[Senate Report 113-169]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 395
113th Congress Report
SENATE
2d Session 113-169
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NATIONAL DESERT STORM AND DESERT SHIELD WAR MEMORIAL ACT
_______
May 22, 2014.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Ms. Landrieu, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 995]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (S. 995) to authorize the National Desert
Storm Memorial Association to establish the National Desert
Storm and Desert Shield Memorial as a commemorative work in the
District of Columbia, and for other purposes, having considered
the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and
recommends that the bill do pass.
PURPOSE
The purpose of S. 995 is to authorize the National Desert
Storm Memorial Association to establish the National Desert
Storm and Desert Shield Memorial in the District of Columbia.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
On the morning of August 2, 1990, the Iraqi Republican
Guard invaded and occupied the neighboring country of Kuwait.
In response to the Iraqi invasion forces, the United States
launched Operation Desert Shield on August 7, 1990, in order to
protect Saudi Arabia from invasion. The United States deployed
two aircraft carriers, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and USS
Independence, two battleships, USS Missouri and USS Wisconsin,
and hundreds of land-based aircraft to Saudi Arabia to commence
continuous air patrols protecting the Saudi border.
On November 29, 1990, the U.N. Security Council passed
Resolution 678, which ordered Iraq to withdraw all troops from
Kuwait by January 15, 1991. In defiance of the U.N. Resolution,
Iraqi forces remained in Kuwait and on January 17, 1991, U.S.-
led coalition forces began Operation Desert Storm, an aerial
bombardment consisting of over 100,000 sorties dropping over
88,000 tons of bombs. Operation Desert Storm eliminated the
Iraqi occupying forces in Kuwait and much of the critical
military and civilian infrastructure in Iraq. Coalition ground
forces were deployed on February 24, 1991, led by the 1st and
2nd Marine Divisions and the 1st Light Armored Infantry
Battalion. Facing 150,000 ground troops and 1,500 tanks, Saddam
Hussein ordered a full retreat of Kuwait. Military hostilities
between Coalition and Iraqi forces concluded on February 28,
1991.
During Operation Desert Storm and Operation Desert Shield,
383 American soldiers lost their lives including 148 from
battle-related action. There is currently no national memorial
commemorating either operation.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
Senators Boozman and Donnelly introduced S. 995 on May 21,
2013. The Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on S.
995 on July 31, 2013 (S. Hrg. 113-93). At its business meeting
on November 21, 2013, the Committee ordered S. 995 favorably
reported.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in
open business session on November 21, 2013, by a voice vote of
a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 995.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1 provides the short title, the ``National Desert
Storm and Desert Shield Memorial Act.''
Section 2 defines key terms used in the bill.
Section 3(a) authorizes the National Desert Storm Memorial
Association to establish the National Desert Storm and Desert
Shield Memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia to
commemorate and honor members of the Armed Forces who served on
active duty in support of Operation Desert Storm or Operation
Desert Shield.
Subsection (b) requires that the memorial be established in
accordance with the Commemorative Works Act (40 U.S.C. Chapter
89).
Subsection (c) prohibits the use of Federal funds to
establish the memorial and directs the National Desert Storm
Memorial Association to be solely responsible for accepting
contributions for, and paying the expense of, the establishment
of the memorial.
Subsection (d) requires that the Association, upon the
payment of all expenses for the establishment of the memorial
(including the maintenance and preservation amount required by
section 8906(b)(1) of title 40, United States Code) or upon the
expiration of the authority for the memorial under section
8903(c), transfer the remaining balance of funds received for
the establishment of the memorial to the Secretary of the
Interior for deposit in the account provided for in section
8906(b)(3).
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The following estimate of costs of this measure has been
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
S. 995--National Desert Storm and Desert Shield War Memorial Act
S. 995 would authorize a non-profit organization to
establish a commemorative work on federal lands in the District
of Columbia. Enacting the legislation would affect direct
spending; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. However,
CBO estimates that the net effect on the budget would not be
significant in any year. Enacting H.R. 995 would not affect
revenues.
The legislation would authorize the National Desert Storm
Memorial Association to establish a memorial to honor members
of the armed forces who participated in Operation Desert Storm
or Operation Desert Shield. The memorial project, which would
be completed without the use of federal funds, would be subject
to the requirements of the Commemorative Works Act. Under that
act, any entity that receives a permit to construct a memorial
in the District of Columbia or its environs must donate to the
National Park Foundation (a nonprofit organization) an amount
equal to 10 percent of the memorial's estimated construction
cost. That amount, as well as any project funds remaining after
construction of the memorial, would be available in future
years for maintenance of the memorial.
Based on the experience of similar commemorative projects,
CBO expects that any amounts collected by the federal
government would not be received for several years and would be
offset by a transfer to the National Park Foundation (a
nonfederal entity) soon thereafter.
S. 995 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 Martin von
Gnechten. The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
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. 995.
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. 995, as ordered reported.
CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING
S. 995, as reported, does not contain any congressionally
directed spending items, limited tax benefits, or limited
tariff benefits as defined in rule XLIV of the Standing Rules
of the Senate.
EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS
The testimony provided by the National Park Service at the
July 31, 2013, Subcommittee on National Parks hearing on S. 995
follows:
Statement of Stephanie Toothman, Associate Director, Cultural
Resources, Partnerships, and Science, National Park Service, Department
of the Interior
Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to present the
Department of the Interior's testimony regarding S. 995, a bill
to authorize the National Desert Storm Memorial Association to
establish the National Desert Storm and Desert Shield Memorial
as a commemorative work in the District of Columbia, and for
other purposes.
The Department supports S. 995 with an amendment.
S. 995 would authorize the National Desert Storm Memorial
Association to establish the National Desert Storm and Desert
Shield Memorial as a commemorative work, on Federal land in the
District of Columbia. This memorial would commemorate and honor
the members of the Armed Forces who served on active duty in
support of Operation Desert Storm or Operation Desert Shield.
This bill also prohibits the use of federal funds to establish
this memorial, and directs the Association to be solely
responsible for accepting contributions for, and paying the
expenses of, the establishment of the memorial.
On August 2, 1990, Iraqi forces invaded and occupied
Kuwait. Fearing an Iraqi invasion of Saudi Arabia and a loss of
control of Saudi oil fields, the United States launched
Operation Desert Shield on August 7, 1990. This defensive
buildup was intended to deter further Iraqi aggression and to
persuade Iraqi forces to leave Kuwait. After diplomatic efforts
failed, U.S. and other coalition forces began military actions
against Iraq on January 17, 1991, in what is known as Operation
Desert Storm. The aerial bombardment and the ensuing ground
invasion of Iraq resulted in the destruction of Iraqi forces
and their retreat from Kuwait, and hostilities concluded on
February 28, 1991. A total of 294 Americans lost their lives
over the course of the conflict, including 114 from enemy
action. There is currently no national memorial to Operations
Desert Shield or Desert Storm.
The National Desert Storm Memorial Association is a
501(c)(3) corporation organized under the laws of the State of
Arkansas whose mission is to establish a national memorial to
these conflicts.
The Department notes that Section 3(b) of this bill
requires the establishment of the memorial to comply with
Chapter 89 of Title 40, United States Code, commonly known as
the ``Commemorative Works Act''. The Commemorative Works Act
establishes a process for the establishment of new memorials on
certain Federal lands within the District of Columbia.
On November 7, 2012, the National Capital Memorial Advisory
Commission (NCMAC) reviewed the previous version of this bill,
H.R. 5914, which was introduced in the 112th Congress. On
December 20, 2012, after confirming with the Department of
Defense that Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm were
major military operations, the Commission informed the House
Natural Resources Committee of its unanimous support for the
proposal.
Although S. 995 provides for the deposit of excess funds,
the Department recommends that Section 3(d) of the bill be
amended to clarify the disposition of excess funds should the
authority to establish the memorial lapse. We would be glad to
work with the Subcommittee to amend the existing language.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes my statement. I would be
pleased to answer questions that you or other members of the
committee might 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 S. 995, as ordered
reported.