[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1971 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 1971

    To amend the American Folklife Preservation Act to permanently 
   authorize the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 23, 1998

  Mr. Cochran introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
         referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the American Folklife Preservation Act to permanently 
   authorize the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The American Folklife Center in the Library of Congress 
        was created by Congress in 1976, building on the vast expertise 
        and archival material existing at the Library since 1928.
            (2) As an instrumentality of the Congress, it is fitting 
        that the American Folklife Center should have a direct and 
        close relationship with the representatives of the people, who 
        are best able to oversee the ongoing activities of the Center 
        to preserve and promote the cultural traditions of the people, 
        and to ensure that the resources of the Center be readily 
        available to all Americans.
            (3) In over 20 years since its creation, the American 
        Folklife Center in the Library of Congress has--
                    (A) increased the size of the Archive of Folk 
                Culture from 500,000 to 1,500,000 multi-format 
                ethnographic items;
                    (B) engaged in 15 cultural surveys and field 
                documentation projects in all regions of the country;
                    (C) provided publications, documentary equipment on 
                loan, and advisory and reference service to persons and 
                institutions in all 50 States;
                    (D) produced exhibitions and other educational 
                programs on American Folklife at the Library and around 
                the country;
                    (E) begun sharing its unique collections in digital 
                form via the Internet; and
                    (F) served as a national center for the professions 
                of folklore, ethnomusicology, and cultural studies.
            (4) Congress has consistently provided encouragement and 
        support of American Folklife as an appropriate matter of 
        concern to the Federal Government, passing legislation to 
        reauthorize the Center 8 times since its creation in 1976.
            (5) The American Folklife Center is the only unit in the 
        Library of Congress which is not permanently authorized. Since 
        its establishment in 1976, the Center's collections and 
        activities have been fully and successfully integrated into the 
        Library of Congress. It is useful to statutorily conform the 
        American Folklife Center with the rest of the Library of 
        Congress.
    (b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to authorize 
permanently the American Folklife Center in the Library of Congress to 
preserve and present American Folklife.

SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION AND AMENDMENT.

    (a) Board of Trustees; Appointment and Compensation of Director; 
Elimination of Deputy Director Position.--Section 4 of the American 
Folklife Preservation Act (20 U.S.C. 2103) is amended--
            (1) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the following:
    ``(b)(1) The Center shall be under the direction of a Board of 
Trustees. The Board shall be composed as follows--
            ``(A) four members appointed by the President from among 
        individuals who are officials of Federal departments and 
        agencies concerned with some aspect of American Folklife 
        traditions and arts;
            ``(B) four members appointed by the President pro tempore 
        of the Senate from among individuals from private life who are 
        widely recognized by virtue of their scholarship, experience, 
        creativity, or interest in American Folklife traditions and 
        arts, and four members appointed by the Speaker of the House of 
        Representatives from among such individuals;
            ``(C) four members appointed by the Librarian of Congress 
        from among individuals who are widely recognized by virtue of 
        their scholarship, experience, creativity, or interest in 
        American folklife traditions and arts;
            ``(D) the Librarian of Congress;
            ``(E) the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution;
            ``(F) the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts;
            ``(G) the Chairman of the National Endowment for the 
        Humanities;
            ``(H) the President of the American Folklore Society;
            ``(I) the President of the Society for Ethnomusicology; and
            ``(J) the Director of the Center.
    ``(2) In making appointments from private life under paragraph 
(1)(B), the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the 
House of Representatives shall give due consideration to the 
appointment of individuals who collectively will provide appropriate 
diversity and regional balance on the Board. Not more than 3 of the 
members appointed by the President pro tempore of the Senate or by the 
Speaker of the House of Representatives may be affiliated with the same 
political party.
    ``(3) In making appointments under paragraph (1)(C), the Librarian 
of Congress shall include at least 2 members who direct or are members 
of the boards of major American folklife organizations other than the 
American Folklore Society and the Society for Ethnomusicology.'';
            (2) by striking subsection (d) and inserting the following:
    ``(d) Members of the Board shall serve without pay, but members who 
are not regular full-time employees of the United States may, at the 
discretion of the Librarian, be reimbursed for the actual and necessary 
traveling and subsistence expenses incurred by them in the performance 
of the duties of the Board.'';
            (3) in subsection (e)--
                    (A) in the fourth sentence of paragraph (1), by 
                inserting ``currently serving'' after ``Board''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(3) The Board shall meet at least once each fiscal year.'';
            (4) by striking subsection (f) and inserting the following:
    ``(f) After consultation with the Board, the Librarian shall 
appoint the Director of the Center. The basic pay of the Director shall 
be at an annual rate that is not less than an amount equal to 120% of 
the minimum rate of basic pay payable for GS-15 of the General Schedule 
nor more than an amount equal to the pay payable under level IV of the 
Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5.''; and
            (5) in subsection (g)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), by striking the paragraph 
                designation; and
                    (B) by striking paragraph (2).
    (b) Administrative Provisions.--Section 7(a)(4) of the American 
Folklife Preservation Act (20 U.S.C. 2106(a)(4)) is amended by striking 
``, but no individual so appointed shall receive compensation in excess 
of the rate received by the Deputy Director of the Center''.

SEC. 3. PERMANENT AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    Section 8 of the American Folklife Preservation Act (20 U.S.C. 
2107) is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    ``There are authorized to be appropriated to the Center to carry 
out this Act such sums as may be necessary for each fiscal year.''.

SEC. 4. BOARD OF TRUSTEES, TRANSITION PERIOD.

    The term of office of members of the Board of Trustees appointed by 
the Librarian of Congress under the amendments made by section 2(a) 
shall be 6 years, except that--
            (1) of the 4 members first appointed by the Librarian, 1 
        shall serve for a term of 2 years, 2 for a term of 4 years, and 
        1 for a term of 6 years;
            (2) any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior 
        to expiration of the term to which his or her predecessor was 
        appointed shall be appointed for the remainder of such term; 
        and
            (3) the terms of the Presidents of the American Folklore 
        Society and the Society for Ethnomusicology shall be 
        coterminous with their terms of office.
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