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[Senate Report 113-109]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

113th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session                                                    113-109
_______________________________________________________________________

                                     

                                                       Calendar No. 196

 
        CONGRESSIONAL AWARD PROGRAM REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2013

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 of the

                   COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND

                          GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                              to accompany

                                S. 1348

               TO REAUTHORIZE THE CONGRESSIONAL AWARD ACT

               September 23, 2013.--Ordered to be printed

        COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                  THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware Chairman
CARL LEVIN, Michigan                 TOM COBURN, Oklahoma
MARK L. PRYOR, Arkansas              JOHN McCAIN, Arizona
MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana          RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
CLAIRE McCASKILL, Missouri           ROB PORTMAN, Ohio
JON TESTER, Montana                  RAND PAUL, Kentucky
MARK BEGICH, Alaska                  MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming
TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin             KELLY AYOTTE, New Hampshire
HEIDI HEITKAMP, North Dakota         JEFF CHIESA, New Jersey

                   Richard J. Kessler, Staff Director
               John P. Kilvington, Deputy Staff Director
                    Beth M. Grossman, Chief Counsel
       Lawrence B. Novey, Chief Counsel for Governmental Affairs
               Keith B. Ashdown, Minority Staff Director
         Christopher J. Barkley, Minority Deputy Staff Director
               Andrew C. Dockham, Minority Chief Counsel
     Catharine A. Bailey, Minority Director of Governmental Affairs
                  Patrick J. Bailey, Minority Counsel
                     Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk

                            C O N T E N T S

                                                                   Page
  I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
 II. Background.......................................................1
III. Legislative History..............................................3
 IV. Section-by-Section Analysis......................................3
  V. Estimated Cost of Legislation....................................3
 VI. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................4
VII. Changes in Existing Law..........................................4

                                                       Calendar No. 196
113th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session                                                    113-109

======================================================================

        CONGRESSIONAL AWARD PROGRAM REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2013

                                _______
                                

               September 23, 2013.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Carper, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
                    Affairs, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 1348]

    The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 1348) to 
reauthorize the Congressional Award Act, having considered the 
same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and 
recommends that the bill do pass.

                         I. Purpose and Summary

    S. 1348 reauthorizes the Congressional Award Program 
through October 1, 2018. Designed to promote initiative, 
achievement, and excellence among the youth of America, the 
Program arranges for medals to be awarded to young people who 
have satisfied specified standards of achievement. Members of 
Congress sit on the Board that administers the program and 
participate in the presentation of awards.

                             II. Background

    Congress enacted the Congressional Award Act in 1979, 
establishing the Congressional Award Program, under which young 
people between the ages of 14 and 23 earn awards by completing 
hours of effort in each of four areas of achievement--volunteer 
public service, personal development, physical fitness, and 
expedition/exploration. The Congressional Award is non-
competitive, and participants, with the guidance of adult 
advisors, establish their own goals and work to achieve them. 
Depending on the number of hours they complete, participants 
earn Bronze, Silver, and Gold certificates or Bronze, Silver, 
and Gold medals. Individual Members of the House and Senate 
recognize their constituents who earn Bronze and Silver medals 
at in-state ceremonies, and the Congress recognizes Gold-medal 
winners at an annual ceremony in the Capitol presided over by 
House and Senate leadership. In fiscal year 2012, 1166 
participants were recognized with certificates, and 1247 
received medals, including 276 who earned Gold medals.
    The Act establishes a 25-member Congressional Award Board, 
which is responsible for administering the Congressional Award 
Program. Twenty-four of the Board members are appointed by 
Congressional leadership--six members by each of the Majority 
Leader of the Senate, the Minority Leader of the Senate, the 
Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Minority 
Leader of the House of Representatives. The National Director, 
appointed by a majority vote of the Board, is the principal 
executive of the Program and sits as a non-voting member of the 
Board. By statute, four of the Board members must be Members of 
Congress. At present, the four Members of Congress appointed to 
the Board are Senator Max Baucus, Senator Johnny Isakson, 
Representative Gus Bilirakis, and Representative Sheila Jackson 
Lee.
    Under the Act, the Board incorporated a private, nonprofit, 
tax-exempt organization (qualified under section 501(c)(3) of 
the Internal Revenue Code) called the Congressional Award 
Foundation. Financial sponsors of the Program include business 
corporations, charitable foundations, and individuals. The 
Foundation also receives a small amount of in-kind services 
from the federal government. As the patron of the Congressional 
Award program, the U.S. Congress provides office space in a 
House Office Building, and, under the terms of the Act, the 
Government Accountability Office (GAO) provides an annual audit 
of the program, and the U.S. Mint designs and strikes the award 
medals.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\In evaluating the cost of S. 1248, the Congressional Budget 
Office (CBO) estimated that the Board's continued use of House Office 
Building space and an annual audit by GAO would cost less than $500,000 
a year in appropriated funds, and that the U.S. Mint's production of 
Congressional Award medals would increase spending by less than 
$500,000 a year. These costs are beneath the threshold under which CBO 
does not report more precise estimates. Also, estimates provided by the 
U.S. Mint to CBO indicate that the Mint's costs for production of the 
medals are less than $100,000 annually.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The legislation first establishing the Congressional Award 
Program was introduced in the 96th Congress by Senator Malcolm 
Wallop (R-WY) as S. 221 and by Representative James J. Howard 
(D-NJ) as H.R. 2196 and was enacted into law as Public Law 96-
114, the Congressional Award Act, on November 16, 1979. The 
authorization under that statute extended for six years and has 
been extended eight times: by Public Law 99-161, enacted on 
November 25, 1985; by Public Law 100-674, enacted on November 
17, 1988; by Public Law 101-525, enacted on November 6, 1990; 
by Public Law 102-457, enacted on October 23, 1992; by Public 
Law 104-208, enacted on September 30, 1996; Public Law 106-63, 
enacted on October 1, 1999; by Public Law 109-143, enacted on 
December 22, 2005; and by Public Law 111-200, enacted on July 
7, 2010.
    The Congressional Award Program has grown substantially in 
recent years, with the number of participants increasing from 
approximately 20,000 in 2005 to over 27,000 in 2009 and over 
35,000 in 2013. More than 2,000 adult mentors are also involved 
in the program. By statute, GAO audits the Foundation's 
financial statements and compliance with the Act annually and 
has issued generally favorable reports. The Committee believes 
that the Congressional Award Program performs a valuable 
service at minimal cost to the taxpayer, encouraging 
initiative, achievement, public service, and personal 
development in the Nation's youth, as well as providing an 
opportunity for service for the adult volunteers. The Committee 
therefore supports and recommends reauthorization of the 
Program.

                        III. Legislative History

    On July 23, 2013, Senator Carper introduced S. 1348, which 
was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs. The Committee considered the bill on July 
31, 2013, and ordered the bill reported by voice vote without 
amendment. Members present for the vote on the bill were 
Senators Carper, Levin, McCaskill, Tester, Begich, Baldwin, 
Coburn, Johnson, Ayotte, and Chiesa.

                    IV. Section-by-Section Analysis

Section 1--Short title

    This section states that the Act may be cited as the 
``Congressional Award Program Reauthorization Act of 2013''.

Section 2--Termination

    This section amends section 108 the Congressional Award Act 
(2 U.S.C. Sec. 808) to reauthorize the program until October 1, 
2018.

                    V. Estimated Cost of Legislation

                                                    August 9, 2013.
Hon. Thomas R. Carper,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1348, the 
Congressional Award Program Reauthorization Act of 2013.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew 
Pickford.
            Sincerely,
                                              Douglas W. Elmendorf.
    Enclosure.

S. 1348--Congressional Award Program Reauthorization Act of 2013

    S. 1348 would extend authorization for the Congressional 
Award Act through fiscal year 2018. The Congressional Award 
Program recognizes excellence in public service and personal 
development among young people. The program is overseen by the 
Congressional Award Board, a nonprofit organization that does 
not receive any appropriated federal funds.
    Under S. 1348, the Congressional Award Board would continue 
to receive free office space in a Congressional office 
building. In addition, young people recognized by the 
Congressional Award Program are awarded medals produced by the 
U.S. Mint. Based on information from the board, CBO estimates 
that extending authorization for the program would increase 
direct spending from the U.S. Mint Public Enterprise Fund by 
less than $500,000 annually. Because the bill would affect 
direct spending, pay-as-you-go procedures apply.
    S. 1348 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.
    The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Maggie 
Morrissey and Matthew Pickford. The estimate was approved by 
Peter H. Fontaine, Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                  VI. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact

    Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule 
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has 
considered the regulatory impact of this bill. CBO states that 
there are no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as 
defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and no costs on 
State, local, or tribal governments. The enactment of this 
legislation will not have any other significant regulatory 
impact.

                      VII. Changes in Existing Law

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, 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 and existing law, in which no 
change is proposed, is shown in roman):

                           UNITED STATES CODE

                         TITLE 2, THE CONGRESS

                CHAPTER 19--CONGRESSIONAL AWARD PROGRAM

Subchapter I--Congressional Award Program

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

SEC. 808. TERMINATION.

    The Board shall terminate [October 1, 2013] October 1, 
2018.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

                                  
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