99–006

107TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1st Session 107–286

HEALING OPPORTUNITIES IN PARKS AND THE

ENVIRONMENT PASS ACT

NOVEMBER 13, 2001.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the

State of the Union and ordered to be printed

Mr. HANSEN, from the Committee on Resources,

submitted the following

R E P O R T

[To accompany H.R. 2976]

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill

(H.R. 2976) to provide for the issuance of a special entrance pass

for free admission to any federally owned area which is operated

and maintained by a Federal agency and used for outdoor recreation purposes to the survivors, victims’ immediate families, and

police, fire, rescue, recovery, and medical personnel directly affected by the September 11, 2001, terrorist hijackings and the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and for other

purposes, 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. 2976 is to provide for the issuance of a special entrance pass for free admission to any federally owned area

which is operated and maintained by a Federal agency and used

for outdoor recreation purposes to the survivors, victims’ immediate

families, and police, fire, rescue, recovery, and medical personnel

directly affected by the September 11, 2001, terrorist hijackings

and the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and

for other purposes.

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

The horrific terrorist hijackings and attack on America was, by

far, the single most deadly one day event on American soil in the

history of the United States. This dastardly assault left over 6,000

people dead or presumed dead, most of them non-military citizens,

2

and thousands of others injured. This death toll easily surpassed

the heretofore most deadly one day total which occurred during the

Civil War at the battle of Antietam where 2,000 soldiers lost their

lives.

Even though the dreadful and deplorable sneak-attack by the

cowardly terrorists was one of, if not the, saddest days in American

history, the spirit and essence of the American people refused to

fade and was not diminished. Contrarily, the people of this country

have reached out and helped with the recovery effort in a variety

of ways and contributions. This bill seeks to recognize those people

directly affected by the sudden and tragic loss of loved ones along

with those who have given so much in aid and assistance in the

recovery effort.

In response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the

House of Representatives has approved four pieces of legislation

authorizing compensation or tax relief for those most directly affected. To implement these programs, a universe of eligible recipients will be developed. For example, title IV of the Air Transportation Stabilization Act (Public Law 107–42) requires the Attorney

General to appoint a Special Master for the purpose of administering such a compensation program.

H.R. 2976 follows the parameters of these previously passed

measures and it is the Committee’s intention that in developing the

HOPE Pass program, the Secretary will coordinate her efforts with

other federal agencies administering compensation plans to provide

a reasonable and workable definition of a qualified passholder.

H.R. 2976 would provide some recognition and appreciation to

the aggrieved families and also the heroic efforts of all those people

involved in the senseless and despicable attack on America by vile

and deceitful terrorists.

COMMITTEE ACTION

H.R. 2976 was introduced on October 2, 2001, by Congressman

Nick Rahall II (D–WV). The bill was referred to the Committee on

Resources. On October 3, 2001, the Full Resources Committee met

to consider the bill. The bill was ordered favorably reported without

amendment to the House of Representatives by voice vote.

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 inVerDate 11-MAY-2000 09:39 Nov 14, 2001 Jkt 099006 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR286.XXX pfrm04 PsN: HR286
3

cluded 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. According

to the Congressional Budget Office, enactment of H.R. 2976 would

reduce offsetting receipts and reduce direct spending but ‘‘that the

net changes would be insignificant for each year.’’ 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:

U.S. CONGRESS,

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE,

Washington, DC, November 5, 2001.

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. 2976, the Healing Opportunities in Parks and the Environment Pass 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. 2976—Healing Opportunities in Parks and the Environment

Pass Act

H.R. 2976 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to issue to

persons directly affected by the events of September 11, 2001, a

lifetime pass for admission to federal recreational lands such as national parks. Those eligible for the free passes include individuals

present at the four crash sites, the immediate families of those

killed in the incidents, and all police, fire, and related personnel

who were directly involved in the aftermath of the crashes. The legislation would affect direct spending; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would apply. CBO estimates that the net changes would be

insignificant for each year.

H.R. 2976 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.

Providing people with free lifetime passes to federal recreation

areas would reduce the total amount of recreation fees collected by

land management agencies each year. Based on information provided by the National Park Service, CBO estimates that the loss

4

of offsetting receipts (a credit against direct spending) would be

less than $500,000 a year beginning in fiscal year 2002. The loss

would be offset entirely in fiscal year 2002 by a like reduction in

direct spending because, under existing law, fee-collecting agencies

are allowed to spend recreation receipts earned that year without

further appropriation action. For each of the following years, the

receipt loss also would be offset but by a much smaller amount— 15 percent, which is the amount that agencies are allowed to retain

and use for fee collections.

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.

Æ