[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3114 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.3114

                     One Hundred Fourteenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

           Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday,
           the fourth day of January, two thousand and sixteen


                                 An Act


 
  To provide funds to the Army Corps of Engineers to hire veterans and 
   members of the Armed Forces to assist the Corps with curation and 
        historic preservation activities, 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. FINDINGS.
    Congress finds the following:
        (1) The Corps of Engineers and other Federal agencies are 
    required to preserve and catalogue artifacts and other items of 
    national historical significance that are uncovered during the 
    course of their work (notably under part 79 of title 36, Code of 
    Federal Regulations).
        (2) Uncatalogued artifacts within the care of Federal agencies 
    are stored in hundreds of repositories and museums across the 
    Nation.
        (3) In October 2009, the Corps of Engineers, Center of 
    Expertise for the Curation and Management of Archaeological 
    Collections, initiated the Veterans' Curation Program to employ and 
    train Iraq and Afghanistan veterans in archaeological processing.
        (4) The Veterans' Curation Program employs veterans and members 
    of the Armed Forces in the sorting, cleaning, and cataloguing of 
    artifacts managed by the Corps of Engineers.
        (5) Employees of the Veterans' Curation Program gain valuable 
    work skills, including computer database management, records 
    management, photographic and scanning techniques, computer software 
    proficiency, vocabulary and writing skills, and interpersonal 
    communication skills, as well as knowledge and training in 
    archaeology and history.
        (6) Since 2009, a total of 241 veterans have participated in 
    the Veterans' Curation Program, including the current class of 38 
    participants. Of the 203 graduates of the program, 87 percent have 
    received permanent employment in a field related to training 
    received under the program or chosen to continue their education.
        (7) Experience in archaeological curation gained through the 
    Veterans' Curation Program is valuable training and experience for 
    the museum, forensics, administrative, records management, and 
    other fields.
        (8) Veterans' Curation Program participants may assist the 
    Corps of Engineers in developing a more efficient and comprehensive 
    collections management program and also may provide the workforce 
    to meet the records management needs at other agencies and 
    departments, including the Department of Veterans Affairs.
SEC. 2. TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT FOR VETERANS AND MEMBERS OF ARMED 
FORCES IN CURATION AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION.
    Using available funds, the Secretary of the Army, acting through 
the Chief of Engineers, shall carry out a Veterans' Curation Program to 
hire veterans and members of the Armed Forces to assist the Secretary 
in carrying out curation and historic preservation activities.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.