89–010 

Calendar No. 406 

111TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 2d Session 111–198 

LEGISLATIVE AUTHORITY EXTENSION FOR VIETNAM 

MEMORIAL VISITOR CENTER 

MAY 24, 2010.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. BINGAMAN, from the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 3689] 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the Act (H.R. 3689) to provide for an extension of the legislative authority of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc. to 

establish a Vietnam Veterans Memorial visitor center, and for 

other purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably 

thereon without amendment and recommends that the Act do pass. 

PURPOSE

The purpose of H.R. 3689 is to extend the legislative authority 

for construction of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial visitor center 

for an additional four years, to November 14, 2014. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED

Public Law 96–297, enacted in 1980, authorized the Vietnam 

Veterans Memorial Fund, a non-profit organization based in the 

District of Columbia, to construct a memorial honoring veterans of 

the Vietnam War on three acres on the northwest portion of the 

National Mall. The memorial was formally dedicated in November 

1982. 

In 2003, Congress enacted Public Law 108–126, which authorized 

the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) to construct a visitor center at or near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, in order to 

better inform and educate the public about the Vietnam Veterans 

Memorial and the Vietnam War. Construction of the visitor center 

was required to be undertaken in accordance with the Commemorative Works Act (40 U.S.C. 8901 et seq.). 

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Section 8903(e) of the Commemorative Works Act provides that 

legislative authority for a commemorative work expires seven years 

after the date of enactment of the authorization, unless the organization responsible for the commemorative work has raised all funds 

necessary for the commemorative work and has received the required Federal design and site approvals. Under those terms, the 

legislative authority for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial visitor 

center will expire on November 17, 2010. 

Since the 2003 authorization, the VVMF has developed design 

concepts which were presented in 2007 to the Commission of Fine 

Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission. These concepts were further refined after meetings with the District of Columbia Historic Preservation Office in February 2009. However, 

the VVMF has not yet raised the necessary funds for the visitor 

center and without an extension of its legislative authority will be 

unable to complete the visitor center. H.R. 3689 amends the authorization for the visitor center to allow the Vietnam Veterans 

Memorial Fund four additional years to complete the center. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

H.R. 3689, sponsored by Representative Rahall, passed the 

House of Representatives by a vote of 390–0 on October 13, 2009. 

No companion measure has been introduced in the Senate. 

The Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on H.R. 

3689 on December 3, 2009. At its business meeting on May 6, 2010, 

the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered H.R. 

3689 favorably reported. 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open business session on May 6, 2010, by a voice vote of a quorum present, 

recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 3689. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1 amends section 6(b) of Public Law 96–297 to provide 

that any reference in the Commemorative Works Act to the expiration of legislative authority for a commemorative work 7 years 

after the date of authorization shall be considered to be a reference 

to an expiration on November 17, 2014. This amendment provides 

an additional four year authorization for construction of the visitor 

center. 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of costs of this measure has been provided 

by the Congressional Budget Office: 

H.R. 3689—An act to provide for an extension of the legislative authority of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc., to establish a Vietnam Veterans Memorial visitor center, and for other 

purposes 

H.R. 3689 would extend the legislative authority to construct a 

visitor center near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Based on information from the National Park Service (NPS), CBO estimates that 

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implementing the legislation would have no effect on the federal 

budget over the 2010–2015 period and would cost around $2 million annually after 2015, assuming appropriation of the necessary 

amounts. Enacting H.R. 3689 would not affect direct spending or 

revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply. 

Under current law, legislative authority for a private nonprofit 

organization, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc. (VVMF), 

to construct a visitor center near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial 

would expire in 2010. Under the bill, that authority would be extended until 2014. Based on information from the VVMF, CBO expects that construction of the visitor center would begin around 

2014 and would be completed around 2016. Upon completion of the 

visitor center, the NPS would take over operation of the site. Based 

on information from the NPS, CBO estimates that the administrative costs of operating the site would be about $2 million annually, 

subject to the availability of appropriated funds. 

H.R. 3689 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 Jeff LaFave. The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant Director 

for Budget Analysis. 

REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATIONS

In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following evaluation 

of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in carrying out 

H.R. 3689. 

The bill is not a regulatory measure in the sense of imposing 

Government-established standards or significant economic responsibilities on private individuals and businesses. 

No personal information would be collected in administering the 

program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal privacy. 

Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the enactment of H.R. 3689, as ordered reported. 

CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

H.R. 3689, as reported, does not contain any congressionally directed spending items, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in rule XLIV of the Standing Rules of the Senate. 

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

The testimony provided by the National Park Service at the December 3, 2009 Subcommittee hearing on H.R. 3689 follows: 

STATEMENT OF KATHERINE H. STEVENSON, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, BUSINESS SERVICES, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, thank 

you for the opportunity to appear before you today to 

present the Department of the Interior’s views on H.R. 

3689, a bill to provide for an extension of the legislative 

authority of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc. 

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(the Fund) to establish a Vietnam Veterans Memorial visitor center, and for other purposes. 

The Department supports H.R. 3689 as passed by the 

House. 

The visitor center was authorized by Public Law 108– 

126, signed on November 17, 2003. Following site analysis 

and the completion of an environmental assessment, the 

visitor center was approved to be located on the NPS proposed site on the grounds of the Lincoln Memorial, bounded by Constitution Avenue, Henry Bacon Drive, Lincoln 

Memorial Circle, and 23rd Street, N.W., so long as certain 

mitigation set forth in design standards developed jointly 

by the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) and 

the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) are met. To protect the sensitive landscape of the site, which includes 

views to and from the Lincoln Memorial and the Vietnam 

Veterans Memorial, the design team is responding to these 

critical design standards and criteria. The criteria have 

been helpful to move this important commemorative work 

forward while minimizing potential impacts to the surrounding views and nearby memorials. In addition to public consultation under the National Historic Preservation 

Act (NHPA), the Commemorative Works Act requires an 

important series of reviews and approvals by NCPC and 

CFA. To meet the challenges associated with designing 

this project on such a sensitive and highly visible site, and 

the legislative requirement that it be located underground, 

the NPS and the Fund have made design refinements as 

needed during this process. 

We are pleased to report that significant progress has 

been made gaining approvals for the design. Furthermore, 

the NPS believes that the design will be fully approved in 

a timely fashion and that the visitor center can be completed and open to the public within the additional four 

years that H.R. 3689 would allow. Without the proposed 

extension, the Fund’s current authority to establish this 

visitor center will expire on November 17, 2010. 

Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to comment. This concludes my prepared remarks and I will be 

happy to answer any questions you or other committee 

members might have. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by the Act H.R. 

3689 as ordered reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is 

printed in italic, existing law in which no change is proposed is 

shown in roman): 

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PUBLIC LAW 96–297 

JOINT RESOLUTION TO AUTHORIZE THE VIETNAM MEMORIAL FUND, INC., 

TO ESTABLISH A MEMORIAL 

(July 1, 1980) 

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 

United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Vietnam 

Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc., a nonprofit corporation organized 

and existing under the laws of the District of Columbia, is authorized to establish a memorial on public grounds in West Potomac 

Park in the District of Columbia, in honor and recognition of the 

men and women of the Armed Forces of the United States who 

served in the Vietnam War. 

* * * * * * * 

SEC. 6. VISITOR CENTER. 

(a) AUTHORIZATION.— (1) IN GENERAL.—The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, 

Inc., is authorized to construct a visitor center at or near the 

Vietnam Veterans Memorial on Federal land in the District of 

Columbia, or its environs, subject to the provisions of this section, in order to better inform and educate the public about the 

Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Vietnam War. 

(2) LOCATION.—The visitor center shall be located underground. 

(3) CONSULTATION ON DESIGN PHASE.—The Vietnam Veterans 

Memorial Fund, Inc., shall consult with educators, veterans 

groups, and the National Park Service in developing the proposed design of the visitor center. 

(b) COMPLIANCE WITH STANDARDS APPLICABLE TO COMMEMORATIVE WORKS.—Chapter 89 of title 40, United States Code, shall 

apply, including provisions related to the siting, design, construction, and maintenance of the visitor center, and the visitor center 

shall be considered a commemorative work for the purposes of that 

Act, except that— 

(1) final approval of the visitor center shall not be withheld; 

(2) the provisions of sections (b) and (c) of section 8908 of 

title 40, United States Code requiring further approval by law 

for the location of a commemorative work within Area I and 

prohibiting the siting of a visitor center within the Reserve 

shall not apply; 

(3) the size of the visitor center shall be limited to the minimum necessary— 

(A) to provide for appropriate educational and interpretive functions; and 

(B) to prevent interference or encroachment on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and to protect open space and visual sightlines on the Mall; øand¿ 

(4) the visitor center shall be constructed and landscaped in 

a manner harmonious with the site of the Vietnam Veterans 

Memorial, consistent with the special nature and sanctity of 

the Mallø.¿ and 

(5) any reference in section 8903(e) of title 40, United States 

Code, to the expiration at the end of or extension beyond a 

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seven-year period shall be considered to be a reference to an expiration on or extension beyond November 17, 2014. 

(c) OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE.— (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior shall— 

(A) operate and maintain the visitor center, except that 

the Secretary shall enter into a written agreement with 

the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc., for specified 

maintenance needs of the visitor center, as determined by 

the Secretary; and 

(B) as soon as practicable, in consultation with educators 

and veterans groups, develop a written interpretive plan 

for the visitor center in accordance with National Park 

Service policy. 

(2) DONATION FOR PERPETUAL MAINTENANCE AND PRESERVA- TION.—Paragraph (1)(A) does not waive the requirements of 

section 8906(b) of title 40, United States Code, with respect to 

the visitor center. 

(d) FUNDING.—The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc., shall 

be solely responsible for acceptance of contributions for, and payment of expenses of, the establishment of the visitor center. No 

Federal funds shall be used to pay any expense of the establishment of the visitor center. 

Æ 

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