[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2501 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2501

To establish the Rocky Mountain Science Collections Center to assist in 
    preserving the archeological, anthropological, paleontological, 
 zoological, and geological artifacts and archival documentation from 
   the Rocky Mountain region through the construction of an on-site, 
 secure collections facility for the Denver Museum of Nature & Science 
                          in Denver, Colorado.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 24, 2007

 Ms. DeGette (for herself, Mr. Udall of Colorado, Mr. Salazar, and Mr. 
 Perlmutter) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish the Rocky Mountain Science Collections Center to assist in 
    preserving the archeological, anthropological, paleontological, 
 zoological, and geological artifacts and archival documentation from 
   the Rocky Mountain region through the construction of an on-site, 
 secure collections facility for the Denver Museum of Nature & Science 
                          in Denver, Colorado.

    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 ``Rocky Mountain Science Collections 
Center Act of 2007''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the collection of the Denver Museum of Nature & Science 
        in Denver, Colorado, includes more than 1,000,000 
        anthropological, archeological, paleontological, zoological, 
        and geological artifacts and supporting archival documentation;
            (2) the collection of items housed by the Museum includes 
        artifacts from land managed by--
                    (A) the Bureau of Land Management;
                    (B) the Bureau of Reclamation;
                    (C) the National Park Service;
                    (D) the United States Fish and Wildlife Service;
                    (E) the Forest Service; and
                    (F) the Corps of Engineers;
            (3) a significant portion of the collections of the Museum 
        were recovered from public land managed by the Federal 
        Government;
            (4) the Museum has been designated as the repository for 
        those collections by Federal agencies;
            (5) less than 2 percent of those collections are accessible 
        to the public through electronic or physical mediums; and
            (6) the Museum is among the largest facilities in the 
        western region of the United States and attracts more than 
        1,200,000 participants to the programs of the Museum each year 
        from all States and territories.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Museum.--The term ``Museum'' means the Denver Museum of 
        Nature & Science in Denver, Colorado.
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.

SEC. 4. GRANT FOR THE MUSEUM.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary may provide a grant to the Museum to 
pay the Federal share of the cost of--
            (1) constructing 1 or more on-site collection facilities 
        that meet the standards of the Museum; and
            (2) obtaining goods and services required by the Museum, 
        including the acquisition of--
                    (A) designs;
                    (B) plans;
                    (C) furnishings;
                    (D) equipment; and
                    (E) other support for the Museum.
    (b) Application.--To receive assistance under subsection (a), the 
Museum shall submit to the Secretary an application in such time, in 
such manner, and containing such additional information as the 
Secretary may require.
    (c) Matching Funds.--
            (1) In general.--As a condition of receiving assistance 
        under subsection (a), the Museum shall match any amounts 
        provided to the Museum under this Act.
            (2) Forms of payment.--To meet the matching requirement 
        described in paragraph (1), the Museum may provide to the 
        Secretary--
                    (A) cash;
                    (B) in-kind donations; and
                    (C) services.
    (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this Act $15,000,000, to 
remain available until expended.
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