79–010

Calendar No. 668

106TH CONGRESS REPORT

2d Session " ! SENATE 106–334

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., COMMEMORATIVE PLAQUE

JULY 10, 2000.—Ordered to be printed

Mr. MURKOWSKI, from the Committee on Energy and Natural

Resources, submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany H.R. 2879]

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was

referred the Act (H.R. 2879) to provide for the placement at the

Lincoln Memorial of a plaque commemorating the speech of Martin

Luther King, Jr., known as the ‘‘I Have a Dream’’ speech, having

considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment

and recommends that the Act, as amended, do pass.

The amendment is as follows:

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu thereof

the following:

‘‘SECTION 1. PLACEMENT OF PLAQUE AT LINCOLN MEMORIAL.

(a) PLACEMENT OF PLAQUE.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior shall install in the area of the

Lincoln Memorial in the District of Columbia a suitable plaque to commemorate

the speech of Martin Luther King, Jr., known as the ‘‘I Have a Dream’’ speech.

(2) RELATION TO COMMEMORATIVE WORKS ACT.—The Commemorative Works

Act (40 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) shall apply to the design and placement of the

plaque within the area of the Lincoln Memorial.

(b) ACCEPTANCE OF CONTRIBUTIONS.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to accept and expand contributions toward the cost of preparing and installing the plaque, without further appropriation. Federal funds may be used to design, procure, or install the plaque.

PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE

The purpose of H.R. 2879 is to provide for the placement at the

Lincoln Memorial of a plaque commemorating the historic speech

of Martin Luther King, Jr., commonly known as the ‘‘I Have a

Dream’’ speech.

2

BACKGROUND AND NEED

H.R. 2879 would provide for the placement at the Lincoln Memorial of a plaque commemorating the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,

‘‘I Have a Dream’’ speech. The bill also directs the Secretary of the

Interior to accept contributions to help offset any costs associated

with preparation and placement of the plaque.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

The House of Representatives passed H.R. 2879 on November 9,

1999. A similar bill, S. 2231, was introduced by Senator Coverdell

on March 9, 2000. The Subcommittee on National Parks, Historic

Preservation, and Recreation held a hearing on S. 2231 and H.R.

2879 on April 27, 2000. At its business meeting on June 7, 2000,

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

2879 favorably reported, as amended.

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION AND TABULATION OF VOTES

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open business session on June 7, 2000, by a unanimous vote of a quorum

present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 2879, if amended

as described herein.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS

During the consideration of H.R. 2879, the Committee adopted

an amendment in the nature of a substitute to provide the Secretary of the Interior discretion in the placement of the plaque, and

to ensure that the design and placement of the plaque is in accordance with the provisions of the Commemorative Works Act.

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1(a) directs the Secretary of the Interior to install in the

area of the Lincoln Memorial a plaque commemorating the speech

by Martin Luther King, Jr., known as the ‘‘I Have A Dream’’

speech.

Paragraph (2) requires the design and placement of the plaque

to be in accordance with the Commemorative Work Act (40 U.S.C.

1001 et seq.).

Section 1(b) authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to accept and

expand contributions to help pay for the cost of preparing and installing the plaque.

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of costs of this measure has been provided

by the Congressional Budget Office.

U.S. CONGRESS,

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE,

Washington, DC, June 9, 2000.

Hon. FRANK H. MURKOWSKI,

Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,

U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 2879, an act to provide

3

for the placement at the Lincoln Memorial of a plaque commemorating the speech of Martin Luther King Jr., known as the ‘‘I Have

a Dream’’ speech.

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. 2879—An act to provide for the placement at the Lincoln Memorial of a plaque commemorating the speech of Martin Luther

King Jr., known as the ‘‘I Have a Dream’’ speech

H.R. 2879 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to install in

the area of the Lincoln Memorial a plaque commemorating the

Martin Luther King Jr. speech, ‘‘I Have a Dream.’’ The act would

allow the Secretary to accept donations to defray the costs of preparing and installing the plaque. Any amounts received would be

credited to the discretionary appropriation that funds operation

and maintenance of the memorial.

CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 2879 would cost less

than $50,000 in fiscal year 2001, assuming appropriation of the

necessary amounts. Some of this cost may be offset by private donations, but we expect that any amounts collected would be negligible. Because donations to the government are recorded as revenues, enacting this legislation could affect receipts; therefore, payas-you-go procedures would apply.

H.R. 2879 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.

On November 2, 1999, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R.

2879, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Resources on

October 27, 1999. The two versions of the legislation are very similar, and the costs are identical.

The staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis. The estimate

was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for

Budget Analysis.

REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION

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. 2879. 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. 2879, as ordered reported.

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

On April 27, 2000, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources requested legislative reports from the Department of the

Interior and the Office of Management and Budget setting forth

4

Executive agency recommendations on H.R. 2879. These reports

had not been received at the time the report on H.R. 2879 was

filed. When the reports become available, the Chairman will request that they be printed in the Congressional Record for the advice of the Senate. The testimony provided by the National Park

Service at the Subcommittee hearing follows:

STATEMENT OF JOHN G. PARSONS, ASSOCIATE REGIONAL DI- RECTOR FOR LANDS, RESOURCES, AND PLANNING, NA- TIONAL PARK SERVICE, NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION, AND

CHAIRMAN, NATIONAL CAPITAL MEMORIAL COMMISSION

Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to appear

before you today to present the Department of the Interior’s views on S. 2231 and H.R. 2879, similar bills to provide for the placement at the Lincoln Memorial of a plaque

commemorating the speech of Martin Luther King, Jr.,

known as the ‘‘I Have a Dream’’ speech.

The Administration supports commemorating Martin

Luther King’s speech at the Lincoln Memorial in an appropriate way. However, the Department of Interior recommends certain modifications to S. 2231 and H.R. 2879

to address the National Park Service’s longstanding policy

concerning plaques on important national memorials. This

view, shared by the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts, would be addressed

by the modifications we propose to the bill, providing the

National Park Service with ample discretionary authority

in the design and placement of the plaque.

The Lincoln Memorial stands as a symbol of the unification of the states and the healing of the nation after an

enormously significant period in our history. The experience of this memorial is a carefully designed emotional sequence in which ascending the steps to the chamber stimulates a strong anticipatory feeling. While an ill-suited or

ill-placed marker could blur the personal values that each

visitor brings to and takes away from the memorial, a

well-conceived and appropriately placed plaque could be

compatible with and actually enhance a visitor’s experience. It should be noted, however, the National Park Service has already placed an exhibit within the ground level

visitor area of the memorial that displays the events that

have occurred here.

The proposed marker would honor a pivotal speech by

Dr. King, which is viewed as the center point of the Civil

Rights movement. Dr. King’s speeches at this location in

1957, and again in 1963 contributed immensely to the civil

rights movement. In addition, Dr. King’s contribution to

American history is recognized now by a national holiday,

and will be further recognized by the pending memorial to

‘‘The Man—The Movement—The Mission,’’ at the site on

the Tidal Basin.

The proposal to place a plaque at the location of Dr.

King’s famous speech is not a new concept. It was in fact

mentioned as an alternative in the discussions to commemorate Dr. King here in Washington, D.C., and would

5

not have been appropriate as a suitable substitute to the

memorial. The idea was rejected at the time, by the sponsors of the authorized memorial, the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, of which Dr. King was a member, because of their

strong belief that Dr. King’s achievement throughout the

civil rights movement was much more important than the

marking of a singular event, however emotionally stirring

or profound its impact on the generations of Americans

who heard the speech.

The Lincoln Memorial and the figure of Abraham Lincoln is a shrine for all those who desire to capture the

hearts and attention of the nation. The monumental space

provides the setting to stir emotions about personal sacrifice, such as Mr. Lincoln’s, in the preservation of the

Union, as well as the sacrifices of the many who fought,

died or were injured in the personal pronouncement of

their inherent beliefs. We believe a suitably designed and

placed plaque in the area of the Memorial commemorating

the ‘‘I Have a Dream’’ speech could be made consistent

with these important themes of the Memorial.

Attached are recommended modifications to the bill. We

look forward to working with Congress on this legislation

and our proposed modifications to this bill. That concludes

my prepared testimony on S. 2231 and H.R. 2879, and I

would be happy to answer any questions you may have.

A BILL To provide for the placement at the Lincoln Memorial of a plaque

commemorating the speech of Martin Luther King, Jr., known as the

‘‘I Have a Dream’’ speech

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives

of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. PLACEMENT OF PLAQUE AT LINCOLN MEMORIAL.

(a) PLACEMENT OF PLAQUE.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior shall

install in the area of the Lincoln Memorial in the District of Columbia a suitable plaque to commemorate

the speech of Martin Luther King, Jr., known as the

‘‘I Have a Dream’’ speech.

(2) RELATION TO COMMEMORATIVE WORKS ACT.—The

Commemorative Works Act (40 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.)

shall apply to the design and placement of the plaque

within the area of the Lincoln Memorial.

(b) ACCEPTANCE OF CONTRIBUTIONS.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior shall

accept contributions to pay the cost of preparing the

plaque and installing the plaque. Federal funds may

be used to design, procure, or install the plaque.

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing

Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no changes in existing law are made by the Act H.R. 2879, as ordered reported.

Æ