49–010 

Calendar No. 237 

109TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 1st Session 109–145 

COLUMBIA SPACE SHUTTLE MEMORIAL STUDY ACT OF 

2005 

OCTOBER 19, 2005.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. DOMENICI, from the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany 242] 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the bill (S. 242) to establish 4 memorials to the Space 

Shuttle Columbia in the State of Texas, having considered the 

same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment and an 

amendment to the title and recommends that the bill, as amended, 

do pass. 

1. Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu 

thereof the following: 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Columbia Space Shuttle Memorial Study Act of 

2005’’. 

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

In this Act: 

(1) MEMORIAL.—The term ‘‘memorial’’ means a memorial to the Space Shuttle 

Columbia the suitability and feasibility of the establishment of which is a subject of the study under section 3(a). 

(2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of the Interior, 

acting through the Director of the National Park Service. 

SEC. 3. STUDY OF SUITABILITY AND FEASIBILITY OF ESTABLISHING MEMORIALS TO THE 

SPACE SHUTTLE COLUMBIA. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after the date on which funds are made 

available to carry out this Act, the Secretary shall carry out a study to determine 

the suitability and feasibility of establishing, as units of the National Park System 

on land in the State of Texas described in subsection (b) (on which large debris from 

the Space Shuttle Columbia was recovered), memorials to the Space Shuttle Columbia. 

(b) DESCRIPTION OF LAND.—The parcels of land referred to in subsection (a) are— 

(1) the parcel of land owned by the Fredonia Corporation, located at the 

southwest corner of the intersection of East Hospital Street and North Fredonia 

Street, Nacogdoches, Texas; 

2 

(2) the parcel of land owned by Temple Island Inc., 10 acres of a 61-acre tract 

bounded by State Highway 83 and Bayou Bend Road, Hemphill, Texas; 

(3) the parcel of land owned by the city of Lufkin, Texas, located at City Hall 

Park, 301 Charlton Street, Lufkin, Texas; and 

(4) the parcel of land owned by San Augustine County, Texas, located at 1109 

Oaklawn Street, San Augustine, Texas. 

(c) ADMINISTRATION.—In carrying out the study, the Secretary shall assume that, 

if established after completion of the study, each memorial shall be administered by 

the Secretary. 

(d) ADDITIONAL SITES.—The Secretary may recommend to Congress additional 

sites in the State of Texas relating to the Space Shuttle Columbia for establishment 

as memorials to the Space Shuttle Columbia. 

(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized to be appropriated 

such sums as are necessary to carry out this Act. 

2. Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘To direct the Secretary of the 

Interior to carry out a study to determine the suitability and feasibility of establishing memorials to the Space Shuttle Columbia on 

parcels of land in the State of Texas.’’. 

PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE

The purpose of S. 242, as ordered reported, is to authorize the 

Secretary of the Interior, to study the potential to establish four 

memorials to the Space Shuttle Columbia as units of the National 

Park System, to be located on the four parcels of land in Texas on 

which large debris from the Space Shuttle was recovered. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED

The Space Shuttle Columbia mission lifted off on January 16, 

2003, for a 17-day science mission. Upon reentering the atmosphere 

on February 1, 2003, the Columbia suffered a catastrophic failure 

while flying over Texas, only 15 minutes before the scheduled landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The cause of the explosion was later determined to have been caused by a breach that 

occurred during launch, when falling foam from the external fuel 

tank struck the reinforced carbon panels on the underside of the 

left wing. The Columbia’s explosion killed its seven crew members, 

Rick D. Husband, William C. McCool, David Brown, Laurel Blair 

Salton Clark, Michael P. Anderson, Ilan Ramon, and Kalpana 

Chawla. 

As ordered reported, S. 242 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to study the possible establishment as units of the National 

Park System four memorials in Texas to commemorate the Columbia tragedy. The four sites identified in the bill are ones on which 

large debris from Columbia was removed. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

S. 242 was introduced by Senators Hutchison and Cornyn on 

February 1, 2005. During the 108th Congress similar legislation (S. 

2034) was introduced by Senator Hutchinson. 

The Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on S. 242 

on April 28, 2005, (S. Hrg. 109–74). At its business meeting on September 28, 2005, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

ordered S. 242 favorably reported with an amendment in the nature of a subsitute. 

3 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open business session on September 28, 2005, by a voice vote of a quorum 

present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 242 if amended as described herein. 

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT

During its consideration of S. 242 the Committee adopted an 

amendment in the nature of a substitute. As introduced, S. 242 

would have established four memorials in Texas as units of the National Park System. The substitute amendment directs the Secretary of the Interior to study the sites in Texas to determine 

whether they are appropriate for designation as a National Park 

System unit. The amendment is explained in detail in the sectionby-section analysis, below. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1 entitles the bill the ‘‘Columbia Space Shuttle Memorials Study Act of 2005.’’

Section 2 defines key terms used in the bill. 

Section 3(a) directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a 

study to determine the suitability and feasibility of establishing as 

units of the National Park System memorials to be located in the 

State of Texas to be located on the land described in subsection (b). 

Subsection (b) describes the four parcels of land in Texas that are 

to be the memorial sites. 

Subsection (c) directs that the memorials be administered by the 

Secretary of the Interior, acting through the National Park Service. 

Subsection (d) authorizes the Secretary to recommend to Congress additional sites in Texas for establishment as memorials to 

Columbia. 

Subsection (e) authorizes the appropriation of such sums as are 

necessary to carry out the Act. 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of costs of this measure has been provided 

by the Congressional Budget Office: 

S. 242—Columbia Space Shuttle Memorial Study Act of 2005 

S. 242 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a 

study to determine the suitability and feasibility of establishing 

memorials to the Columbia Space Shuttle on four sites in Texas. 

Based on information provided by the National Park Service and 

assuming the availability of appropriated funds, CBO estimates 

that carrying out the proposed study would cost about $250,000 

over the next three years. Enacting S. 242 would not affect direct 

spending or revenues. 

S. 242 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates 

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

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis. This estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. 

4 

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. 242. 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. 242, as ordered reported. 

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

The views of the Administration on S. 242 were included in testimony received by the Committee at a hearing on the bill on April 

28, 2005 as follows: 

STATEMENT OF MICHAEL SOUKUP, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, NATURAL RESOURCE STEWARDSHIP AND SCIENCE, NA- TIONAL 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 S. 242, 

a bill to establish 4 memorials to the space shuttle Columbia in the State of Texas. 

The Department does not support S. 242, unless amended to authorize a study to determine the most appropriate 

and effective way to establish a memorial to honor the 

brave men and women on the crew of the Columbia. We 

believe it is critical that National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration (NASA), the crew’s family members, and 

others intimately involved in the shuttle mission, disaster, 

and recovery be part of a process to determine what is 

most appropriate. A study would provide this opportunity 

by including consultation with other agencies and organizations, including NASA, to determine what other commemorative efforts have been undertaken to memorialize 

the space shuttle Columbia as well as taking into account 

the wishes and desires of the crew’s families regarding 

how they might like their loved ones remembered. A study 

also would look at a variety of alternatives that could include National Park Service (NPS) management or could 

focus on administering the site through State or local governments or private organizations. 

Because a study can provide these important benefits, a 

suitability and feasibility study typically is conducted prior 

to designation of a new unit of the National Park System. 

Indeed, Congress established in the National Parks Omnibus Management Act of 1998 (P.L. 105–391) a process for 

authorizing studies before the designation of new units. 

Studies of this type typically take approximately 3 years 

to complete after funds are made available. We currently 

have 30 other similar studies in progress, and we hope to 

complete and transmit 15 to Congress by the end of calVerDate Aug 31 2005 15:40 Oct 20, 2005 Jkt 049010 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6969 E:\HR\OC\SR145.XXX SR145
5 

endar year 2005. We believe that available funding should 

be first directed toward completing previously authorized 

studies. 

S. 242 would establish units of the National Park System without a study first determining whether the proposed units would be suitable and feasible additions to the 

National Park System or whether management by the 

NPS would be the most effective and efficient form of commemoration. 

S. 242 would establish four units of the National Park 

System in the Texas cities of Nacogdoches, Hemphill, 

Lufkin and San Augustine. Large amounts of debris from 

the Columbia were found on each of the four parcels specified in the bill, a combination of public and private land, 

and the Lufkin civic center served as NASA’s command 

center for retrieval efforts. The legislation specifies that 

the memorials would be administered by the Secretary of 

the Interior (Secretary) and authorizes the Secretary to 

recommend additional sites in Texas for establishment of 

memorials to Columbia. 

Columbia, the first space shuttle to orbit the earth, was 

NASA’s oldest shuttle. On the morning of February 1, 

2003, after a 3-week mission devoted to scientific and medical experiments, the Columbia began its return to earth. 

As re-entry into the earth’s atmosphere continued over the 

Pacific, problems were noticed by NASA, contact with the 

shuttle was lost, and it began to break apart. Debris from 

the shuttle was observed from California to Louisiana, 

however the remains of the seven astronauts and the most 

significant parts of the shuttle were found in several communities across Texas. Soon after the crash, an independent accident investigation board was established and 

the first volume of the board’s findings was issued in August 2003, identifying the factors that led to the shuttle 

disaster and making recommendations for future actions. 

Many memorials and remembrances have been established in honor of Columbia’s crew, including a memorial 

at Arlington Cemetery and on Devon Island in the Canadian High Arctic. Asteroids have been named for members 

of the crew, as has a highway in Washington and an elementary school in California. A memorial is planned at the 

U.S. Naval Academy for Commander William McCool on 

the cross-country course where he raced as a midshipman. 

On May 12, 2004, NASA dedicated its new ‘‘Altix’’ supercomputer to the memory of Kalpana ‘‘KC’’ Chawla, flight 

engineer and mission specialist on the Columbia. 

If the Committee recommends immediate establishment 

of these new units of the National Park System, we suggest that the bill be clarified in several areas. The legislation is unclear whether the intent of the bill is to authorize 

the Secretary to manage a process that would produce a 

commemorative work—such as a plaque, statue, or other 

art that would be located on the properties identified in 

the legislation, or if the bill is authorizing the purchase of 

these properties to be developed as units of the National 

6 

Park System that would then require onsite management, 

development, and funding. The costs for establishing and 

managing these four areas as units of the National Park 

System would be difficult to determine at this time, but 

they could be expensive given the dispersed sites. These 

costs could best be estimated through the completion of a 

study. 

Also, the bill does not clearly state a purpose for the memorials. In her floor speech introducing the legislation, 

Senator Hutchison spoke about memorializing the spirit 

and adventure of the space program and the men and 

women who accept the dangers and challenges of accomplishing NASA’s mission. She also recognized the impact 

and efforts of four Texas communities and citizens that 

provided support and assisted with the collection and identification of debris and the remains of the crew. A clear 

and concise purpose would help guide the efforts to meet 

the legislation’s intent. 

NASA and other communities and organizations have already established a variety of memorials that recognize 

the tragedy as well as the enduring spirit of the crew and 

others associated with the final voyage of the Columbia. 

An NPS suitability and feasibility study would determine 

how, or if, this proposal would complement or add to those 

already established memorials. 

Mr. Chairman, that concludes my remarks and I would 

be happy to respond to any questions that you or 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 S. 242, as ordered reported. 

Æ