[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2109 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2109

  To authorize reference to the National D-Day Museum in New Orleans, 
       Louisiana, as ``America's National World War II Museum''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 14, 2003

  Mr. Vitter introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To authorize reference to the National D-Day Museum in New Orleans, 
       Louisiana, as ``America's National World War II Museum''.

    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 ``America's National World War II 
Museum Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The National D-Day Museum Foundation, Inc., a nonprofit 
        corporation under section 503(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 
        Code of 1986, was established ``to celebrate the American 
        Spirit''.
            (2) The National D-Day Museum Foundation, Inc., is 
        responsible for the finances and management of the National D-
        Day Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana.
            (3) The National D-Day Museum is the only museum in the 
        Nation that exists for the exclusive purpose of interpreting 
        the American experience in the World War II years (1939-1945), 
        both on the battle front and the home front, including all 
        branches of the Armed Forces (including the United States 
        merchant marine).
            (4) The National D-Day Museum was founded by the preeminent 
        American historian, Stephen E. Ambrose, as a result of a 
        conversation with President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1963. 
        During that conversation, the former Supreme Allied Commander 
        credited Andrew Jackson Higgins, chief executive officer of 
        Higgins Industries in New Orleans, as the ``man who won the war 
        for us'' because the 12,000 landing craft designed by Higgins 
        made possible all the amphibious invasions of World War II and 
        carried American soldiers into every theater of the war.
            (5) Since the grand opening of the National D-Day Museum on 
        June 6, 2000, the museum has attracted nearly 1,000,000 
        visitors from around the world, of which 85 percent are 
        Americans from across the Nation.
            (6) There is an urgent need to preserve the stories, 
        artifacts, and heroic achievements of the ``greatest 
        generation'' of World War II, who are dying at a rate of more 
        than 1,200 each day.
            (7) The Nation has a need to preserve forever the knowledge 
        and history of America's most decisive achievement in the 20th 
        century and to portray that history to citizens, visitors, and 
        school children for centuries to come.
            (8) The Congress recognized this need first in 1992 with an 
        appropriation to fund the design and construction of the 
        National D-Day Museum to commemorate the epic 1944 Normandy 
        invasion and later in 1998, 2000, 2001, and 2002, with 
        appropriations to help expand the museum's exhibits to the D-
        Days of the Pacific and other campaigns of World War II.
            (9) The State of Louisiana and thousands of donors and 
        foundations across the Nation have contributed millions of 
        dollars to help build this national institution.
            (10) The board of trustees of the National D-Day Museum is 
        national in scope and diverse in its makeup.
            (11) The World War II Memorial now under construction on 
        the National Mall in Washington, D.C., should always be the 
        Nation's memorial where people go to remember America's 
        sacrifices in World War II.
            (12) The National D-Day Museum should always be America's 
        museum of the American experience in the World War II years 
        (1939-1945) where people go to learn about this critical period 
        and where the history of the Nation's monumental struggle will 
        be preserved so that future generations may understand the role 
        the United States played in the preservation and advancement of 
        democracy and freedom in the middle of the 20th century.
            (13) The National D-Day Museum seeks to educate a diverse 
        group of audiences through its collection of artifacts, 
        photographs, letters, documents, and firsthand personal 
        accounts of the participants in the war on the home front 
        during one of history's darkest hours.
            (14) The National D-Day Museum is devoted to the combat 
        experience of America's citizen soldiers in all theaters of the 
        war and to the heroic efforts of the men and women on the home 
        front who worked tirelessly to support the troops and the war 
        effort.
            (15) The National D-Day Museum continues to add to and 
        maintain one of the Nation's largest personal history 
        collections of the men and women who participated in World War 
        II and on the home front.
            (16) No other museum seeks to describe the volunteer spirit 
        that arose throughout the United States during the war years of 
        World War II--the spirit that united the country.
            (17) The National D-Day Museum is currently engaged in a 
        250,000-square-foot expansion to include as the core 
        exhibitions of the museum the Center for the Study of the 
        American Spirit, an advanced format theater, and a new United 
        States pavilion.
            (18) The planned ``We're All in This Together'' Exhibit 
        will describe the role played by every State, commonwealth, and 
        territory in World War II, and the computer-driven database and 
        software of the National D-Day Museum's educational program 
        will be made available to the teachers and school children of 
        every State, commonwealth, and territory.
            (19) The National D-Day Museum is an official Smithsonian 
        affiliate institution with formal agreement to borrow 
        Smithsonian artifacts for future exhibitions.
            (20) ``Le Memorial de Caen'' in Normandy, France, has 
        officially recognized the National D-Day Museum as its official 
        partner in a patriotic alliance signed by both museums on 
        October 16, 2002.
            (21) The official Battle of the Bulge Museums in Luxembourg 
        and the American Battlefield Monuments Commission in Europe are 
        already collaborating with the National D-Day Museum on World 
        War II exhibitions.
            (22) The Congress authorized $4,200,000 in fiscal year 2002 
        and $3,000,000 in fiscal year 2003 Department of Defense 
        Appropriations Acts for planning the expansion of the National 
        D-Day Museum to portray the untold campaigns of World War II 
        and to include new exhibits on the war on land, sea, and air 
        and special exhibits on the China-Burma-India theater, the 
        Japanese invasion of Alaska's Aleutian Islands, the role of 
        women in World War II, the role of African Americans in World 
        War II, and other relevant subjects.
            (23) It is fitting and proper to refer to the National D-
        Day Museum Foundation, Inc., as ``America's National World War 
        II Museum''.

SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to authorize reference to the National D-Day Museum, 
        including its future and expanded exhibits, collections, and 
        educational programs, as ``America's National World War II 
        Museum'';
            (2) to ensure the continuing preservation, maintenance, and 
        interpretation of the artifacts, documents, images, and history 
        collected by the museum;
            (3) to enhance the knowledge of the American people of the 
        American experience during the World War II years, both in 
        combat and on the home front;
            (4) to provide and support a facility for the public 
        display of the artifacts, photographs, letters, documents, and 
        personal histories of the World War II years (1939-1945);
            (5) to provide educational outreach programs for teachers 
        and students throughout the Nation;
            (6) to encourage for educational purposes the further 
        expansion of the European and Pacific exhibits in the museum to 
        include the Center for the Study of the American Spirit; and
            (7) to ensure that all future generations understand the 
        magnitude of the American contribution to the Allied victory in 
        World War II, the sacrifices made to preserve freedom and 
        democracy, and the benefits of peace for all future generations 
        in the 21st century and beyond.

SEC. 4. REFERENCE TO AMERICA'S NATIONAL WORLD WAR II MUSEUM.

    The National D-Day Museum located in New Orleans, Louisiana, and 
managed by the National D-Day Museum Foundation, Inc., is hereby 
authorized to be referred to as ``America's National World War II 
Museum''.
                                 <all>