[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 499 Reported in Senate (RS)]






                                                       Calendar No. 200
108th CONGRESSP/
  1st Session
                                 S. 499

                          [Report No. 108-92]

 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 3, 2003

  Ms. Landrieu (for herself, Mr. Breaux, Mr. Levin, and Mr. Campbell) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
               Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

                             July 11, 2003

              Reported by Mr. Domenici, with an amendment
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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,

<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    This Act may be cited as the ``Buffalo Soldier 
Commemoration Act of 2003''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 2. FINDINGS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Congress finds that--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) the Indian Wars;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) the Spanish-American War;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) the Philippine Insurrection; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) the raids against Poncho 
                Villa;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) the Buffalo Soldiers established a rich 
        tradition of professional African-American soldiers in the 
        United States Army by granting a commission--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) in the 10th Cavalry regiment, to the 
                first African-American professional officer; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) in the 9th Cavalry regiment, to the 
                first African-American graduates of West 
                Point;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.</DELETED>

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

<DELETED>SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF MEMORIAL.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) In General.--The Commission may establish a memorial 
to honor the Buffalo Soldiers--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) on Federal land in the city or its environs; 
        or</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) on land donated by the city or the 
        State.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Contributions.--The Commission shall solicit and 
accept contributions sufficient for the construction and maintenance of 
the memorial.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Mail.--The Commission shall be considered to qualify 
for the rates of postage currently in effect under former section 4452 
of title 39, United States Code, for third-class mail matter mailed by 
a qualified nonprofit organization with respect to official mail sent 
in carrying out this section.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (d) Voluntary Services.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) In general.--Notwithstanding section 1342 of 
        title 31, United States Code, the Commission may accept from 
        any person voluntary services provided in furtherance of 
        fundraising activities of the Commission relating to the 
        memorial.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Treatment of volunteers.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph 
                (B), a person that provides voluntary services under 
                this subsection--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) shall be considered to be a 
                        Federal employee for the purposes of chapter 81 
                        of title 5 and chapter 171 of title 28, United 
                        States Code; but</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) shall not be considered to be 
                        a Federal employee for any other purpose by 
                        reason of the provision of the voluntary 
                        service.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) Certain responsibilities.--A person 
                described in subparagraph (A) that is assigned 
                responsibility for the handling of funds or the 
                carrying out of a Federal function shall be subject 
                to--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) section 208 of title 18, 
                        United States Code; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) part 2635 of title 5, Code of 
                        Federal Regulations (or any successor 
                        regulation).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) Reimbursement.--The Commission may--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) identify types of incidental expenses 
                incurred by a person providing voluntary services under 
                this subsection for which the person may be reimbursed; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) provide for reimbursement of those 
                expenses.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) No effect on federal employees.--Nothing in 
        this subsection--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) requires any Federal employee to work 
                without compensation; or</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) permits the use of volunteer services 
                to displace or replace any services provided by a 
                Federal employee.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (e) Treatment of Certain Contracts.--A contract entered 
into by the Commission for the design or construction of the memorial 
shall not be considered to be a funding agreement for the purpose of 
chapter 18 of title 35, United States Code.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (f) Legal Representation.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) In general.--The Attorney General shall 
        provide the Commission such legal representation as the 
        Commission requires to carry out subsection (e).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Patent and trademark representation.--The 
        Secretary of Defense shall provide representation for the 
        Commission in any administrative proceeding before the Patent 
        and Trademark Office and Copyright Office.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (g) Irrevocability of Transfers of Copyrights to 
Commission.--Section 203 of title 17, United States Code, shall not 
apply to any copyright transferred to the Commission.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (h) Participation in Combined Federal Campaign.--The 
Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall include the 
Commission on the list of agencies eligible for participation in each 
Combined Federal Campaign carried out by the Executive Branch under 
Executive Order No. 10927 (March 18, 1961), until such time as the 
Commission certifies to the Director of the Office of Personnel 
Management that fundraising for the memorial is concluded.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 5. MEMORIAL FUND.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (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, to be known as the ``Buffalo Soldier 
Memorial Fund''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Deposits in the Fund.--The Commission shall deposit in 
the Fund--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) amounts accepted by the Commission under 
        section 4(b); and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) interest and proceeds credited to the Fund 
        under subsection (d).</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (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--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) an interest-bearing obligation of the United 
        States; or</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (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.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (e) Use of Fund.--Amounts in the Fund shall be available--
</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) to the Commission--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) to pay expenses incurred in 
                establishing the memorial; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) to secure, obtain, register, enforce, 
                protect, and license any mark, copyright, or patent 
                that is owned by, assigned to, licensed to the 
                Commission to aid or facilitate the construction of the 
                memorial; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) to the Commission, or to another agency or 
        entity to which the amounts are transferred under subsection 
        (f)--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) for the maintenance and upkeep of the 
                memorial; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) after establishment of the memorial, 
                for such other expenses relating to the memorial as the 
                Commission, agency, or entity considers to be 
                necessary.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (f) Transfer of Amounts in Fund.--Amounts in the Fund may 
be transferred by the Commission to an agency or entity to which title 
to the memorial is transferred under section 6.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 6. TRANSFER OF POSSESSION AND AUTHORITY FOR 
              MEMORIAL.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    On or after the date that is 1 year after the date of 
establishment of the memorial, the Commission may transfer any amounts 
remaining in the Fund, and title to and responsibility for future 
operation and maintenance of the memorial, to, at the option of the 
Commission--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) the National Park Service; or</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) another appropriate governmental agency or 
        other entity (such as a State or local government agency, or a 
        nonprofit corporation that applies to the Commission to take 
        title to the memorial) that is an organization described in 
        section 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are 
necessary to carry out this Act.</DELETED>

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Buffalo Soldiers commemoration Act 
of 2003''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF BUFFALO SOLDIERS MEMORIAL.

    (a) Authorization.--The American Battle Monuments Commission is 
authorized to establish a memorial to honor the Buffalo Soldiers in or 
around the City of New Orleans on land donated for such purpose or on 
Federal land with the consent of the appropriate land manager.
    (b) Contributions.--The Commission shall solicit and accept 
contributions for the construction and maintenance of the memorial.
    (c) Cooperative Agreements.--The Commission may enter into a 
cooperative agreement with a private or public entity for the purpose 
of fundraising for the construction and maintenance of the memorial.
    (d) Maintenance Agreement.--Prior to beginning construction of the 
memorial, the Commission shall enter into an agreement with an 
appropriate public or private entity to provide for the permanent 
maintenance of the memorial and shall have sufficient funds, or 
assurance that it will receive sufficient funds, to complete the 
memorial.

SEC. 3. BUFFALO SOLDIERS MEMORIAL ACCOUNT.

    (a) Establishment.--The Commission shall maintain an escrow account 
(``account'') to pay expenses incurred in constructing the memorial.
    (b) Deposits Into the Account.--The Commission shall deposit into 
the account any principal and interest by the United States that the 
Chairman determines has a suitable maturity.
    (c) Use of Account.--Amounts in the account, including proceeds of 
any investments, may be used to pay expenses incurred in establishing 
the memorial. After construction of the memorial amounts in the account 
shall be transferred by the Commission to the entity providing for 
permanent maintenance of the memorial under such terms and conditions 
as the Commission determines will ensure the proper use and accounting 
of the amounts.

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

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




                                                       Calendar No. 200

108th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                                 S. 499

                          [Report No. 108-92]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                             July 11, 2003

                       Reported with an amendment