[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1988 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 1988

 To authorize the American Battle Monuments Commission to establish in 
    the State of Louisiana a memorial to honor the Buffalo Soldiers.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 5, 2002

 Ms. Landrieu introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To authorize the American Battle Monuments Commission to establish in 
    the State of Louisiana a memorial to honor the Buffalo Soldiers.

    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 ``Buffalo Soldier Commemoration Act of 
2002''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the 9th and 10th Cavalry regiments and the 24th and 
        25th Infantry regiments, comprised of African-American soldiers 
        referred to as ``Buffalo Soldiers'', performed outstanding 
        service to the United States during--
                    (A) the Indian Wars;
                    (B) the Spanish-American War;
                    (C) the Philippine Insurrection; and
                    (D) the raids against Poncho Villa;
            (2) in recognition of the contributions of the Buffalo 
        Soldiers to the defense of the United States, soldiers in the 
        9th and 10th Cavalry regiments were awarded 20 individual 
        Congressional Medals of Honor;
            (3) the Buffalo Soldiers established a rich tradition of 
        professional African-American soldiers in the United States 
        Army by granting a commission--
                    (A) in the 10th Cavalry regiment, to the first 
                African-American professional officer; and
                    (B) in the 9th Cavalry regiment, to the first 
                African-American graduates of West Point;
            (4) while the Buffalo Soldiers served the United States 
        with bravery and fortitude in the harshest environments and 
        under the most difficult conditions, the service of the Buffalo 
        Soldiers has not been sufficiently memorialized;
            (5) the Buffalo Soldiers remain emblems of the work of free 
        men in defense of the United States and should be recognized 
        for their contributions; and
            (6) because 2 of the 4 African-American regiments were 
        organized in the State of Louisiana and were initially 
        comprised of recruits from the city of New Orleans, the State 
        of Louisiana is an appropriate place to establish a memorial to 
        recognize the contributions of the Buffalo Soldiers.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Buffalo soldier.--The term ``Buffalo Soldier'' means an 
        African-American soldier that served in--
                    (A) the 9th Cavalry regiment;
                    (B) the 10th Cavalry regiment;
                    (C) the 24th infantry regiment; or
                    (D) the 25th infantry regiment.
            (2) City.--The term ``city'' means the city of New Orleans, 
        Louisiana.
            (3) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the American 
        Battle Monuments Commission.
            (4) Fund.--The term ``Fund'' means the fund for the 
        memorial established under section 5(a).
            (5) Memorial.--The term ``memorial'' means the memorial 
        established under section 4(a).
            (6) Museum.--The term ``museum'' means the Louisiana State 
        Museum in the State.
            (7) State.--The term ``State'' means the State of 
        Louisiana.

SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF MEMORIAL.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding subsections (b) and (c) of section 
3 of the Commemorative Works Act (40 U.S.C. 1003(b),(c)), the 
Commission may establish a memorial to honor the Buffalo Soldiers--
            (1) on Federal land in the city or its environs; or
            (2) on land donated by the city or the State.
    (b) Compliance With the Commemorative Works Act.--Except as 
provided in subsection (a), the establishment of the memorial shall be 
in accordance with the Commemorative Works Act (40 U.S.C. 1001 et 
seq.).
    (c) Contributions.--The Commission shall solicit and accept 
contributions for the memorial.

SEC. 5. MEMORIAL FUND.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established in the Treasury a fund to 
be used by the Commission to pay the expenses incurred in establishing 
the memorial.
    (b) Deposits in the Fund.--The Commission shall deposit in the 
Fund--
            (1) amounts accepted by the Commission under section 4(c); 
        and
            (2) interest and proceeds credited to the Fund under 
        subsection (d).
    (c) Investment of Amounts.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall 
invest such portion of the Fund that is not, in the judgment of the 
Chairman of the Commission, required to meet current withdrawals. 
Investments may be made only in--
            (1) an interest-bearing obligation of the United States; or
            (2) an obligation guaranteed as to principal and interest 
        by the United States that the Chairman of the Commission 
        determines has a maturity suitable for the Fund.
    (d) Credits to Fund.--The interest on, and proceeds from sale or 
redemption of, obligations held in the Fund shall be credited to the 
Fund.
    (e) Deposit of Excess Funds.--The Commission shall transmit to the 
Secretary of the Treasury, for deposit in the account provided for in 
section 8(b)(1) of the Commemorative Works Act (40 U.S.C. 1008(b)(1)), 
the amount of any balance remaining in the Fund--
            (1) after payment of all expenses of the establishment of 
        the memorial (including payment of the amount for maintenance 
        and preservation required by section 8(b) of the Commemorative 
        Works Act (40 U.S.C. 1008(b)); or
            (2) on expiration of the authority for the memorial under 
        section 10(b) of that Act (40 U.S.C. 1010(b)).

SEC. 6. MILITARY ARTIFACTS.

    (a) Authority.--The head of any Federal agency may transfer, loan, 
or otherwise provide to the museum any military artifact, memorabilia, 
or other material that the agency head and the Commission consider to 
be appropriate for a permanent display to memorialize, and educate the 
public regarding, the contributions of the Buffalo Soldiers.
    (b) Display.--
            (1) In general.--The museum may display at the museum any 
        artifact, memorabilia, or other material transferred, loaned, 
        or provided to the museum under subsection (a).
            (2) Terms and conditions.--The display of the artifact, 
        memorabilia, or other material under paragraph (1) shall be in 
        accordance with any terms or conditions imposed by the agency 
        head transferring, loaning, or providing the artifact, 
        memorabilia, or material.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary 
to carry out this Act.
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