[House Report 107-662]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
107th Congress Rept. 107-662
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session Part 1
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NATIONAL WAR PERMANENT TRIBUTE HISTORICAL DATABASE ACT
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September 18, 2002.--Ordered to be printed
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Mr. Hansen, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 2748]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 2748) to authorize the establishment of a national
database for purposes of identifying, locating, and cataloging
the many memorials and permanent tributes to America's
veterans, having considered the same, report favorably thereon
with an amendment and recommend that the bill as amended do
pass.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``National War Permanent Tribute
Historical Database Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) on November 13, 2000, Congress agreed to a resolution
expressing the sense of Congress regarding the need for
cataloging and maintaining public memorials;
(2) there are many thousands of public memorials and
permanent tributes throughout the United States and abroad that
commemorate military conflicts of the United States and the
service of individuals in the Armed Forces;
(3) many of these memorials suffer from neglect and
disrepair, and many have been relocated or stored in facilities
where the memorials are unavailable to the public and subject
to further neglect and damage;
(4) there exists a need to collect and centralize information
regarding the identification, location, and description of
these memorials, as no such catalog is available to the public
from either the Federal government or any nongovernmental
entity; and
(5) Remembering Veterans Who Earned Their Stripes, a
nonprofit corporation established as RVETS, Inc. under the laws
of the State of Nevada, has already undertaken a unique and
innovative program to catalog these memorials and has a unique
methodology and capability to perform this research, having
already obtained information on more than 8,000 memorials in 50
States.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF DATABASE.
(a) Establishment.--In order to locate, identify, and catalog the
many thousands of permanent tributes that commemorate the military
conflicts of the United States, and the service and sacrifice of
individuals in the Armed Forces of the United States, and to make such
information readily available for the educational benefit of the
public, the Secretary of the Interior may establish and maintain a
database known as the National War Permanent Tribute Historical
Database.
(b) Content.--The database shall contain information on--
(1) the location, history, and background of the permanent
tributes;
(2) photographs and other information to enhance the
understanding of the permanent tributes;
(3) information about the veterans in whose honor the
permanent tributes are dedicated; and
(4) any other information the Secretary considers appropriate
and necessary.
(c) Public Access.--The database shall be made accessible to the
public, through the Internet or by other means, in a format that
permits the public to submit information on permanent tributes for the
purpose of updating and expanding the database.
(d) Assistance.--The Secretary of the Interior may seek the
assistance of other Federal agencies and the States and their political
subdivisions, tribal governments, public or private educational
institutions, non-profit organizations, and individuals or other
entities that the Secretary considers appropriate in carrying out this
Act, and may enter into contracts and cooperative agreements to obtain
information or services that assist in the development and
implementation of the database.
SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of the
Interior such sums as may be necessary to carry out this Act.
SEC. 5. REPORT.
Within 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary
of the Interior shall transmit to the Congress a report assessing the
efficacy and desirability of establishing a permanent fund within the
Treasury for the repair, restoration, and maintenance of the memorials
identified and catalogued under section 3. The report shall include
recommended criteria regarding appropriate recipients of expenditures
from such a fund as well as proposed funding mechanisms and any other
information considered by the Secretary to be relevant.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 2748 is to authorize the establishment
of a national database for purposes of identifying, locating,
and cataloging the many memorials and permanent tributes to
America's veterans.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Title III of Public Law 105-511 contained a Sense of the
Congress Resolution (H. Con. Res. 345) regarding the need for
cataloging and maintaining public memorials commemorating
military conflicts of the United States and the service of
individuals in the U.S. Armed Forces. Also contained in PL 105-
511 was language citing Remembering Veterans Who Earned Their
Stripes (RVETS), a nonprofit disabled veterans organization
that had undertaken a self-funded program to catalogue the
memorials located in the United States that commemorate
military conflicts of the United States and the service of
individuals in the Armed Forces, and has already obtained
information on more than 7,000 memorials in 50 States. To date,
RVETS has catalogued over 8,500 memorials. The Resolution
recommended that the Secretary of Interior collect and maintain
information on public memorials that commemorate military
conflicts of the United States, coordinate efforts at
collecting and maintaining the information with similar efforts
by other entities, such a RVETS, and make the information
available to the public.
H.R. 2748 represents the continuation of the Sense of
Congress Resolution. While the introduced verison of H.R. 2748
had the Department of Veterans Affairs creating the database,
the amended bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to
establish, maintain, and make available to the public through
the Internet, the National War Permanent Tribute Historical
Database that would be comprised of existing information as
well as that collected and maintained by RVETS and other
veterans organizations.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 2748 was introduced on August 2, 2001, by Congressman
David Dreier (R-CA). The bill was referred to the Committee on
Veterans' Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on
Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker. On August 20, 2001, the bill was referred to the
Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation, and Public Lands.
On December 13, 2001, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the
bill. On July 18, 2002, the Subcommittee met to mark up the
bill. Congressman George Radanovich (R-CA) offered an amendment
in the nature of a substitute that made the following changes
to the original text: (1) authorized the Secretary of the
Interior to establish a memorial database within the Department
of the Interior; (2) required the database to be accessible to
the public through the Internet or other means, and (3)
authorized the Secretary to seek assistance from other Federal,
state and local agencies and private institutions in obtaining
information for the database. Congressman Mark Udall (D-CO)
offered an amendment to the Radanovich Amendment directing the
Secretary of the Interior to transmit a report to Congress
assessing the physical condition of the permanent tributes
identified under the bill. The Udall Amendment was adopted by
voice vote. The Radanovich Amendment, as amended by the Udall
Amendment, was adopted by voice vote. The bill as amended was
then ordered favorably reported to the Full Committee by voice
vote. On July 24, 2002, the Full Resources Committee met to
consider the bill. Congressman Mark Udall (D-CO) offered an
amendment directing the Secretary of the Interior to transmit
within three years after the date of enactment of this Act, a
report assessing the efficacy and desirability of the
establishment of a permanent fund within the Treasury for the
repair, restoration, maintenance, and upkeep of the memorials
identified and catalogued. The report shall include recommended
criteria regarding appropriate recipients of expenditures from
such a fund as well as proposed funding mechanisms and any
other information deemed relevant by the Secretary. The
amendment was adopted by unanimous consent. The bill, as
amended, was then ordered favorably reported to the House of
Representatives by unanimous consent.
COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Resources' oversight findings and recommendations
are reflected in the body of this report.
CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT
Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United
States grants Congress the authority to enact this bill.
COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B)
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2)
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this
bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in
revenues or tax expenditures.
3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or
objective of this bill is to authorize the establishment of a
national database for purposes of identifying, locating, and
cataloging the many memorials and permanent tributes to
America's veterans.
4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, September 16, 2002.
Hon. James V. Hansen,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 2748, the National
War Permanent Tribute Historical Database Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Deborah Reis.
Sincerely,
Barry B. Anderson
(For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
Enclosure.
H.R. 2748--National War Permanent Tribute Historical Database Act
H.R. 2748 would authorize the Department of the Interior to
establish and maintain a database of public memorials to
military conflicts. The department would be authorized to enter
into contracts and cooperative agreements to obtain information
and services to develop the database, which would make
available to the public information on the location and history
of permanent memorials. Within three years of the legislation's
enactment, the department would report to the Congress on the
feasibility of establishing a federal fund to repair, restore,
or maintain the memorials that are listed in the database.
Based on information provided by the National Park Service
(NPS) and assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts, CBO
estimates that it would cost around $1.6 million over the next
year or two to establish the memorial database. This amount
would be used to design and develop the database. Up-front
costs also would include marketing and publishing expenses to
facilitate public use of the new database. We estimate that
additional costs to maintain the database would be less than
$500,000 annually beginning in 2004, also assuming
appropriation of the necessary amounts. Enacting H.R. 2748
would not affect direct spending or receipts; therefore, pay-
as-you-go procedures would not apply
This bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defend in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would have no significant impact on the budgets of state,
local, or tribal governments.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis.
This estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW
This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or
tribal law.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing
law.