam Veterans Memorial visitor center,
and for other purposes, having considered the same, reports
favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the Act
do pass.
Purpose
The purpose of H.R. 3689 is to extend the legislative
authority for construction of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
visitor center for an additional four years, to November 14,
2014.
Background and Need
Public Law 96-297, enacted in 1980, authorized the Vietnam
Veterans Memorial Fund, a non-profit organization based in the
District of Columbia, to construct a memorial honoring veterans
of the Vietnam War on three acres on the northwest portion of
the National Mall. The memorial was formally dedicated in
November 1982.
In 2003, Congress enacted Public Law 108-126, which
authorized the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) to
construct a visitor center at or near the Vietnam Veterans
Memorial, in order to better inform and educate the public
about the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Vietnam War.
Construction of the visitor center was required to be
undertaken in accordance with the Commemorative Works Act (40
U.S.C. 8901 et seq.).
Section 8903(e) of the Commemorative Works Act provides
that legislative authority for a commemorative work expires
seven years after the date of enactment of the authorization,
unless the organization responsible for the commemorative work
has raised all funds necessary for the commemorative work and
has received the required Federal design and site approvals.
Under those terms, the legislative authority for the Vietnam
Veterans Memorial visitor center will expire on November 17,
2010.
Since the 2003 authorization, the VVMF has developed design
concepts which were presented in 2007 to the Commission of Fine
Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission. These
concepts were further refined after meetings with the District
of Columbia Historic Preservation Office in February 2009.
However, the VVMF has not yet raised the necessary funds for
the visitor center and without an extension of its legislative
authority will be unable to complete the visitor center. H.R.
3689 amends the authorization for the visitor center to allow
the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund four additional years to
complete the center.
Legislative History
H.R. 3689, sponsored by Representative Rahall, passed the
House of Representatives by a vote of 390-0 on October 13,
2009. No companion measure has been introduced in the Senate.
The Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on H.R.
3689 on December 3, 2009. At its business meeting on May 6,
2010, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered
H.R. 3689 favorably reported.
Committee Recommendation
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open
business session on May 6, 2010, by a voice vote of a quorum
present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 3689.
Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1 amends section 6(b) of Public Law 96-297 to
provide that any reference in the Commemorative Works Act to
the expiration of legislative authority for a commemorative
work 7 years after the date of authorization shall be
considered to be a reference to an expiration on November 17,
2014. This amendment provides an additional four year
authorization for construction of the visitor center.
Cost and Budgetary Considerations
The following estimate of costs of this measure has been
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
H.R. 3689--An act to provide for an extension of the legislative
authority of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc., to
establish a Vietnam Veterans Memorial visitor center, and for
other purposes
H.R. 3689 would extend the legislative authority to
construct a visitor center near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Based on information from the National Park Service (NPS), CBO
estimates that implementing the legislation would have no
effect on the federal budget over the 2010-2015 period and
would cost around $2 million annually after 2015, assuming
appropriation of the necessary amounts. Enacting H.R. 3689
would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-
as-you-go procedures would not apply.
Under current law, legislative authority for a private
nonprofit organization, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund,
Inc. (VVMF), to construct a visitor center near the Vietnam
Veterans Memorial would expire in 2010. Under the bill, that
authority would be extended until 2014. Based on information
from the VVMF, CBO expects that construction of the visitor
center would begin around 2014 and would be completed around
2016. Upon completion of the visitor center, the NPS would take
over operation of the site. Based on information from the NPS,
CBO estimates that the administrative costs of operating the
site would be about $2 million annually, subject to the
availability of appropriated funds.
H.R. 3689 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 Jeff LaFave. The
estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
Regulatory Impact Evaluations
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. 3689.
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. 3689, as ordered reported.
Congressionally Directed Spending
H.R. 3689, 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
December 3, 2009 Subcommittee hearing on H.R. 3689 follows:
Statement of Katherine H. Stevenson, Assistant Director, Business
Services, 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. 3689, a bill to
provide for an extension of the legislative authority of the
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc. (the Fund) to establish a
Vietnam Veterans Memorial visitor center, and for other
purposes.
The Department supports H.R. 3689 as passed by the House.
The visitor center was authorized by Public Law 108-126,
signed on November 17, 2003. Following site analysis and the
completion of an environmental assessment, the visitor center
was approved to be located on the NPS proposed site on the
grounds of the Lincoln Memorial, bounded by Constitution
Avenue, Henry Bacon Drive, Lincoln Memorial Circle, and 23rd
Street, N.W., so long as certain mitigation set forth in design
standards developed jointly by the National Capital Planning
Commission (NCPC) and the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (CFA)
are met. To protect the sensitive landscape of the site, which
includes views to and from the Lincoln Memorial and the Vietnam
Veterans Memorial, the design team is responding to these
critical design standards and criteria. The criteria have been
helpful to move this important commemorative work forward while
minimizing potential impacts to the surrounding views and
nearby memorials. In addition to public consultation under the
National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), the Commemorative
Works Act requires an important series of reviews and approvals
by NCPC and CFA. To meet the challenges associated with
designing this project on such a sensitive and highly visible
site, and the legislative requirement that it be located
underground, the NPS and the Fund have made design refinements
as needed during this process.
We are pleased to report that significant progress has been
made gaining approvals for the design. Furthermore, the NPS
believes that the design will be fully approved in a timely
fashion and that the visitor center can be completed and open
to the public within the additional four years that H.R. 3689
would allow. Without the proposed extension, the Fund's current
authority to establish this visitor center will expire on
November 17, 2010.
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 committee members might 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 Act H.R. 3689 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):
PUBLIC LAW 96-297
JOINT RESOLUTION TO AUTHORIZE THE VIETNAM MEMORIAL FUND, INC., TO
ESTABLISH A MEMORIAL
(July 1, 1980)
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, That the
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc., a nonprofit corporation
organized and existing under the laws of the District of
Columbia, is authorized to establish a memorial on public
grounds in West Potomac Park in the District of Columbia, in
honor and recognition of the men and women of the Armed Forces
of the United States who served in the Vietnam War.
* * * * * * *
SEC. 6. VISITOR CENTER.
(a) Authorization.--
(1) In general.--The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund,
Inc., is authorized to construct a visitor center at or
near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on Federal land in
the District of Columbia, or its environs, subject to
the provisions of this section, in order to better
inform and educate the public about the Vietnam
Veterans Memorial and the Vietnam War.
(2) Location.--The visitor center shall be located
underground.
(3) Consultation on design phase.--The Vietnam
Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc., shall consult with
educators, veterans groups, and the National Park
Service in developing the proposed design of the
visitor center.
(b) Compliance With Standards Applicable to Commemorative
Works.--Chapter 89 of title 40, United States Code, shall
apply, including provisions related to the siting, design,
construction, and maintenance of the visitor center, and the
visitor center shall be considered a commemorative work for the
purposes of that Act, except that--
(1) final approval of the visitor center shall not be
withheld;
(2) the provisions of sections (b) and (c) of section
8908 of title 40, United States Code requiring further
approval by law for the location of a commemorative
work within Area I and prohibiting the siting of a
visitor center within the Reserve shall not apply;
(3) the size of the visitor center shall be limited
to the minimum necessary--
(A) to provide for appropriate educational
and interpretive functions; and
(B) to prevent interference or encroachment
on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and to protect
open space and visual sightlines on the Mall;
[and]
(4) the visitor center shall be constructed and
landscaped in a manner harmonious with the site of the
Vietnam Veterans Memorial, consistent with the special
nature and sanctity of the Mall[.] and
(5) any reference in section 8903(e) of title 40,
United States Code, to the expiration at the end of or
extension beyond a seven-year period shall be
considered to be a reference to an expiration on or
extension beyond November 17, 2014.
(c) Operation and Maintenance.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of the Interior
shall--
(A) operate and maintain the visitor center,
except that the Secretary shall enter into a
written agreement with the Vietnam Veterans
Memorial Fund, Inc., for specified maintenance
needs of the visitor center, as determined by
the Secretary; and
(B) as soon as practicable, in consultation
with educators and veterans groups, develop a
written interpretive plan for the visitor
center in accordance with National Park Service
policy.
(2) Donation for perpetual maintenance and
preservation.--Paragraph (1)(A) does not waive the
requirements of section 8906(b) of title 40, United
States Code, with respect to the visitor center.
(d) Funding.--The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc.,
shall be solely responsible for acceptance of contributions
for, and payment of expenses of, the establishment of the
visitor center. No Federal funds shall be used to pay any
expense of the establishment of the visitor center.