[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2144 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2144

   To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to 
determine the suitability and feasibility of designating the Soldiers' 
 Memorial Military Museum located in St. Louis, Missouri, as a unit of 
                       the National Park System.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           December 19, 2005

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to 
determine the suitability and feasibility of designating the Soldiers' 
 Memorial Military Museum located in St. Louis, Missouri, as a unit of 
                       the National Park System.

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

SECTION 1. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE STUDY REGARDING THE SOLDIERS' MEMORIAL 
              MILITARY MUSEUM.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) the Soldiers' Memorial is a tribute to all veterans 
        located in the greater St. Louis area, including Southern 
        Illinois;
            (2) the current annual budget for the memorial is $185,000 
        and is paid for exclusively by the City of St. Louis;
            (3) in 1923, the City of St. Louis voted to spend 
        $6,000,000 to purchase a memorial plaza and building dedicated 
        to citizens of St. Louis who lost their lives in World War I;
            (4) the purchase of the 7-block site exhausted the funds 
        and no money remained to construct a monument;
            (5) in 1933, Mayor Bernard F. Dickmann appealed to citizens 
        and the city government to raise $1,000,000 to construct a 
        memorial building and general improvement of the plaza area, 
        and the construction of Soldiers' Memorial began on October 21, 
        1935;
            (6) on October 14, 1936, President Franklin D. Roosevelt 
        officially dedicated the site; and
            (7) on Memorial Day in 1938, Mayor Dickmann opened the 
        building to the public.
    (b) Study.--The Secretary of the Interior shall carry out a study 
to determine the suitability and feasibility of designating the 
Soldiers' Memorial Military Museum, located at 1315 Chestnut, St. 
Louis, Missouri, as a unit of the National Park System.
    (c) Study Process and Completion.--Section 8(c) of Public Law 91-
383 (16 U.S.C. 1a-5(c)) shall apply to the conduct and completion of 
the study under this section.
    (d) Report.--The Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy 
and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Resources of 
the House of Representatives a report describing the results the study 
under this section.
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