[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.
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