[Senate Report 113-50]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                       Calendar No. 104
113th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session                                                     113-50

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              DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS NATIONAL MEMORIAL

                                _______
                                

                 June 27, 2013.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

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

                              R E P O R T

                          [To accompany S. 59]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 59) to designate a Distinguished Flying 
Cross National Memorial at the March Field Air Museums in 
Riverside, California, having considered the same, reports 
favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the 
bill do pass.

                                PURPOSE

    The purpose of S. 59 is to designate a memorial at the 
March Field Air Museum in Riverside, California as the 
Distinguished Flying Cross National Memorial.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    Created by Congress in 1926, the Distinguished Flying Cross 
is the oldest military award in the United States for 
achievements in aviation. Records indicate that 126,318 members 
of the Armed Forces received the medal during World War II, 
approximately 21,000 members received the medal during the 
Korean conflict, and 21,647 members received the medal during 
the Vietnam war. More than 200 Armed Forces members have 
received the medal since the end of the Vietnam war. Other 
recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross may be 
undocumented, since the National Personnel Records Center in 
St. Louis, Missouri burned down in 1973.
    The Department of Defense continues to locate and identify 
members of the Armed Forces whose award of the medal has not 
been documented.
    Currently, there is no national memorial dedicated to the 
bravery and sacrifice of those members of the Armed Forces who 
have distinguished themselves by heroic deeds performed in 
aerial flight. A memorial to current and former members of the 
Armed Forces has been constructed at March Field Air Museum in 
Riverside, California. The museum, originally operated by the 
Air Force, has been operated by a private nonprofit 
organization, the March Field Museum Foundation, since 1996.
    In October 2010, the museum dedicated a memorial in the 
museum's courtyard to honor Distinguished Flying Cross medal 
recipients. S. 59 would designate the memorial as the 
Distinguished Flying Cross National Memorial to honor all those 
members of the Armed Forces who have distinguished themselves 
in aerial flight.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    S. 59 was introduced by Senators Boxer, Feinstein, and 
Nelson on January 22, 2013. The Subcommittee on National Parks 
held a hearing on S. 59 on April 23, 2013. At its business 
meeting on May 16, 2013, the Committee ordered S. 59 favorably 
reported.
    In the 112th Congress an identical bill, S. 864, was 
introduced by Senators Boxer, Feinstein, and Nelson on May 2, 
2011. The Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on S. 
864 on July 28, 2011 (S. Hrg. 112-214).

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 
open business session on May 16, 2013, by a voice vote of a 
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 59.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

    Section 1 provides the short title, the ``Distinguished 
Flying Cross National Memorial Act.''
    Section 2(a) outlines the findings regarding the history 
and significance of the Distinguished Flying Cross, which is 
awarded to members of the armed forces for achievements in 
aviation.
    Subsection (b) designates the memorial at March Field Air 
Museum in Riverdale, California as the Distinguished Flying 
Cross National Memorial.
    Subsection (c) clarifies that the Distinguished Flying 
Cross National Memorial is not a unit of the National Park 
System and that the designation as a national memorial does not 
require or permit Federal funds to be expended for any purpose 
related to the memorial.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

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

S. 59--Distinguished Flying Cross National Memorial Act

    S. 59 would designate a memorial to members of the Armed 
Forces who have distinguished themselves in flight. The 
memorial, which would be located at the March Field Air Museum 
in Riverside, California, would not be a unit of the National 
Park System.
    Based on information provided by the National Park Service, 
CBO estimates that implementing S. 59 would have no effect on 
discretionary spending because the proposed memorial would not 
be constructed or operated with federal funds. Enacting the 
legislation would not affect revenues or direct spending; 
therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
    S. 59 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.
    On May 2, 2013, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 
330, the Distinguished Flying Cross National Memorial Act, as 
ordered to be reported by the House Committee on Natural 
Resources on April 24, 2013. The two bills are similar, and the 
CBO cost estimates are the same.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Martin von 
Gnechten. 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. 59.
    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. 59, as ordered reported.

                   CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

    S. 59, 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 
April 23, 2013, Subcommittee on National Parks hearing on S. 59 
follows:
  Statement of Peggy O'Dell, Deputy Director for Operations, National 
                Park Service, Department of the Interior

    Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to appear 
before your committee to present the views of the Department of 
the Interior on S. 59, a bill to designate a Distinguished 
Flying Cross National Memorial at the March Field Air Museum in 
Riverside, California.
    The Department would defer to the Department of Defense for 
a position on S. 59 since the purpose of the legislation is to 
honor military personnel who have been awarded the 
Distinguished Flying Cross at a site that is not under the 
jurisdiction of the Department.
    The Distinguished Flying Cross is awarded to a member of 
the United States armed forces who distinguishes himself or 
herself in support of operations by ``heroism or extraordinary 
achievement while participating in an aerial flight.'' It is 
the oldest military award in the United States for achievements 
in aviation. We applaud the effort of the March Field Air 
Museum to create a suitable memorial to the honor, bravery, and 
sacrifice of members of our Armed Forces who have earned this 
medal.
    This legislation explicitly states that this memorial is 
not a unit of the National Park System. As this language makes 
clear, the use of the title ``national memorial'' creates a 
reasonable expectation among the general public that it must 
have an affiliation with the National Park Service, which 
currently administers 29 national memorials across the country. 
This is not the first time this issue has arisen, nor is it 
likely to be the last, and the Department respectfully 
encourages only the most thoughtful and judicious designation 
of any future ``national'' memorials or other similar sites.
    That concludes my testimony Mr. Chairman. I would be 
pleased to respond to any questions from you and members of the 
committee.


                        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 S. 59, as ordered reported.

                                  
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