[House Report 106-839]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
106th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 106-839
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SENSE OF THE CONGRESS REGARDING THE NEED FOR CATALOGING AND MAINTAINING
PUBLIC MEMORIALS COMMEMORATING MILITARY CONFLICTS OF THE UNITED
STATES AND THE SERVICE OF INDIVIDUALS IN THE ARMED FORCES
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September 12, 2000.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be
printed
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Mr. Young of Alaska, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H. Con. Res. 345]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the
concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 345) expressing the sense
of the Congress regarding the need for cataloging and
maintaining public memorials commemorating military conflicts
of the United States and the service of individuals in the
Armed Forces, having considered the same report favorably
thereon without amendment and recommend that the concurrent
resolution be agreed to.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H. Con. Res. 345 is to express the sense of
the Congress regarding the need for cataloging and maintaining
public memorials commemorating military conflicts of the United
States and the service of individuals in the Armed Forces.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
H. Con. Res. 345 addresses the need to create a cataloged
list of the many different public war memorials of the United
States. Thousands of public memorials dealing with United
States involvement in military conflicts exist throughout the
world. However, there is no index or record as to their
location nor is there a cataloged assessment as to their
condition. Many of these memorials suffer from neglect,
disrepair, or have been relocated or stored in facilities where
they are not accessible to the public.
Currently, the federal government monitors only those
memorials that are federally-funded. There are, however, non-
profit organizations, such as Remembering Veterans Who Earned
Their Stripes (RVETS, Inc.), that have undertaken self-funded
programs in an attempt to catalog these memorials.
H. Con. Res. 345 urges the Secretary of the Interior,
acting through the National Park Service, to collect and
maintain information on public memorials commemorating military
conflicts of the United States. The resolution also urges a
coordinated effort between the federal government and other
entities like RVETS, Inc. in collecting and maintaining this
information which would then be available to the public.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H. Con. Res. 345 was introduced by Congressman James Rogan
(R-CA) 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 July 26, 2000, the
Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee
was discharged from further consideration by unanimous consent.
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, September 7, 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. Con. Res. 345,
expressing the sense of the Congress regarding the need for
cataloging and maintaining public memorials commemorating
military conflicts of the United States and the Service of
individuals in the Armed Forces.
If you wish further details of this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Barry Blom.
Sincerely,
Barry B. Anderson
(For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
Enclosure.
H. Con. Res. 345--Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding the
need for cataloging and maintaining public memorials
commemorating military conflicts of the United States and the
service of individuals in the Armed Forces
H. Con. Res. 345 expresses the sense of the Congress that
the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of
the National Park Service, should collect and maintain
information on public memorials commemorating military
conflicts of the United States and the service of individuals
in the armed forces. Because the concurrent resolution would
urge but not require the Secretary to take certain actions, it
would not necessarily result in additional costs to the federal
government. If the Secretary were to collect and maintain such
information in a database, CBO estimates that the effort would
cost about $1 million over the next five years, subject to the
availability of appropriated funds. Most of the information on
the location of such memorials has already been collected, and
the remaining effort would involve creating and maintaining a
database. Pay-as-you go procedures would not apply to H. Con.
Res. 345.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Barry Blom. This
estimate was approved by Robert A. Sunshine, 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
If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing
law.