[Senate Report 115-215]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 359
115th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 115-215
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ADMIRAL LLOYD R. ``JOE'' VASEY PACIFIC WAR COMMEMORATIVE DISPLAY
ESTABLISHMENT ACT
_______
March 21, 2018.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Ms. Murkowski, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 2213]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (S. 2213) to authorize Pacific Historic Parks
to establish a commemorative display to honor members of the
United States Armed Forces who served in the Pacific Theater of
World War II, and for other purposes, having considered the
same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and
recommends that the bill do pass.
PURPOSE
The purpose of S. 2213 is to authorize the Pacific Historic
Parks to establish a commemorative display to honor members of
the United States Armed Forces who served in the Pacific
Theater of World War II.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
President George W. Bush established the World War II Valor
in the Pacific National Monument by proclamation under the
Antiquities Act on December 5, 2008. The Monument includes the
USS Arizona Memorial and Visitor Center, the USS Utah Memorial,
the USS Oklahoma Memorial, and other sites at Pearl Harbor,
Hawaii; three sites in Alaska's Aleutian Islands, and the Tule
Lake Segregation Center National Historic Landmark in
California. The Monument was established to preserve these
sites associated with important aspects of World War II in the
Pacific and to ``present interpretive opportunities and
programs for visitors to better understand and honor the
sacrifices borne by the Greatest Generation, and tell the story
from Pearl Harbor to Peace.'' In addition, the USS Missouri
Memorial Association preserves the USS Missouri, the battleship
on which the Empire of Japan surrendered, ending World War II.
S. 2213 supports the purposes of the World War II Valor in
the Pacific National Monument by authorizing Pacific Historic
Parks, a nonprofit organization that works with the National
Park Service in support of the USS Arizona Memorial and other
National Park units in the Pacific, to establish a
commemorative display at a suitable location at Pearl Harbor to
honor the members of the United States Armed Forces and its
allies who served in the Pacific Theater during World War II.
The commemorative display would tell the story of the U.S.
service members who fought alongside allied service members on
land, in the air, and at sea throughout the Pacific Theater
during World War II. The commemorative display would also
educate the public on the role of the Pacific War, and provide
a place for loved ones to mourn those who were lost. The design
and establishment of the commemorative display would be carried
out, in coordination with the National Park Service (NPS) and
the Pacific Historic Parks, a non-profit whose sole mission is
to support NPS throughout the Pacific region.
The legislation is needed to authorize Pacific Historic
Parks to locate the commemorative display on National Park
Service-managed property.
The commemorative display proposed by the legislation would
be named after Admiral Joe Vasey, who recently passed away at
the age of 101. Admiral Vasey dedicated his life to promoting
peace throughout the Pacific. He served aboard the USS Gunnel,
under Admiral John S. McCain, Jr., father of Senator John
McCain, in the Pacific Theater during World War II. He also
founded the Pacific Forum Center for Strategic and
International Studies, a nonprofit foreign policy research
institute focused on the Asia-Pacific region.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
S. 2213 was introduced by Senators Hirono and Schatz on
December 7, 2017. The Senate Subcommittee on National Parks
held a hearing on S. 2213 on February 14, 2018.
A companion measure, H.R. 4300, was introduced in the House
of Representatives by Rep. Hanabusa on November 8, 2017 and
referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources. H.R. 4300
was reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources (H.
Rept. 115-450) on December 6, 2017, and passed the House of
Representatives by voice vote on December 7, 2017.
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources met in open
business session on March 8, 2018, and ordered S. 2213 and H.R.
4300 favorably reported.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in
open business session on March 8, 2018, by a majority voice
vote of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S.
2213.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Short title
Section 1 contains the short title.
Section 2. Definitions
Section 2 contains key definitions.
Section 3. Purposes
Section 3 outlines three purposes of the legislation: (1)
honoring members of the U.S. Armed Forces who fought on behalf
of the United States in the Pacific Theater during World War
II; (2) providing a place to mourn the lives of American and
Allied lives lost in the Pacific Theater during World War II;
and (3) educating the public about U.S. battles in the Pacific
Theater and its role in World War II.
Section 4. Pacific Theater Commemorative Display
Section 4(a) authorizes the Pacific Historic Parks, a
cooperating association with the National Park Service, to
establish and maintain a commemorative display to honor the
members of the United States Armed Forces and Allies who served
in the Pacific Theater during World War II.
Subsection (b) prohibits the use of Federal funds for the
design, procurement, preparation, installation, or maintenance
of the commemorative display, but authorizes the NPS Director
to accept and expend contributions of non-Federal funds and
resources for such purposes.
Subsection (c) authorizes the Director to allow the
commemorative display to be established at a suitable location
at the Pearl Harbor site of the World War II Valor in the
Pacific National Monument in Honolulu, Hawaii. This subsection
further prohibits the establishment of the commemorative
display at any location under the Director's jurisdiction until
the Director determines that an assured source of non-Federal
funding has been established for the design, procurement,
installation, and maintenance of the commemorative display.
Subsection (d) specifies that the final design of the
commemorative display shall be subject to the approval of the
Director.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The following estimate of the costs of this measure has
been provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
S. 2213 would authorize the Pacific Historic Parks, a
nonprofit organization, to establish a memorial at the Pearl
Harbor site of the World War II Valor in the Pacific National
Monument located in Honolulu, Hawaii, to commemorate members of
the armed forces who fought in the Pacific Theater during World
War II. The bill would prohibit the use of federal funds to
design, install, or maintain the memorial.
Under S. 2213, the final design of the memorial would be
subject to the approval of the National Park Service (NPS). On
the basis of the cost of similar activities, CBO estimates that
any administrative costs incurred by NPS to approve the
memorial design would be insignificant; any such spending would
be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
Enacting S. 2213 could affect direct spending; therefore,
pay-as-you-go procedures apply. The bill would authorize NPS to
accept donations, which would be recorded in the budget as
offsetting receipts (or reductions in direct spending), and to
spend them without further appropriation action to establish
the memorial. Because CBO expects that any donation received by
NPS would be offset by an expenditure soon thereafter, we
estimate that the net effect on direct spending would be
negligible. Enacting S. 2213 would not affect revenues.
CBO estimates that enacting S. 2213 would not increase net
direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
S. 2213 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
On January 19, 2018, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for
H.R. 4300, the Admiral Lloyd R. `Joe' Vasey Pacific War
Commemorative Display Establishment Act, as passed by the House
of Representatives on December 7, 2017. On March 16, 2018, CBO
transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 4300, the Admiral Lloyd R.
`Joe' Vasey Pacific War Commemorative Display Establishment
Act, as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources on March 8, 2018. The pieces of legislation
are similar, and CBO's estimates of their budgetary effects are
the same.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Janani
Shankaran. The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss,
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. 2213. 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. 2213, as ordered reported.
CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING
S. 2213, 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 Department of the Interior at
the February 14, 2018, hearing on S. 2213 follows:
Statement of P. Daniel Smith, Deputy Director, Exercising the Authority
of the Director of the National Park Service, Department of the
Interior, Before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee
on National Parks, Concerning H.R. 4300 and S. 2213, Bills To Authorize
Pacific Historic Parks To Establish a Commemorative Display To Honor
Members of the United States Armed Forces Who Served in the Pacific
Theater of World War II
Chairman Daines, Ranking Member King, and members of the
Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to present the
Department of the Interior's views on H.R. 4300 and S. 2213,
bills to authorize Pacific Historic Parks to establish a
commemorative display to honor members of the United States
Armed Forces who served in the Pacific Theater of World War II,
and for other purposes.
The Department supports this legislation and recommends a
technical amendment. The two bills, which are virtually
identical, would allow the organization named Pacific Historic
Parks to establish and maintain a commemorative display at the
Pearl Harbor site of the World War II Valor in the Pacific
National Monument. The display would honor the members of the
United States Armed Forces and allies who served in the Pacific
Theater during World War II.
The legislation prohibits the use of federal funds to
design, procure, prepare, install, and maintain the
commemorative display, but allows the National Park Service to
accept and expend contributions of non-federal funds and
resources for such purposes. It also prohibits the
establishment of the commemorative display on National Park
Service-managed property until the National Park Service
determines that there is an assured source of non-federal
funding for the design, procurement, installation, and
maintenance of the display.
The World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument,
home of the USS Arizona Memorial, receives nearly two million
visitors each year who come to learn about and to pay their
respects to those who gave their lives in the attack on the
island of Oahu. The monument interprets not only the events of
December 7, 1941, but also the world events leading up to the
attack and events that followed, including the many battles
across the Pacific Theatre that occurred after the United
States entered World War II. The National Park Service believes
that the commemorative display authorized in this legislation
would be consistent with the mission and interpretive themes
explored at the monument.
The Department recommends that the language in Section 4 be
clarified to reflect the fact that authority is needed for the
Pacific Historic Parks organization to establish a
commemorative display on National Park Service-managed
property, not for establishing the display itself. We would
like to work with the sponsor and the committee on clarifying
language.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes my statement. I would be
pleased to answer any questions you or other members of the
Subcommittee may have.
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 the bill as ordered
reported.
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