[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

                                _______
                                

                  May 24, 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 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.

                                  
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