[Senate Report 111-137]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 287
111th Congress Report
SENATE
2d Session 111-137
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NATIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT MUSEUM ACT
_______
March 2, 2010.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Bingaman, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 1053]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (S. 1053) to amend the National Law
Enforcement Museum Act to extend the termination date, having
considered the same, reports favorably thereon without
amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.
Purpose
The purpose of S. 1053 is to amend the National Law Museum
Act by extending the authority to begin construction of the
museum by three years to November 9, 2013.
Background and Need
The National Law Enforcement Museum Act (Public Law 106-
492) authorized the construction of a National Law Enforcement
Museum in Washington, DC, to record and tell the story of U.S.
law enforcement through exhibits, collections, research, and
education. The law provided direction on planning, approval,
design, and location of the museum. It required that no federal
dollars be used for the design and construction and further
directed the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund to
finance and administer the project in coordination with the
Commission of Fine Arts, the National Capital Planning
Commission, and the National Park Service. Lastly, the law
required that the construction begin within 10 years of the
law's date of enactment, which was November 9, 2000.
The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund
(NLEOMF) has completed a substantial portion of the planning,
coordination, and approval for the museum, and has successfully
managed the current Law Enforcement Memorial since 1991. The
Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning
Commission have both given final approval of the design and
construction plans for the museum. NLEOMF has worked closely
with the National Park Service on the project and has submitted
the construction documents to the Department of the Interior
for final approval.
However, because of current economic conditions, NLEOMF is
unable to obtain all necessary bond financing from its lender
to construct the museum. Without those funds, NLEOMF will not
be able to break ground for the museum as required by the 2010
statutory deadline. NLEOMF still anticipates being able to
secure these bonds but needs additional time to do so. S. 1053
extends the statutory deadline for an additional three years,
to November 9, 2013.
Legislative History
S. 1053 was introduced by Senator Murkowski on May 14,
2009. The Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on the
bill on July 15, 2009. (S. Hrg. 111-92.) At its business
meeting on December 16, 2009, the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources ordered S. 1053 favorably reported without
amendment.
Committee Recommendation
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open
business session on December 16, 2009, by a voice vote of a
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 1053.
Summary of S. 1053
S. 1053 amends section 4(f) of the National Law Enforcement
Museum Act (Public Law 106-492) to extend the deadline to begin
construction of the National Law Enforcement Museum by three
years, from 2010 to 2013.
Cost and Budgetary Considerations
The following estimate of costs of this measure has been
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
S. 1053--A bill to amend the National Law Enforcement Museum Act to
extend the termination date
S. 1053 would extend through November 9, 2013, the
authority of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial
Fund to construct a museum honoring law enforcement officers on
federal lands within the District of Columbia. The extension
would give the foundation, a nonprofit organization, an
additional three years to begin construction.
Because the museum would be established with nonfederal
funds, CBO estimates that enacting S. 1053 would have no
significant effect on the federal budget.
The bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew
Pickford. The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, 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. 1053.
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. 1053, as ordered reported.
Congressionally Directed Spending
S. 1053, 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 National Park Service at the
July 15, 2009, Subcommittee hearing on S. 1053 follows:
Statement of Katherine H. Stevenson, Acting Deputy Director--Support
Services, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior
Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, thank you for
the opportunity to appear before you today to present the
Department of the Interior's views on S. 1053, a bill to amend
the National Law Enforcement Museum Act to extend the
termination date.
The Department has no objection to this legislation. S.
1053 would amend section 4(f) of Public Law 106-492 to
authorize construction of the Museum to begin up to 13 years
after the date of enactment of that law. If amended, the
authority to construct the Museum would terminate on November
9, 2013.
Public Law 106-492 authorizes the National Law Enforcement
Officers Memorial Fund (the Fund) to design, plan, construct
and maintain a National Law Enforcement Museum on land within
U.S. Reservation 7 in the District of Columbia, south of the
National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. Reservation 7 is
one of the original public reservations of the City of
Washington. With the exception of the Memorial, Reservation 7
has been under the jurisdiction of the District of Columbia
since 1970. Reservation 7 is also listed in the National
Register of Historic Places as a significant element of the
L'Enfant Plan.
The Act for the new museum requires that the design be
approved by the Secretary of the Interior, the National Capital
Planning Commission (NCPC), and the U.S. Commission of Fine
Arts (CFA). Over the past few years, the Fund has coordinated
extensively with the National Park Service (NPS), on behalf of
the Secretary of the Interior, as well as the courts, the NCPC,
CFA, the D.C. State Historic Preservation Officer (DC SHPO),
and the District of Columbia government. When the Department
appeared before this Committee to testify on S. 1438, a bill to
establish a National Law Enforcement Museum on Federal land in
the District of Columbia, on April 27, 2000, we were concerned,
from an historic preservation standpoint, about the impact of
locating a new building within this complex of six historic
public buildings dating from 1820 to 1939. However, the careful
design and placement of the museum have resolved these
concerns, as evidenced by the execution of a Memorandum of
Agreement on June 23, 2008, by the DC SHPO, the Fund, the NPS,
and NCPC, fulfilling the requirement of Section 106 of the
National Historic Preservation Act. Site and building plans for
the museum were approved by the CFA on May 24, 2008, the NCPC
on August 28, 2008. The plans were prepared according to the
requirements of the National Law Enforcement Museum Act and are
the result of agreements on perimeter security, shared access
to the loading facility, the design of the shared plaza, and a
pavilion design that is compatible with the Courts' historic
buildings at Judiciary Square.
The Act prohibits the Fund from beginning construction of
the museum unless the Secretary of the Interior ``determines
that sufficient amounts are available to complete construction
of the Museum.'' The Secretary currently cannot make this
determination. On February 11, 2009, the Fund announced a new
time line and budget for the project which were approved by its
Board of Directors during the week of February 2, 2009. The
announcement proposed a new start date in the fall of 2010,
with an anticipated completion of mid-2013. Cost savings
measures will reduce the construction budget from $80 million
to $51 million, with a corresponding reduction in size from
100,000 square feet to 55,000 square feet and a reduction in
the number of floors from four to three. The Fund has advised
that these changes will not impact the above-ground features of
the museum but will require the re-design of the underground
spaces. The reduced footprint will eliminate the need to
relocate a number of utilities and will thereby diminish the
potential impact to the adjacent Law Enforcement Officers
Memorial.
The Fund has also advised that the changes will not
diminish the design or the visitors' experience; however, the
revised plans have not yet been submitted for review. Though
the NPS will not own, operate, or maintain the museum, we look
forward to reviewing the revised design as required by the
National Law Enforcement Museum Act.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes my prepared testimony on S.
1053, and I would be happy to answer any questions you may
have.
Changes in Existing Law
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by
the bill S. 1053 as ordered reported, are shown as follows
(existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black
brackets, new matter is printed in italic, existing law in
which no change is proposed is shown in roman):
NATIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT MUSEUM ACT
(Public Law 106-492; Approved November 9, 2000)
AN ACT To establish the National Law Enforcement Museum on Federal land
in the District of Columbia.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``National Law Enforcement
Museum Act''.
* * * * * * *
SEC. 4. NATIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT MUSEUM.
* * * * * * *
(f) Failure To Construct.--If the Memorial Fund fails to
begin construction of the Museum by the date that is [10 years]
13 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the authority
to construct the Museum shall terminate on that date.