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114th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 114-433
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KOREAN WAR VETERANS MEMORIAL WALL OF REMEMBRANCE ACT OF 2016
_______
February 24, 2016.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Bishop of Utah, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted
the following
R E P O R T
together with
ADDITIONAL VIEWS
[To accompany H.R. 1475]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 1475) to authorize a Wall of Remembrance as part
of the Korean War Veterans Memorial and to allow certain
private contributions to fund that Wall of Remembrance, having
considered the same, report favorably thereon with an amendment
and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Korean War Veterans Memorial Wall of
Remembrance Act of 2016''.
SEC. 2. WALL OF REMEMBRANCE.
Section 1 of the Act titled ``An Act to authorize the erection of a
memorial on Federal Land in the District of Columbia and its environs
to honor members of the Armed Forces of the United States who served in
the Korean War'', approved October 25, 1986 (Public Law 99-572), is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Such memorial shall include a Wall of Remembrance, which shall be
constructed without the use of Federal funds. The American Battle
Monuments Commission shall request and consider design recommendations
from the Korean War Veterans Memorial Foundation, Inc. for the
establishment of the Wall of Remembrance. The Wall of Remembrance shall
include--
``(1) a list by name of members of the Armed Forces of the
United States who died in theatre in the Korean War;
``(2) the number of members of the Armed Forces of the United
States who, in regards to the Korean War--
``(A) were wounded in action;
``(B) are listed as missing in action; or
``(C) were prisoners of war; and
``(3) the number of members of the Korean Augmentation to the
United States Army, the Republic of Korea Armed Forces, and the
other nations of the United Nations Command who, in regards to
the Korean War--
``(A) were killed in action;
``(B) were wounded in action;
``(C) are listed as missing in action; or
``(D) were prisoners of war.''.
Purpose of the Bill
The purpose of H.R. 1475 is to authorize a wall of
Remembrance as part of the Korean War Veterans Memorial and to
allow certain private contributions to fund that Wall of
Remembrance.
Background and Need for Legislation
The Korean War Veterans Memorial is located near the
Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, DC. The
Memorial falls within an area known as the Reserve. Congress
created the Reserve in November 2003 (by Public Law 108-126) to
prohibit the addition of future memorials within the area.
The Korean War Veterans Memorial commemorates the
sacrifices of 5.8 million Americans world-wide who served in
the U.S. armed services during the three-year period of the
Korean War. The Memorial also recognizes the participation of
the 22 nations who served as United Nations contributors.
During the Korean War's duration (June 25, 1950-July 27, 1953)
54,246 Americans died world-wide. Of these, 8,200 are listed as
missing in action, lost or buried at sea. An additional 103,284
were wounded during the conflict.
As ordered reported, H.R. 1475 authorizes the Korean War
Veterans Memorial Foundation to add a Wall of Remembrance with
the names of those that died in theatre, are listed as missing,
or prisoners of war. It would also list the number of Korean
Augmentation to the U.S. Army, the Republic of Korea Armed
Forces and other United Nations Command who were killed,
wounded, missing, or prisoners. The Wall of Remembrance
authorized by H.R. 1475 would be an unbroken semi-circle of
glass panels seven feet high, allowing full visibility to the
rest of the Mall. The Wall of Remembrance will be financed
solely through non-governmental funds.
H.R. 1475, at the time of markup, had 264 bipartisan
cosponsors. Congressman Sam Johnson (R-TX), the bill's sponsor,
is one of three Korean War Veterans remaining in the House.
Congressmen Charles Rangel and John Conyers, Jr., the other two
Korean War Veterans serving in the House, are both original
cosponsors of H.R. 1475.
Committee Action
H.R. 1475 was introduced on March 19, 2015, by Congressman
Sam Johnson (R-TX). The bill was referred to the Committee on
Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee
on Federal Lands. On February 2, 2016, the Natural Resources
Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee was
discharged by unanimous consent. Congressman Tom McClintock (R-
CA) offered an amendment designated #1. The amendment was
adopted by voice vote. No other amendments were offered, and
the bill, as amended, was ordered favorably reported to the
House of Representatives by voice vote on February 3, 2016.
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 Natural Resources' oversight findings and
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.
Compliance With House Rule XIII
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(1) 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)(2)(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. 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:
H.R. 1475--Korean War Veterans Memorial Wall of Remembrance Act of 2016
H.R. 1475 would authorize the expansion of the Korean War
Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Under the bill, the
memorial would be expanded to include a ``Wall of Remembrance''
that would commemorate U.S. and United Nations forces who were
killed, wounded, found to be missing in action, or were taken
as prisoners of war during the Korean War.
Under the bill, construction of the project would be funded
with private donations. However, the National Park Service
(NPS) would be responsible for maintaining the addition once it
is completed. Based on information from the NPS, CBO expects
that the project will not be completed for a few years because
funds are not currently sufficient to begin construction.
CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would have
an insignificant cost to the federal government over the 2017-
2021 period, mostly because maintenance costs would not be
incurred until the memorial has been completed. Because
enacting H.R. 1475 would not affect direct spending or
revenues, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1475 would not increase
net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2027.
H.R. 1475 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 contact for this estimate is Marin Burnett.
The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Assistant Director
for Budget Analysis.
2. Section 308(a) of 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. The Congressional
Budget Office has concluded that enactment of the bill would
have ``an insignificant cost to the federal government over the
2017-2021 period''.
3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or
objective of this bill is to authorize a wall of Remembrance as
part of the Korean War Veterans Memorial and to allow certain
private contributions to fund that Wall of Remembrance.
Earmark Statement
This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of
the House of Representatives.
Compliance With Public Law 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
Compliance With H. Res. 5
Directed Rule Making. The Chairman does not believe that
this bill directs any executive branch official to conduct any
specific rule-making proceedings.
Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not
establish or reauthorize a program of the federal government
known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was
not included in any report from the Government Accountability
Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139
or identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program
Information Act (Public Law 95-220, as amended by Public Law
98-169) as relating to other programs.
Preemption of State, Local or Tribal Law
This bill is not intended to preempt any 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 (new matter is
printed in italic and existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
PUBLIC LAW 99-572
authorization of memorial
Sec. 1. The American Battle Monuments Commission is
authorized to establish a memorial on Federal land in the
District of Columbia and its environs to honor members of the
Armed Forces of the United States who served in the Korean war,
particularly those who were killed in action, are still listed
as missing in action, or were held as prisoners of war. Such
memorial shall be established in accordance with the Act
entitled ``An Act to provide standards for placement of
commemorative works on certain Federal lands in the District of
Columbia and its environs, and for other purposes'', approved
November 14,1986 (40 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.). Such memorial shall
include a Wall of Remembrance, which shall be constructed
without the use of Federal funds. The American Battle Monuments
Commission shall request and consider design recommendations
from the Korean War Veterans Memorial Foundation, Inc. for the
establishment of the Wall of Remembrance. The Wall of
Remembrance shall include--
(1) a list by name of members of the Armed Forces of
the United States who died in theatre in the Korean
War;
(2) the number of members of the Armed Forces of the
United States who, in regards to the Korean War--
(A) were wounded in action;
(B) are listed as missing in action; or
(C) were prisoners of war; and
(3) the number of members of the Korean Augmentation
to the United States Army, the Republic of Korea Armed
Forces, and the other nations of the United Nations
Command who, in regards to the Korean War--
(A) were killed in action;
(B) were wounded in action;
(C) are listed as missing in action; or
(D) were prisoners of war.
ADDITIONAL VIEWS
H.R. 1475 aims to authorize the construction of a ``Wall of
Remembrance'' at the Korean War Veterans Memorial.
While this bill has not had a hearing in the 114th
Congress, similar legislation was reviewed by the House
Committee on Natural Resources in the 112th and 113th
Congresses. Both times it was reviewed, the National Park
Service testified in opposition, outlining their concerns with
legislatively mandating the construction of a new feature at
the Korean War Veterans Memorial.
Congress authorized the existing Korean War Veterans
Memorial in 1986 and it was dedicated in 1995. The current
memorial honors the service and sacrifice of all Americans who
fought in the war and represents the 22 nations that
participated as United Nations contributors. Adjacent to the
Lincoln Memorial and across from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial,
it is a solemn and powerful reminder of the sacrifice our
soldiers made defending our ideals and security.
When the memorial was designed and constructed by the
American Battle Monuments Commissions and the Korean Veterans
Memorial Advisory Board, the congressionally designated
sponsors, building a wall of remembrance was carefully
considered. There was a long, public design phase for the
memorial. Replicating a wall similar to the Vietnam War
Memorial was ultimately rejected and the current design was
approved. During the construction of the Vietnam War Memorial,
determining the list of names to include on the memorial caused
a tremendous amount of heartache and grief. Because of this
experience, a wall of remembrance was purposefully left out of
the final design of the Korean War Veterans Memorial.
Additionally, the memorial is located in an area of the
National Mall known as the ``Reserve'', where Congress has
prohibited the construction of any new memorial in order to
preserve both open space and the original vision of the
L'Enfant/McMillan plan. There is a real concern that opening
the door to new construction in the Reserve will set a bad
precedent for future proposals.
Some view the construction of a ``Wall of Remembrance'' as
a new memorial that will compete with and possibly detract from
the current memorial. This is not a decision Congress should
take lightly. The current memorial is featured amongst our most
prominent memorials and is a beautiful, complete work of civic
art. We should be wary of doing anything that could comprise
its integrity.
Sincerely,
Raul M. Grijalva,
Ranking Member, Committee on Natural Resources.
[all]
