[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 93 (Monday, June 28, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7720-S7723]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. COCHRAN:
  S. 1293. A bill to establish a Congressional Recognition for 
Excellence in Arts Education Board; to the Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions.


     congressional recognition for excellence in arts education act

  Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, today I am pleased to introduce the 
Congressional Recognition for Excellence in Arts Education Act. The act 
establishes awards for schools that include the arts in their regular 
curriculum.
  When Congress passed the Improving America's Schools Act in 1994, we 
found ``that the arts are forms of understanding and ways of knowing 
that are fundamentally important to education.'' Since then, many 
professional studies have been published about the relationship of arts 
education to brain development, student achievement, career potential 
and other life quality issues.
  The 1997 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Arts 
Report Card was the first ever assessment of the effects of specific 
arts instruction and the level of fine arts skills in American 
students. The assessment found that music and visual arts were more 
likely to be taught than theater or dance, but the percentages of 
students actually in classes and their achievement varied widely. The 
report card showed that instruction improved competency and literacy; 
and without it, very few students were able to create or perform at an 
advanced or adequate level. This report card makes clear that attaining 
knowledge and skill in the arts is no different from becoming 
proficient in any school subject. While a few students are gifted, most 
have to be taught in order to discover and use our abilities. And 
gifted students also need training and learning opportunities.
  The evidence of the positive effects of arts education on overall 
scholastic achievement is an incentive for students, parents and 
schools to support serious sequential course work. In 1997, The College 
Board reported that high school students with four or more years of 
arts instruction scored over 100 points higher on the Scholastic 
Aptitude Test than students with no arts instruction. And according to 
the medical publication, Neurological Research, a California study 
determined that young children with six months of keyboard instruction 
performed 34% higher on tests measuring temporal-spatial ability than 
other children.
  Arts activity has been shown to lower the likelihood of delinquent 
behavior. In 1996, the Department of Justice and the National Endowment 
for the Arts began a project called YouthARTS, which developed model 
after-school arts programs for teenagers. The evaluation of programs in 
Fulton County, Georgia; Portland, Oregon; and San Antonio, Texas found 
that YouthARTS participants significantly decreased their delinquent 
behavior, increased their communication skills, and improved their 
ability to complete tasks. The National Dropout Prevention Center 
reported that school arts classes and activities encourage attendance 
and achievement of at-risk high school students.
  Programs teaching arts in schools differ widely from state to state, 
and from district to district within a state. The effectiveness of the 
programs also varies. The Arts Education Partnership is a private, 
nonprofit coalition of education, arts, business, philanthropic, and 
government organizations that demonstrates and promotes the essential 
role of arts education in enabling all students to succeed in school, 
life, and work. It was formed in 1995 through a cooperative agreement 
between the National Endowment for the Arts, the United States 
Education Department, the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, and 
the Council of Chief State School Officers.
  Mr. President, earlier this year, the Arts Education Partnership, 
with the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities, released a 
report titled, Gaining the Arts Advantage: Lessons From School 
Districts that Value Arts Education. It is a national study of arts 
education in schools. Thirteen ``critical success factors'' of 
district-wide arts education programs were identified. The introduction 
to the report summarizes the findings this way, ``the presence and 
quality of arts education in public schools today require an 
exceptional degree of involvement by influential segments of 
the community which value the arts in the total affairs of the school 
district: in governance, funding, and program delivery.''

  The report profiles 91 American school districts with successful arts 
curriculum programs. I was very pleased to find the Hattiesburg and 
Starkville, Mississippi school districts featured in the report.
  Outside funding and the success of classes in music, drama, dance and 
visual arts has turned the arts into a priority in the Hattiesburg 
Public School District budget. Hattiesburg superintendent Dr. Gordon 
Walker views arts as a school responsibility to ensure that, ``all 
students' lives are enriched and enhanced through academic achievement 
in the arts.''
  Starkville's K-12 arts programs include: theater, visual arts, music 
labs, television and graphic arts. Other features in their arts 
education plan are a design program that brings university architecture 
students to an elementary school and an after school program funded by 
a U.S. Department of Education grant. Joyce Polk, Starkville School 
District arts coordinator explained that a comprehensive arts 
education, ``. . . improves academic achievement and results in the 
development of well-rounded students who are able to leave rural 
Mississippi and compete in prestigious college and university 
environments.'' She also attributes arts opportunities in the schools 
with a higher quality of life for all community members, an 
understanding between diverse ethnic and cultural groups, a common bond 
among students, and long term healthy lifestyles. I am proud of these 
school districts and the example they set for other American school 
districts.
  An example of innovative efforts to support excellence and commitment 
in arts instruction is the Mississippi Arts Commission's Whole Schools 
Institute,

[[Page S7721]]

which began this year. The institute at Millsaps College in Jackson, 
Mississippi, is a week of professional development in teaching, 
planning and implementing new curriculum. School teams of over 150 
superintendents, principals, teachers, community and business leaders 
had one-on-one training with nationally renowned arts educators, child 
and brain development researchers and arts professionals.
  By recognizing the importance of arts instruction, I hope that we 
make arts classes in schools as common as English or math. My bill 
establishes the Congressional Recognition for Excellence in Arts 
Education (CREATE) Awards and a board to direct the activities needed 
to promote it, to encourage arts curriculum, and to determine eligible 
schools.
  Mr. President, vision and excellence can't be mandated, but through 
legislation, such as the Congressional Recognition for Excellence in 
Arts Education Act, we can reward it.
  I ask unanimous consent that a copy 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. 1293

       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 ``Congressional Recognition 
     for Excellence in Arts Education Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) Arts literacy is a fundamental purpose of schooling for 
     all students.
       (2) Arts education stimulates, develops, and refines many 
     cognitive and creative skills, critical thinking and 
     nimbleness in judgment, creativity and imagination, 
     cooperative decisionmaking, leadership, high-level literacy 
     and communication, and the capacity for problem-posing and 
     problem-solving.
       (3) Arts education contributes significantly to the 
     creation of flexible, adaptable, and knowledgeable workers 
     who will be needed in the 21st century economy.
       (4) Arts education improves teaching and learning.
       (5) Where parents and families, artists, arts 
     organizations, businesses, local civic and cultural leaders, 
     and institutions are actively engaged in instructional 
     programs, arts education is more successful.
       (6) Effective teachers of the arts should be encouraged to 
     continue to learn and grow in mastery of their art form as 
     well as in their teaching competence.
       (7) The 1999 study, entitled ``Gaining the Arts Advantage: 
     Lessons from School Districts that Value Arts Education'', 
     found that the literacy, education, programs, learning and 
     growth described in paragraphs (1) through (6) contribute to 
     successful districtwide arts education.
       (8) Despite all of the literacy, education, programs, 
     learning and growth findings described in paragraphs (1) 
     through (6), the 1997 National Assessment of Educational 
     Progress reported that students lack sufficient opportunity 
     for participatory learning in the arts.
       (9) The Arts Education Partnership, a coalition of national 
     and State education, arts, business, and civic groups has 
     demonstrated its effectiveness in addressing the purposes 
     described in section 5(a) and the capacity and credibility to 
     administer arts education programs of national significance.

     SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Arts education partnership.--The term ``Arts Education 
     Partnership'' (formerly known as the Goals 2000 Arts 
     Education Partnership) is a private, nonprofit coalition of 
     education, arts, business, philanthropic, and government 
     organizations that--
       (A) demonstrates and promotes the essential role of arts 
     education in enabling all students to succeed in school, 
     life, and work; and
       (B) was formed in 1995 through a cooperative agreement 
     among--
       (i) the National Endowment for the Arts;
       (ii) the Department of Education;
       (iii) the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies; and
       (iv) the Council of Chief State School Officers.
       (2) Board.--The term ``Board'' means the Congressional 
     Recognition for Excellence in Arts Education Awards Board 
     established under section 4.
       (3) Elementary school; secondary school.--The terms 
     ``elementary school'' and ``secondary school'' mean--
       (A) a public or private elementary school or secondary 
     school (as the case may be), as defined in section 14101 of 
     the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
     8801); or
       (B) a bureau funded school as defined in section 1146 of 
     the Education Amendments of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 2026).
       (4) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several 
     States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the 
     Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United 
     States Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern 
     Mariana Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the 
     Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau.

     SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF BOARD.

       There is established as an independent establishment of the 
     Federal Government a Congressional Recognition for Excellence 
     in Arts Education Awards Board. The Board shall be 
     responsible for administering the awards program described in 
     section 5.

     SEC. 5. BOARD DUTIES.

       (a) Awards Program Established.--The Board shall establish 
     and administer an awards program to be known as the 
     ``Congressional Recognition for Excellence in Arts Education 
     Awards Program''. The purpose of the program shall be to--
       (1) celebrate the positive impact and public benefits of 
     the arts;
       (2) encourage all elementary schools and secondary schools 
     to integrate the arts into the school curriculum;
       (3) spotlight the most compelling evidence of the 
     relationship between the arts and student learning;
       (4) demonstrate how community involvement in the creation 
     and implementation of arts policies enriches the schools;
       (5) recognize school administrators and faculty who provide 
     quality arts education to students;
       (6) acknowledge schools that provide professional 
     development opportunities for their teachers;
       (7) create opportunities for students to experience the 
     relationship between early participation in the arts and 
     developing the life skills necessary for future personal and 
     professional success;
       (8) increase, encourage, and ensure comprehensive, 
     sequential arts learning for all students; and
       (9) expand accessibility of the arts to schools in every 
     community.
       (b) Duties.--
       (1) School awards.--The Board shall--
       (A) make annual awards to elementary schools and secondary 
     schools in the States in accordance with criteria established 
     under subparagraph (B), which awards--
       (i) shall be of such design and materials as the Board may 
     determine, including a well-designed certificate or a work of 
     art, designed for the awards event by an appropriate artist; 
     and
       (ii) shall be reflective of the dignity of Congress;
       (B) establish criteria required for a school to receive the 
     award, and establish such procedures as may be necessary to 
     verify that the school meets the criteria, which criteria 
     shall include 3 of the following:
       (i) the school provides comprehensive, sequential arts 
     learning and integrates the arts throughout the curriculum;
       (ii) the community serving the school is actively involved 
     in shaping and implementing the arts policies and programs of 
     the school;
       (iii) the school principal supports the policy of arts 
     education for all students;
       (iv) arts teachers in the school are encouraged to learn 
     and grow in mastery of their art form as well as in their 
     teaching competence;
       (v) the school actively encourages the use of arts 
     assessment techniques for improving student, teacher, and 
     administrative performance; and
       (vi) school leaders engage the total school community in 
     arts activities that create a climate of support for arts 
     education; and
       (C) include, in the procedures necessary for verification 
     that a school meets the criteria described in subparagraph 
     (B), written evidence of the specific criteria, and 
     supporting documentation, that includes--
       (i) three letters of support for the school, of which--

       (I) one shall be from the school's Parent Teacher 
     Association (PTA);
       (II) one shall be from community leaders, such as elected 
     or appointed officials; and
       (III) one shall be from arts organizations or institutions 
     in the community that partner with the school; and

       (ii) the completed application for the award signed by the 
     principal or other education leader such as a school district 
     arts coordinator, school board member, or school 
     superintendent;
       (D) determine appropriate methods for disseminating 
     information about the program and make application forms 
     available to schools, which methods may include--
       (i) the Arts Education Partnership web site and 
     publications;
       (ii) the Department of Education Community Update 
     newsletter;
       (iii) websites and publications of the Arts Education 
     Partnership steering committee members;
       (iv) press releases, public service announcements and other 
     media opportunities; and
       (v) direct communication by postal mail, or electronic 
     means;
       (E) delineate such roles as the Board considers to be 
     appropriate for the Director in administering the program, 
     and set forth in the bylaws of the Board the duties, salary, 
     and benefits of the Director;
       (F) raise funds for the operation of the program;
       (G) determine, and inform Congress regarding, the national 
     readiness for interdisciplinary individual student awards 
     described in paragraph (2), on the basis of the 1997 National 
     Assessment of Educational Progress arts education achievement 
     levels; and

[[Page S7722]]

       (H) take such other actions as may be appropriate for the 
     administration of the Congressional Recognition for 
     Excellence in Arts Education Awards Program.
       (2) Student awards.--
       (A) In general.--At such time as the Board determines 
     appropriate, the Board--
       (i) shall make annual awards to elementary school and 
     secondary school students for individual interdisciplinary 
     arts achievement; and
       (ii) establish criteria for the making of the awards.
       (B) Award model.--The Board may use as a model for the 
     awards the Congressional Award Program and the President's 
     Physical Fitness Award Program.
       (c) Presentation.--The Board shall arrange for the 
     presentation of awards under this section to the recipients 
     and shall provide for participation by Members of Congress in 
     such presentation, when appropriate.
       (d) Date of Announcement.--The Board shall determine an 
     appropriate date or dates for announcement of the awards 
     under this section, which date shall coincide with a National 
     Arts in Schools Week or similarly designated day, week or 
     month, if such designation exists.
       (e) Report.--
       (1) In general.--The Board shall prepare and submit an 
     annual report to Congress not later than March 1 of each year 
     summarizing the activities of the Congressional Recognition 
     for Excellence in Arts Education Awards Program during the 
     previous year and making appropriate recommendations for the 
     program. Any minority views and recommendations of members of 
     the Board shall be included in such reports.
       (2) Contents.--The annual report shall contain the 
     following:
       (A) Specific information regarding the methods used to 
     raise funds for the Congressional Recognition for Excellence 
     in Arts Education Awards Program and a list of the sources of 
     all money raised by the Board.
       (B) Detailed information regarding the expenditures made by 
     the Board, including the percentage of funds that are used 
     for administrative expenses.
       (C) A description of the programs formulated by the 
     Director under section 7(b)(1), including an explanation of 
     the operation of such programs and a list of the sponsors of 
     the programs.
       (D) A detailed list of the administrative expenditures made 
     by the Board, including the amounts expended for salaries, 
     travel expenses, and reimbursed expenses.
       (E) A list of schools given awards under the program, and 
     the city, town, or county, and State in which the school is 
     located.
       (F) An evaluation of the state of arts education in 
     schools, which may include anecdotal evidence of the effect 
     of the Congressional Recognition for Excellence in Arts 
     Education Awards Program on individual school curriculum.
       (G) On the basis of the findings described in section 2 and 
     the purposes of the Congressional Recognition for Excellence 
     in Arts Education Awards Program described in section 5(a), a 
     recommendation regarding the national readiness to make 
     individual student awards under subsection (b)(2).

     SEC. 6. COMPOSITION OF BOARD.

       (a) Composition.--
       (1) In general.--The Board shall consist of 24 members as 
     follows:
       (A) Two Members of the Senate appointed by the Majority 
     Leader of the Senate.
       (B) Two Members of the Senate appointed by the Minority 
     Leader of the Senate.
       (C) Two Members of the House of Representatives appointed 
     by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
       (D) Two Members of the House of Representatives appointed 
     by the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives.
       (E) The Director of the Board, who shall serve as a 
     nonvoting member.
       (F) Fifteen members appointed by the Arts Education 
     Partnership steering committee from among representatives of 
     the Arts Education Partnership.
       (2) Special rule.--In making appointments to the Board, the 
     individuals and entity making the appointments under 
     paragraph (1) shall consider recommendations submitted by any 
     interested party, including any member of the Board.
       (3) Interest.--
       (A) In general.--Members of Congress appointed to the Board 
     shall have an interest in 1 of the purposes described in 
     section 5(a).
       (B) Diversity.--Representatives of the Arts Education 
     Partnership appointed to the Board shall represent the 
     diversity of that organization's membership, so that artistic 
     and education professionals are represented in the membership 
     of the Board.
       (b) Terms.--Members of the Board shall serve for terms of 6 
     years, except that of the members first appointed--
       (1) one Member of the House of Representatives, 1 Member of 
     the Senate, and 3 members of the Arts Education Partnership 
     shall serve for terms of 2 years;
       (2) one Member of the House of Representatives, 1 Member of 
     the Senate, and 4 members of the Arts Education Partnership 
     shall serve for terms of 4 years; and
       (3) two Members of the House of Representatives, 2 Members 
     of the Senate, and 8 representatives of the Arts Education 
     Partnership shall serve for terms of 6 years,
     as determined by lot when all such members have been 
     appointed.
       (c) Vacancy.--
       (1) In general.--Any vacancy in the membership of the Board 
     shall be filled in the same manner in which the original 
     appointment was made.
       (2) Term.--Any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring 
     before the expiration of the term for which the member's 
     predecessor was appointed shall be appointed only for the 
     remainder of such term.
       (3) Extension.--Any appointed member of the Board may 
     continue to serve after the expiration of the member's term 
     until the member's successor has taken office.
       (4) Special rule.--Vacancies in the membership of the Board 
     shall not affect the Board's power to function if there 
     remain sufficient members of the Board to constitute a quorum 
     under subsection (d).
       (d) Quorum.--A majority of the members of the Board shall 
     constitute a quorum.
       (e) Compensation.--Members of the Board shall serve without 
     pay but may be compensated for reasonable travel expenses 
     incurred by the members in the performance of their duties as 
     members of the Board.
       (f) Meetings.--The Board shall meet annually at the call of 
     the Chairperson and at such other times as the Chairperson 
     may determine to be appropriate. The Chairperson shall call a 
     meeting of the Board whenever \1/3\ of the members of the 
     Board submit written requests for such a meeting.
       (g) Officers.--The Chairperson and the Vice Chairperson of 
     the Board shall be elected from among the Members of Congress 
     serving on the Board, by a majority vote of the members of 
     the Board, for such terms as the Board determines. The Vice 
     Chairperson shall perform the duties of the Chairperson in 
     the absence of the Chairperson.
       (h) Committees.--
       (1) In general.--The Board may appoint such committees, and 
     assign to the committees such functions, as may be 
     appropriate to assist the Board in carrying out its duties 
     under this Act. Members of such committees may include the 
     members of the Board or such other qualified individuals as 
     the Board may select.
       (2) Special rule.--Any employee or officer of the Federal 
     Government may serve as a member of a committee created by 
     the Board, but may not receive compensation for services 
     performed for such a committee.
       (i) Bylaws and Other Requirements.--The Board shall 
     establish such bylaws and other requirements as may be 
     appropriate to enable the Board to carry out the Board's 
     duties under this Act.

     SEC. 7. ADMINISTRATION.

       (a) In General.--In the administration of the Congressional 
     Recognition for Excellence in Arts Education Awards Program, 
     the Board shall be assisted by a Director, who shall be the 
     principal executive of the program and who shall supervise 
     the affairs of the Board. The Director shall be nominated by 
     the Arts Education Partnership steering committee and 
     appointed by a majority vote of the Board.
       (b) Director's Responsibilities.--The Director shall, in 
     consultation with the Board--
       (1) formulate programs to carry out the policies of the 
     Congressional Recognition for Excellence in Arts Education 
     Awards Program;
       (2) establish such divisions within the Congressional 
     Recognition for Excellence in Arts Education Awards Program 
     as may be appropriate; and
       (3) employ and provide for the compensation of such 
     personnel as may be necessary to carry out the Congressional 
     Recognition for Excellence in Arts Education Awards Program, 
     subject to such policies as the Board shall prescribe under 
     its bylaws.
       (c) Application.--Each school or student desiring a grant 
     under this Act shall submit an application to the Board at 
     such time, in such manner and accompanied by such information 
     as the Board may require.

     SEC. 8. LIMITATIONS.

       (a) In General.--Subject to such limitations as may be 
     provided for under this section, the Board may take such 
     actions and make such expenditures as may be necessary to 
     carry out the Congressional Recognition for Excellence in 
     Arts Education Awards Program, except that the Board shall 
     carry out its functions and make expenditures with only such 
     resources as are available to the Board from the 
     Congressional Recognition for Excellence in Arts Education 
     Awards Trust Fund pursuant to section 10(e), and from sources 
     other than the Federal Government.
       (b) Contracts.--The Board may enter into such contracts as 
     may be appropriate to carry out the business of the Board, 
     but the Board may not enter into any contract which will 
     obligate the Board to expend an amount greater than the 
     amount available to the Board for the purpose of such 
     contract during the fiscal year in which the expenditure is 
     made.
       (c) Gifts.--The Board may seek and accept, from sources 
     other than the Federal Government, funds and other resources 
     to carry out the Board's activities. The Board may not accept 
     any funds or other resources that are--
       (1) donated with a restriction on their use unless such 
     restriction merely provides that such funds or other 
     resources be used in furtherance of the Congressional 
     Recognition for Excellence in Arts Education Awards Program; 
     or
       (2) donated subject to the condition that the identity of 
     the donor of the funds or resources shall remain anonymous.
       (d) Volunteers.--The Board may accept and utilize the 
     services of voluntary, uncompensated personnel.

[[Page S7723]]

       (e) Real or Personal Property.--The Board may lease (or 
     otherwise hold), acquire, or dispose of real or personal 
     property necessary for, or relating to, the duties of the 
     Board.
       (f) Prohibitions.--The Board shall have no power--
       (1) to issue bonds, notes, debentures, or other similar 
     obligations creating long-term indebtedness;
       (2) to issue any share of stock or to declare or pay any 
     dividends; or
       (3) to provide for any part of the income or assets of the 
     Board to inure to the benefit of any director, officer, or 
     employee of the Board except as reasonable compensation for 
     services or reimbursement for expenses.

     SEC. 9. AUDITS.

       The financial records of the Board may be audited by the 
     Comptroller General of the United States at such times as the 
     Comptroller General may determine to be appropriate. The 
     Comptroller General, or any duly authorized representative of 
     the Comptroller General, shall have access for the purpose of 
     audit to any books, documents, papers, and records of the 
     Board (or any agent of the Board) which, in the opinion of 
     the Comptroller General, may be pertinent to the 
     Congressional Recognition for Excellence in Arts Education 
     Awards Program.

     SEC. 10. TERMINATION.

       The Board shall terminate 6 years after the date of 
     enactment of this Act. The Board shall set forth, in its 
     bylaws, the procedures for dissolution to be followed by the 
     Board.

     SEC. 11. TRUST FUND.

       (a) Establishment of Fund.--There is established in the 
     Treasury of the United States a trust fund to be known as the 
     ``Congressional Recognition for Excellence in Arts Education 
     Awards Trust Fund''. The fund shall consist of amounts 
     appropriated to the fund pursuant to section 12 and amounts 
     credited to the fund under subsection (d).
       (b) Investment of Fund Assets.--
       (1) In general.--It shall be the duty of the Secretary of 
     the Treasury to invest in full the amounts appropriated to 
     the fund. Such investments may be made only in interest-
     bearing obligations of the United States or in obligations 
     guaranteed as to both principal and interest by the United 
     States. For such purpose, such obligations may be acquired on 
     original issue at the issue price or by purchase of 
     outstanding obligations at the marketplace.
       (2) Special rule.--The purposes for which obligations of 
     the United States may be issued under the Second Liberty Bond 
     Act are hereby extended to authorize the issuance at par of 
     special obligations exclusively to the fund. Such special 
     obligations shall bear interest at a rate equal to the 
     average rate of interest, computed as to the end of the 
     calendar month next preceding the date of such issue, borne 
     by all marketable interest-bearing obligations of the United 
     States then forming a part of the public debt, except that 
     when such average rate is not a multiple of \1/8\ of 1 
     percent, the rate of interest of such special obligations 
     shall be the multiple of \1/8\ of 1 percent next lower than 
     such average rate. Such special obligations shall be issued 
     only if the Secretary determines that the purchase of other 
     interest-bearing obligations of the United States, or of 
     obligations guaranteed as to both principal and interest by 
     the United States on original issue or at the market price, 
     is not in the public interest.
       (c) Authority To Sell Obligations.--Any obligation acquired 
     by the fund (except special obligations issued exclusively to 
     the fund) may be sold by the Secretary of the Treasury at the 
     market price, and such special obligations may be redeemed at 
     par plus accrued interest.
       (d) Proceeds From Certain Transactions Credited to Fund.--
     The interest on, and the proceeds from the sale or redemption 
     of, any obligations held in the fund shall be credited to and 
     form a part of the fund.
       (e) Expenditures From Trust Fund.--The Secretary of the 
     Treasury is authorized to pay to the Board from the interest 
     and earnings of the fund such sums as the Board determines 
     are necessary and appropriate to enable the Board to carry 
     out this Act.

     SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       There are authorized to be appropriated to the 
     Congressional Recognition for Excellence in Arts Education 
     Awards Trust Fund established under section 11, $1,000,000 
     during the period beginning with fiscal year 2001 and ending 
     with fiscal year 2005.
                                 ______