[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1442 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.1442

                       One Hundred Eighth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE FIRST SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
           the seventh day of January, two thousand and three


                                 An Act


 
  To authorize the design and construction of a visitor center for the 
                       Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

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

           TITLE I--VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL VISITOR CENTER

SEC. 101. VISITOR CENTER.

    Public Law 96-297 (16 U.S.C. 431 note) is amended by adding at the 
end the following:

``SEC. 6. VISITOR CENTER.

    ``(a) Authorization.--
        ``(1) In general.--The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc., is 
    authorized to construct a visitor center at or near the Vietnam 
    Veterans Memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia, or 
    its environs, subject to the provisions of this section, in order 
    to better inform and educate the public about the Vietnam Veterans 
    Memorial and the Vietnam War.
        ``(2) Location.--The visitor center shall be located 
    underground.
        ``(3) Consultation on design phase.--The Vietnam Veterans 
    Memorial Fund, Inc., shall consult with educators, veterans groups, 
    and the National Park Service in developing the proposed design of 
    the visitor center.
    ``(b) Compliance With Standards Applicable to Commemorative 
Works.--Chapter 89 of title 40, United States Code, shall apply, 
including provisions related to the siting, design, construction, and 
maintenance of the visitor center, and the visitor center shall be 
considered a commemorative work for the purposes of that Act, except 
that--
        ``(1) final approval of the visitor center shall not be 
    withheld;
        ``(2) the provisions of subsections (b) and (c) of section 8908 
    of title 40, United States Code, requiring further approval by law 
    for the location of a commemorative work within Area I and 
    prohibiting the siting of a visitor center within the Reserve shall 
    not apply;
        ``(3) the size of the visitor center shall be limited to the 
    minimum necessary--
            ``(A) to provide for appropriate educational and 
        interpretive functions; and
            ``(B) to prevent interference or encroachment on the 
        Vietnam Veterans Memorial and to protect open space and visual 
        sightlines on the Mall; and
        ``(4) the visitor center shall be constructed and landscaped in 
    a manner harmonious with the site of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, 
    consistent with the special nature and sanctity of the Mall.
    ``(c) Operation and Maintenance.--
        ``(1) In general.--The Secretary of the Interior shall--
            ``(A) operate and maintain the visitor center, except that 
        the Secretary shall enter into a written agreement with the 
        Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc., for specified maintenance 
        needs of the visitor center, as determined by the Secretary; 
        and
            ``(B) as soon as practicable, in consultation with 
        educators and veterans groups, develop a written interpretive 
        plan for the visitor center in accordance with National Park 
        Service policy.
        ``(2) Donation for perpetual maintenance and preservation.--
    Paragraph (1)(A) does not waive the requirements of section 8906(b) 
    of title 40, United States Code, with respect to the visitor 
    center.
    ``(d) Funding.--The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc., shall be 
solely responsible for acceptance of contributions for, and payment of 
expenses of, the establishment of the visitor center. No Federal funds 
shall be used to pay any expense of the establishment of the visitor 
center.''.

                     TITLE II--COMMEMORATIVE WORKS

SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE.

    This title may be cited as the ``Commemorative Works Clarification 
and Revision Act of 2003''.

SEC. 202. ESTABLISHMENT OF RESERVE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
        (1) the great cross-axis of the Mall in the District of 
    Columbia, which generally extends from the United States Capitol to 
    the Lincoln Memorial, and from the White House to the Jefferson 
    Memorial, is a substantially completed work of civic art; and
        (2) to preserve the integrity of the Mall, a reserve area 
    should be designated within the core of the great cross-axis of the 
    Mall where the siting of new commemorative works is prohibited.
    (b) Reserve.--Section 8908 of title 40, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) Reserve.--After the date of enactment of the Commemorative 
Works Clarification and Revision Act of 2003, no commemorative work or 
visitor center shall be located within the Reserve.''.

SEC. 203. CLARIFYING AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

    (a) Purposes.--Section 8901(2) of title 40, United States Code, is 
amended by striking ``Columbia;'' and inserting ``Columbia and its 
environs, and to encourage the location of commemorative works within 
the urban fabric of the District of Columbia;''.
    (b) Definitions.--Section 8902 of title 40, United States Code, is 
amended by striking subsection (a) and inserting the following:
    ``(a) Definitions.--In this chapter:
        ``(1) Commemorative work.--The term `commemorative work' means 
    any statue, monument, sculpture, memorial, plaque, inscription, or 
    other structure or landscape feature, including a garden or 
    memorial grove, designed to perpetuate in a permanent manner the 
    memory of an individual, group, event or other significant element 
    of American history, except that the term does not include any such 
    item which is located within the interior of a structure or a 
    structure which is primarily used for other purposes.
        ``(2) The district of columbia and its environs.--The term `the 
    District of Columbia and its environs' means those lands and 
    properties administered by the National Park Service and the 
    General Services Administration located in the Reserve, Area I, and 
    Area II as depicted on the map entitled `Commemorative Areas 
    Washington, DC and Environs', numbered 869/86501 B, and dated June 
    24, 2003.
        ``(3) Reserve.--The term `Reserve' means the great cross-axis 
    of the Mall, which generally extends from the United States Capitol 
    to the Lincoln Memorial, and from the White House to the Jefferson 
    Memorial, as depicted on the map referenced in paragraph (2).
        ``(4) Sponsor.--The term `sponsor' means a public agency, or an 
    individual, group or organization that is described in section 
    501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax 
    under section 501(a) of such Code, and which is authorized by 
    Congress to establish a commemorative work in the District of 
    Columbia and its environs.''.
    (c) Authorization.--Section 8903 of title 40, United States Code, 
is amended--
        (1) in subsection (b)--
            (A) by striking ``work commemorating a lesser conflict'' 
        and inserting ``work solely commemorating a limited military 
        engagement''; and
            (B) by striking ``the event'' and inserting ``such war or 
        conflict'';
        (2) in subsection (d)--
            (A) by striking ``Consultation with National Capital 
        Memorial Commission.--'' and inserting ``Consultation with 
        National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission.--'';
            (B) by striking ``House Administration'' and inserting 
        ``Resources''; and
            (C) by inserting ``Advisory'' before ``Commission''; and
        (3) by striking subsection (e) and inserting the following:
    ``(e) Expiration of Legislative Authority.--Any legislative 
authority for a commemorative work shall expire at the end of the 
seven-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of such 
authority, or at the end of the seven-year period beginning on the date 
of the enactment of legislative authority to locate the commemorative 
work within Area I, if such additional authority has been granted, 
unless--
        ``(1) the Secretary of the Interior or the Administrator of 
    General Services (as appropriate) has issued a construction permit 
    for the commemorative work during that period; or
        ``(2) the Secretary or the Administrator (as appropriate), in 
    consultation with the National Capital Memorial Advisory 
    Commission, has made a determination that--
            ``(A) final design approvals have been obtained from the 
        National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine 
        Arts; and
            ``(B) 75 percent of the amount estimated to be required to 
        complete the commemorative work has been raised.
If these two conditions have been met, the Secretary or the 
Administrator (as appropriate) may extend the seven-year legislative 
authority for a period not to exceed three additional years. Upon 
expiration of the legislative authority, any previous site and design 
approvals shall also expire.''.
    (d) National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission.--Section 8904 of 
title 40, United States Code, is amended--
        (1) in the heading, by inserting ``Advisory'' before 
    ``Commission'';
        (2) in subsection (a), by striking ``There is a National'' and 
    all that follows through ``consists of'' and inserting the 
    following: ``There is established the National Capital Memorial 
    Advisory Commission, which shall be composed of'';
        (3) in subsection (c)--
            (A) by inserting ``Advisory'' before ``Commission shall''; 
        and
            (B) by striking ``Services'' and inserting ``Services (as 
        appropriate)''; and
        (4) in subsection (d) by inserting ``Advisory'' before 
    ``Commission''.
    (e) Site and Design Approval.--Section 8905 of title 40, United 
States Code, is amended--
        (1) in subsection (a)--
            (A) by striking ``person'' each place it appears and 
        inserting ``sponsor''; and
            (B) in paragraph (1)--
                (i) by inserting ``Advisory'' before ``Commission''; 
            and
                (ii) by striking ``designs'' and inserting ``design 
            concepts''; and
        (2) in subsection (b)--
            (A) by striking ``Secretary, and Administrator'' and 
        inserting ``and the Secretary or Administrator (as 
        appropriate)''; and
            (B) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking, ``open space and 
        existing public use.'' and inserting ``open space, existing 
        public use, and cultural and natural resources.''.
    (f) Criteria for Issuance of Construction Permit.--Section 8906 of 
title 40, United States Code, is amended--
        (1) in subsection (a)(3) and (a)(4) by striking ``person'' and 
    inserting ``sponsor''; and
        (2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the following:
    ``(b) Donation for Perpetual Maintenance and Preservation.--
        ``(1) In addition to the criteria described above in subsection 
    (a), no construction permit shall be issued unless the sponsor 
    authorized to construct the commemorative work has donated an 
    amount equal to 10 percent of the total estimated cost of 
    construction to offset the costs of perpetual maintenance and 
    preservation of the commemorative work. All such amounts shall be 
    available for those purposes pursuant to the provisions of this 
    subsection. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply in 
    instances when the commemorative work is constructed by a 
    Department or agency of the Federal Government and less than 50 
    percent of the funding for such work is provided by private 
    sources.
        ``(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, money on 
    deposit in the Treasury on the date of enactment of the 
    Commemorative Works Clarification and Revision Act of 2003 provided 
    by a sponsor for maintenance pursuant to this subsection shall be 
    credited to a separate account in the Treasury.
        ``(3) Money provided by a sponsor pursuant to the provisions of 
    this subsection after the date of enactment of the Commemorative 
    Works Clarification and Revision Act of 2003 shall be credited to a 
    separate account with the National Park Foundation.
        ``(4) Upon request of the Secretary or Administrator (as 
    appropriate), the Secretary of the Treasury or the National Park 
    Foundation shall make all or a portion of such moneys available to 
    the Secretary or the Administrator (as appropriate) for the 
    maintenance of a commemorative work. Under no circumstances may the 
    Secretary or Administrator request funds from a separate account 
    exceeding the total money in the account established under 
    paragraph (2) or (3). The Secretary and the Administrator shall 
    maintain an inventory of funds available for such purposes. Funds 
    provided under this paragraph shall be available without further 
    appropriation and shall remain available until expended.''.
    (g) Areas I and II.--Section 8908(a) of title 40, United States 
Code, is amended--
        (1) by striking ``Secretary of the Interior and Administrator 
    of General Services'' and inserting ``Secretary of the Interior or 
    the Administrator of General Services (as appropriate)''; and
        (2) by striking ``numbered 869/86581, and dated May 1, 1986'' 
    and inserting ``entitled `Commemorative Areas Washington, DC and 
    Environs', numbered 869/86501 B, and dated June 24, 2003''.

SEC. 204. SITE AND DESIGN CRITERIA.

    Section 8905(b) of title 40, United States Code (as amended by 
section 203(e)), is amended by adding at the end the following:
        ``(5) Museums.--No commemorative work primarily designed as a 
    museum may be located on lands under the jurisdiction of the 
    Secretary in Area I or in East Potomac Park as depicted on the map 
    referenced in section 8902(2).
        ``(6) Site-specific guidelines.--The National Capital Planning 
    Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts may develop such 
    criteria or guidelines specific to each site that are mutually 
    agreed upon to ensure that the design of the commemorative work 
    carries out the purposes of this chapter.
        ``(7) Donor contributions.--Donor contributions to 
    commemorative works shall not be acknowledged in any manner as part 
    of the commemorative work or its site.''.

SEC. 205. NO EFFECT ON PREVIOUSLY APPROVED SITES.

    Except for the provision in the amendment made by section 202(b) 
prohibiting a visitor center from being located in the Reserve (as 
defined in section 8902 of title 40, United States Code), nothing in 
this title shall apply to a commemorative work for which a site was 
approved in accordance with chapter 89 of title 40, United States Code, 
prior to the date of enactment of this title.

SEC. 206. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE REPORTS.

    Within 6 months after the date of enactment of this title, the 
Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the National Capital 
Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts, shall submit to 
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the United States 
Senate, and to the Committee on Resources of the United States House of 
Representatives reports setting forth plans for the following:
        (1) To relocate, as soon as practicable after the date of 
    enactment of this Act, the National Park Service's stable and 
    maintenance facilities that are within the Reserve (as defined in 
    section 8902 of title 40, United States Code).
        (2) To relocate, redesign or otherwise alter the concession 
    facilities that are within the Reserve to the extent necessary to 
    make them compatible with the Reserve's character.
        (3) To limit the sale or distribution of permitted merchandise 
    to those areas where such activities are less intrusive upon the 
    Reserve, and to relocate any existing sale or distribution 
    structures that would otherwise be inconsistent with the plan.
        (4) To make other appropriate changes, if any, to protect the 
    character of the Reserve.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.