[House Report 106-817]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



106th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     106-817

======================================================================



 
 TO EXTEND THE AUTHORIZATION FOR THE AIR FORCE MEMORIAL FOUNDATION TO 
    ESTABLISH A MEMORIAL IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA OR ITS ENVIRONS

                                _______
                                

 September 6, 2000.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Young of Alaska, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 4583]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 4583) to extend the authorization for the Air Force 
Memorial Foundation to establish a memorial in the District of 
Columbia or its environs, having considered the same, report 
favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill 
do pass.

                          Purpose of the Bill

    The purpose of H.R. 4583 is to extend the authorization for 
the Air Force Memorial Foundation to establish a memorial in 
the District of Columbia or its environs.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    In December 1993 the President signed Public Law 103-163, 
authorization for the Air Force Memorial Foundation to 
establish an Air Force Memorial in the District of Columbia or 
its environs to honor the men and women who have served in the 
United States Air Force. The establishment of the memorial was 
to comply with the provisions of the Commemorative Works Act.
    Among other things, the Commemorative Works Act provides 
that the legislative authority for the commemorative work 
expires at the end of the seven-year period beginning on the 
date of the enactment of such authority, unless a construction 
permit has been issued. To date, no construction permit has 
been issued. Due to unforeseen and lengthy lawsuits, all work, 
including the fund-raising for the memorial, was temporarily 
postponed for approximately three years. The lawsuits have been 
settled and work is ready to recommence regarding the memorial. 
However, due to the delay and the seven-year requirement of the 
Commemorative Works Act, the authorization for the Air Force 
Memorial Foundation will expire on December 2, 2000, unless 
Congress passes a time extension. With considerable work 
already accomplished and the lawsuits settled, the memorial 
needs to be completed. Thus, this bill would extend authority 
to the Air Force Memorial Foundation to complete the well-
deserved memorial. The authority would extend until 2005 giving 
the Foundation the time to fulfill the final construction and 
dedication of the Air Force Memorial.

                            Committee Action

    H.R. 4583 was introduced by Congressman James V. Hansen (R-
UT) on June 6, 2000. The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on 
National Parks and Public Lands. On June 27, 2000, the 
Subcommittee met to consider the bill. No amendments were 
offered and the bill was ordered favorably reported to the full 
Committee on Resources by voice vote. On July 19, 2000, the 
Resources Committee met to consider the bill. No amendments 
were offered and the bill was 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. Government Reform Oversight Findings. Under clause 
3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives, the Committee has received no report of 
oversight findings and recommendations from the Committee on 
Government Reform on this bill.
    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, July 26, 2000.
Hon. Don Young,
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. 4583, a bill to 
extend the authorization for the Air Force Memorial Foundation 
to establish a memorial in the District of Columbia or its 
environs.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Deborah Reis.
            Sincerely,
                                           Steven Lieberman
                                    (For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
    Enclosure.

H.R. 4583--A bill to extend the authorization for the Air Force 
        Memorial Foundation to establish a memorial in the District of 
        Columbia or its environs

    H.R. 4583 would extend until December 2, 2005, the 
authority to establish a memorial to the Air Force. The 
extension would give the Air Force Memorial Foundation (the 
site's sponsor) an additional five years to obtain the 
necesssary permits for the project. Under current law, 
authority to construct the site will expire on December 2, 
2000.
    The prospective memorial is to be established with 
nonfederal funds, and therefore, extending the authority to 
establish it would not affect the federal budget. Because the 
legislation would not affect direct spending or receipts, pay-
as-you-go procedures would not apply. H.R. 4583 contains no 
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would not affect 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 State, local, or 
tribal law.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (new matter is 
printed in italic and existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

                SECTION 4 OF THE ACT OF DECEMBER 2, 1993


 AN ACT To authorize the Air Force Memorial Foundation to establish a 
         memorial in the District of Columbia or its environs.

SEC. 4. LEGISLATIVE AUTHORITY.

  Notwithstanding section 10(b) of the Commemorative Works Act 
(40 U.S.C. 1010(b)), the legislative authority for the Air 
Force Memorial Foundation to establish a memorial under this 
Act shall expire on December 2, 2005.