79–006

106TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 106–839

SENSE OF THE CONGRESS REGARDING THE NEED FOR CATALOGING AND

MAINTAINING PUBLIC MEMORIALS COMMEMORATING MILITARY CONFLICTS OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE SERVICE OF INDIVIDUALS IN

THE ARMED FORCES

SEPTEMBER 12, 2000.—Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed

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

submitted the following

R E P O R T

[To accompany H. Con. Res. 345]

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 345) expressing the sense of the Congress regarding the need for cataloging and maintaining public memorials commemorating military conflicts of the United States and

the service of individuals in the Armed Forces, having considered

the same report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the concurrent resolution be agreed to.

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of H. Con. Res. 345 is to express the sense of the

Congress regarding the need for cataloging and maintaining public

memorials commemorating military conflicts of the United States

and the service of individuals in the Armed Forces.

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

H. Con. Res. 345 addresses the need to create a cataloged list of

the many different public war memorials of the United States.

Thousands of public memorials dealing with United States involvement in military conflicts exist throughout the world. However,

there is no index or record as to their location nor is there a cataloged assessment as to their condition. Many of these memorials

suffer from neglect, disrepair, or have been relocated or stored in

facilities where they are not accessible to the public.

Currently, the federal government monitors only those memorials that are federally-funded. There are, however, non-profit organizations, such as Remembering Veterans Who Earned Their

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Stripes (RVETS, Inc.), that have undertaken self-funded programs

in an attempt to catalog these memorials.

H. Con. Res. 345 urges the Secretary of the Interior, acting

through the National Park Service, to collect and maintain information on public memorials commemorating military conflicts of

the United States. The resolution also urges a coordinated effort

between the federal government and other entities like RVETS,

Inc. in collecting and maintaining this information which would

then be available to the public.

COMMITTEE ACTION

H. Con. Res. 345 was introduced by Congressman James Rogan

(R–CA) on June 6, 2000. The bill was referred to the Committee

on Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on

National Parks and Public Lands. On July 26, 2000, the Resources

Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee was discharged from further consideration by unanimous consent. No

amendments were offered and the bill was ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives by unanimous consent.

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 Office:

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U.S. CONGRESS, CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, Washington, DC, September 7, 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. Con. Res. 345, expressing

the sense of the Congress regarding the need for cataloging and

maintaining public memorials commemorating military conflicts of

the United States and the Service of individuals in the Armed

Forces.

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

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Barry Blom.

Sincerely,

BARRY B. ANDERSON

(For Dan L. Crippen, Director).

Enclosure.

H. Con. Res. 345—Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding

the need for cataloging and maintaining public memorials commemorating military conflicts of the United States and the service of individuals in the Armed Forces

H. Con. Res. 345 expresses the sense of the Congress that the

Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the National Park Service, should collect and maintain information on

public memorials commemorating military conflicts of the United

States and the service of individuals in the armed forces. Because

the concurrent resolution would urge but not require the Secretary

to take certain actions, it would not necessarily result in additional

costs to the federal government. If the Secretary were to collect and

maintain such information in a database, CBO estimates that the

effort would cost about $1 million over the next five years, subject

to the availability of appropriated funds. Most of the information

on the location of such memorials has already been collected, and

the remaining effort would involve creating and maintaining a

database. Pay-as-you go procedures would not apply to H. Con.

Res. 345.

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Barry Blom. This estimate was approved by Robert A. Sunshine, 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

If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing law.

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