[Senate Report 117-51]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                  Calendar No. 201

117th Congress }                                          { Report 
                             SENATE
 1st Session   }                                          { 117-51

======================================================================
 
            GLOBAL WAR ON TERRORISM MEMORIAL LOCATION ACT

                                _______
                                

               December 16, 2021.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

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

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 535]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 535) to authorize the location of a 
memorial on the National Mall to commemorate and honor the 
members of the Armed Forces that served on active duty in 
support of the Global War on Terrorism, and for other purposes, 
having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an 
amendment and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.

                               AMENDMENT

    The amendment is as follows:
    Strike section 2 and insert the following:

SEC. 2. NATIONAL GLOBAL WAR ON TERRORISM MEMORIAL.

    (a) SITE.--Notwithstanding section 8908(c) of title 40, United 
States, Code, the National Global War on Terrorism Memorial authorized 
by section 2(a) of the Global War on Terrorism War Memorial Act (40 
U.S.C. 8903 note; Public Law 115-51; 131 Stat. 1003) (referred to in 
this section as the ``Memorial'') shall be located within the Reserve 
(as defined in section 8902(a) of title 40, United States Code).
    (b) Applicability of Commemorative Works Act.--Except as provided 
in subsection (a), chapter 89 of title 40, United States Code (commonly 
known as the ``Commemorative Works Act''), shall apply to the Memorial.

                                PURPOSE

    The purpose of S. 535 is to require the previously 
authorized Global War on Terrorism Memorial to be located 
within the Reserve notwithstanding the prohibition in the 
Commemorative Works Act from siting the Memorial within the 
Reserve.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    In 2017, Congress enacted Public Law 115-51, which 
authorized the Global War on Terror Memorial Foundation to 
build a commemorative work in Washington, D.C., to commemorate 
and honor the members of the Armed Forces that served on active 
duty in support of the Global War on Terrorism. The law 
required that the memorial be established in accordance with 
chapter 89 of title 40, United States Code (commonly known as 
the Commemorative Works Act), except that the law waived 
provisions in the Act which authorized military commemorative 
works only to commemorate a war or similar major military 
conflict, and only after the 25th anniversary of the event.
    In 2003 Congress enacted Public Law 108-126, the 
Commemorative Works Clarification and Revision Act. That law 
included a finding recommended by the National Park Service 
that the great cross axis of the National Mall is a 
substantially completed work of civic art where the siting of 
new commemorative works is prohibited. The law designated the 
area as the ``Reserve,'' and prohibited new commemorative works 
or visitor centers from being located in the Reserve.
    As ordered reported, S. 535 requires the memorial to be 
located within the Reserve, but otherwise provides that the 
Commemorative Works Act shall apply to the memorial.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    Senators Ernst, Hassan, Braun, Cramer, Feinstein, Risch, 
Crapo, Boozman, and Shaheen introduced S. 535 on March 3, 2021. 
The bill is cosponsored by 48 other Senators. The Subcommittee 
on National Parks held a hearing on the bill on June 23, 2021. 
Senators Ernst and Hassan introduced a similar bill in the 
116th Congress, S. 4564, although no action was taken on the 
bill.
    On December 7, 2021, the House included language identical 
to the Committee-reported version of S. 535 in S. 1605, the 
National Defense Authorization Act.

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 
open business session on November 18, 2021, by a majority voice 
vote of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 
535, as amended.

                          COMMITTEE AMENDMENT

    During its consideration of S. 535, the Committee adopted 
an amendment that requires the Global War on Terrorism Memorial 
to be located within the Reserve, but removes the provision in 
the bill as introduced that would have required the memorial to 
be located at one of three identified locations within the 
Reserve. The amendment requires that except for the requirement 
to locate the memorial within the Reserve, the Commemorative 
Works Act shall apply to the memorial.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

    Section 1 provides the short title, the ``Global War on 
Terrorism Memorial Location Act.''
    Section 2(a) provides that notwithstanding section 8908(c) 
of title 40, United States Code, which prohibits the siting of 
new commemorative works within the Reserve, the Global War on 
Terrorism Memorial shall be located within the Reserve.
    Subsection (b) states that except as provided in subsection 
(a), the Commemorative Works Act of 1986 (40 U.S.C. 89 et seq.) 
shall apply to the memorial.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

    The Congressional Budget Office has not estimated the costs 
of S. 535 as passed by the Senate. The Committee has requested, 
but has not yet received, the Congressional Budget Office's 
estimate of the cost of S. 535 as ordered reported. When the 
Congressional Budget Office completes its cost estimate, it 
will be posted on the Internet at www.cbo.gov.

                      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. 535. 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. 535, as ordered reported.

                   CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

    S. 535, 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 June 23, 2021, hearing on S. 535 follows:

   Statement of Michael A. Caldwell, Acting Associate Director, Park 
Planning, Facilities and Lands, National Park Service, U.S. Department 
                            of the Interior.

    Chairman King, Ranking Member Daines, and members of the 
Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to present the 
Department of the Interior's views on S. 535, to authorize the 
location of a memorial on the National Mall to commemorate and 
honor the members of the Armed Forces that served on active 
duty support of the Global War on Terrorism, and for other 
purposes.
    The Department has the highest regard for all those who 
served in our armed forces during the last two decades, a 
period of continuous overseas military conflicts that followed 
the attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001. We 
believe that it was appropriate for Congress to authorize the 
Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation to construct a 
memorial in the nation's capital to honor the brave men and 
women who fought for our country during this period, and who 
continue to do so. While we understand the desire to build this 
memorial in a specific location, we do not support constructing 
it within the Reserve, and therefore we do not support S. 535 
as it is currently drafted.
    S. 535 would allow the Global War on Terrorism Memorial to 
be located in the area identified as the ``Reserve'' under the 
Commemorative Works Act of 1986 (40 USC 89 et seq.) (the Act), 
and would require the memorial to be located on one of three 
sites within the Reserve: Constitution Gardens, the JFK Hockey 
Fields, or West Potomac Park. The Act was enacted to ensure 
that proper consideration is given to authorization, location, 
and design of new memorials within Washington, D.C. Congress 
amended the Act in 2003, establishing the ``Reserve'' and 
declaring it a completed work of civic art where ``the siting 
of new commemorative works is prohibited.'' The Act identifies 
the Reserve as ``the great cross-axis of the Mall'' which 
extends from the United States Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial, 
and from the White House to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial.
    The Act also established the National Capital Memorial 
Advisory Commission (Commission) to advise the Secretary of the 
Interior and the Administrator of General Services (as 
appropriate) on policy and procedures for the establishment of, 
and proposals to establish, commemorative works in the District 
of Columbia and its environs. The Act states that Congress 
shall solicit the views of the Commission in considering 
legislation authorizing commemorative works within the District 
of Columbia and its environs.
    On February 11, 2020, the Commission reviewed H.R. 5046 
from the 116th Congress, a bill identical to S. 535. The 
Commission shared its views on the legislation in letters to 
the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on December 
8, 2020, and the House Natural Resources Committee on March 20, 
2020. The Commission did not support legislation that would 
locate the Global War on Terrorism Memorial on one of three 
sites in the Reserve as it was inconsistent with the 
prohibition on new commemorative works within the Reserve.
    The Department notes that there have been other efforts to 
persuade Congress to grant an exception to the Act's 
prohibition on the establishment of new memorials in the 
Reserve, including the World War I Memorial and the National 
Desert Storm and Desert Shield Memorial. None of these efforts 
have been successful.
    In 2013, legislation was introduced to authorize the 
establishment of a World War I Memorial on a site within the 
Reserve. This legislation followed an unsuccessful effort to 
authorize the augmentation of the District of Columbia War 
Memorial, also located in the Reserve, for the same purpose. 
Congress declined both proposals, opting instead in 2014 to 
authorize the establishment of the World War I Memorial in 
historic Pershing Park within Area I. The World War I Memorial 
opened to the public in April 2021 to the appreciation and 
admiration of veterans and visitors alike.
    After the Desert Storm and Desert Shield Memorial was 
authorized in 2014, the Memorial's sponsors approached the NPS 
about the possibility of an exception to the Reserve and made 
initial inquiries among their congressional supporters. After 
some investigation, the sponsors elected instead to seek 
authorization to locate within Area I, which was granted by the 
Congress in 2017. Pleased with their approved site at 23rd 
Street and Constitution Avenue, NW, just outside the Reserve, 
the memorial sponsors are moving forward with the design 
approval process.
    Further, the Commission noted that the scale and time 
involved with the Global War on Terrorism (September 11, 2001 
to date not yet known) presents the possibility that more 
location-specific memorials for a similar purpose will be 
proposed. Future memorial legislation might be introduced to 
commemorate military conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, and 
possibly elsewhere, potentially leading to their placement in 
proximity to the Global War on Terror Memorial. The Commission 
recommended that careful consideration be given to the 
potential for future memorials to military conflicts, their 
relationship to each other, and how memorials to these 
conflicts can be accommodated within the limited range of sites 
in Washington DC and its environs. The Department concurs with 
the Commission's views.
    The Commission also recommended that if Congress determines 
that the Global War on Terrorism Memorial warrants 
establishment in the Reserve, that other locations besides the 
three named in S. 535 be explored. The Department agrees with 
this recommendation. Therefore, if the Committee moves forward 
with S. 535, we would like to work with the Committee on 
amendments for that purpose.
    Chairman King, this concludes my statement. I would be 
happy to answer any questions that you or the other members of 
the Subcommittee 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.

                              [all]