[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6947 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6947

   To establish within the Department of Veterans Affairs a Veterans 
            Affairs History Office, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 10, 2024

  Mr. Turner (for himself and Mr. Landsman) introduced the following 
     bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To establish within the Department of Veterans Affairs a Veterans 
            Affairs History Office, 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. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Veterans Affairs Centennial and 
Heritage Act of 2024''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) On January 19, 2017, Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
        Robert A. McDonald signed a Memorandum of Agreement that 
        established goals for the Department of Veterans Affairs and 
        regional leaders of Dayton, Ohio, to advance a history office 
        as a community partnership.
            (2) A report commissioned by the Department determined 
        that, ``a central History Office, properly staffed and 
        resourced, can become an essential ally for the Department's 
        senior staff at Headquarters and in the field.''.
            (3) The establishment of a History Office in the Department 
        pursuant to an executive memorandum of the Department, dated 
        April 10, 2020, is a vital contribution to honoring veterans 
        and improving the understanding of how they served the United 
        States.
            (4) Department of Veterans Affairs Directive 7777, titled 
        ``Implementation of the VA History Program'', was issued on 
        February 9, 2021, and established the policies, 
        responsibilities, and management directions for the Department 
        of Veterans Affairs History Program.
            (5) The centennial year of the Department is 2030 and such 
        year is a goal for establishing a robust program of ongoing 
        history outreach activities and permanent public exhibits 
        telling the story of the Department.

SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS HISTORY OFFICE.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 3 of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 325. History Office
    ``(a) Establishment.--
            ``(1) In general.--There is established within the 
        Department an office comprising a history program and a 
        national history center.
            ``(2) Designation.--The office established by paragraph (1) 
        shall be known as the `Department of Veterans Affairs History 
        Office' (in this section the `Office').
    ``(b) Purposes.--The purposes of the Office are--
            ``(1) to collect, preserve, and provide access to relevant 
        historical records, artifacts, and cultural resources of the 
        Department (including those of its predecessor organizations); 
        and
            ``(2) to tell a comprehensive story of the Department and 
        its predecessor organizations to veterans, government agencies, 
        and the public.
    ``(c) Chief Historian and Staff.--The Office shall be led by the 
Chief Historian of the Department of Veterans Affairs (in this section 
referred to as the `Chief Historian') who may be assisted by such 
professional and administrative staff as the Secretary considers 
necessary to carry out the purposes of the Office under subsection (b) 
and the requirements set forth under subsection (d).
    ``(d) Requirements.--The Office shall--
            ``(1) carry out the activities set forth in Department 
        Directive 7777 (relating to implementation of a Department 
        history program), or successor directive;
            ``(2) assist with planning appropriate history-related 
        events leading up to the centennial of the Department in 2030 
        (in this section referred to as the `Centennial') and in events 
        after the Centennial as the Chief Historian considers 
        appropriate in the context of the purposes of the Office set 
        forth under subsection (b);
            ``(3) carry out public activities and educational 
        opportunities, including print and web-based publications and 
        exhibits, that increase awareness of the contributions of the 
        Department in supporting veterans;
            ``(4) construct, renovate, repair, operate, and maintain 
        new or existing Department facilities used for--
                    ``(A) preservation, restoration, and public access 
                to Department historic materials, archives, and 
                artifacts;
                    ``(B) training on the preservation of historic 
                materials, archives, and artifacts; or
                    ``(C) education relating to the history of the 
                Department and its predecessor organizations;
            ``(5) maintain facilities for access to, and storage of, 
        historic materials, artifacts, and archives, compliant with 
        recognized specifications for such facilities, which may 
        include storage, conference, and public exhibit space; and
            ``(6) conduct education and training on the preservation of 
        historical materials, archival management, digitization, 
        restoration, historical research, and related subjects to 
        assist the Department.
    ``(e) Gifts and Bequests.--
            ``(1) Authority to accept.--The Secretary may accept, hold, 
        administer, and spend any gift, devise, or bequest of real 
        property, personal property, or money made on the condition 
        that the gift, devise, or bequest be used for the benefit, or 
        in connection with, the purposes and activities of the Office, 
        including a gift, devise, or bequest of an improvement made 
        pursuant to subsection (f)(3).
            ``(2) Disposition of property.--The Secretary may authorize 
        the sale of donated property received under paragraph (1). A 
        sale under this paragraph need not be conducted in accordance 
        with disposal requirements that would otherwise apply, so long 
        as the sale is conducted at arms-length and includes an 
        auditable transaction record.
            ``(3) Use of money and proceeds.--Any money received under 
        paragraph (1) and any proceeds from the sale of property under 
        paragraph (2) shall be deposited into a fund established in the 
        Treasury to support the purposes and activities of the Office.
    ``(f) Partnerships, Cooperative Agreements, and Lease Authority.--
            ``(1) Partnerships.--The Secretary may enter into a 
        partnership or cooperative agreement with an organization to 
        support the purposes set forth in subsection (b).
            ``(2) Lease authority.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary may lease portions 
                of any real property or facility of the Office to a 
                nonprofit organization for use in generating revenue 
                for the support of activities of the Office and for 
                such administrative purposes as may be necessary for 
                support of the Office.
                    ``(B) Rent.--Any rent received by the Secretary 
                under a lease under subparagraph (A), including rent-
                in-kind, shall be used solely to cover or defray the 
                costs of carrying out subsection (b) or (d).
            ``(3) Improvements.--The Secretary may permit a nonprofit 
        organization to make improvements to real property or a 
        facility of the Office for the construction of a multipurpose 
        facility to be used for historical displays for public viewing, 
        curation, and storage of artifacts, research facilities, 
        classrooms, offices, and associated activities consistent with 
        the mission of the Office.
    ``(g) Internal Coordination Group.--
            ``(1) Establishment.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Not later than 180 days after 
                the date of the enactment of the Veterans Affairs 
                Centennial and Heritage Act of 2024, the Secretary 
                shall establish an internal coordinating group (in this 
                subsection the `Group') to assist the Office in 
                carrying out the purposes under subsection (b) and the 
                requirements of subsection (d) by advising the Office 
                on matters relating to operations of the Office, which 
                may include advising on matters relating to the 
                provisions of continuity and resourcing for the 
                Centennial or for development of the history program or 
                the history center described in subsection (a).
                    ``(B) Procedures and charter.--The Group shall 
                operate in accordance with such procedures as the 
                Secretary may establish and in accordance with a 
                charter the Secretary shall establish for the Group.
            ``(2) Composition.--The Group shall be composed of the 
        following:
                    ``(A) The Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
                    ``(B) The Assistant Secretary for Management and 
                Chief Financial Officer, or designee.
                    ``(C) The Chief Historian.
                    ``(D) A senior employee selected by the Secretary 
                from each of the following:
                            ``(i) The Veterans Experience Office.
                            ``(ii) The Office of Congressional and 
                        Legislative Affairs.
                            ``(iii) The Office of Acquisition Logistics 
                        and Construction.
                            ``(iv) The Office of the General Counsel.
                            ``(v) The Veterans Health Administration.
                            ``(vi) The Veterans Benefits 
                        Administration.
                            ``(vii) The National Cemetery 
                        Administration.
                    ``(E) Such other officers and employees of the 
                Department as the Secretary considers appropriate.
            ``(3) Chairperson.--The chairperson of the Group shall be 
        the Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
    ``(h) Nonconflict.--This section shall not be construed to affect 
the authority of the Archivist of the United States for management of 
permanent records of the Department.
    ``(i) Definition of Nonprofit Organization.--In this section, the 
term `nonprofit organization means' an organization described in 
section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from 
taxation under section 501(a) of that Code.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
chapter 3 of such title is amended by adding at the end the following 
new item:

``325. History Office.''.

SEC. 4. REPORTS.

    (a) Long-Range Planning.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 
submit to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the 
Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives a report 
on proposed activities of the Department of Veterans Affairs History 
Office established pursuant to section 325(a) of title 38, United 
States Code, as added by section 3, leading up to the centennial 
described in subsection (d)(2) of such section 325.
    (b) Contents.--The report submitted pursuant to subsection (a) 
shall include plans for the following:
            (1) Staffing and budget.
            (2) Organization charts pertaining to the current staff and 
        location of the History Office within the Department.
            (3) Construction and renovation of facilities supporting 
        the History Office, including the National Department of 
        Veterans Affairs History Center.
            (4) Public activities to mark the centennial described in 
        subsection (a).
            (5) Such recommendations for legislative or administrative 
        action as the Secretary may have with respect to the History 
        Office and the centennial described in subsection (a).
    (c) Annual Progress Reports.--Not later than one year after the 
date on which the Secretary submits the report required by subsection 
(a) pursuant to such subsection and not less frequently than once each 
year thereafter until December 31, 2030, the Chief Historian of the 
Department of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the committees described 
in such subsection a report on the progress of the History Office.
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