Description:
As ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on September 20, 2012
S. 3548 would amend the Native American Veterans’ Memorial Establishment Act of 1994. The bill would authorize the memorial to be built on the property of the National Museum of the American Indian in lieu of the current requirement that the memorial be placed inside of that museum. Additionally, the legislation would make the museum, along with the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), responsible for accepting contributions for and paying the expenses of the memorial. Under current law, the NCAI is solely responsible for those activities.
Based on information provided by the National Park Service and the Smithsonian Institution, CBO estimates that implementing S. 3548 would not have a significant impact on the federal budget. The legislation would authorize the Smithsonian Institution to use appropriated funds instead of donated funds to maintain the memorial; however, CBO estimates that any such maintenance costs would be insignificant over the 2013-2017 period. Enacting S. 3548 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
S. 3548 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.
