[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1668 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
H.R.1668
One Hundred Seventh Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE FIRST SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
the third day of January, two thousand and one
An Act
To authorize the Adams Memorial Foundation to establish a commemorative
work on Federal land in the District of Columbia and its environs to
honor former President John Adams and his legacy.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. COMMEMORATIVE WORK TO HONOR JOHN ADAMS AND HIS LEGACY.
(a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
(1) Few families have contributed as profoundly to the United
States as the family that gave the Nation its second president,
John Adams; its sixth president, John Quincy Adams; first ladies
Abigail Smith Adams and Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams; and
succeeding generations of statesmen, diplomats, advocates, and
authors.
(2) John Adams (1735-1826), a lawyer, a statesman, and a
patriot, was the author of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts (the oldest written constitution still in force), the
leader of the Second Continental Congress, a driving force for
independence, a negotiator of the Treaty of Paris (which brought
the Revolutionary War to an end), the first Vice President, the
second President, and an unwavering exponent of freedom of
conscience and the rule of law.
(3) Abigail Smith Adams (1744-1818) was one of the most
remarkable women of her time. Wife of former President John Adams
and mother of former President John Quincy Adams, she was an early
advocate for the rights of women and served the cause of liberty as
a prolific writer, fierce patriot, and staunch abolitionist.
(4) John Quincy Adams (1767-1848), the son of John and Abigail
Adams, was a distinguished lawyer, legislator, and diplomat and a
master of 7 languages, who served as Senator, Minister to the
Netherlands under President George Washington, Minister to Prussia
under the first President Adams, Minister to Great Britain under
President James Madison, chief negotiator of the Treaty of Ghent
(which ended the War of 1812), Secretary of State under President
James Monroe, author of the Monroe Doctrine (which declared the
Western Hemisphere off limits to European imperial expansion),
sixth President, and the only former President to be elected to the
House of Representatives, where he was known as ``Old Man
Eloquent'' and served with great distinction as a leader in the
fight against slavery and a champion of unpopular causes.
(5) Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams (1775-1852), the wife of
former President John Quincy Adams, was an educated, accomplished
woman and the only first lady born outside the United States. Like
Abigail Adams, she wrote eloquently on behalf of the rights of
women and in opposition to slavery.
(6) Charles Francis Adams (1807-1886), the son of John Quincy
and Louisa Adams, served 6 years in the Massachusetts legislature,
was a steadfast abolitionist who received the Free Soil Party's
vice-presidential nomination in 1848, was elected to his father's
seat in the House of Representatives in 1856, and served as
ambassador to Great Britain during the Civil War, where his efforts
were decisive in preventing the British Government from recognizing
the independence of the Confederacy.
(7) Henry Adams (1838-1918), the son of Charles Francis Adams,
was an eminent writer, scholar, historian, and public intellectual,
and was the author of many celebrated works, including
``Democracy'', ``The Education of Henry Adams'', and his 9-volume
``History of the United States during the Administrations of
Jefferson and Madison''.
(8) Both individually and collectively, the members of this
illustrious family have enriched the Nation through their profound
civic consciousness, abiding belief in the perfectibility of the
Nation's democracy, and commitment to service and sacrifice for the
common good.
(9) Although the Congress has authorized the establishment of
commemorative works on Federal lands in the District of Columbia
honoring such celebrated former Presidents as George Washington,
Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln, the National Capital has no
comparable memorial to former President John Adams.
(10) In recognition of the 200th anniversary of the end of the
presidency of John Adams, the time has come to correct this
oversight so that future generations of Americans will know and
understand the preeminent historical and lasting significance to
the Nation of his contributions and those of his family.
(b) Authority to Establish Commemorative Work.--The Adams Memorial
Foundation may establish a commemorative work on Federal land in the
District of Columbia and its environs to honor former President John
Adams, along with his wife Abigail Adams and former President John
Quincy Adams, and the family's legacy of public service.
(c) Compliance with Standards for Commemorative Works.--The
establishment of the commemorative work shall be in accordance with the
Commemorative Works Act (40 U.S.C. 1001, et seq.).
(d) Use of Federal Funds Prohibited.--Federal funds may not be used
to pay any expense of the establishment of the commemorative work. The
Adams Memorial Foundation shall be solely responsible for acceptance of
contributions for, and payment of the expenses of, the establishment of
the commemorative work.
(e) Deposit of Excess Funds.--If, upon payment of all expenses of
the establishment of the commemorative work (including the maintenance
and preservation amount provided for in section 8(b) of the
Commemorative Works Act (40 U.S.C. 1001, et seq.)), or upon expiration
of the authority for the commemorative work under section 10(b) of such
Act, there remains a balance of funds received for the establishment of
the commemorative work, the Adams Memorial Foundation shall transmit
the amount of the balance to the Secretary of the Treasury for deposit
in the account provided for in section 8(b)(1) of such Act.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act, the terms ``commemorative work'' and
``the District of Columbia and its environs'' have the meanings given
to such terms in section 2 of the Commemorative Works Act (40 U.S.C.
1002).
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.