H.R. 1220 would establish the Adams Memorial Commission to plan, accept funds for, and construct a permanent memorial in Washington, D.C., to honor John Adams. The commission would consist of 12 members and would terminate 7 years after enactment. Under the bill, members of the commission would serve without pay, but could be reimbursed for expenses in carrying out their duties. CBO estimates that any such costs, which would be subject to appropriation, would not be significant.
Public Law 107-62 authorized the nonprofit Adams Memorial Foundation to establish the memorial in accordance with the Commemorative Works Act (CWA) and to collect donations for that purpose. The foundation’s authority to establish the memorial expires December 2, 2020. H.R. 1220 would transfer the foundation’s authorities to the new commission.
The bill would authorize the commission to accept donations, which would be recorded in the budget as offsetting receipts (or, reductions in direct spending) and to spend those receipts without further appropriation. Under the CWA, any entity that receives a permit to construct a memorial must donate to the National Park Foundation (a nonprofit organization) an amount equal to 10 percent of the estimated construction cost. That amount and any project funds remaining after construction would be available in the future for the memorial’s maintenance.
Because enacting H.R. 1220 would affect direct spending, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. However, 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 an expenditure soon thereafter. Thus, CBO estimates, the net effect on direct spending would be insignificant. Enacting the bill would not affect revenues.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1220 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
H.R. 1220 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
