69–010 

Calendar No. 125 

115TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 1st Session 115–95 

NATIONAL MEMORIAL TO THE FALLEN EDUCATORS ACT 

JUNE 8, 2017.—Ordered to be printed 

Ms. MURKOWSKI, from the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 167] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the bill (S. 167) to designate a National Memorial to Fallen Educators at the National Teachers Hall of Fame in Emporia, 

Kansas, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon 

with an amendment and recommends that the bill, as amended, do 

pass. 

The amendment is as follows: 

Beginning on page 1, strike line 6 and all that follows through 

page 2, line 10, and insert the following: 

SEC. 2. DESIGNATION. 

PURPOSE

The purpose of S. 167 is to designate a National Memorial to 

Fallen Educators at the National Teachers Hall of Fame in Emporia, Kansas. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED

From 1764 until March 30, 2017, 119 educators from 36 States 

lost their lives in the United States while performing professional 

duties. The United States currently lacks a national memorial dedicated to fallen educators. 

A memorial to fallen educators at the National Teachers Hall of 

Fame in Emporia, Kansas was dedicated on June 12, 2014, to 

honor educators who have lost their lives in the line of professional 

service. This legislation designates that memorial as the ‘‘National 

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Memorial to Fallen Educators.’’ The memorial is not a unit of the 

National Park System and no federal funds may be used in relation 

to the memorial. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

Senators Moran and Roberts introduced S. 167 on January 17, 

2017. 

In the 114th Congress, Senators Moran and Roberts introduced 

a similar bill, S. 2061, on September 21, 2015. On March 17, 2016, 

the Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on the bill. A 

companion bill, H.R. 5582, was introduced in the House of Representatives by Representative Huelskamp on June 24, 2016. 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources considered S. 

167 in open business session on March 30, 2017 and ordered S. 167 

favorably reported, as amended. 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 

open business session on March 30, 2017, by a majority voice vote 

of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 167, if 

amended as described herein. 

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT

During its consideration of S. 167, the Committee on Energy and 

Natural Resources adopted an amendment to strike the findings. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title 

Section 1 contains the short title. 

Section 2. Designation 

Section 2(a) designates the memorial to fallen educators, located 

at the National Teachers Hall of Fame in Emporia, Kansas, as the 

‘‘National Memorial to Fallen Educators.’’ 

Subsection (b) states that the National Memorial to Fallen Educators is not a unit of the National Park System and that the designation shall not require or permit expenditure of Federal funds. 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of the costs of this measure has been provided by the Congressional Budget Office: 

S. 167—National Memorial to the Fallen Educators Act 

S. 167 would designate the memorial to fallen educators located 

at the National Teachers Hall of Fame in Emporia, Kansas, as a 

national memorial. The memorial would not become a unit of the 

National Park System. Based on information provided by the National Park Service, CBO estimates that implementing S. 167 

would have no effect on the federal budget because the bill would 

prohibit federal funds from being used to operate the memorial. 

Enacting S. 167 would not affect direct spending or revenues; 

therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. 

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CBO estimates that enacting S. 167 would not increase net direct 

spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10- 

year periods beginning in 2028. 

S. 167 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates 

as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jon Sperl. The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, 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 

S. 167. 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 S. 167, as ordered reported. 

CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

S. 167, as ordered 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

Because S. 167 is similar to legislation considered by the Committee in the 114th Congress, the Committee did not request Executive Agency views. The testimony provided by the National Park 

Service at the hearing before the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources’ Subcommittee on National Parks on March 17, 

2016, follows: 

STATEMENT OF PEGGY O’DELL, DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF

THE INTERIOR

Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to appear 

before your committee to present the views of the Department of the Interior on S. 2061, a bill to designate a National Memorial to Fallen Educators at the National 

Teachers Hall of Fame in Emporia, Kansas. 

The Department of the Interior would defer to the Department of Education for a position on S. 2061 since the 

purpose of the legislation is to honor teachers. The memorial is located at a site that is not under the jurisdiction 

of the Department of the Interior, and this bill does not 

provide for any management or funding by the National 

Park Service. 

S. 2061 would designate a national memorial to fallen 

educators at the National Teachers Hall of Fame in Emporia, Kansas. The memorial is intended to recognize teachers who not only dedicated their lives to teaching, but were 

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sadly taken from us while ‘‘in the line of duty.’’ The National Teachers Hall of Fame is a non-profit organization 

that annually honors five school teachers who demonstrate 

exceptional commitment and dedication to teaching. The 

Hall of Fame was founded in 1989, by Emporia State University (ESU), the ESU Alumni Association, the City of 

Emporia, Emporia Public Schools, and the Emporia Area 

Chamber of Commerce. On June 13, 2013, the National 

Teachers Hall of Fame broke ground to build a memorial 

for the teachers that have fallen in the ‘‘line of duty.’’ 

This legislation explicitly states that this memorial is 

not a unit of the National Park System. However, the use 

of the title ‘‘national memorial’’ creates a reasonable expectation among the general public that the memorial must 

have an affiliation with the National Park Service, which 

currently administers 30 national memorials across the 

country. This is not the first time this issue has arisen, nor 

is it likely to be the last, and the Department respectfully 

encourages only the most thoughtful and judicious designation of any future ‘‘national’’ memorials or other similar sites. 

Mr. Chairman, this concludes my statement. I would be 

happy to answer any questions you or the other members 

of the subcommittee may have. 

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 bill as ordered reported. 

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