[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2989 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.2989

                     One Hundred Fifteenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE FIRST SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
          the third day of January, two thousand and seventeen


                                 An Act


 
       To establish the Frederick Douglass Bicentennial Commission

    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 ``Frederick Douglass Bicentennial 
Commission Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
    Congress makes the following findings:
        (1) Born into slavery on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in 1818 
    and given the name Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey after his 
    mother Harriet Bailey, Frederick Douglass has been called the 
    father of the civil rights movement.
        (2) Douglass rose through determination, brilliance, and 
    eloquence to shape the American Nation. He was an abolitionist, 
    human rights and women's rights activist, orator, author, 
    journalist, publisher, and social reformer.
        (3) Taught basic reading skills by his mistress until she was 
    forced to stop, Douglass continued to teach himself to read and 
    write and taught other slaves to read despite risks including 
    death.
        (4) During the course of his remarkable life Frederick Douglass 
    escaped from slavery, became internationally renowned for his 
    eloquence in the cause of liberty, and went on to serve the 
    national government in several official capacities.
        (5) Forced to leave the country to avoid arrest as an escaped 
    slave, he returned to become a staunch advocate of the Union cause 
    and helped recruit African-American troops for the Union Army, 
    including two of his sons, Charles and Lewis Douglass. His personal 
    relationship with Abraham Lincoln helped persuade the President to 
    make emancipation a cause of the Civil War.
        (6) With the abolition of slavery at the close of the Civil 
    War, Douglass then turned his attention to the full integration of 
    African-Americans into the political and economic life of the 
    United States. Committed to freedom, Douglass dedicated his life to 
    achieving justice for all Americans, in particular African-
    Americans, women, and minority groups. He envisioned America as an 
    inclusive Nation strengthened by diversity and free of 
    discrimination.
        (7) Douglass served as an advisor to Presidents. Abraham 
    Lincoln referred to him as the most meritorious man of the 
    nineteenth century. Douglass was appointed to several offices. He 
    served as the United States Marshal of the District of Columbia 
    under Rutherford B. Hayes' administration; President James Garfield 
    appointed Douglass the District of Columbia Recorder of Deeds. In 
    1889, President Benjamin Harrison appointed Frederick Douglass to 
    be the United States minister to Haiti. He was also appointed by 
    President Grant to serve as Assistant Secretary of the Commission 
    of Inquiry to Santo Domingo.
        (8) Douglass lived in the District of Columbia for 23 of his 57 
    years as a free man, and in recognition of his leadership and 
    continuous fight for justice and freedom, his home, Cedar Hill, was 
    established as a National Historic Site in Anacostia, in Southeast 
    Washington, DC.
        (9) The statue of Frederick Douglass in the United States 
    Capitol is a gift from the almost 700,000 residents of the District 
    of Columbia.
        (10) All Americans could benefit from studying the life of 
    Frederick Douglass, for Douglass dedicated his own life to ensuring 
    freedom and equality for future generations of Americans. This 
    Nation should ensure that his tireless struggle, transformative 
    words, and inclusive vision of humanity continue to inspire and 
    sustain us.
        (11) The year 2018 marks the bicentennial anniversary of the 
    birth of Frederick Douglass, and a commission should be established 
    to plan, develop, and carry out, and to recommend to Congress, 
    programs and activities that are fitting and proper to celebrate 
    that anniversary in a manner that appropriately honors Frederick 
    Douglass.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT.
    There is established a commission to be known as the Frederick 
Douglass Bicentennial Commission (referred to in this Act as the 
``Commission'').
SEC. 4. DUTIES.
    The Commission shall have the following duties:
        (1) To plan, develop, and carry out programs and activities 
    that are fitting and proper to honor Frederick Douglass on the 
    occasion of the bicentennial anniversary of Douglass' birth.
        (2) To recommend to Congress programs and activities that the 
    Commission considers fitting and proper to honor Frederick Douglass 
    on such occasion, and the entity or entities in the Federal 
    Government that the Commission considers most appropriate to carry 
    out such programs and activities.
SEC. 5. MEMBERSHIP.
    (a) Number and Appointment.--The Commission shall be composed of 16 
members appointed as follows:
        (1) Two members, each of whom shall be a qualified citizen 
    described in subsection (b), appointed by the President.
        (2) One member, who shall be a qualified citizen described in 
    subsection (b), appointed by the President on the recommendation of 
    the Governor of Maryland.
        (3) One member, who shall be a qualified citizen described in 
    subsection (b), appointed by the President on the recommendation of 
    the Governor of Massachusetts.
        (4) One member, who shall be a qualified citizen described in 
    subsection (b), appointed by the President on the recommendation of 
    the Governor of New York.
        (5) One member, who shall be a qualified citizen described in 
    subsection (b), appointed by the President on the recommendation of 
    the Mayor of the District of Columbia.
        (6) Three members, at least one of whom shall be a Member of 
    the House of Representatives, appointed by the Speaker of the House 
    of Representatives.
        (7) Three members, at least one of whom shall be a Senator, 
    appointed by the majority leader of the Senate.
        (8) Two members, at least one of whom shall be a Member of the 
    House of Representatives, appointed by the minority leader of the 
    House of Representatives.
        (9) Two members, at least one of whom shall be a Senator, 
    appointed by the minority leader of the Senate.
    (b) Qualified Citizen.--A qualified citizen described in this 
subsection is a private citizen of the United States with--
        (1) a demonstrated dedication to educating others about the 
    importance of historical figures and events; and
        (2) substantial knowledge and appreciation of Frederick 
    Douglass.
    (c) Time of Appointment.--Each initial appointment of a member of 
the Commission shall be made before the expiration of the 60-day period 
beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (d) Continuation of Membership.--If a member of the Commission was 
appointed to the Commission as a Member of Congress, and ceases to be a 
Member of Congress, that member may continue to serve on the Commission 
for not longer than the 30-day period beginning on the date that member 
ceases to be a Member of Congress.
    (e) Terms.--Each member shall be appointed for the life of the 
Commission.
    (f) Vacancies.--A vacancy in the Commission shall not affect the 
powers of the Commission but shall be filled in the manner in which the 
original appointment was made.
    (g) Basic Pay.--Members shall serve on the Commission without pay.
    (h) Travel Expenses.--Each member shall receive travel expenses, 
including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with sections 
5702 and 5703 of title 5, United States Code.
    (i) Quorum.--Six members of the Commission shall constitute a 
quorum but a lesser number may hold hearings.
    (j) Chair.--The Commission shall select a Chair from among the 
members of the Commission.
    (k) Meetings.--The Commission shall meet at the call of the Chair. 
Periodically, the Commission shall hold a meeting in Rochester, New 
York.
SEC. 6. DIRECTOR AND STAFF.
    (a) Director.--The Commission may appoint and fix the pay of a 
Director and such additional personnel as the Commission considers to 
be appropriate.
    (b) Applicability of Certain Civil Service Laws.--
        (1) Director.--The Director of the Commission may be appointed 
    without regard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, 
    governing appointments in the competitive service, and may be paid 
    without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III 
    of chapter 53 of that title relating to classification and General 
    Schedule pay rates.
        (2) Staff.--The staff of the Commission shall be appointed 
    subject to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing 
    appointments in the competitive service, and shall be paid in 
    accordance with the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of 
    chapter 53 of that title relating to classification and General 
    Schedule pay rates.
SEC. 7. POWERS.
    (a) Hearings and Sessions.--The Commission may, for the purpose of 
carrying out this Act, hold such hearings, sit and act at such times 
and places, take such testimony, and receive such evidence as the 
Commission considers to be appropriate.
    (b) Powers of Members and Agents.--Any member or agent of the 
Commission may, if authorized by the Commission, take any action that 
the Commission is authorized to take by this Act.
    (c) Obtaining Official Data.--The Commission may secure directly 
from any department or agency of the United States information 
necessary to enable the Commission to carry out this Act. Upon request 
of the Chair of the Commission, the head of that department or agency 
shall furnish that information to the Commission.
    (d) Mails.--The Commission may use the United States mails in the 
same manner and under the same conditions as other departments and 
agencies of the United States.
    (e) Administrative Support Services.--Upon the request of the 
Commission, the Administrator of General Services shall provide to the 
Commission, on a reimbursable basis, the administrative support 
services necessary for the Commission to carry out its responsibilities 
under this Act.
    (f) Gifts.--The Commission may solicit, accept, use, and dispose of 
gifts, bequests, or devises of money or other property for the purpose 
of carrying out its duties.
    (g) Volunteer and Uncompensated Services.--Notwithstanding section 
1342 of title 31, United States Code, the Commission may accept and use 
voluntary and uncompensated services as the Commission determines 
necessary.
SEC. 8. REPORTS.
    (a) Initial Report.--Not later than August 1, 2018, the Commission 
shall submit to Congress an initial report containing its 
recommendations under section 4(2).
    (b) Final Report.--Not later than June 1, 2019, the Commission 
shall submit a final report to Congress, and shall include in the final 
report--
        (1) a summary of its activities and programs;
        (2) a final accounting of the funds the Commission received and 
    expended; and
        (3) any other information that the Commission considers to be 
    appropriate.
SEC. 9. TERMINATION.
    The Commission shall terminate 30 days after submitting the final 
report pursuant to section 8(b).
  SEC. 10. NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED.
    No Federal funds are authorized or may be obligated to carry out 
this Act.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

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