[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1247 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1247

To expand the fund raising authorities of the American Battle Monuments 
 Commission to expedite the establishment of the World War II memorial 
in the District of Columbia and to ensure adequate funds for the repair 
   and long-term maintenance of the memorial, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 24, 1999

 Mr. Stump (for himself and Mr. Evans) introduced the following bill; 
        which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To expand the fund raising authorities of the American Battle Monuments 
 Commission to expedite the establishment of the World War II memorial 
in the District of Columbia and to ensure adequate funds for the repair 
   and long-term maintenance of the memorial, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``World War II Memorial Completion 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FUND RAISING BY AMERICAN BATTLE MONUMENTS COMMISSION FOR WORLD 
              WAR II MEMORIAL.

    (a) Codification of Existing Authority; Expansion of Authority.--
(1) Chapter 21 of title 36, United States Code, is amended by adding at 
the end the following new section:
``Sec. 2113. World War II memorial in the District of Columbia
    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) The term `World War II memorial' means the memorial 
        authorized by Public Law 103-32 (107 Stat. 90) to be 
        established by the American Battle Monuments Commission on 
        Federal land in the District of Columbia or its environs to 
        honor members of the Armed Forces who served in World War II 
        and to commemorate the participation of the United States in 
        that war.
            ``(2) The term `Commission' means the American Battle 
        Monuments Commission.
            ``(3) The term `memorial fund' means the fund created by 
        subsection (c).
    ``(b) Solicitation and Acceptance of Contributions.--Consistent 
with the authority of the Commission under section 2103(e) of this 
title, the Commission shall solicit and accept contributions for the 
World War II memorial.
    ``(c) Creation of Memorial Fund.--(1) There is hereby created in 
the Treasury a fund for the World War II memorial, which shall consist 
of the following:
            ``(A) Amounts deposited, and interest and proceeds 
        credited, under paragraph (2).
            ``(B) Obligations obtained under paragraph (3).
            ``(C) The amount of surcharges paid to the Commission for 
        the World War II memorial under the World War II 50th 
        Anniversary Commemorative Coins Act.
            ``(D) Amounts borrowed using the authority provided under 
        subsection (e).
            ``(E) Any funds received by the Commission under section 
        2103(l) of this title in exchange for use of, or the right to 
        use, any mark, copyright or patent.
    ``(2) The Chairman of the Commission shall deposit in the memorial 
fund the amounts accepted as contributions under subsection (b). The 
Secretary of the Treasury shall credit to the memorial fund the 
interest on, and the proceeds from sale or redemption of, obligations 
held in the memorial fund.
    ``(3) The Secretary of the Treasury shall invest any portion of the 
memorial fund that, as determined by the Chairman of the Commission, is 
not required to meet current expenses. Each investment shall be made in 
an interest bearing obligation of the United States or an obligation 
guaranteed as to principal and interest by the United States that, as 
determined by the Chairman of the Commission, has a maturity suitable 
for the memorial fund.
    ``(d) Use of Memorial Fund.--The memorial fund shall be available 
to the Commission for--
            ``(1) the expenses of establishing the World War II 
        memorial, including the maintenance and preservation amount 
        provided for in section 8(b) of the Commemorative Works Act (40 
        U.S.C. 1008(b));
            ``(2) such other expenses, other than routine maintenance, 
        with respect to the World War II memorial as the Commission 
        considers warranted; and
            ``(3) to secure, obtain, register, enforce, protect, and 
        license any mark, copyright or patent that is owned by, 
        assigned to, or licensed to the Commission under section 
        2103(l) of this title to aid or facilitate the construction of 
        the World War II memorial.
    ``(e) Special Borrowing Authority.--(1) To assure that 
groundbreaking, construction, and dedication of the World War II 
memorial are completed on a timely basis, the Commission may borrow 
money from the Treasury of the United States in such amounts as the 
Commission considers necessary, but not to exceed a total 
of $65,000,000. Borrowed amounts shall bear interest at a rate 
determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, taking into consideration 
the average market yield on outstanding marketable obligations of the 
United States of comparable maturities during the month preceding the 
month in which the obligations of the Commission are issued. The 
interest payments on such obligations may be deferred with the approval 
of the Secretary of the Treasury, but any interest payment so deferred 
shall also bear interest.
    ``(2) The borrowing of money by the Commission under paragraph (1) 
shall be subject to such maturities, terms, and conditions as may be 
agreed upon by the Commission and the Secretary of the Treasury, except 
that the maturities may not exceed 20 years and such borrowings may be 
redeemable at the option of the Commission before maturity.
    ``(3) The obligations of the Commission shall be issued in amounts 
and at prices approved by the Secretary of the Treasury. The authority 
of the Commission to issue obligations under this subsection shall 
remain available without fiscal year limitation. The Secretary of the 
Treasury shall purchase any obligations of the Commission to be issued 
under this subsection, and for such purpose the Secretary of the 
Treasury may use as a public debt transaction of the United States the 
proceeds from the sale of any securities issued under chapter 31 of 
title 31. The purposes for which securities may be issued under such 
chapter are extended to include any purchase of the Commission's 
obligations under this subsection.
    ``(4) Repayment of the interest and principal on any funds borrowed 
by the Commission under paragraph (1) shall be made from amounts in the 
memorial fund. The Commission may not use for such purpose any funds 
appropriated for any other activities of the Commission.
    ``(f) Treatment of Borrowing Authority.--In determining whether the 
Commission has sufficient funds to complete construction of the World 
War II memorial, as required by section 8 of the Commemorative Works 
Act (40 U.S.C. 1008), the Secretary of the Interior shall consider the 
funds that the Commission may borrow from the Treasury under subsection 
(e) as funds available to complete construction of the memorial, 
whether or not the Commission has actually exercised the authority to 
borrow such funds.
    ``(g) Voluntary Services.--(1) Notwithstanding section 1342 of 
title 31, the Commission may accept from any person voluntary services 
to be provided in furtherance of the fund-raising activities of the 
Commission relating to the World War II memorial.
    ``(2) A person providing voluntary services under this subsection 
shall be considered to be a Federal employee for purposes of chapter 81 
of title 5, relating to compensation for work-related injuries, and 
chapter 171 of title 28, relating to tort claims. A volunteer who is 
not otherwise employed by the Federal Government shall not be 
considered to be a Federal employee for any other purpose by reason of 
the provision of such voluntary service, except that any volunteers 
given responsibility for the handling of funds or the carrying out of a 
Federal function are subject to the conflict of interest laws contained 
in chapter 11 of title 18, and the administrative standards of conduct 
contained in part 2635 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations.
    ``(3) The Commission may provide for reimbursement of incidental 
expenses which are incurred by a person providing voluntary services 
under this subsection. The Commission shall determine which expenses 
are eligible for reimbursement under this paragraph.
    ``(4) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to require 
Federal employees to work without compensation or to allow the use of 
volunteer services to displace or replace Federal employees.
    ``(h) Treatment of Certain Contracts.--A contract entered into by 
the Commission for the design or construction of the World War II 
memorial is not funding agreement as that term is defined in section 
201 of title 35.
    ``(i) Extension of Authority to Establish Memorial.--
Notwithstanding section 10 of the Commemorative Works Act (40 U.S.C. 
1010), the legislative authorization for the construction of the World 
War II memorial contained in Public Law 103-32 (107 Stat. 90) shall not 
expire until December 31, 2005.''.
    (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is 
amended by adding at the end the following new item:

``2113. World War II memorial in the District of Columbia.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--Public Law 103-32 (107 Stat. 90) is 
amended by striking sections 3, 4, and 5.
    (c) Effect of Repeal of Current Memorial Fund.--Upon the enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer amounts in 
the fund created by section 4(a) of Public Law 103-32 (107 Stat. 91) to 
the fund created by section 2113 of title 36, United States Code, as 
added by subsection (a).

SEC. 3. GENERAL AUTHORITY OF AMERICAN BATTLE MONUMENTS COMMISSION TO 
              SOLICIT AND RECEIVE CONTRIBUTIONS.

    Subsection (e) of section 2103 of title 36, United States Code, is 
amended to read as follows:
    ``(e) Solicitation and Receipt of Contributions.--(1) The 
Commission may solicit and receive funds and in-kind donations and 
gifts from any State, municipal, or private source to carry out the 
purposes of this chapter. The Commission shall deposit such funds in a 
separate account in the Treasury. Funds from this account shall be 
disbursed upon vouchers approved by the Chairman of the Commission as 
well as by a Federal official authorized to sign payment vouchers.
    ``(2) The Commission shall establish written guidelines setting 
forth the criteria to be used in determining whether the acceptance of 
funds and in-kind donations and gifts under paragraph (1) would--
            ``(A) reflect unfavorably on the ability of the Commission, 
        or any employee of the Commission, to carry out the 
        responsibilities or official duties of the Commission in a fair 
        and objective manner; or
            ``(B) compromise the integrity or the appearance of the 
        integrity of the programs of the Commission or any official 
        involved in those programs.''.

SEC. 4. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND RELATED ITEMS.

    Section 2103 of title 36, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(l) Intellectual Property and Related Items.--(1) The Commission 
may--
            ``(A) adopt, use, register, and license trademarks, service 
        marks, and other marks;
            ``(B) obtain, use, register, and license the use of 
        copyrights consistent with section 105 of title 17;
            ``(C) obtain, use, and license patents; and
            ``(D) accept gifts of marks, copyrights, patents and 
        licenses for use by the Commission.
    ``(2) The Commission may grant exclusive and nonexclusive licenses 
in connection with any mark, copyright, patent, or license for the use 
of such mark, copyright or patent, except to extent the grant of such 
license by the Commission would be contrary to any contract or license 
by which the use of such mark, copyright or patent was obtained.
    ``(3) The Commission may enforce any mark, copyright, or patent by 
an action in the district courts under any law providing for the 
protection of such marks, copyrights, or patents.
    ``(4) The Attorney General shall furnish the Commission with such 
legal representation as the Commission may require under paragraph (3). 
The Secretary of Defense shall provide representation for the 
Commission in administrative proceedings before the Patent and 
Trademark Office and Copyright Office.
    ``(5) Section 203 of title 17 shall not apply to any copyright 
transferred in any manner to the Commission.''.
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