[House Report 106-695]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
106th Congress Rept. 106-695
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session Part 2
_______________________________________________________________________
CIVIL PENALTIES ON NONPROFIT INSTITUTIONS UNDER THE ATOMIC ENERGY ACT
OF 1954
__________
R E P O R T
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ON
H.R. 3383
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
July 21, 2000.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES
One Hundred Sixth Congress
FLOYD D. SPENCE, South Carolina, Chairman
BOB STUMP, Arizona IKE SKELTON, Missouri
DUNCAN HUNTER, California NORMAN SISISKY, Virginia
JOHN R. KASICH, Ohio JOHN M. SPRATT, Jr., South
HERBERT H. BATEMAN, Virginia Carolina
JAMES V. HANSEN, Utah SOLOMON P. ORTIZ, Texas
CURT WELDON, Pennsylvania OWEN PICKETT, Virginia
JOEL HEFLEY, Colorado LANE EVANS, Illinois
JIM SAXTON, New Jersey GENE TAYLOR, Mississippi
STEVE BUYER, Indiana NEIL ABERCROMBIE, Hawaii
TILLIE K. FOWLER, Florida MARTIN T. MEEHAN, Massachusetts
JOHN M. McHUGH, New York ROBERT A. UNDERWOOD, Guam
JAMES TALENT, Missouri PATRICK J. KENNEDY, Rhode Island
TERRY EVERETT, Alabama ROD R. BLAGOJEVICH, Illinois
ROSCOE G. BARTLETT, Maryland SILVESTRE REYES, Texas
HOWARD ``BUCK'' McKEON, California TOM ALLEN, Maine
J.C. WATTS, Jr., Oklahoma VIC SNYDER, Arkansas
MAC THORNBERRY, Texas JIM TURNER, Texas
JOHN N. HOSTETTLER, Indiana ADAM SMITH, Washington
SAXBY CHAMBLISS, Georgia LORETTA SANCHEZ, California
VAN HILLEARY, Tennessee JAMES H. MALONEY, Connecticut
JOE SCARBOROUGH, Florida MIKE McINTYRE, North Carolina
WALTER B. JONES, Jr., North CIRO D. RODRIGUEZ, Texas
Carolina CYNTHIA A. McKINNEY, Georgia
LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina ELLEN O. TAUSCHER, California
JIM RYUN, Kansas ROBERT BRADY, Pennsylvania
BOB RILEY, Alabama ROBERT E. ANDREWS, New Jersey
JIM GIBBONS, Nevada BARON P. HILL, Indiana
MARY BONO, California MIKE THOMPSON, California
JOSEPH PITTS, Pennsylvania JOHN B. LARSON, Connecticut
ROBIN HAYES, North Carolina
STEVEN KUYKENDALL, California
DONALD SHERWOOD, Pennsylvania
Robert S. Rangel, Staff Director
C O N T E N T S
----------
Page
Purpose and Background........................................... 1
Legislative History.............................................. 2
Section-by-Section Analysis...................................... 2
Section 1--Civil Penalties..................................... 2
Committee Position............................................... 3
Fiscal Data...................................................... 3
Congressional Budget Office Estimate........................... 3
Committee Cost Estimate........................................ 4
Oversight Findings............................................... 4
Constitutional Authority Statement............................... 4
Statement of Federal Mandates.................................... 4
Record Vote...................................................... 5
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............ 5
106th Congress Rept. 106-695
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session Part 2
======================================================================
CIVIL PENALTIES ON NONPROFIT INSTITUTIONS UNDER THE ATOMIC ENERGY ACT
OF 1954
_______
July 21, 2000.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Spence, from the Committee on Armed Services, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 3383]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Armed Services, to whom was referred the
bill (H.R. 3383) to amend the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to
remove separate treatment or exemption for nuclear safety
violations by nonprofit institutions, having considered the
same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend
that the bill do pass.
PURPOSE AND BACKGROUND
The purpose of H.R. 3383 is to repeal the exemption of non-
profit contractors of the Department of Energy (DOE) from civil
penalties for violations of DOE rules, regulations, and orders
relating to nuclear safety.
The Price-Anderson Amendments Act of 1988 (Public Law 100-
408) amended the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (Public Law 83-703)
to provide for the establishment of civil penalties for
contractors of the Department of Energy that violate DOE rules,
regulations, and orders relating to nuclear safety. The Atomic
Energy Act, as amended, also provided for an exemption from
such penalties for the following non-profit and other DOE
contractors: the University of Chicago (Argonne National
Laboratory), the University of California (Los Alamos National
Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory), the American Telephone
and Telegraph Company (Sandia National Laboratories), the
Universities Research Association, Inc. (FERMI National
Laboratory), Princeton University (Princeton Plasma Physics
Laboratory), Associated Universities, Inc. (Brookhaven National
Laboratory), and Battelle Memorial Institute (Pacific Northwest
Laboratory). The Atomic Energy Act, as amended, also authorized
the Secretary of Energy to provide for the automatic remission
of assessed civil penalties for all non-profit institutions.
H.R. 3383 would repeal the authority of the Secretary of
Energy to grant non-profit institutions an automatic remission
of any civil penalty assessed for violations of any applicable
rule, regulation, or order related to nuclear safety issued by
the Secretary of Energy. H.R. 3383 would also limit any civil
penalties assessed for violations of such rules, regulations,
or orders to an amount not to exceed the amount of any
discretionary fee paid to a non-profit institution by the
Secretary of Energy under a contract to manage facilities and
laboratories of the Department of Energy.
The committee notes that section 2282a(b)(2) of title 42,
United States Code, requires the Secretary of Energy to take
into account the nature, circumstances, extent, and gravity of
any violations of nuclear safety rules, in concert with the
ability of the responsible party to pay, the effect of such
penalties on the ability to continue to do business, the
history of any prior violations, and the degree of culpability,
in the determination of the amount of any civil penalty to be
assessed to a responsible party for such violations. H.R. 3383
would not disturb the discretionary authority of the Secretary
to determine the amount of any such civil penalties within the
limitations otherwise provided by law.
The committee understands that the discretionary fees
provided to non-profit contractors by the Department of Energy,
including, in some cases, funds accumulated from discretionary
fees awarded in prior years, may be available for the payment
of civil penalties under the Atomic Energy Act as well as
penalties imposed by other federal, state, or local entities
for violations of other laws, rules, or regulations. The
committee does not intend the repeal of the exemption from
civil penalties for non-profit institutions contained in H.R.
3383 to exceed the ability of any non-profit contractor to pay
such penalties.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
H.R. 3383 was introduced on November 16, 1999. The bill was
reported (amended) June 23, 2000 by the House Committee on
Commerce (H. Rept. 106-695, Part I). The bill was also referred
to the Committee on Armed Services.
On June 28, 2000 the Committee on Armed Services held a
markup session to consider H.R. 3383. The committee adopted the
bill as reported by the Commerce Committee by a voice vote. The
bill was reported favorably by a voice vote.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
The following is a section-by-section analysis of the
amendment in the nature of a substitute adopted by the
committee.
Section 1--Civil penalties
This section would amend section 2282a of title 42, United
States Code, to repeal the authority of the Secretary of Energy
to grant nonprofit institutions an automatic remission for any
civil penalties assessed for violations of any applicable rule,
regulation, or order related to nuclear safety issued by the
Secretary of Energy. This section would also limit any civil
penalties assessed for violations of such rules, regulations,
or orders to an amount not to exceed the amount of any
discretionary fee paid to a nonprofit institution by the
Secretary of Energy under a contract to manage facilities and
laboratories of the Department of Energy.
COMMITTEE POSITION
On June 28, 2000, the Committee on Armed Services, a quorum
being present, approved H.R. 3383 by a voice vote.
FISCAL DATA
Pursuant to clause 3(d)(2)(A) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, the committee attempted to
ascertain annual outlays resulting from the bill during fiscal
year 2001 and the four following fiscal years. The results of
such efforts are reflected in the cost estimate prepared by the
Director of the Congressional Budget Office under section 402
of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, which is included in
this report pursuant to clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the
Rules of the House.
CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE ESTIMATE
In compliance with clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the cost estimate prepared by
the Congressional Budget Office and submitted pursuant to
section 402(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is as
follows:
July 5, 2000.
Hon. Floyd Spence,
Chairman, Committee on Armed Services,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3383, a bill to
amend the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to remove an exemption from
civil penalties for nuclear safety violations by nonprofit
institutions.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Lisa Cash
Driskill.
Sincerely,
Dan L. Crippen, Director.
H.R. 3383--A bill to amend the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to remove an
exemption from civil penalties for nuclear safety violations by
nonprofit institutions
H.R. 3383 would amend the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to
repeal the exemption from civil penalties for nuclear safety
violations that currently applies to nonprofit institutions
operating laboratories of the Department of Energy (DOE). Under
the bill, nonprofit institutions that are operating DOE
laboratories would be subject to penalties no greater than the
amount that they are paid by DOE that exceeds their
reimbursable costs (known as the discretionary fee). Thus,
enactment of H.R. 3383 could result in an increase in
governmental receipts, so pay-as-you-go procedures would apply.
However, CBO estimates that any change in receipts would not be
significant. The bill contains no intergovernmental or private-
sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
Currently, several nonprofit institutions (primarily
universities) are exempt from paying civil penalties, assessed
under the Price Anderson Act, for nuclear safety violations at
DOE laboratories. According to DOE's Office of Enforcement and
Investigation, over the last four years nonprofit contractors
have been assessed $990,625 in penalties. All of those
penalties have been waived in accordance with current law.
Under H.R. 3383, any future penalties would be paid to the
Treasury. Based on penalties that have been assessed in the
past, CBO expects that such revenues would be less than
$250,000 a year.
On June 7, 2000, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R.
3383 as ordered reported by the House Committee on Commerce.
The cost estimates and the two versions of the bill are
identical.
The CBO staff contacts are Lisa Cash Driskill (for federal
costs), and Victoria Heid Hall (for the state and local
impact). This estimate was approved by Robert A. Sunshine,
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
COMMITTEE COST ESTIMATE
Pursuant to clause 3(d) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the committee generally concurs with
the estimate contained in the report of the Congressional
Budget Office.
OVERSIGHT FINDINGS
With respect to clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, this legislation results from
hearings and other oversight activities conducted by the
committee pursuant to clause 2(b)(1) of rule X.
With respect to clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives and section 308(a)(1) of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this legislation does not
include any new spending or credit authority, nor does it
provide for any increase or decrease in tax revenues or
expenditures. The fiscal features of this legislation are
addressed in the estimate prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
With respect to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, the committee has not received a
report from the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight
pertaining to the subject matter of H.R. 3383.
CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT
Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the committee finds the authority for
this legislation in Article I, section 8 of the United States
Constitution.
STATEMENT OF FEDERAL MANDATES
Pursuant to section 423 of Public Law 104-4, this
legislation contains no federal mandates with respect to state,
local, and tribal governments, nor with respect to the private
sector. Similarly, the bill provides no unfunded federal
intergovernmental mandates.
RECORD VOTE
In accordance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, the committee notes that no
rollcall votes were taken with respect to H.R. 3383.
The committee ordered H.R. 3383 reported to the House with
a favorable recommendation by a voice vote, a quorum being
present.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
The bill was referred to this committee for consideration of
such provisions of the bill and amendment as fall within the
jurisdiction of this committee pursuant to clause 1(c) of rule
X of the Rules of the House of Representatives. The changes
made to existing law by the amendment reported by the Committee
on Commerce are shown in the report filed by that committee
(Rept. 106-695, Part 1).
106th Congress
2d Session HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Rept. 106-695
Part 2
_______________________________________________________________________
CIVIL PENALTIES ON NONPROFIT INSTITUTIONS UNDER THE ATOMIC ENERGY ACT
OF 1954
__________
R E P O R T
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ON
H.R. 3383
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
July 21, 2000.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES
One Hundred Sixth Congress
FLOYD D. SPENCE, South Carolina, Chairman
BOB STUMP, Arizona IKE SKELTON, Missouri
DUNCAN HUNTER, California NORMAN SISISKY, Virginia
JOHN R. KASICH, Ohio JOHN M. SPRATT, Jr., South
HERBERT H. BATEMAN, Virginia Carolina
JAMES V. HANSEN, Utah SOLOMON P. ORTIZ, Texas
CURT WELDON, Pennsylvania OWEN PICKETT, Virginia
JOEL HEFLEY, Colorado LANE EVANS, Illinois
JIM SAXTON, New Jersey GENE TAYLOR, Mississippi
STEVE BUYER, Indiana NEIL ABERCROMBIE, Hawaii
TILLIE K. FOWLER, Florida MARTIN T. MEEHAN, Massachusetts
JOHN M. McHUGH, New York ROBERT A. UNDERWOOD, Guam
JAMES TALENT, Missouri PATRICK J. KENNEDY, Rhode Island
TERRY EVERETT, Alabama ROD R. BLAGOJEVICH, Illinois
ROSCOE G. BARTLETT, Maryland SILVESTRE REYES, Texas
HOWARD ``BUCK'' McKEON, California TOM ALLEN, Maine
J.C. WATTS, Jr., Oklahoma VIC SNYDER, Arkansas
MAC THORNBERRY, Texas JIM TURNER, Texas
JOHN N. HOSTETTLER, Indiana ADAM SMITH, Washington
SAXBY CHAMBLISS, Georgia LORETTA SANCHEZ, California
VAN HILLEARY, Tennessee JAMES H. MALONEY, Connecticut
JOE SCARBOROUGH, Florida MIKE McINTYRE, North Carolina
WALTER B. JONES, Jr., North CIRO D. RODRIGUEZ, Texas
Carolina CYNTHIA A. McKINNEY, Georgia
LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina ELLEN O. TAUSCHER, California
JIM RYUN, Kansas ROBERT BRADY, Pennsylvania
BOB RILEY, Alabama ROBERT E. ANDREWS, New Jersey
JIM GIBBONS, Nevada BARON P. HILL, Indiana
MARY BONO, California MIKE THOMPSON, California
JOSEPH PITTS, Pennsylvania JOHN B. LARSON, Connecticut
ROBIN HAYES, North Carolina
STEVEN KUYKENDALL, California
DONALD SHERWOOD, Pennsylvania
Robert S. Rangel, Staff Director
C O N T E N T S
----------
Page
Purpose and Background........................................... 1
Legislative History.............................................. 2
Section-by-Section Analysis...................................... 2
Section 1--Civil Penalties..................................... 2
Committee Position............................................... 3
Fiscal Data...................................................... 3
Congressional Budget Office Estimate........................... 3
Committee Cost Estimate........................................ 4
Oversight Findings............................................... 4
Constitutional Authority Statement............................... 4
Statement of Federal Mandates.................................... 4
Record Vote...................................................... 5
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............ 5
106th Congress Rept. 106-695
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session Part 2
======================================================================
CIVIL PENALTIES ON NONPROFIT INSTITUTIONS UNDER THE ATOMIC ENERGY ACT
OF 1954
_______
July 21, 2000.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Spence, from the Committee on Armed Services, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 3383]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Armed Services, to whom was referred the
bill (H.R. 3383) to amend the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to
remove separate treatment or exemption for nuclear safety
violations by nonprofit institutions, having considered the
same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend
that the bill do pass.
PURPOSE AND BACKGROUND
The purpose of H.R. 3383 is to repeal the exemption of non-
profit contractors of the Department of Energy (DOE) from civil
penalties for violations of DOE rules, regulations, and orders
relating to nuclear safety.
The Price-Anderson Amendments Act of 1988 (Public Law 100-
408) amended the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (Public Law 83-703)
to provide for the establishment of civil penalties for
contractors of the Department of Energy that violate DOE rules,
regulations, and orders relating to nuclear safety. The Atomic
Energy Act, as amended, also provided for an exemption from
such penalties for the following non-profit and other DOE
contractors: the University of Chicago (Argonne National
Laboratory), the University of California (Los Alamos National
Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory), the American Telephone
and Telegraph Company (Sandia National Laboratories), the
Universities Research Association, Inc. (FERMI National
Laboratory), Princeton University (Princeton Plasma Physics
Laboratory), Associated Universities, Inc. (Brookhaven National
Laboratory), and Battelle Memorial Institute (Pacific Northwest
Laboratory). The Atomic Energy Act, as amended, also authorized
the Secretary of Energy to provide for the automatic remission
of assessed civil penalties for all non-profit institutions.
H.R. 3383 would repeal the authority of the Secretary of
Energy to grant non-profit institutions an automatic remission
of any civil penalty assessed for violations of any applicable
rule, regulation, or order related to nuclear safety issued by
the Secretary of Energy. H.R. 3383 would also limit any civil
penalties assessed for violations of such rules, regulations,
or orders to an amount not to exceed the amount of any
discretionary fee paid to a non-profit institution by the
Secretary of Energy under a contract to manage facilities and
laboratories of the Department of Energy.
The committee notes that section 2282a(b)(2) of title 42,
United States Code, requires the Secretary of Energy to take
into account the nature, circumstances, extent, and gravity of
any violations of nuclear safety rules, in concert with the
ability of the responsible party to pay, the effect of such
penalties on the ability to continue to do business, the
history of any prior violations, and the degree of culpability,
in the determination of the amount of any civil penalty to be
assessed to a responsible party for such violations. H.R. 3383
would not disturb the discretionary authority of the Secretary
to determine the amount of any such civil penalties within the
limitations otherwise provided by law.
The committee understands that the discretionary fees
provided to non-profit contractors by the Department of Energy,
including, in some cases, funds accumulated from discretionary
fees awarded in prior years, may be available for the payment
of civil penalties under the Atomic Energy Act as well as
penalties imposed by other federal, state, or local entities
for violations of other laws, rules, or regulations. The
committee does not intend the repeal of the exemption from
civil penalties for non-profit institutions contained in H.R.
3383 to exceed the ability of any non-profit contractor to pay
such penalties.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
H.R. 3383 was introduced on November 16, 1999. The bill was
reported (amended) June 23, 2000 by the House Committee on
Commerce (H. Rept. 106-695, Part I). The bill was also referred
to the Committee on Armed Services.
On June 28, 2000 the Committee on Armed Services held a
markup session to consider H.R. 3383. The committee adopted the
bill as reported by the Commerce Committee by a voice vote. The
bill was reported favorably by a voice vote.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
The following is a section-by-section analysis of the
amendment in the nature of a substitute adopted by the
committee.
Section 1--Civil penalties
This section would amend section 2282a of title 42, United
States Code, to repeal the authority of the Secretary of Energy
to grant nonprofit institutions an automatic remission for any
civil penalties assessed for violations of any applicable rule,
regulation, or order related to nuclear safety issued by the
Secretary of Energy. This section would also limit any civil
penalties assessed for violations of such rules, regulations,
or orders to an amount not to exceed the amount of any
discretionary fee paid to a nonprofit institution by the
Secretary of Energy under a contract to manage facilities and
laboratories of the Department of Energy.
COMMITTEE POSITION
On June 28, 2000, the Committee on Armed Services, a quorum
being present, approved H.R. 3383 by a voice vote.
FISCAL DATA
Pursuant to clause 3(d)(2)(A) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, the committee attempted to
ascertain annual outlays resulting from the bill during fiscal
year 2001 and the four following fiscal years. The results of
such efforts are reflected in the cost estimate prepared by the
Director of the Congressional Budget Office under section 402
of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, which is included in
this report pursuant to clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the
Rules of the House.
CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE ESTIMATE
In compliance with clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the cost estimate prepared by
the Congressional Budget Office and submitted pursuant to
section 402(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is as
follows:
July 5, 2000.
Hon. Floyd Spence,
Chairman, Committee on Armed Services,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3383, a bill to
amend the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to remove an exemption from
civil penalties for nuclear safety violations by nonprofit
institutions.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Lisa Cash
Driskill.
Sincerely,
Dan L. Crippen, Director.
H.R. 3383--A bill to amend the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to remove an
exemption from civil penalties for nuclear safety violations by
nonprofit institutions
H.R. 3383 would amend the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to
repeal the exemption from civil penalties for nuclear safety
violations that currently applies to nonprofit institutions
operating laboratories of the Department of Energy (DOE). Under
the bill, nonprofit institutions that are operating DOE
laboratories would be subject to penalties no greater than the
amount that they are paid by DOE that exceeds their
reimbursable costs (known as the discretionary fee). Thus,
enactment of H.R. 3383 could result in an increase in
governmental receipts, so pay-as-you-go procedures would apply.
However, CBO estimates that any change in receipts would not be
significant. The bill contains no intergovernmental or private-
sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
Currently, several nonprofit institutions (primarily
universities) are exempt from paying civil penalties, assessed
under the Price Anderson Act, for nuclear safety violations at
DOE laboratories. According to DOE's Office of Enforcement and
Investigation, over the last four years nonprofit contractors
have been assessed $990,625 in penalties. All of those
penalties have been waived in accordance with current law.
Under H.R. 3383, any future penalties would be paid to the
Treasury. Based on penalties that have been assessed in the
past, CBO expects that such revenues would be less than
$250,000 a year.
On June 7, 2000, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R.
3383 as ordered reported by the House Committee on Commerce.
The cost estimates and the two versions of the bill are
identical.
The CBO staff contacts are Lisa Cash Driskill (for federal
costs), and Victoria Heid Hall (for the state and local
impact). This estimate was approved by Robert A. Sunshine,
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
COMMITTEE COST ESTIMATE
Pursuant to clause 3(d) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the committee generally concurs with
the estimate contained in the report of the Congressional
Budget Office.
OVERSIGHT FINDINGS
With respect to clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, this legislation results from
hearings and other oversight activities conducted by the
committee pursuant to clause 2(b)(1) of rule X.
With respect to clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives and section 308(a)(1) of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this legislation does not
include any new spending or credit authority, nor does it
provide for any increase or decrease in tax revenues or
expenditures. The fiscal features of this legislation are
addressed in the estimate prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
With respect to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, the committee has not received a
report from the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight
pertaining to the subject matter of H.R. 3383.
CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT
Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the committee finds the authority for
this legislation in Article I, section 8 of the United States
Constitution.
STATEMENT OF FEDERAL MANDATES
Pursuant to section 423 of Public Law 104-4, this
legislation contains no federal mandates with respect to state,
local, and tribal governments, nor with respect to the private
sector. Similarly, the bill provides no unfunded federal
intergovernmental mandates.
RECORD VOTE
In accordance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, the committee notes that no
rollcall votes were taken with respect to H.R. 3383.
The committee ordered H.R. 3383 reported to the House with
a favorable recommendation by a voice vote, a quorum being
present.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
The bill was referred to this committee for consideration of
such provisions of the bill and amendment as fall within the
jurisdiction of this committee pursuant to clause 1(c) of rule
X of the Rules of the House of Representatives. The changes
made to existing law by the amendment reported by the Committee
on Commerce are shown in the report filed by that committee
(Rept. 106-695, Part 1).