[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6287 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
H.R.6287
One Hundred Fifteenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
the third day of January, two thousand and eighteen
An Act
To provide competitive grants for the operation, security, and
maintenance of certain memorials to victims of the terrorist attacks of
September 11, 2001.
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 ``9/11 Memorial Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Covered memorial.--The term ``covered memorial'' means a
memorial located in the United States established to commemorate
the events of, and honor the victims of, the terrorist attacks on
the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, at
the site of the attacks.
(2) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means the
official organization, as in existence on the date of enactment of
this Act--
(A) the focus of which is the operations and preservation
of a covered memorial; and
(B) which is an organization described in section 501(c)(3)
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation
under 501(a) of that Code.
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of
the Interior.
SEC. 3. COMPETITIVE GRANTS FOR COVERED MEMORIALS.
(a) In General.--Subject to the availability of appropriations, the
Secretary shall award to eligible entities competitive grants of
varying amounts, as determined by the Secretary, to be used by the
eligible entity solely for the purposes described in subsection (b).
(b) Purposes.--A grant awarded under subsection (a) shall be used
by an eligible entity for the operation, security, and maintenance of a
covered memorial.
(c) Deadline for Award.--If the Secretary, after review of an
application from an eligible entity, determines to award a grant to the
eligible entity, the Secretary shall award the grant not later than 60
days after the date of receipt of the completed application.
(d) Availability.--Grant funds made available under this section
shall remain available until expended.
(e) Criteria.--In awarding grants under this section, the Secretary
shall give greatest weight in the selection of eligible entities using
the following criteria:
(1) The needs of the eligible entity, and ability and
commitment of the eligible entity to use grant funds, with respect
to ensuring the security and safety of visitors of the covered
memorial.
(2) The ability of the eligible entity to match the amount of
the grant, on at least a 1-to-1 basis, with non-Federal assets from
non-Federal sources, including cash or durable goods and materials
fairly valued, as determined by the Secretary.
(3) The greatest number of visitors that would benefit.
(4) The ability and commitment of an eligible entity to use
grant funds--
(A) to preserve the grounds at the covered memorial; and
(B) to educate future generations.
(5) The ability and commitment of an eligible entity to use
grant funds to increase the numbers of economically disadvantaged
visitors to the covered memorial.
(f) Limitation.--No grant shall be awarded under this section--
(1) for use at a covered memorial that does not provide for--
(A) free admission to all facilities and museums associated
with the covered memorial for active and retired members of the
military, registered first responders to the attacks of
September 11, 2001, and family members of victims of the
attacks of September 11, 2001; and
(B) dedicated free admission hours for the general public
at least once a week; or
(2) to an eligible entity that does not allow for annual
Federal audits of the financial statements of the eligible entity,
including revenues associated with ticket sales, charitable
donations, grants, and all expenditures on salaries and operations,
which shall be subject to review by the Secretary and made
available to the public.
(g) Reports.--Not later than 90 days after the end of each calendar
year for which an eligible entity obligates or expends any amounts made
available under a grant under this section, the eligible entity shall
submit to the Secretary and the appropriate committees of Congress a
report that--
(1) specifies the amount of grant funds obligated or expended
for the preceding fiscal year;
(2) specifies any purposes for which the funds were obligated
or expended; and
(3) includes any other information that the Secretary may
require to more effectively administer the grant program under this
section.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.