[House Report 109-400]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
109th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 109-400
======================================================================
VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL VISITOR CENTER DEADLINE ENFORCEMENT ACT
_______
March 28, 2006.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Pombo, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 4882]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 4882) to ensure the proper remembrance of Vietnam
veterans and the Vietnam War by providing a deadline for the
designation of a visitor center for the Vietnam Veterans
Memorial, 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. 4882 is to ensure the proper
remembrance of Vietnam veterans and the Vietnam War by
providing a deadline for the designation of a visitor center
for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Background and Need for Legislation
On November 1, 2003, legislation authorizing the
construction of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Visitor Center
was signed into law by President George W. Bush (Public Law
108-126). Since then, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF)
and the National Park Service (NPS) have worked jointly and
extensively to complete a analysis of the site for the visitor
center. They have completed all the necessary evaluations and
environmental analysis required by the National Capital
Planning Commission (NCPC) under the Commemorative Works Act.
Their work continued through November 2005, when VVMF and NPS
transmitted to NCPC an extensive traffic analysis in
preparation for a December 1, 2006, meeting, at which time NCPC
was to take final comments on the preferred site for the
visitor center. However, the night before the meeting, the NCPC
unexpectedly removed the visitor center from its agenda. The
NCPC requested that NPS and VVMF conduct an additional
environmental assessment, which would be in addition to the
already completed environmental analysis.
In February 2006, a meeting with Resources Committee
Chairman Richard Pombo, the author of the original law
authorizing the visitor center, took place with representatives
from VVMF, NPS and NCPC. During the meeting, Chairman Pombo
asked the Chairman of the NCPC when the process would be
completed and the decision made on a site for the visitor
center. His reply was that the NCPC could not give a date
certain--that it was still collecting information and studying
the recommendations. Thus, it was clear that legislation was
necessary to assert Congressional authority to reduce the
unusual delays associated with selecting a site for the Vietnam
Veterans Memorial Visitor Center.
Committee Action
H.R. 4882 was introduced on March 7, 2006, by Congressman
Richard Pombo (R-CA). The bill was referred to the Committee on
Resources. On March 15, 2006, the Committee on Resources met to
consider the bill. No amendments were offered and the bill was
ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives by a
roll call vote of 32 to 0, as follows:
ROLLCALL NO. 32
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yea Nay Present
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. Pombo, CA, Chairman................ X ......... .........
Mr. Rahall, WV......................... X ......... .........
Mr. Young, AK.......................... ......... ......... .........
Mr. Miller, CA......................... ......... ......... .........
Mr. Saxton, NJ......................... ......... ......... .........
Mr. Markey, MA......................... X ......... .........
Mr. Gallegly, CA....................... ......... ......... .........
Mr. Kildee, MI......................... X ......... .........
Mr. Duncan, TN......................... ......... ......... .........
Mr. DeFazio, OR........................ X ......... .........
Mr. Gilchrest, MD...................... X ......... .........
Mr. Faleomavaega, AS................... ......... ......... .........
Mr. Calvert, CA........................ ......... ......... .........
Mr. Abercrombi, HI..................... X ......... .........
Mrs. Cubin, WY......................... X ......... .........
Mr. Ortiz, TX.......................... X ......... .........
Mr. Radanovich, CA..................... X ......... .........
Mr. Pallone, NJ........................ ......... ......... .........
Mr. Jones, NC.......................... ......... ......... .........
Mrs. Christensen, VI................... X ......... .........
Mr. Cannon, UT......................... ......... ......... .........
Mr. Kind, WI........................... ......... ......... .........
Mr. Peterson, PA....................... X ......... .........
Mr. Inslee, WA......................... X ......... .........
Mr. Gibbons, NV........................ X ......... .........
Mrs. Napolitano, CA.................... X ......... .........
Mr. Walden, OR......................... X ......... .........
Mr. Tom Udall, NM...................... X ......... .........
Mr. Tancredo, CO....................... X ......... .........
Mr. Mark Udall, CO..................... ......... ......... .........
Mr. Hayworth, AZ....................... X ......... .........
Mr. Grijalva, AZ....................... X ......... .........
Mr. Flake, AZ.......................... ......... ......... .........
Mr. Cordoza, CA........................ ......... ......... .........
Mr. Renzi, AZ.......................... X ......... .........
Ms. Bordallo, Guam..................... X ......... .........
Mr. Pearce, NM......................... X ......... .........
Ms. Herseth, SD........................ X ......... .........
Mr. Brown, SC.......................... X ......... .........
Mr. Costa, CA.......................... X ......... .........
Mrs. Drake, VA......................... X ......... .........
Mr. Melancon, LA....................... ......... ......... .........
Mr. Fortuno, PR........................ X ......... .........
Mr. Boren, OK.......................... X ......... .........
Miss McMorris, WA...................... X ......... .........
Mr. Jindal, LA......................... X ......... .........
Mr. Gohmert, TX........................ ......... ......... .........
Mrs. Musgrave, CO...................... X ......... .........
--------------------------------
Total............................ 32 ......... .........
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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, and Article IV, section 3 of the
Constitution of the United States grant 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 tax
expenditures.
3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. This bill does
not authorize funding and therefore, clause 3(c)(4) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives does not
apply.
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:
H.R. 4882--Vietnam Veterans Memorial Visitor Center Deadline
Enforcement Act
H.R. 4882 would designate a location for a visitor center
for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. The bill
also would require that the administrative process for
approving plans for the center, as delineated in the
Commemorative Works Act (CWA), be completed within 30 days of
enactment.
CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 4882 would have no
effect on the federal budget. In 2003, Public Law 108-126
authorized the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc., to build a
visitor center near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Under the
CWA, the design and location of the center is subject to
approval by the National Capital Planning Commission, which has
not yet acted on these matters. H.R. 4882 would provide the
necessary approvals to allow the project to move forward.
Enacting S. 1913 would not affect revenues or direct spending.
The bill 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 any State, local or
tribal law.
Changes in Existing Law
If enacted, this bill would make the following changes to
existing law:
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 italics and existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
SECTION 6 OF PUBLIC LAW 96-297
AN ACT To authorize the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc., to
establish a memorial.
SEC. 6. VISITOR CENTER.
(a) * * *
* * * * * * *
(e) Deadline.--Notwithstanding any other law, the visitor
center authorized by subsection (a) shall be located in the
open land in the triangular land area between Henry Bacon
Drive, 23rd Street, Constitution Avenue, and the Lincoln
Memorial, and final approval of the visitor center shall occur
no later than 30 days following enactment of the Vietnam
Veterans Memorial Visitor Center Deadline Enforcement Act.