79–006

106TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 106–808

HOOVER DAM MISCELLANEOUS SALES ACT

SEPTEMBER 6, 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

[To accompany S. 1275]

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill (S.

1275) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to produce and sell

products and to sell publications relating to the Hoover Dam, and

to deposit revenues generated from the sales into the Colorado

River Dam fund, having considered the same, report favorably

thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of S. 1275 is to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to produce and sell products and to sell publications relating

to the Hoover Dam, and to deposit revenues generated from the

sales into the Colorado River Dam fund.

BACKGROUND

Hoover Dam is on the Colorado River between Arizona and Nevada, about seven miles northeast of Boulder City, Nevada. The

dam is the second highest dam in the country and 18th highest in

the world, making it a significant tourist attraction.

In 1995 a new visitor center was finished at the dam that provides more than one million visitors annually the opportunity to

visit and see how the facility works. The estimated costs of the visitor center, before construction, was $32 million. However, during

construction, the costs escalated to more than $122 million (1994

dollars).

S. 1275 will enable the Bureau of Reclamation to provide visitors

to Hoover Dam an opportunity to buy educational materials. It also

will allow material removed from the dam during recent rehabilitaVerDate 11-MAY-2000 06:06 Sep 07, 2000 Jkt 079006 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR808.XXX pfrm02 PsN: HR808
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tion work to be used to create memorabilia. Otherwise such material would become surplus and require alternate disposal. Sales authorized by this legislation are expected to generate revenues

which would reduce the cost over-runs incurred in constructing the

visitors center.

Net revenues from the sale of publications and products such as

maps and videos are estimated to be between $25,000 and $75,000

annually. These revenues will assist in repaying the construction

costs of the visitor center and parking structure, thereby reducing

the financial obligation of power users. The revenues also will assist in paying for the operation, maintenance, and recovery costs

associated with the delivery of guided tours at Hoover Dam and its

power plant.

COMMITTEE ACTION

S. 1275 was introduced on June 24, 1999, by Senator Jon Kyl (R–

AZ). Companion legislation, H.R. 2383, was introduced in the

House of Representatives by Congressman Bob Stump (R–AZ). On

November 19, 1999, the Senate passed S. 1275 by unanimous consent. In the House of Representatives, the bill was referred to the

Committee on Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on Water and Power. On June 15, 2000, the Subcommittee met to consider the bill. No amendments were offered

and the was forwarded to the Full Resources Committee by voice

vote. On June 21, 2000, the Full Resources Committee met to consider the bill. No amendments were offered and the bill was then

ordered to be favorably reported to the House of Representatives by

unanimous consent.

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title

The short title of the bill is the ‘‘Hoover Dam Miscellaneous Sales

Act’’.

Section 2. Findings

This section lists the findings of Congress that the sale and distribution of informative merchandise regarding public land and

water significantly benefits the public; the merchandise sold on Bureau of Reclamation lands educates the public; in 1997, over one

million people toured the Hoover Dam with many other people

stopping to take view of the dam; these visitors often ask to purchase items to memorialize their Hoover Dam experience; the Bureau of Reclamation is the sole supplier for Hoover Dam products

and should be responsive to the public and have appropriate items

available for sale.

Section 3. Purposes

This section outlines the purpose of S. 1275.

Section 4. Authority to conduct sales

This section describes the authority of the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bureau of Reclamation, to conduct sales of

Hoover Dam memorabilia, convert unneeded property for such use

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and enter into agreements with others for the production and sale

of these items.

Section 5. Costs and revenues

This section declares that all costs resulting from the production

of the proposed memorabilia shall be debited from the Colorado

River Dam fund, established under second 2 of the Act of December

21, 1928 (43 U.S.C. 617a), and all revenues from the sale of such

goods will return into this fund to pay for the production costs. If

any excess revenues exist they will be transferred to the general

fund of the Treasury to help repay the costs relating to the construction of the Hoover Dam Visitor Center.

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, spending authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in revenues or tax expenditures.

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 recommendations 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:

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U.S. CONGRESS,

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE,

Washington, DC, June 26, 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 S. 1275, the Hoover Dam Miscellaneous Sales Act.

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Rachel Applebaum.

Sincerely,

BARRY B. ANDERSON

(For Dan L. Crippen, Director).

Enclosure.

S. 1275—Hoover Dam Miscellaneous Sales Act

S. 1275 would allow the Bureau of Reclamation to sell memorabilia made from unneeded property and scrap materials from the

Hoover Dam. The act also would allow the bureau to sell publications related to its projects. Costs incurred to produce these items

would be derived from the Colorado River Dam Fund and would be

repaid from the proceeds from sales. Any sales profits would be

credited toward the repayment of the cost of constructing the Hoover Dam Visitor Center. Under current law, purchasers of power

from the Hoover Dam repay costs related to the center. CBO estimates that enacting S. 1275 would result in no net budget impact.

Amounts spent from the deposited into the Colorado River Dam

Fund are classified as discretionary spending. Based on information from the Bureau of Reclamation, CBO estimates that sales of

memorabilia and publications would yield profits of about $1 million annually over the 2001–2005 period. Because these collections

would reduce the repayment obligation of power customers, CBO

expects that collections from electricity sales (which are also classified as discretionary spending in this account) would be reduced by

a corresponding amount. Because S. 1275 would not affect direct

spending or receipts, pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply.

S. 1275 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would

have no significant impact on the budgets of state, local, or tribal

governments.

On October 14, 1999, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S.

1275 as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and

Natural Resources on September 22, 1999. These versions of the

legislation are similar and our estimates of their costs are the

same.

The CBO staff contact is Rachel Applebaum. 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.

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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.

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