[House Report 115-1031]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
115th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 115-1031
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TO REDESIGNATE GRAVELLY POINT PARK, LOCATED ALONG THE GEORGE WASHINGTON
MEMORIAL PARKWAY IN ARLINGTON COUNTY, VIRGINIA, AS THE NANCY REAGAN
MEMORIAL PARK, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
_______
November 16, 2018.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be
printed
_______
Mr. Bishop of Utah, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted
the following
R E P O R T
together with
DISSENTING VIEWS
[To accompany H.R. 553]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 553) to redesignate Gravelly Point Park, located
along the George Washington Memorial Parkway in Arlington
County, Virginia, as the Nancy Reagan Memorial Park, and for
other purposes, having considered the same, report favorably
thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 553 is to redesignate Gravelly Point
Park, located along the George Washington Memorial Parkway in
Arlington County, Virginia, as the Nancy Reagan Memorial Park.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
H.R. 553 would redesignate Gravelly Point Park as the Nancy
Reagan Memorial Park to celebrate the life and work of the
former First Lady.
Gravelly Point Park is a favorite location of hikers,
bikers and walkers along the Potomac River and a beloved
location of airplane-spotters. The park sits directly next to
the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and near the Lady
Bird Johnson Park along the George Washington Memorial Parkway
in Arlington, Virginia.\1\ Gravelly Point was a site of
dredging and resource extraction in the late 19th century due
to the presence of sand and gravel deposits, giving rise to its
current name.\2\
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\1\https://www.virginia.org/listings/OutdoorsAndSports/
GravellyPoint/.
\2\https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/republicans-want-to-rename-
gravelly-point-heres-why-we-shouldnt-let-them/2018/02/05/7c184fdc-0762-
11e8-b48c-b07fea957bd5_story.html?utm_term=.
6bbc90ced2ba.
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Nancy Reagan was born Anne Frances Robbins on July 6, 1921,
in Queens, New York and grew up in Chicago, Illinois. Reagan
graduated from Smith College in Massachusetts, where she
majored in theatre. During her career as a professional actress
she landed a role on Broadway and performed in Hollywood films.
After marrying Ronald Reagan, in 1952, the couple had two
children together.\3\ At the election of her husband to
governor of California, Reagan became the first lady of
California from 1967 to 1975.\4\ Mrs. Reagan became First Lady
of the United States in January 1981 after President Reagan's
election. During her time as First Lady, Mrs. Reagan was
passionate about many causes, including her ``Just Say No''
anti-drug campaign, promoting foster grandparents and
advocating for the arts.\5\
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\3\https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/sreference/biography-of-nancy-
reagan.
\4\http://governors.library.ca.gov/firstladies/31-Reagan.html.
\5\https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2016/03/06/nancy-
reagan-biography-facts/81404968/.
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After leaving the White House, Mrs. Reagan retired to their
family home in California but continued to be a proponent for
causes she was passionate about, including Alzheimer's disease.
Mrs. Reagan passed away on March 6, 2016, and is buried next to
her husband at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.\6\
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\6\http://www.firstladies.org/biographies/
firstladies.aspx?biography=41.
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Nancy Reagan Memorial Park would recognize First Lady Nancy
Reagan for her dedication and support of important causes
throughout her life. The redesignation would act as a tribute
to the First Lady's legacy while maintaining the current status
and uses of the park.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 553 was introduced on January 13, 2017, by Congressman
Jody B. Hice (R-GA). The bill was referred to the Committee on
Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee
on Federal Lands. On January 17, 2018, the Natural Resources
Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee was
discharged by unanimous consent. No amendments were offered,
and the bill was initially not ordered favorably reported to
the House of Representatives by a roll call vote of 15 ayes to
17 noes, as follows:
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Later in the markup, Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) moved to
reconsider the vote by which H.R. 553 was not ordered favorably
reported; the motion was adopted by a roll call vote of 18 ayes
to 16 noes. Immediately after this vote, the bill was adopted
and ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives
by a roll call vote of 18 ayes to 16 noes, as follows:
COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.
COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII AND CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET ACT
1. Cost of Legislation and the Congressional Budget Act.
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) and (3) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
sections 308(a) and 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974, the Committee has received the following estimate for the
bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, January 26, 2018.
Hon. Rob Bishop,
Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
reviewed H.R. 553, a bill to redesignate Gravelly Point Park,
located along the George Washington Memorial Parkway in
Arlington County, Virginia, as the Nancy Reagan Memorial Park,
and for other purposes, as ordered reported by the House
Committee on Natural Resources on January 17, 2018.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 553 would have no
significant effect on the federal budget and would not affect
direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go
procedures do not apply. CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 553
would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in
any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
H.R. 553 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Janani
Shankaran.
Sincerely,
Keith Hall,
Director.
2. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or
objective of this bill is to redesignate Gravelly Point Park,
located along the George Washington Memorial Parkway in
Arlington County, Virginia, as the Nancy Reagan Memorial Park.
EARMARK STATEMENT
This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of
the House of Representatives.
COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
COMPLIANCE WITH H. RES. 5
Directed Rule Making. This bill does not contain any
directed rule makings.
Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not
establish or reauthorize a program of the federal government
known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was
not included in any report from the Government Accountability
Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139
or identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program
Information Act (Public Law 95-220, as amended by Public Law
98-169) as relating to other programs.
PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW
This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or
tribal law.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
If enacted, this bill would make no changes to existing
law.
DISSENTING VIEWS
We oppose the bill to rename Gravelly Point after former
First Lady Nancy Reagan. Our reasons for this opposition are
many: It is the pet project of a special interest, involved no
public input, does not have the support of the local community,
lacked congressional courtesy, and raises technical concerns.
Gravelly Point Park is not a national tourist attraction--
its where local families go to have a picnic, throw a ball
around, put a blanket down and watch the planes coming in and
out of the airport. There is no connection to Nancy Reagan, and
the only reason this proposal is before Congress is because it
is the pet project of Americans for Tax Reform, an influential
conservative interest group and the political funding arm of
anti-tax advocate Grover Norquist.
Residents of Arlington and Alexandria, the communities
closet to Gravelly Point, have not had their input taken into
consideration. Local officials have raised concerns about the
renaming and reaction by the local community upon hearing about
the bill has been overwhelmingly negative.
Exactly 20 years ago, Grover Norquist led a similar charge
in Virginia's eighth Congressional district to rename
Washington National Airport after Ronald Reagan. At the time,
the bill flouted typical naming procedure and was passing over
strong Congressional opposition, opposition by the local
community, local elected officials, the Washington Metropolitan
Airports Authority, and air traffic controllers, recalling
Reagan's firing of 11,000 controllers during a 1981 strike. It
was unpaid for, at a cost $400,000, which given the lack of
Congressional appropriation had to be absorbed into Washington
Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's budget. For the original
dissenting views, please see 105th Congress, H.R. 2625, House
Report 105-408. As former Congressman Jim Moran then said,
``[Ronald Reagan] stood against the abuse of federal power and
the waste of taxpayers' money, and this is both.''
We are concerned about allowing one powerful fundraiser to
again ignore procedure and dictate names, this time about a
federal park. Special interests should not be able to determine
the name of land that belongs to all Americans. This bill does
not take any input from the American people into consideration,
particularly the very people that are users of the Park. If a
renaming is to be considered, the American public, especially
the Park users, should have a say in the name.
To that end, it should be noted that the sponsor's office
did not notify or work with the office of Congressman Don
Beyer, where Gravelly Point Park is located, and that outreach
by Congressman Beyer's office after learning about the bill
went unheeded.
Furthermore, there is a potential technical impediment to
the bill that needs further consideration. Memorials, monuments
and other commemorative works in Washington DC and its environs
are governed by the Commemorative Works Act (CWA), which lays
out a series of guidelines for the establishment of memorials
and requires consultation with the National Capital Memorial
Advisory Commission.
The Commission reviewed H.R. 5457--the identical bill
introduced in the 114th Congress--and determined that the
proposal potentially violates several guidelines established by
the CWA.
Congressional authorization for memorials to individuals is
not supposed to occur until the 25th anniversary of the death
of the individual. Since space is limited and memorials should
not be established without careful consideration, this provides
time for reflection on the individual's contributions. Since
Mrs. Reagan passed away less than two years ago, the
designation of a memorial park in her name fails to comply with
that provision of the CWA.
The CWA also requires a comprehensive evaluation of site
locations to determine suitability. The commission noted that
this hasn't happened for this proposal and that the designation
of this site after the Former First Lady could prevent the
establishment of other memorials in the area, since CWA states
that no new memorial shall encroach upon an existing memorial.
In addition, there has been no assessment on how much it would
cost to rename the Park.
Our responsibilities as Members of the committee with
jurisdiction over federal land require us to evaluate proposals
on their merits. We cannot blindly accept any proposal that is
made regardless of our respect for the individuals or entities
to be honored. By these standards, the proposal to rename
Gravelly Point must be rejected.
Raul M. Grijalva,
Ranking Member.
Donald S. Beyer Jr.