[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2553 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

  1st Session
                                H. R. 2553


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                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 15, 2007

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
To amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to provide 
    for the establishment and maintenance of existing libraries and 
 resource centers at United States diplomatic and consular missions to 
 provide information about American culture, society, and history, and 
                          for other purposes.

    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 at the ``Public Diplomacy Resource Centers 
Act of 2007''.

SEC. 2. UNITED STATES PUBLIC DIPLOMACY.

    (a) Establishment and Maintenance of Libraries.--Section 1(b)(3) of 
the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 
2651a(b)(3)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (D), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in subparagraph (E), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(F) provide for the establishment of new and the 
                maintenance of existing libraries and resource centers 
                at or in connection with United States diplomatic and 
                consular missions.''.
    (b) Operation of Libraries.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of State shall ensure that 
        libraries and resource centers established and maintained in 
        accordance with subparagraph (F) of section 1(b)(3) of the 
        State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (as added by 
        section 2(a)(3) of this Act) are open to the general public to 
        the greatest extent practicable, subject to policies and 
        procedures established by the Secretary to ensure the safety 
        and security of United States diplomatic and consular missions 
        and of United States officers, employees, and personnel posted 
        at such missions at which such libraries are located.
            (2) Johnny grant film series.--The Secretary of State shall 
        ensure that such libraries and resource centers schedule public 
        showings of American films that showcase American culture, 
        society, values, and history. Such public showings shall be 
        known as the ``Johnny Grant Film Series''.
    (c) Receipt of Donations.--The Secretary of State may accept 
donations that are made to the libraries and resource centers 
authorized under this Act if the Secretary determines that such receipt 
will not result in any cost to the Federal Government.
    (d) Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy.--The Advisory 
Commission on Public Diplomacy (authorized under section 1334 of the 
Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6553)) 
shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a 
report containing and evaluation of the functions and effectiveness of 
the libraries and resource centers that are authorized under this Act.
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--In addition to amounts that 
are otherwise authorized to be appropriated to the Department of State 
to carry out purposes similar to those required under this Act, there 
are authorized to the Secretary of State such sums as may be necessary 
to carry out this Act.

            Passed the House of Representatives October 9, 2007.

            Attest:

                                            LORRAINE C. MILLER,

                                                                 Clerk.