COST AND BUDGET ACT COMPLIANCE

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN:

The Congressional Budget Office has reviewed H.R. 5237, the Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act, as ordered reportd by the Committee on Interior and Insular Affiars, October 10, 1990. CBO estimates that enactment of this legislation would cost the federal government between $20 million and $50 million over five years, assuming appropriation of the necessary funds. The range of total estimated costs is wide primarily because of uncertainty about the cost of compiling an accurate inventory of Native American human remains.

H.R. 5237 would regulate ownership, trade and disposition of Native American remains, burial objects, and objects of sacred or cultural significance. Human remains of funerary objects found on federal land would be returned to the most closely affiliated tribes, permits would be required for excavation of remains found on federal or tribal lands, and it would be illegal to trade in Native American remains of funerary objects.

H.R. 5237 also would require that federal agencies and museums that receive federal funding create inventories of Native remains and associated burial objects, notify tribes of their holdings and return objects to tribes upon request. The bill would require that inventories be completed within five years of enactment. Agencies and museums also would be required to summarize their holdings of other objects covered by the bill. A review committee would be established to oversee the process of repatriation, mediate disputes and review museums' progress in completing inventories. The bill would authorize the appropriation of such sums as are necessary for grants to assist museums in compiling inventories and to assist tribes in pursuing their claims. Although no funds are specifically authorized for federal agencies that have collection of remains and other opjects, the estimated costs to these agencies (primarily the Department of the Interior and the Department of the Army) are included in this estimate. The largest federal collectors, the Smithsonian, is already covered by similar provisions in the National Museum of the American Indian Act.

The main costs from enactment of H.R. 5237 would be the cost to federal agencies of preparing the inventories required by the bill and the cost of grants to museums to assist them in carrying out inventories. To some extent, the total cost is discretionarythe more funds made available, the more accurate and comprehensive will be the information collected by museums. This estimate represents the cost of compiling an initial inventory based on existing information. Two variables determine the cost: the number of remaining and associated objects and the cost to inventory each object. This estimate assumes that museums and federal agencies hold between 100,000 and 200,000 Native American remains that would have to be reviewed. The cost of preparing an accurate inventory of the original and tribal affiliation of human remains can vary considerably depending on the information already available, the amount of research needed to accurately determine tribal affiliation and the contentiousness surrounding individual pieces. There is considerable disagreement about the nature of the inventory required by H.R. 5237, and widely varied estimates of costs. Based on the experience of museums that already have repatriated remains, we assume costs of $50 to $150 per remain, or a total cost of between $5 million and $30 million over five years, for museums to provide tribes with the basic information required by the bill. This estimate includes the costs of an inventory of museums' collections, as well as a review of existing information to determine origin. More extensive studies costing up to $500-$600 per remain would be necessary to determine the origin of some of the remains; however, such studies generally are not required by H.R. 5237. If museums were required to identify all of their holdings definitvely, the costs of this bill would be significantly higher than the $30 million estimate.

H.R. 5237 also would require an inventory of bruial objects associated with the human remains, and a summary by each museum of their holdings of unassociated funerary objects, sacred objects or culturally important objects. CBO estimates that these inventories and summary studies would cost museums about $10 million over 5 years. Finally, H.R. 5237 would provide grants to tribes to assist them in the repatriation of the remains and objects covered in the bill. This effort could include assistance in pursuing tribal claims as well as assistance in repatriating the remains. CBO estimates costs of $5 million to $10 million over five years for these grants.

As operators of about one-third of all museums, state and local governments could face costs from enactment of H.R. 5237. Assuming appropriation of adequate amounts by the federal government, however, these costs would be covered by federal grants made availbale under the bill.

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Marta Morgan, who can be reached at 226-2860.

Sincerely,

ROBERT D. REISCHAUER,

Director.

INFLATIONARY IMPACT STATEMENT

OVERSIGHT STATEMENT

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