H.R. 4009 would authorize the Georgetown African American Historic Landmark Project and Tour to establish a commemorative work in or near Washington, D.C. The bill would prohibit the use of federal funds to establish the memorial.
The project would be subject to the provisions of the Commemorative Works Act. Under that act, any entity that receives a construction permit for a commemorative work must donate an amount equal to 10 percent of the memorial’s estimated construction costs to the National Park Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose subsequent donations to the National Park Service are recorded on the budget. That donation and any project funds remaining after construction would be available for maintenance of the memorial without further appropriation.
Based on the experience from similar projects, CBO expects that any amounts collected by the federal government for maintenance of the monument would not be received for several years and would be offset by expenditures soon thereafter. Thus, CBO estimates that the bill’s net effect on direct spending would be negligible.
