[DOCID: f:hr552.110]
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110th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 110-552
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NATIONAL FISH AND WILDLIFE FOUNDATION ESTABLISHMENT ACT AMENDMENT OF
2007
_______
March 31, 2008.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Rahall, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 3891]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the
bill (H.R. 3891) to amend the National Fish and Wildlife
Foundation Establishment Act to increase the number of
Directors on the Board of Directors of the National Fish and
Wildlife Foundation, having considered the same, report
favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill
do pass.
Purpose of the Bill
The purpose of H.R. 3891 is to amend the National Fish and
Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act to increase the number of
Directors on the Board of Directors of the National Fish and
Wildlife Foundation.
Background and Need for Legislation
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (Foundation) was
established by Congress in 1984. The Foundation is a charitable
and nonprofit corporation and is not an agency or establishment
of the United States. The purposes of the Foundation are--
(1) to encourage, accept, and administer private
gifts for the benefit of, or in connection with, the
activities and services of the United States Fish and
Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, to further the conservation
and management of fish, wildlife, plants, and other
natural resources;
(2) to undertake and conduct such other activities as
will further the conservation and management of fish,
wildlife, and plant resources of the United States, and
its territories and possessions, for present and future
generations of Americans; and
(3) to participate with, and otherwise assist,
foreign governments, entities, and individuals in
undertaking and conducting activities that will further
the conservation and management of the fish, wildlife
and plant resources of other countries.
The Foundation receives federal funds through
appropriations and directly from federal agencies for the
purposes of administering conservation programs. All
appropriated monies received must be matched by private dollars
on at least a one-to-one basis, thereby leveraging the impact
of federal funds. In addition, appropriated funds may not be
used for the administrative expenses of the Foundation,
including for salaries, travel and transportation expenses, and
other overhead expenses. While the Foundation and its
conservation programs have grown dramatically since it was
established, and fund-raising for conservation programs has
also grown, it is more difficult to raise money for the
administrative expenses of the Foundation which have also
increased. Expanding the size of the Board of Directors should
improve the ability of the Foundation to raise private funds to
cover its administrative expenses and improve the
implementation of its conservation programs.
Committee Action
H.R. 3891 was introduced on October 18, 2007, by Henry E.
Brown, Jr. (R-SC). The bill was referred to the Committee on
Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee
on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans. On February 13, 2008, the
Subcommittee met to mark up the bill. It was adopted by
unanimous consent without amendment. The bill was then
forwarded to the Full Committee. On March 12, 2008 the Full
Natural Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The bill
was ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives
by unanimous consent.
Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1. Short title
Section 1 cites the Act as the ``National Fish and Wildlife
Foundation Establishment Act Amendment of 2007.''
Section 2. Board of Directors of the Foundation
Section 2 amends section 3(a) of the National Fish and
Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act (16 U.S.C. 3702(a)) by
increasing the appointed number of Directors on the
Foundation's governing Board of Directors to 30.
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.
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. General Performance Goals and Objectives. This bill does
not authorize funding and therefore, clause 3(c)(4) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives does not
apply.
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:
H.R. 3891--National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act
Amendments of 2007
H.R. 3891 would amend the National Fish and Wildlife
Foundation Establishment Act to increase the number of members
on the Foundation's board of directors from 25 to 30. CBO
estimates that implementing H.R. 3891 would have no effect on
the federal budget. The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
is a nonprofit entity chartered by the federal government.
H.R. 3891 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 Deborah Reis.
This estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
Compliance With Public Law 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
Earmark Statement
H.R. 3891 does not contain any congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in
clause 9(d), 9(e) or 9(f) of rule XXI.
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):
NATIONAL FISH AND WILDLIFE FOUNDATION ESTABLISHMENT ACT
* * * * * * *
SEC. 3. BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE FOUNDATION.
(a) Establishment and Membership.--
[(1) In general.--The Foundation shall have a
governing Board of Directors (referred to in this Act
as the ``Board''), which shall consist of 25 Directors
appointed in accordance with subsection (b), each of
whom shall be a United States citizen.]
(1) In general.--The Foundation shall have a
governing Board of Directors (referred to in this Act
as the ``Board''), which shall consist of 30 Directors
appointed in accordance with subsection (b), each of
whom shall be a United States citizen.
* * * * * * *
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