[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1076 Referred in House (RFH)]

  1st Session
                                S. 1076


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 18, 2003

                 Referred to the Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
To authorize construction of an education center at or near 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 EDUCATION CENTER

SEC. 101. EDUCATION CENTER.

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

                      ``sec. 6. education center.

    ``(a) Authorization.--
            ``(1) The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc., is 
        authorized to construct an education center at or near the 
        Vietnam Veterans Memorial site, subject to the provisions of 
        this section, in order to better inform and educate the public 
        about the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
            ``(2) The education center may be located above ground or 
        underground, as determined through the approval process set 
        forth under the Commemorative Works Act and this Act.
            ``(3) As used in this section, the term `education center' 
        or `center' means a building or other structure approved in 
        accordance with chapter 89 of title 40, United States Code 
        (commonly referred to as the `Commemorative Works Act') and 
        this section.
    ``(b) Application of Commemorative Works Act.--
            ``(1) The Commemorative Works Act (chapter 89 of title 40, 
        United States Code) shall apply to the education center, and 
        the center shall be considered a commemorative work for the 
        purposes of that Act, except that--
                    ``(A) final approval of the education center shall 
                not be withheld; and
                    ``(B) the provisions of section 8908(b) of title 
                40, United States Code, requiring approval by law for 
                the location of a commemorative work within Area I, 
                shall not apply.
            ``(2) Notwithstanding section 8908(c) of title 40, United 
        States Code (as added by the Commemorative Works Clarification 
        and Revision Act of 2003), the designation of the Reserve shall 
        not preclude the approval of a site for the education center 
        within such area.
            ``(3) Section 8905(b)(5) of title 40, United States Code 
        (as added by the Commemorative Works Clarification and Revision 
        Act of 2003), prohibiting the authorization of a commemorative 
        work primarily designed as a museum on lands under the 
        jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior within Area I or 
        East Potomac Park, shall not be construed to deny approval of 
        the education center.
            ``(4) The size of the education 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.
            ``(5) The education 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) The education center shall be operated and maintained 
        by the Secretary of the Interior.
            ``(2) This subsection does not waive section 8906(b) of 
        title 40, United States Code (as amended by the Commemorative 
        Works Clarification and Revision Act of 2003), requiring the 
        donation of funds to offset the costs of perpetual maintenance 
        and preservation of the commemorative work.
    ``(d) Funding.--All funds required for the planning, design and 
construction of the education center shall be provided by the Vietnam 
Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc. No Federal funds shall be used for the 
planning, design, or construction of the center.''.

              TITLE II--COMMEMORATIVE WORKS ACT AMENDMENTS

SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE.

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

SEC. 202. ESTABLISHMENT OF 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 
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(a) of title 40, United States Code, 
is amended to read as follows:
    ``(a) Definitions.--In this chapter, the following definitions 
apply--
            ``(1) 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 term `sponsor' means a public agency, and 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;
            ``(3) 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 (4); 
        and
            ``(4) 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.''.
    (c) Authorization.--Section 8903 of title 40, United States Code, 
is amended as follows:
            (1) In subsection (b)--
                    (A) by striking ``work commemorating a lesser 
                conflict'' and inserting ``work solely commemorating a 
                limited military engagement'';
                    (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) Subsection (e) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(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 memorial 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 years from the date of 
expiration. 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 as follows:
            (1) By striking ``Sec. 8904. National Capital Memorial 
        Commission'' and inserting ``Sec. 8904. National Capital 
        Memorial Advisory Commission''.
            (2) In subsection (a) by striking ``There is a National 
        Capital Memorial Commission. The membership of the Commission 
        consists of--'' and inserting ``The National Capital Memorial 
        Advisory Commission is hereby established and shall include the 
        following members (or their designees):''.
            (3) In subsection (c)--
                    (A) by inserting ``Advisory'' before 
                ``Commission''; and
                    (B) by striking ``Services'' and inserting 
                ``Services (as appropriate)''.
            (4) In subsection (d) by inserting ``Advisory'' before 
        ``Commission''.
    (e) Site and Design Approval.--Section 8905 of title 40, United 
States Code, is amended as follows:
            (1) In subsection (a)--
                    (A) by striking ``person'' and inserting 
                ``sponsor'' each place it appears;
                    (B) by inserting ``Advisory'' before ``Commission'' 
                in paragraph (1); and
                    (C) by striking ``designs'' and inserting ``design 
                concepts''.
            (2) In subsection (b)--
                    (A) by striking ``and Administrator'' and inserting 
                ``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 as follows:
            (1) In subsection (a)(3) and (a)(4) by striking ``person'' 
        and inserting ``sponsor''.
            (2) By amending subsection (b) to read as follows:
    ``(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 this 
        subsection 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, 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 of title 40, United States Code, is further amended by 
adding the following new paragraphs to subsection (b):
            ``(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(4).
            ``(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 Act.
            ``(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.

    Nothing in this title shall apply to a commemorative work for which 
a site was approved in accordance with the Commemorative Works Act 
prior to the date of enactment of this title.

SEC. 206. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE REPORTS.

    Within six 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 the National Park Service's stable and 
        maintenance facilities that are within the Reserve as 
        expeditiously as possible.
            (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.

            Passed the Senate July 17, 2003.

            Attest:

                                             EMILY J. REYNOLDS,

                                                             Secretary.