"(2)(A) For purposes of this subsection, the term 'fair market value' is defined as follows: Fair market value Appraised Base Value x Forage Value Index "(B) For the purposes of subparagraph (A)— “(i) the term 'Forage Value Index' means the Forage Value Index (FVI) computed annually by the Economic Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, and set with the 1994 FVI equal to 100; and "(ii) the term 'Appraised Base Value' means the 1983 Appraisal Value conclusions for mature cattle and horses (expressed in dollars per head or per month), as determined in the 1986 report prepared jointly by the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior entitled 'Grazing Fee Review and Evaluation', dated February 1986, on a westwide basis using the lowest appraised value of the pricing areas adjusted for advanced payment and indexed to 1994. "(3) Executive Order No. 12548, dated February 14, 1986, shall not apply to grazing fees established pursuant to this Act. "(d) The grazing advisory boards established pursuant to Secretarial action, notice of which was published in the Federal Register on May 14, 1986 (51 Fed. Reg. 17874), are hereby abolished, and the advisory functions exercised by such boards, shall, after the date of enactment of this sentence, be exercised only by the appropriate councils established under this section. "(e) Funds appropriated after the date of enactment of this subsection pursuant to section 5 of the Public Rangelands Improvement Act of 1978 (43 U.S.C. 1904) or any other provision of law related to disposition of the Federal share of receipts from fees for grazing on public domain lands or National Forest lands in the 16 contiguous western States shall be used for restoration and enhancement of fish and wildlife habitat, for restoration and improved management of riparian areas, and for implementation and enforcement of applicable land management plans, allotment plans, and regulations regarding the use of such lands for domestic livestock grazing. Such funds shall be distributed as the Secretary concerned deems advisable after consultation and coordination with the advisory councils established pursuant to section 309 of this Act and other interested parties.". (b) PAYMENT TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT.-Notwithstanding section 10 of the Taylor Grazing Act (43 U.S.C. 315i), from the moneys received by the United States in return for the grazing of domestic livestock on public domain lands and National Forest lands in the 16 contiguous Western States, the Secretary of the Treasury shall pay to the units of local government with jurisdiction over the lands with respect to which such money are collected an amount equal to 12.5 percent of such moneys collected under section 3 of such Act and 50 percent of such moneys collected under section 15 of such Act during each fiscal year. O ARTS, HUMANITIES, AND MUSEUMS AMENDMENTS OF 1993 JULY 21, 1993.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed Mr. FORD of Michigan, from the Committee on Education and Labor, submitted the following REPORT together with ADDITIONAL MINORITY AND ADDITIONAL VIEWS (Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] The Committee on Education and Labor, to whom was referred the bill (H.R. 2351) to authorize appropriations for fiscal years 1994 and 1995 to carry out the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965, and the Museum Services Act, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass. PURPOSE H.R. 2351 extends authorizations for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), and the Institute of Museum Services (IMS) for two fiscal years. Without this bill the authorizations for these three agencies will expire on September 30, 1993. COMMITTEE ACTION On May 5, 1993, the Administration transmitted to Congress proposed legislation to extend the authorizations of the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute of Museum Services, for two additional fiscal years. The current authorities for these agencies expire Septem ber 30, 1993. The proposed legislation would extend those authorities through September 30, 1995. On June 9, 1993, Representative Pat Williams introduced the Administration's proposal. This bill, H.R. 2351, was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor. The Subcommittee on LaborManagement Relations held a hearing on H.R. 2351 on June 17, 1993. On June 22, 1993, the bill was approved by the Subcommittee on Labor-Management Relations, without amendment, by voice vote. On June 29, 1993, the Committee on Education and Labor, by a voice vote, ordered the bill favorably reported, without amendment. STATEMENT The Administrations has requested this two-year extension in order to provide the necessary time to assess the current policies and operations of these agencies, and importantly, to give the Congress, the constituencies these three agencies serve, and the American people the chance to undertake a thorough review as well. In 1990 Congress made significant changes in the authorization of the NEA. Arts education activities, the agency's support for state arts agencies, and support for developing arts organizations and projects in rural, inner-city and artistically underserved areas were given new emphasis and support in the 1990 legislation. In addition, major changes were made to the operational procedures of the NEA. Provisions to underscore the role of the Chair of the Arts Endowment in determining grant awards and to more fully involve the National Council on the Arts in policy and grantmaking were included. Provisions were also added mandating the use of advisory panels in grant application review; requiring greater diversity in the composition of advisory panels; and strengthening conflict-of-interest standards. In addition, changes were made in the grant application and award disbursement process. Since these changes have only been implemented in the past three years, the Committee believes that a simple two-year extension will provide the best opportunity to examine the impact these changes have had as well as assess the new leadership that soon will be in place in the NEA, the NEH, and the IMS. And, since significant changes were not made to the NEH and the IMS in 1990, a simple two-year extension will also give the Committee ample time to explore and consider changes for these agencies. The Committee wishes to emphasize its strong belief that these three agencies have demonstrated remarkable success during their existence and should be continued. A quick look at the accomplishments of the NEA provides ample examples supporting the continuation of this agency. Prior to the NEA, there were 37 professional dance companies in the country; today they are close to 300. Today there are 110 opera companies in the country; prior to the creation of the NEA there were only 27. There were 58 orchestras prior to the NEA; today there are more than a thousand. There were 22 professional theaters prior to the NEA; today there are 420. Since the establishment of the NEA, arts audiences have escalated. Prior to the NEA 9 million people went to symphony performances each year, today 24 million do. Before the NEA no more than 3 million people attended the opera each year; today 18 million do. The same is true for dance and theater. Before the NEA 1 million individuals per year viewed each of these disciplines; after the NEA attendance climbed to 16 million for dance and 55 million for theater. The NEA has played a crucial role in the flourishing of the arts. The last 11 Pulitzer Prize winning plays, including "Driving Miss Daisy" and "A Chorus Line", were developed at NEA-supported non-profit theaters. The Viet Nam War Memorial was the result of an NEA-funded design contest. The NEA has supported the best in public television, including Great Performances, American Playhouse, and Live from Lincoln Center. All of the 1990 Pulitzer Prize winners in the arts fields had received NEA support, including Oscar Hijuelos, the author of The Mambo Kings Sing Songs of Love. The Committee believes these examples provide a sound reason for a two year extension of the NEA. Similar examples can be provided for the NEH and the IMS as well. "Archaeological Treasures from the People's Republic of China", historian David Brion Davis' Pulitzer Prize winning Slavery and Human Progress, the publication of the Journals of Henry Ďavid Thoreau, The Works of William James, and Mark Twain's Letters, the publication of The Encyclopedia of Southern Culture, Ken Burn's television series The Civil War, the seven-part television series Columbus and the Age of Discovery-all were made possible because of NEH support. And the Seattle Aquarium, the Desert Botanical Garden, the Akron Art Museum, the Children's Museum of Houston, the Heritage Center of Lancaster County, the Old Barracks Museum in Trenton, the Great Plains Black Museum, the Dayton Museum of Natural History, the Austin Nature Center, the Catawba Science Center, the Folsom Childrens Zoo and Botanical Garden, and the Boot Hill Museumare all recipients of IMS support, support that has been vital to their continued operation. The Committee notes that the NEH has played an especially important role in improving education in the humanities in our schools and colleges, in expanding opportunities for public audiences to experience the humanities, and in supporting research and scholarship that adds new knowledge and insight into the questions and issues that form the core of the humanities. The Committee was pleased to hear of the NEH's many efforts to reach rural audiences throughout the Nation-as well as inner-city, tribal and minority communities-with informative programming as exemplified by its support for reading and discussion groups in libraries and other cultural institutions, interpretive exhibitions in small and emerging museums and cultural organizations, programs such as the Great Plains Chautauqua, and the thousands of projects made possible by state humanities councils. The Committee applauds these efforts and notes the NEH's commitment to expanding the reach of its programming in the coming years. The Committee also wants to acknowledge the contributions of the Institute of Museum Services. In its 15 year history the IMS has had an impact that is much greater than its small Federal funding level might imply. The IMS has made over 12,000 grants that have helped museums to increase their professionalism and better provide unique educational opportunities to the ever-expanding museum going public. The Committee is pleased to note that museums are renewing and re-emphasizing education as central to their mission. This is reflected in the use of General Operating Support awards from IMS. Eighty-seven percent of grantees report using these Federal funds to strengthen their educational activities. The Committee wishes to take special note of the expanding efforts the IMS is making to serve small, emerging, minority and rural museums. The IMS report, "IMS national Needs Assessment for Small, Emerging, Minority and Rural Museums in the United States", and the initiation of a grant program to offer much needed training opportunities to these museums are examples of innovative initiatives that the IMS is undertaking to expand the reach of its services. The Committee applauds this. These three agencies-the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute of Museum Services-with a small amount of Federal support, have enhanced the cultural enrichment of our Nation and have made significant contributions to our nation's heritage. The Committee believes they should be continued. The Committee wishes to re-emphasize that significant changes were made to the NEA's authorizing legislation just three years ago. Those changes, as previously noted, included both substantive and procedural adjustments to the way the NEA conducted its business. The Committee has not had the chance to thoroughly review all of those changes, and while all accounts indicate that these changes have been useful and successful, a thorough review of what was done three years ago is necessary before engaging in a long term reauthorization of the NEA and the other two agencies included in H.R. 2351. Given the fact that we have a new Administration just assuming office, and given the fact that the Committee has not had the chance to review changes to these agencies with the new Administration, the Committee believes that a simple two year extension of existing law will provide sufficient time to work with the Administration and fully explore with them possible changes in direction for the three agencies. By extending the existing authorities of these agencies for two years, the Committee believes the Congress and the Administration will have an appropriate and necessary amount of time to undertake a thorough review of these agencies. However, there are some areas of operation within the endowments, especially the NEA, that have raised some concerns with several Committee members. Among these areas are perceptions of possible conflicts of interest between recipients of awards and those who peer review grant applications. The Committee took steps in 1990 to eliminate such conflicts of interest. However, since charges of potential conflicts continue to arise, the Committee believes a more thorough review of the practices of these three agencies is in order to determine if such conflicts do in fact exist. In this regard, the Committee intends to ask the General Accounting Office to review the practices of these three agencies and report back to the Committee as quickly as possible about what these agencies are doing, or plan to do, to eliminate any conflicts of interest in their grant reviewing and grant awarding practices. |