[Senate Report 115-249]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                       Calendar No. 415
                                                       
115th Congress     }                                       {    Report
                                  SENATE
 2d Session        }                                       {   115-249

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       NATIONAL EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES COMMEMORATIVE WORK ACT

                                _______
                                

                  May 16, 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. 1692]

      [Including Cost Estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 1692) to authorize the National Emergency 
Medical Services Memorial Foundation to establish a 
commemorative work in the District of Columbia and its 
environs, 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. 1692 is to authorize the National 
Emergency Medical Services Memorial Foundation (Foundation) to 
establish a commemorative work in the District of Columbia and 
its environs.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    Emergency Medical Service (EMS) providers respond to 
approximately 37 million emergency calls annually across the 
United States. These professionals are first responders in all 
types of emergency situations, ranging from medical 
emergencies, to natural disasters, to fires, and acts of 
terrorism. According to the Department of Labor and the 
National Highway Safety Administration, EMS providers die in 
the line of duty at a rate more than twice the national average 
for all occupational fatalities. Over 650 men and women who 
served have made the ultimate sacrifice while performing their 
duties, which have occurred in every state across the country.
    S. 1692 authorizes the Foundation to establish a 
commemorative work on federal land in the District of Columbia 
and its environs to commemorate the sacrifice and commitment of 
the EMS first responders. The project must be planned and 
constructed with non-federal funds and in accordance with the 
Commemorative Works Act.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    S. 1692 was introduced by Senators Coons, Capito, Cotton, 
Cassidy, Shaheen, and Warren on August 1, 2017. The Senate 
Subcommittee on National Parks conducted a hearing on S. 1692 
on February 14, 2018. Similar language is also included in 
section 7126 of S. 1460, the Energy and Natural Resources Act 
of 2017 (Cal. 162).
    A companion measure, H.R. 1037, was introduced by Rep. 
Lynch in the House of Representatives on February 14, 2017, and 
referred to the Natural Resources Committee.
    In the 114th Congress, Senator Coons introduced similar 
legislation, S. 2628, on March 3, 2016. On March 17, 2016, the 
Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on S. 2628. 
Similar legislation, H.R. 2274, was introduced in the House of 
Representatives by Rep. Lynch on May 12, 2015, and referred to 
the Natural Resources Committee.
    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources met in open 
business session on March 8, 2018, and ordered S. 1692 
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. 
1692.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title

    Section 1 contains the short title.

Section 2. Findings

    Section 2 contains Congressional findings.

Section 3. Authorization to establish commemorative work by the 
        National Emergency Medical Services Foundation

    Section 3(a) authorizes the Foundation to establish a 
commemorative work on Federal land in the District of Columbia 
and its environs to commemorate the commitment and service 
represented by EMS.
    Subsection (b) requires the establishment of the 
commemorative work to be in compliance with the Commemorative 
Works Act (40 U.S.C. Chapter 89).
    Subsection (c) requires the Foundation to be solely 
responsible for the acceptance of contributions for, and 
payment of the expenses of, the commemorative work 
establishment. This subsection also prohibits the use of 
Federal funds to pay for any establishment-related expense.
    Subsection (d) requires the Foundation to transmit any 
remaining balance of funds received for the establishment of 
the commemorative work to the Secretary of the Interior for 
deposit into an account with the National Park Foundation (40 
U.S.C. 8906(b)(3)), after all payments for the expenses of the 
establishment of the commemorative work, including those 
required for maintenance and preservation of the work, have 
been made. If following the expiration of the authority for the 
commemorative work there remains a balance of funds received 
for the establishment of the work, this subsection further 
directs the Foundation to transmit the balance amount to a 
separate account with the National Park Foundation for 
memorials, to be available to the Secretary or Administrator of 
the General Services, as appropriate, for the maintenance of 
the commemorative work.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

    The following estimate of the costs of this measure has 
been provided by the Congressional Budget Office: S. 1692 would 
authorize the National Emergency Medical Services Memorial 
Foundation (a nonprofit organization) to establish a memorial 
in or near the District of Columbia to commemorate the 
commitment and service of first responders in medical 
emergencies.
    Because S. 1692 would prohibit the use of federal funds to 
establish the memorial, CBO estimates that implementing the 
bill would have no effect on spending subject to appropriation.
    The project would be subject to the requirements of the 
Commemorative Works Act. That act directs any entity that 
receives a permit to construct a memorial to donate to the 
National Park Foundation (a nonprofit organization whose 
subsequent donations to the National Park Service are recorded 
on the budget) an amount equal to 10 percent of the memorial's 
estimated construction costs. That donation and any project 
funds remaining after construction would be available for 
maintenance of the memorial without the need for 
appropriations.
    Based on the experience of similar commemorative projects, 
CBO expects that any amounts collected by the federal 
government for maintenance of the memorial would not be 
received for several years and would be offset by an 
expenditure soon thereafter. Thus, on net, CBO estimates that 
the effect on direct spending would be insignificant.
    Because enacting S. 1692 would affect direct spending, pay-
as-you-go procedures apply. Enacting the bill would not affect 
revenues.
    CBO estimates that enacting S. 1692 would not increase net 
direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four 
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
    S. 1692 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
    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.1692. 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.1692, as ordered reported.

                   CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

    S. 1692, 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. 1692 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 S. 1692, a Bill To Authorize the National 
     Emergency Medical Services Memorial Foundation To Establish a 
 Commemorative Work in the District of Columbia and Its Environs, and 
                           for Other Purposes

    The Department supports S. 1692. The memorial authorized by 
this legislation would commemorate the commitment and service 
of the Emergency Medical Services profession. S. 1692 prohibits 
federal funds from being used to establish the memorial.
    The Commemorative Works Act (CWA), 40 U.S.C. Chapter 89, 
precludes establishing a memorial to members of the Emergency 
Medical Services profession as a group because the 
memorialization of members of a group may not be authorized 
until after the 25th anniversary of the death of the last 
surviving member. Therefore, our support for this proposal is 
based upon our understanding that this memorial will recognize 
the ``commitment and service'' of the Emergency Medical 
Services profession, not the organization's members.
    A memorial to honor the commitment and service of a 
profession is not a concept that is explicitly described in the 
CWA, and it does not fit the typical mold for commemoration 
under the CWA. However, there is a precedent for this type of 
memorial: the National Peace Corps Memorial, which Congress 
authorized in 2014. That memorial was authorized not to 
commemorate Peace Corps participants explicitly, which would be 
inconsistent with the CWA, but rather to commemorate the 
``mission of the Peace Corps and the ideals on which the Peace 
Corps was founded.''
    At the September 14, 2015, meeting of the National Capital 
Memorial Advisory Commission, the Commission reviewed H.R. 
2274, a bill nearly identical to S. 1692. It was the consensus 
of the Commission that the language was clear that the memorial 
authorized by the bill would not commemorate individuals or a 
group of individuals, and therefore was not inconsistent with 
the CWA. We agree with the Commission's interpretation.
    Finally, we note that S. 1692 provides that unspent funds 
raised for the construction of the memorial be provided to the 
National Park Foundation for deposit in an interest-bearing 
account as stated in 40 U.S.C. Section 8906(b)(3). This is a 
provision we strongly support including in all legislation 
authorizing memorials under the CWA.

                        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.