79–006

106TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 106–585

ADDITION OF COMMEMORATIVE PLAQUE, VIETNAM

VETERANS MEMORIAL

APRIL 13, 2000.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of

the Union and ordered to be printed

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, from the Committee on Resources,

submitted the following

REPORT

together with

ADDITIONAL VIEWS

[To accompany H.R. 3293]

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill

(H.R. 3293) to amend the law that authorized the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to authorize the placement within the site of the

memorial of a plaque to honor those Vietnam veterans who died

after their service in the Vietnam war, but as a direct result of that

service, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with

an amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.

The amendment is as follows:

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

the following:

SECTION 1. ADDITION OF COMMEMORATIVE PLAQUE, VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL.

Public Law 96–297 (94 Stat. 827; 16 U.S.C. 431 note), which authorized the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in the District of Columbia, is amended by adding at the

end the following new section:

‘‘SEC. 5. PLAQUE TO HONOR OTHER VIETNAM VETERANS WHO DIED AS A RESULT OF SERVICE

IN THE VIETNAM WAR.

‘‘(a) PLAQUE AUTHORIZED.—Notwithstanding section 3(c) of the Commemorative

Works Act (40 U.S.C. 1003(c)), the American Battle Monuments Commission is authorized to place within the Vietnam Veterans Memorial a suitable plaque containing an inscription intended to honor those Vietnam veterans who died after

their service in the Vietnam war, but as a direct result of that service, and whose

names are not otherwise eligible for placement on the memorial wall.

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‘‘(b) SPECIFICATIONS.—The plaque shall be at least 6 square feet in size and not

larger than 18 square feet in size, and of whatever shape as the American Battle

Monuments Commission determines to be appropriate for the site. The plaque shall

bear an inscription prepared by the American Battle Monuments Commission.

‘‘(c) RELATION TO COMMEMORATIVE WORKS ACT.—Except as provided in subsection

(a), the Commemorative Works Act (40 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) shall apply to the design

and placement of the plaque within the site of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

‘‘(d) CONSULTATION.—In designing the plaque, preparing the inscription, and selecting the specific location for the plaque within the Vietnam Veterans Memorial,

the American Battle Monuments Commission shall consult with the architects of the

Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc.

‘‘(e) FUNDS FOR PLAQUE.—Federal funds may not be used to design, procure, or

install the plaque. However, the preceding sentence does not apply to the payment

of the salaries, expenses, and other benefits otherwise authorized by law for members of the American Battle Monuments Commission or other personnel (including

detailees) of the American Battle Monuments Commission who carry out this section.

‘‘(f) VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘Vietnam

Veterans Memorial’ means the structures and adjacent areas extending to and

bounded by the south curb of Constitution Avenue on the north, the east curb of

Henry Bacon Drive on the west, the north side of the north Reflecting Pool walkway

on the south and a line drawn perpendicular to Constitution Avenue 200 feet from

the east tip of the memorial wall on the east (this is also a line extended from the

east side of the western concrete border of the steps to the west of the center steps

to the Federal Reserve Building extending to the Reflecting pool walkway). This is

the same definition used by the National Park Service as of the date of the enactment of this section, as contained in section 7.96(g)(1)(x) of title 36, Code of Federal

Regulations.’’.

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of H.R. 3293 is to amend the law that authorized

the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to authorize the placement within

the site of the memorial of a plaque to honor those Vietnam veterans who died after their service in the Vietnam war, but as a direct result of that service.

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

H.R. 3293 serves to honor those Vietnam veterans whose names

are not technically eligible for placement on the Vietnam Veterans

Memorial wall, but have died as a direct result of serving in the

Vietnam War. Currently, the names on the Memorial wall honor

those military personnel who died during the conflict. This plaque

would commemorate those military personnel who died afterward

and as a direct result of the war.

H.R. 3293 amends Public Law 96–297 which authorized the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, to authorize the placement of a plaque

within the site of the memorial to honor those Vietnam veterans

who died after their service in the Vietnam War, but as a direct

result of that service. This bill would authorize the American Battle Monuments Commission to design and place the plaque and

also to prepare an appropriate inscription in consultation with the

Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc. This bill specifies that the

plaque contain an appropriate inscription and be placed within the

legal description of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington,

D.C. Federal funds may not be used for the design, procurement,

and installation of the plaque.

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COMMITTEE ACTION

H.R. 3293 was introduced on November 10, 1999, by Congressman Elton Gallegly (R–CA). The bill was referred to the Committee

on Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on

National Parks and Public Lands. On March 16, 2000, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On March 23, 2000, the Subcommittee met to consider the bill. An amendment was offered by

Congressman Gallegly which allowed greater flexibility for the dimensions of the plaque (at least 6, but no more than 18 total

square feet), exempted the plaque from Section 3(c) of the Commemorative Works Act, and also provided that federal funds are

still allowable for salaries, expenses, and benefits for the American

Battle Monuments Commission. The amendment was adopted by

voice vote and the bill, as amended, was then ordered favorably reported to the Full Committee by voice vote. On April 5, 2000, the

Full Resources Committee met to consider the bill. No further

amendments were offered, and the bill, as amended, was ordered

favorably reported 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 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, credit authority, or an increase

or decrease in revenues or tax expenditures. According to the Congressional Budget Office, enactment of this bill could affect direct

spending, but any such effects would be less than $100,000 annually because privately-raised funds may be spent by the Department of the Interior without appropriation for maintenance of the

plaque.

3. Government Reform Oversight Findings. Under clause 3(c)(4)

of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee has received no report of oversight findings and recVerDate 18-APR-2000 22:07 Apr 18, 2000 Jkt 079006 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR585.XXX pfrm03 PsN: HR585
4

ommendations from the Committee on Government Reform on this

bill.

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, April 12, 2000.

Hon. DON YOUNG,

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. 3293, a bill to amend the

law that authorized the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to authorize

the placement within the site of the memorial of a plaque to honor

those Vietnam veterans who died after their service in the Vietnam

war, but as a direct result of that service.

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. 3293—A bill to amend the law that authorized the Vietnam

Veterans Memorial to authorize the placement within the site of

the memorial of a plaque to honor those Vietnam veterans who

died after their service in the Vietnam war, but as a direct result of that service

CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 3293 would have no significant impact on the federal budget. Because the bill could affect direct spending, pay-as-you-go procedures would apply. CBO estimates, however, that any such effects would be less than $100,000

annually. 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.

H.R. 3293 would authorize the American Battle Monuments

Commission to place within the Vietnam Veterans Memorial a

plaque honoring certain veterans who died after their service in the

Vietnam war. A private organization would design and construct

the plaque in accordance with the Commemorative Works Act and

without cost to the federal government. Under the Commemorative

Works Act, any organization that receives a permit to construct a

memorial in the District of Columbia or its environs must deposit

an amount equal to 10 percent of the memorial’s estimated construction cost in the U.S. Treasury. The funds deposited are then

available without further appropriation for maintenance and preservation of the memorial.

According to the National Park Service (NPS), the Vietnam War

in Memory Memorial, Inc. will finance the design and construction

of the plaque. Based on information provided by the agency, CBO

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estimates that the federal government would receive a deposit of

less than $100,000 once the plaque has been installed. The NPS

would then spend a portion of this amount each year to maintain

the memorial. Based on the experience with similar commemorative projects, CBO expects that no amounts would be received or

spent by the federal government for several years after the bill is

enacted. In any case, the collections and spending would offset each

other over time.

The CBO staff contact 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 State, local, or tribal law.

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

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 (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):

SECTION 5 OF THE ACT OF JULY 1, 1980

AN ACT To authorize the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc., to establish a

memorial

SEC. 5. PLAQUE TO HONOR OTHER VIETNAM VETERANS WHO DIED AS

A RESULT OF SERVICE IN THE VIETNAM WAR.

(a) PLAQUE AUTHORIZED.—Notwithstanding section 3(c) of the

Commemorative Works Act (40 U.S.C. 1003(c)), the American Battle

Monuments Commission is authorized to place within the Vietnam

Veterans Memorial a suitable plaque containing an inscription intended to honor those Vietnam veterans who died after their service

in the Vietnam war, but as a direct result of that service, and whose

names are not otherwise eligible for placement on the memorial

wall.

(b) SPECIFICATIONS.—The plaque shall be at least 6 square feet in

size and not larger than 18 square feet in size, and of whatever

shape as the American Battle Monuments Commission determines

to be appropriate for the site. The plaque shall bear an inscription

prepared by the American Battle Monuments Commission.

(c) RELATION TO COMMEMORATIVE WORKS ACT.—Except as provided in subsection (a), the Commemorative Works Act (40 U.S.C.

1001 et seq.) shall apply to the design and placement of the plaque

within the site of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

(d) CONSULTATION.—In designing the plaque, preparing the inscription, and selecting the specific location for the plaque within

the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the American Battle Monuments

Commission shall consult with the architects of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc.

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(e) FUNDS FOR PLAQUE.—Federal funds may not be used to design, procure, or install the plaque. However, the preceding sentence

does not apply to the payment of the salaries, expenses, and other

benefits otherwise authorized by law for members of the American

Battle Monuments Commission or other personnel (including

detailees) of the American Battle Monuments Commission who carry

out this section.

(f) VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL DEFINED.—In this section, the

term ‘‘Vietnam Veterans Memorial’’ means the structures and adjacent areas extending to and bounded by the south curb of Constitution Avenue on the north, the east curb of Henry Bacon Drive on the

west, the north side of the north Reflecting Pool walkway on the

south and a line drawn perpendicular to Constitution Avenue 200

feet from the east tip of the memorial wall on the east (this is also

a line extended from the east side of the western concrete border of

the steps to the west of the center steps to the Federal Reserve Building extending to the Reflecting pool walkway). This is the same definition used by the National Park Service as of the date of the enactment of this section, as contained in section 7.96(g)(1)(x) of title 36,

Code of Federal Regulations.

(7)

ADDITIONAL VIEWS

H.R. 3293 is the most recent in a series of legislative proposals

to add memorials to the National Mall. This particular measure

would authorize a plaque to be placed within the site of the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial intended to honor soldiers who died as a

result of their service in Vietnam but who are ineligible for inclusion on the Wall because their deaths occurred after the war ended.

As with most such proposals, this legislation would honor a worthy

group and its proponents feel that placement other than on the

Mall would be inappropriate.

In this case, we do not oppose the bill’s provision mandating

placement of the plaque within the site of the existing Memorial,

given the nexus between the existing Memorial and the proposed

addition. However, the Commemorative Works Act of 1986 (CWA)

was enacted to resolve the growing conflict between the proliferation of compelling memorial proposals and ever-shrinking space on

the Mall. H.R. 3293 specifically exempts this proposal from the

CWA but we continue to believe that, in most cases, Congress

should provide general authorizations for memorials and allow the

process contained within the CWA to resolve issues such as placement and design.

While we support the intent of H.R. 3293, there is one significant

improvement which must be made in the bill before this measure

is approved by the House. The legislation identifies a government

agency, the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) as

the organization which will oversee placement of the plaque. Selection of the ABMC for this task is inappropriate for several important reasons.

First, placement of a plaque at the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial

is inconsistent with the ABMC’s mission. The ABMC is an independent, executive-branch agency which operates 24 cemeteries

around the world, burial grounds for nearly 125,000 American war

dead. The organization also oversees 27 memorials, the vast majority of which are located on foreign soil. The ABMC has had no involvement in the creation or administration of the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial, as most of its responsibilities lie overseas. The

major exception to this overseas focus, responsibility for the proposed World War II Memorial, is likely to occupy most of the

ABMC’s domestic efforts.

What’s more, the ABMC doesn’t want the job. In testimony before the National Capitol Memorial Commission, the ABMC stated

that, ‘‘responsibility for the design, procurement and installation of

the plaque should rest with either the proponent or the Vietnam

Veteran’s Memorial Fund.’’

In addition, the ABMC has no mechanism to pay for this proposed plaque. The legislation specifies that no federal funds are to

be used to, ‘‘design, procure, or install the plaque.’’ While the bill

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has been amended to exempt, ‘‘salaries, expenses and other benefits’’ for ABMC personnel, it is still unclear where the funds for the

plaque itself will come from. Cost estimates have ranged from

$3,000 to more than $10,000 and the ABMC testified before the

Memorial Commission that they have no mechanism to accept donations for this specific project. In order for the ABMC to carry out

this responsibility, either such a mechanism must be created,

which would persumably divert funds from the WWII Memorial, or

the funds must come out of the ABMC’s ‘‘expense’’ budget, money

now being spent on American cemeteries in Europe. Neither of

these options seems attractive.

All of these problems could be avoided by replacing the ABMC

with the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial Fund (VVMF) as the organization responsible for placing this plaque at the Vietnam Veteran’s

Memorial. The VVMF, was founded in 1979 for the express purpose

of erecting a memorial to the Vietnam War on the National Mall.

This organization conceived the idea for the Memorial, raised the

more than $8 million needed for its construction, conducted the design contest, oversaw construction, organized the dedication ceremonies and continues to raise funds for educational programs and

maintenance. No memorial in Washington is more closely associated with one organization. The VVMF has the historical perspective, technical expertise and fund-raising ability needed to implement this legislation properly. Unlike the ABMC, the Fund has

also expressed a desire to oversee this addition to the Memorial, if

that is what Congress decides.

In fact, it is our understanding that the VVMF was the first

choice of the sponsor of this legislation as well, However, because

the Fund raised several concerns regarding this proposal, they

were passed over in favor of the ABMC. In our view, it is shortsighted and inappropriate to remove the Fund from decisions which

will alter a memorial they built in favor of an unrelated and

unenthusiastic government agency, simply as means of punishing

them for reticence early in the process. This is particularly true

when such a move creates funding complications which could prove

fatal to the entire project.

As it stands, H.R. 3293 has an obvious flaw. Fortunately an obvious solution exists and we hope it will be adopted.

GEORGE MILLER.

FRANK PALLONE, Jr.

MARK UDALL.

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