[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1668 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1668
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 26, 2001
Received
July 12, 2001
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
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).
Passed the House of Representatives June 25, 2001.
Attest:
Jeff Trandahl,
Clerk.