[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3114 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3114

 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.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 20, 2015

    Mrs. Napolitano (for herself and Mr. Rodney Davis of Illinois) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                   Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 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.

    (a) Training and Employment.--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.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriation.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section--
            (1) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2016;
            (2) $6,000,000 for fiscal year 2017;
            (3) $7,000,000 for fiscal year 2018;
            (4) $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2019; and
            (5) $9,000,000 for fiscal year 2020.
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