[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3477 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3477

    To amend title 44, United States Code, to authorize grants for 
             Presidential Centers of Historical Excellence.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 11, 2008

 Mr. Warner (for himself and Mr. Webb) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 
                        and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend title 44, United States Code, to authorize grants for 
             Presidential Centers of Historical Excellence.

    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 ``Presidential Historical Records 
Preservation Act of 2008''.

SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM.

    Section 2504 of title 44, United States Code, is amended by--
            (1) redesignating subsection (f) as subsection (g);
            (2) amending subsection (g)(1) (as so redesignated by 
        paragraph (1))--
                    (A) in subparagraph (R), by striking ``and'';
                    (B) in subparagraph (S), by striking the period and 
                inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(T) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2010.''; and
            (3) inserting after subsection (e), the following:
    ``(f) Grants for Presidential Centers of Historical Excellence.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Archivist, with the recommendation 
        of the Commission, shall make grants, on a competitive basis 
        and in accordance with this subsection, to eligible entities to 
        promote the historical preservation of, and public access to, 
        historical records and documents relating to any President who 
        does not have a Presidential archival depository currently 
        managed and maintained by the Federal Government pursuant to 
        section 2112 (commonly known as the `Presidential Libraries Act 
        of 1955').
            ``(2) Eligible entity.--For purposes of this subsection, an 
        eligible entity is--
                    ``(A) an organization described under section 
                501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and 
                exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of that Code; 
                or
                    ``(B) a State or local government of the United 
                States.
            ``(3) Use of funds.--Amounts received by an eligible entity 
        under paragraph (1) shall be used to promote the historical 
        preservation of, and public access to, historical records or 
        historical documents relating to any President covered under 
        paragraph (1).
            ``(4) Prohibition on use of funds.--Amounts received by an 
        eligible entity under paragraph (1) may not be used for the 
        maintenance, operating costs, or construction of any facility 
        to house the historical records or historical documents 
        relating to any President covered under paragraph (1).
            ``(5) Application.--
                    ``(A) In general.--An eligible entity seeking a 
                grant under this subsection shall submit to the 
                Commission an application at such time, in such manner, 
                and containing or accompanied by such information as 
                the Commission may require, including a description of 
                the activities for which a grant under this subsection 
                is sought.
                    ``(B) Approval of application.--The Commission 
                shall not consider or recommend a grant application 
                submitted under subparagraph (A) unless an eligible 
                entity establishes that such entity--
                            ``(i) possesses, with respect to any 
                        President covered under paragraph (1), 
                        historical works and collections of historical 
                        sources that the Commission considers 
                        appropriate for preserving, publishing, or 
                        otherwise recording at the public expense;
                            ``(ii) has appropriate facilities and space 
                        for preservation of, and public access to, the 
                        historical works and collections of historical 
                        sources;
                            ``(iii) shall ensure preservation of, and 
                        public access to, such historical works and 
                        collections of historical sources at no charge 
                        to the public;
                            ``(iv) has educational programs that make 
                        the use of such documents part of the mission 
                        of such entity;
                            ``(v) has raised funds from non-Federal 
                        sources in support of the efforts of the entity 
                        to promote the historical preservation of, and 
                        public access to, such historical works and 
                        collections of historical sources in an amount 
                        equal to the amount of the grant the entity 
                        seeks under this subsection;
                            ``(vi) shall coordinate with any relevant 
                        Federal program or activity, including programs 
                        and activities relating to Presidential 
                        archival depositories;
                            ``(vii) shall coordinate with any relevant 
                        non-Federal program or activity, including 
                        programs and activities conducted by State and 
                        local governments and private educational 
                        historical entities; and
                            ``(viii) has a workable plan for preserving 
                        and providing public access to such historical 
                        works and collections of historical sources.''.
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