[House Report 106-390]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
106th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 106-390
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REAUTHORIZATION OF JUNIOR DUCK STAMP CONSERVATION AND DESIGN PROGRAM
ACT OF 1994
_______
October 18, 1999.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union 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.R. 2496]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 2496) to reauthorize the Junior Duck Stamp Conservation
and Design Program Act of 1994, 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 out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu
thereof the following:
SECTION 1. REAUTHORIZATION OF JUNIOR DUCK STAMP CONSERVATION AND DESIGN
PROGRAM ACT OF 1994.
Section 5 of the Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Program
Act of 1994 (16 U.S.C. 719c) is amended by striking ``for each of the
fiscal years 1995 through 2000'' and inserting ``for each of the fiscal
years 2001 through 2005''.
SEC. 2. EXPANSION OF PROGRAM TO INSULAR AREAS.
The Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Program Act of 1994 is
amended--
(1) in section 2(c) (16 U.S.C. 719(c)) by striking ``50
States'' each place it appears and inserting ``States'';
(2) by redesignating section 5 (16 U.S.C. 719c), as amended
by section 1 of this Act, as section 6; and
(3) by inserting after section 4 the following:
``SEC. 5. DEFINITION OF STATE.
``For the purposes of this Act, the term `State' includes the
District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth
of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Guam, the Virgin
Islands, and any other territory or possession of the United States.''.
Purpose of the Bill
The purpose of H.R. 2496 is to reauthorize the Junior Duck
Stamp Conservation and Design Program Act of 1994.
Background and Need for Legislation
The Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Program was
originally conducted from 1990 to 1994 under the authority of
the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C. 742). It was
funded through a joint venture between the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation,
and private donors. In fiscal year 1994, the program was
conducted in 25 States and had a total budget of $150,000.
On November 22, 1993, Congressman Solomon Ortiz (D-TX)
introduced the Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design
Program Act. It was the subject of hearings before the former
House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee and the Senate
Environment and Public Works Committee. It was overwhelmingly
enacted by both bodies and it was signed into law on October 6,
1994, as Public Law 103-340.
The goals of Public Law 103-340 were to: expand the Junior
Duck Stamp Design competition to any interested States; provide
the authority to license the marketing of Junior Duck Stamps;
direct that any proceeds would be used to support the
conservation education goals of the program; and offset any
administrative costs by authorizing $250,000 per year to the
Department of the Interior until September 30, 2000.
The purpose of the Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and
Design Program is to ``teach conservation through the arts.''
It provides students with a broad exposure to migratory
waterfowl, including lessons to help increase students'
knowledge and appreciation of migratory birds, and it provides
activities geared to motivate students to take an active role
in conserving these species. In the Curriculum Guide, which is
distributed free of charge to requesting schools, students
research any species of North American waterfowl and then
artistically portray the selected bird and its habitat.
Following this activity, students may choose to enter their
artwork in State Junior Duck Stamp contests. All students from
kindergarten through high school are eligible to participate at
the State level. Entries are judged by local artists, stamp
collectors, hunters, wildlife biologists and conservationists.
Twelve first, 12 second, and 12 third place ribbons are awarded
to entrants, as well as 64 honorable mention awards.
The first place National winner receives a $2,500
scholarship and his/her design is reproduced as the Federal
Junior Duck Stamp for that year. The first, second and third
place winners in the National Contest, their parents, and
mentoring teachers are brought to Washington, D.C., at the time
of the Federal Duck Stamp contest in November of each year.
In 1998, 42,337 students participated in the nationwide
wildlife art contest. The proceeds from the sale of the Junior
Duck Stamp, which cost $5, are returned to the program to be
used for awards and conservation education. The Administration
requested $250,000 for administration of the program in its
fiscal year 2000 budget submission.
As reported, H.R. 2496 reauthorizes appropriations for the
Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Program through
fiscal year 2005, and expands the program to the District of
Columbia and the insular areas of the United States.
Committee Action
H.R. 2496 was introduced on July 13, 1999, by Congressman
Solomon Ortiz (D-TX). H.R. 2496 was referred to the Committee
on Resources and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on
Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans. On September 23,
1999, the Subcommittee held a hearing on H.R. 2496 where Mr.
Thomas O. Melius, Assistant Director for External Affairs, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior,
testified in favor of the measure. On October 6, 1999, the Full
Committee met to consider H.R. 2496. The Subcommittee on
Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans was discharged from
further consideration of the bill by unanimous consent. Mr.
Ortiz offered an amendment on behalf of Delegate Eni
Faleomavaega (D-AS) that expanded the geographic scope of the
program to include the District of Columbia and the insular
territories of the United States. The amendment was adopted by
voice vote. The bill, as amended, was then favorably reported
to the House of Representatives by voice vote.
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:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, October 15, 1999.
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.R. 2496, a bill to
reauthorize the Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design
Program Act of 1994.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Deborah Reis.
Sincerely,
Barry B. Anderson
(For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
Enclosure.
H.R. 2496--A bill to reauthorize the Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and
Design Program Act of 1994
H.R. 2496 would reauthorize discretionary funding for
administration of the junior duck stamp program for fiscal
years 2001 through 2005 at the current authorization level of
$250,000 annually. Under existing law, this authorization will
expire after fiscal year 2000. Assuming appropriation of the
amounts authorized by this bill, CBO estimates that the federal
government would spend about $250,000 in each of fiscal years
2001 through 2005. For fiscal year 1999, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, which administers the program, received an
appropriation of $250,000. A full-year appropriation for this
program has not yet been enacted for 2000. The appropriation is
used for expenses of conducting the annual competition for the
design of junior duck stamps.
H.R. 2496 would not affect direct spending or receipts;
therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply. The bill
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandate as
defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would impose no
costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
The staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis. This
estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy 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 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 (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
JUNIOR DUCK STAMP CONSERVATION AND DESIGN PROGRAM ACT OF 1994
* * * * * * *
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.
(a) * * *
* * * * * * *
(c) Effort To Conduct Program in All States.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall take appropriate
steps to seek to conduct the Program in all of the [50]
States.
(2) Annual report.--The Secretary shall annually
submit a report to the Congress on the status of the
Program in each of the [50] States.
* * * * * * *
SEC. 5. DEFINITION OF STATE.
For the purposes of this Act, the term ``State'' includes the
District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa,
Guam, the Virgin Islands, and any other territory or possession
of the United States.
SEC. [5] 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for
administrative expenses of the Program $250,000 [for each of
the fiscal years 1995 through 2000] for each of the fiscal
years 2001 through 2005.