[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 135 (Thursday, September 26, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11431-S11434]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. AKAKA:
  S. 2133. A bill to authorize the establishment of the Center for 
American Cultural Heritage within the National Museum of American 
History of the Smithsonian Institution, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on Rules and Administration.


             the center for american cultural heritage act

 Mr. AKAKA.
  Mr. President, this year marks the 150th anniversary of the founding 
of the Smithsonian Institution, our premier educational institution 
dedicated to the ``increase and diffusion of knowledge among men.'' To 
mark this important anniversary, I am today introducing legislation to 
expand the scope of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American 
History to include a new entity, the Center for American Cultural 
Heritage.
  The Center for American Cultural Heritage would be dedicated to 
presenting one of the most significant experiences in American history, 
the complex movement of people, ideas, and cultures across boundaries--
whether voluntary or involuntary, internal or external--that resulted 
in the peopling of America and the development of a unique, pluralist 
society. In large measure, this experience defines who we are as 
individuals and ultimately binds us together as a nation.
  Under my bill, the Center would serve as:
  A location for permanent and temporary exhibits and programs 
depicting the history of America's diverse peoples and their 
interactions with each other. The exhibits would form a unified 
narrative of the historical processes by which the United States was 
developed.
  A center for research and scholarship to ensure that future 
generations of scholars will have access to resources necessary for 
telling the story of American pluralism.
  A repository for the collection of relevant artifacts, artworks, and 
documents to be preserved, studied, and interpreted.
  A venue for integrated public education programs, including lectures, 
films, and seminars, based on the Center's collections and research.
  A location for a standardized index of resources within the 
Smithsonian dealing with the heritages of all Americans. The 
Smithsonian holds millions of artifacts which have not been identified 
or classified for this purpose.
  A clearinghouse for information on ethnic documents, artifacts, and 
artworks that may be available through non-Smithsonian sources, such as 
other federal agencies, museums, academic institutions, individuals, or 
foreign entities.
  A folklife center highlighting the cultural expressions of the 
peoples of the United States. The current Smithsonian Center for 
Folklife Programs and Cultural Studies, which already performs this 
function, could be integrated with the Center.
  A center to promote mutual understanding and tolerance. The Center 
would facilitate programs designed to encourage greater understanding 
of, and respect for, each of America's diverse ethnic and cultural 
heritages. The Center would also disseminate techniques of conflict 
resolution currently being developed by social scientists.
  An oral history center developed through interviews with volunteers 
and visitors. The Center would also serve as an oral history repository 
and a clearinghouse for oral histories held by other institutions.
  A user-friendly visitor center providing individually tailored 
orientation guides to Smithsonian visitors. Visitors would use the 
Center as an initial

[[Page S11432]]

orientation phase for ethnically or culturally related artifacts, 
artworks, or information that can be found throughout the Smithsonian.
  A location for training museum professionals in museum practices 
relating to the life, history, art, and culture of the peoples of the 
United States. The Center would sponsor training programs for 
professionals or students involved in teaching, researching, and 
interpreting the heritages of America's peoples.
  A location for testing and evaluating new museum-related technologies 
that could facilitate the operation of the Center. The Center could 
serve as a test bed for cutting-edge technologies that could later be 
used by other museums.
  My legislation also calls for the Center to be organized as an arm of 
the National Museum of American History, not as a free-standing entity, 
with the director of the Center reporting to the director of the 
National Museum. In other words, the Center represents an expansion of 
an existing Smithsonian entity, National Museum, as opposed to the 
establishment of a new museum. My bill also stipulates that the Center 
be located in new or existing Smithsonian facilities on or near the 
National Mall. Finally, my bill establishes an Advisory Committee on 
American Cultural Heritage to provide guidance on the operation and 
direction of the proposed Center.
  Mr. President, aside from the original Americans who have lived here 
for thousands of years, Americans are travellers from other lands. From 
the most recent immigrants from Southeast Asia to the first Europeans 
who came as explorers and conquerors, from the Africans who were 
forcibly brought over as slaves to the Mexicans of Nuevo Mexico and the 
French of the Louisiana Territory who, through treaty or land purchase 
or conquest were brought into the American fold through a change in 
political boundaries--all were once visitors to this great country.
  America is thus defined by the movement of its peoples, both 
internally and externally. This complex journey has shaped our national 
character and determined who we are as a nation. The grand progress to 
and across the American landscape, via exploration, the slave trade, 
traditional immigration, or internal migration, gave rise to the 
interactions that make the American experience unique in history.
  So much of who we are is bound to the cultures and traditions that 
our forebears brought from other shores, as well as by the new 
traditions and cultures that were created on arrival. Whether we 
settled in the agrarian West or the industrialized North, whether we 
lived in the small towns of the Midwest or the genteel cities of the 
South, we inevitably formed relationships with peoples of other 
backgrounds and cultures. It is therefore impossible to comprehend our 
joint heritage as Americans unless we know the history of our various 
American cultures, as they were brought over from other lands and as 
they were transformed by encounters with other cultures in America. As 
one eminent cultural scholar has noted:

       How can one learn about slavery, holocausts, immigration, 
     ecological adaptation or ways of seeing the world without 
     some type of comparative perspective, without some type of 
     relationship between cultures and peoples. How can we 
     understand the history of any one cultural group--for 
     example, the Irish--without reference to other groups--for 
     example, the British. How can we understand African American 
     culture without placing it in some relationship to its 
     diverse African cultural roots, the creolized cultures of the 
     Caribbean, the Native American bases of Maroon and Black 
     Seminole cultures, the religious, economic and linguistic 
     cultures of the colonial Spanish in Columbia, the French in 
     Haiti, the Dutch in Suriname, and the English in the United 
     States?

  The purpose of the Center for American Cultural Heritage is to 
explore the intercultural and interethnic dialogue of the American 
people, specifically by exploring our fundamental common experience, 
the process by which this land was peopled. This manifold experience is 
central to our appreciation of ourselves as individuals, as 
representatives of particular ethnic, racial, religious, or regional 
groups, and ultimately, as citizens of the United States. Understanding 
the peopling of America process is key to a fuller comprehension of our 
relationships with each other--past, present, and future.
  Mr. President, it is strange and remarkable that the Smithsonian, our 
leading national educational institution, has never properly devoted 
itself to presenting this central experience in our history. Aside from 
occasional, temporary exhibits on a specific immigration or migration 
subject, such as the National Museum's current exhibit on the northern 
migration of African Americans, none of the Smithsonian's many museums 
and facilities has taken it upon itself to examine any aspect of the 
peopling of America phenomenon, much less offered a global review of 
the subject.
  In part, this derives from the fact that the Smithsonian, for all its 
reputation as world-class research and educational organization, 
remains an institution rooted in 19th century intellectual taxonomy. 
For example, during the early years of the Smithsonian, the cultures of 
Northern and Western European Americans were originally represented at 
the Museum of Science and Industry, which eventually became the 
National Museum of American History. However, African Americans, Asian 
Americans, Native Americans, and others were treated 
``ethnographically'' as part of the National Museum of Natural History. 
This artificial bifurcation of our cultural patrimonies is still in 
place today. Consequently, the collections of various ethnic and 
cultural groups have been fragmented among various Smithsonian 
entities, making it difficult to view these groups in relation to each 
other or as part of a larger whole.
  Mr. President, the establishment of a Smithsonian Center of American 
Cultural Heritage is long overdue. The saga of the peopling of America 
deserves a national venue, a place where all Americans, regardless of 
ethnic origin, can come to discover and celebrate their many-branched 
roots. The Smithsonian, with its unequalled stature, reputation, 
resources, and, of course, location in the Nation's Capital, is the 
only institution capable of telling this magnificent story, one that 
transformed us from strangers from many different shores into neighbors 
unified in our inimitable diversity--Americans all.
  Mr. President, in May 1995, the Commission on the Future of the 
Smithsonian Institution, a blue ribbon panel charged with pondering the 
future of the 150-year-old institution, issued its final report. In its 
preface, the Commission noted:

       The Smithsonian Institution is the principal repository of 
     the nation's collective memory and the nation's largest 
     public cultural space. It is dedicated to preserving, 
     understanding, and displaying the land we inhabit and the 
     diversity and depth of American civilization in all its 
     timbres and color. It holds in common for all Americans that 
     set of beliefs--in the form of artifacts--about our past 
     that, taken together, comprise our collective history and 
     symbolize the ideals to which we aspire as a polity. The 
     Smithsonian--with its 140 million objects, 16 museums and 
     galleries, the national Zoo, and 29 million annual visits--
     has been, for a century and a half, a place of wonder, a 
     magical place where Americans are reminded of how much we 
     have in common.
       The story of America is the story of a plural nation. As 
     epitomized by our nation's motto, America is a composite of 
     peoples. Our vast country was inhabited by various 
     cultures long before the Pilgrims arrived. Slaves and 
     immigrants built a new nation from ``sea to shining sea,'' 
     across mountains, plains, deserts and great rivers, all 
     rich in diverse climates, animals, and plants. One of the 
     Smithsonian's essential tasks is to make the history of 
     our country come alive for each new generation of American 
     children.
       We cannot even imagine an ``American'' culture that is not 
     multiple in its roots and in its branches. In a world 
     fissured by differences of ethnicity and religion, we must 
     all learn to live without the age-old dream of purity--
     whether of bloodlines or cultural inheritance--and learn to 
     find comfort, solace, and even fulfillment in the rough magic 
     of the cultural mix. And it is the challenge to preserve and 
     embody that marvelous mix--the multi-various mosaic that is 
     our history, culture, land, and the people who have made it--
     that the Smithsonian Institution, on the eve of the twenty-
     first century, must rededicate itself.

  Mr. President, what more appropriate or compelling argument in favor 
of a Center for American Cultural Heritage can be found than in these 
words? What initiative other than the Center for American Cultural 
Heritage would more directly address the Smithsonian's role in 
presenting ``the diversity and depth of American civilizations in all 
its timbres and color,'' or

[[Page S11433]]

making ``the history of our country come alive for each new generation 
of American children,'' or preserving ``the multi-various mosaic that 
is our history, culture, land, and the people who have made it''?
  Mr. President, I believe that the Center is a worthy initiative that 
is consistent with the mission of the Smithsonian. Nevertheless, I 
understand that my colleagues will need time to consider the merits of 
this major, new proposal. I am aware that the Smithsonian has a large 
number of costly projects already underway that require Congress's full 
attention. For this reason, I harbor no illusions that a Center for 
American Cultural Heritage can be established anytime soon, perhaps not 
until the next century. However, I hope that this legislation will 
initiate a national conversation about the role that the Smithsonian 
should play in preserving America's diverse cultural patrimony. I look 
forward to beginning this conversation with my colleagues, the academic 
community, and the interested public.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the full text of the bill 
be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 2133

       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 ``Center for American Cultural 
     Heritage Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds the following:
       (1) The history of the United States is in large measure 
     the history of how the United States was populated.
       (2) The evolution of the American population is broadly 
     termed the ``peopling of America'' and is characterized by 
     the movement of groups of people across external and internal 
     boundaries of the United States as well as by the 
     interactions of such groups with each other.
       (3) Each of these groups has made unique, important 
     contributions to American history, culture, art, and life.
       (4) The spiritual, intellectual, cultural, political, and 
     economic vitality of the United States is a result of the 
     pluralism and diversity of the population.
       (5) The Smithsonian Institution operates 16 museums and 
     galleries, a zoological park, and 5 major research 
     facilities. None of these public entities is a national 
     institution dedicated to presenting the history of the 
     peopling of the United States as described in paragraph (2).
       (6) The respective missions of the National Museum of 
     American History of the Smithsonian Institution and the Ellis 
     Island Immigration Museum of the National Park Service limit 
     the ability of such museums to present fully and adequately 
     the history of the diverse population and rich cultures of 
     the United States.
       (7) The absence of a national facility dedicated solely to 
     presenting the history of the peopling of the United States 
     restricts the ability of the citizens of the United States to 
     fully understand the rich and varied heritage of the United 
     States derived from the unique histories of many peoples from 
     many lands.
       (8) The establishment of a Center for American Cultural 
     Heritage to conduct educational and interpretive programs on 
     the history of the United States' multiethnic, multiracial 
     character will help to inspire and better inform the citizens 
     of the United States about the rich and diverse cultural 
     heritage of the citizens of the United States.

     SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CENTER FOR AMERICAN CULTURAL 
                   HERITAGE.

       (a) Establishment.--There is established within the 
     National Museum of American History of the Smithsonian 
     Institution a facility that shall be known as the ``Center 
     for American Cultural Heritage''.
       (b) Purposes of the Center.--The purposes of the Center are 
     to--
       (1) promote knowledge of the life, art, culture, and 
     history of the many groups of people who comprise the United 
     States;
       (2) illustrate how such groups cooperated, competed, or 
     otherwise interacted with each other; and
       (3) explain how the diverse, individual experiences of each 
     group collectively helped forge a unified national 
     experience.
       (c) Components of the Center.--The Center shall include--
       (1) a location for permanent and temporary exhibits 
     depicting the historical process by which the United States 
     was populated;
       (2) a center for research and scholarship relating to the 
     life, art, culture, and history of the groups of people of 
     the United States;
       (3) a repository for the collection, study, and 
     preservation of artifacts, artworks, and documents relating 
     to the diverse population of the United States;
       (4) a venue for public education programs designed to 
     explicate the multicultural past and present of the United 
     States;
       (5) a location for the development of a standardized index 
     of documents, artifacts, and artworks in collections that are 
     held by the Smithsonian Institution and classified in a 
     manner consistent with the purposes of the Center;
       (6) a clearinghouse for information on documents, 
     artifacts, and artworks on the groups of people of the United 
     States that may be available to researchers, scholars, or the 
     general public through non-Smithsonian collections, such as 
     documents, artifacts, and artworks of such groups held by 
     other Federal agencies, museums, universities, individuals, 
     and foreign institutions;
       (7) a folklife center committed to highlighting the 
     cultural expressions of various peoples within the United 
     States;
       (8) a center to promote mutual understanding and tolerance 
     among the groups of people of the United States through 
     exhibits, films, brochures, and other appropriate means;
       (9) an oral history library developed through interviews 
     with volunteers, including visitors;
       (10) a location for a visitor center that shall provide 
     individually tailored orientation guides for visitors to all 
     Smithsonian Institution facilities;
       (11) a location for the training of museum professionals 
     and others in the arts, humanities, and sciences with respect 
     to museum practices relating to the life, art, history, and 
     culture of the various groups of people of the United States; 
     and
       (12) a location for developing, testing, demonstrating, 
     evaluating, and implementing new museum-related technologies 
     that assist to fulfill the purposes of the Center, enhance 
     the operation of the Center, and improve accessibility of the 
     Center.

     SEC. 4. LOCATION AND CONSTRUCTION.

       (a) Location.--The Center shall be located in new or 
     existing Smithsonian Institution facilities on or near the 
     National Mall located in the District of Columbia.
       (b) Construction.--The Board of Regents is authorized to 
     plan, design, reconstruct, or construct appropriate 
     facilities to house the Center.

     SEC. 5. DIRECTOR AND STAFF.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary of the Smithsonian 
     Institution shall appoint and fix the compensation and duties 
     of a Director, Assistant Director, Secretary, and Chief 
     Curator of the Center and any other officers and employees 
     necessary for the operation of the Center. The Director of 
     the Center shall report to the Director of the National 
     Museum of American History. The Director, Assistant Director, 
     Secretary, and Chief Curator shall be qualified through 
     experience and training to perform the duties of their 
     offices.
       (b) Applicability of Certain Civil Service Laws.--The 
     Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution may--
       (1) appoint the Director and 5 employees under subsection 
     (a), without regard to the provisions of title 5, United 
     States Code, governing appointments in the competitive 
     service; and
       (2) fix the pay of the Director and such 5 employees, 
     without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter 
     III of chapter 53 of such title, relating to classification 
     and General Schedule pay rates.

     SEC. 6. ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON AMERICAN CULTURAL HERITAGE.

       (a) Establishment of Advisory Committee.--
       (1) Establishment.--There is established an advisory 
     committee to be known as the ``Advisory Committee on American 
     Cultural Heritage''.
       (2) Membership.--
       (A) Composition.--The Committee shall be composed of 15 
     members who shall--
       (i) be appointed by the Secretary;
       (ii) have expertise in immigration history, ethnic studies, 
     museum science, or any other academic or professional field 
     that involves matters relating to the cultural heritage of 
     the citizens of the United States; and
       (iii) reflect the diversity of the citizens of the United 
     States.
       (B) Initial appointments.--The initial appointments of the 
     members of the Committee shall be made not later than 6 
     months after the date of enactment of this Act.
       (3) Period of appointment; vacancies.--Members shall be 
     appointed for the life of the Committee. Any vacancy in the 
     Committee shall not affect its powers, but shall be filled in 
     the same manner as the original appointment.
       (4)  Initial meeting.--Not later than 30 days after the 
     date on which all members of the Committee have been 
     appointed, the Committee shall hold its first meeting.
       (5)  Meetings.--The Committee shall meet at the call of the 
     Chairperson, but shall meet not less than 2 times each fiscal 
     year.
       (6)  Quorum.--A majority of the members of the Committee 
     shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number of members may 
     hold hearings.
       (7) Chairperson and vice chairperson.--The Committee shall 
     select a Chairperson and Vice Chairperson from among its 
     members.
       (b) Duties of the Committee.--The Committee shall advise 
     the Secretary, the Director of the National Museum of 
     American History, and the Director of the Center on policies 
     and programs affecting the Center.
       (c) Committee Personnel Matters.--
       (1) Compensation of members.--Each member of the Committee 
     who is not an officer or employee of the Federal Government 
     shall be compensated at a rate equal to the daily equivalent 
     of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level IV of 
     the Executive

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     Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code, 
     for each day (including travel time) during which such member 
     is engaged in the performance of the duties of the Committee. 
     All members of the Committee who are officers or employees of 
     the United States shall serve without compensation in 
     addition to that received for their services as officers or 
     employees of the United States.
       (2) Travel expenses.--The members of the Committee shall be 
     allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of 
     subsistence, at rates authorized for employees of agencies 
     under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States 
     Code, while away from their homes or regular places of 
     business in the performance of services for the Committee.
       (3) Staff.--
       (A) In general.--The Chairperson of the Committee may, 
     without regard to the civil service laws and regulations, 
     appoint and terminate an executive director and such other 
     additional personnel as may be necessary to enable the 
     Committee to perform its duties. The employment of an 
     executive director shall be subject to confirmation by the 
     Committee.
       (B) Compensation.--The Chairperson of the Committee may fix 
     the compensation of the executive director and other 
     personnel without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and 
     subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, 
     relating to classification of positions and General Schedule 
     pay rates, except that the rate of pay for the executive 
     director and other personnel may not exceed the rate payable 
     for level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of 
     such title.
       (4) Detail of government employees.--Any Federal Government 
     employee may be detailed to the Committee without 
     reimbursement, and such detail shall be without interruption 
     or loss of civil service status or privilege.
       (5) Procurement of temporary and intermittent services.--
     The Chairperson of the Committee may procure temporary and 
     intermittent services under section 3109(b) of title 5, 
     United States Code, at rates for individuals which do not 
     exceed the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay 
     prescribed for level V of the Executive Schedule under 
     section 5316 of such title.

     SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

       As used in this Act:
       (1) Board of regents.--The term ``Board of Regents'' means 
     the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution.
       (2) Center.--The term ``Center'' means the Center for 
     American Cultural Heritage established under section 3(a).
       (3) Committee.--The term ``Committee'' means the advisory 
     Committee on American Cultural Heritage established under 
     section 8(a).
       (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of the Smithsonian Institution.

     SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this 
     Act such sums as may be necessary for each fiscal 
     year.
       By Mr. BIDEN (by request):

  S. 2134. A bill to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to 
authorize Presidential honors scholarships to be awarded to all 
students who graduate in the top 5 percent of their secondary school 
graduating class, to promote and recognize high academic achievement in 
secondary school, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Labor and 
Human Resources.


            The Presidential Honors Scholarship Act of 1996

 Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, I am pleased today to introduce on 
behalf of the Administration the Presidential Honors Scholarship Act of 
1996. I want to commend President Clinton for this particular 
initiative and for his overall outstanding leadership on behalf of 
education.
  Over the past 4 years, I have worked with President Clinton most 
closely on anti-crime and drug legislation. But, I have watched, 
admired, and tried to help his efforts on behalf of education as well. 
George Bush said he wanted to be the education president. Bill Clinton 
has been. And, this bill on merit scholarships is an important part of 
his agenda.
  In August, I introduced comprehensive legislation to make college 
more affordable for middle-class families. The Growing the Economy for 
Tomorrow: Assuring Higher Education is Affordable and Dependable Act--
GET AHEAD for short--would provide tax cuts for the cost of college, 
encourage families to save for a college education, and award merit 
scholarships to high school students in the top of their classes 
academically.
  I included merit scholarships in the Get Ahead Act and I have 
agreed--even though our proposals differ in a few minor details--to 
introduce the administration's bill today for one simple reason. We 
need to reward students who succeed in meeting high academic standards.
  If we are going to reform education--I mean, really reform education 
so that our children will be an educated workforce able to compete in 
the international economy--then we must first set tough academic 
standards. Students must know what is expected of them. Parents must 
know what their children should be learning. Teachers must stay focused 
on the mission of educating children. And, we all should know that a 
high school diploma means something.
  But, Mr. President, not only should States be setting high academic 
standards for our students--with support and assistance from the 
Federal Government--but we should be rewarding those students who meet 
the high standards. The best way to reward them is to make it just a 
little bit easier to go to college, which is by the way, another key 
incredient--in addition to tough standards--in ensuring a highly 
educated American workforce.
  The Presidential Honors Scholarship Act would provide a $1,000 
scholarship to all graduating seniors in public and private schools who 
finish in the top 5 percent of their class. These Presidential honors 
scholars could use the scholarship in their freshman year at the 
college of their choice, and the scholarship would not be used in 
determining eligibility for other financial aid.

  Although $1,000 may not seem like a lot, it is about two-thirds of 
the cost of the average tuition at a community college. And, more 
importantly, it is the principle that counts. Those who work hard and 
succeed ought to be recognized and rewarded.
  Now, there are some--and I have heard from them already--who believe 
that the money for merit scholarships would be better spent helping 
those in financial need. I do not disagree with the notion that we 
should help all students who are qualified to go to college get to 
college. But, of those who finish in the top 5 percent of their high 
school graduating class--those who would benefit from this bill--81 
percent come from families with incomes under $75,000 per year. I 
suggest they are exactly the ones in need, given the high cost of 
college today--and there were reports in this morning's paper that 
tuition costs at public colleges have gone up another 6 percent, more 
than double the rate of inflation. But, regardless of who benefits, I 
also believe that we should start to reward excellence for excellence's 
sake.
  I have no illusions--and the administration does not either--that 
this bill is going to pass here in the waning days of the 104th 
Congress. Our intent is merely to introduce the bill now, and to come 
back next year to try to see it become law as part of the 
reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. I encourage my colleagues 
to take a look at this legislation and to support the idea of merit 
scholarships.

                          ____________________