[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 171 (Tuesday, December 11, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H9170-H9173]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE PLAN FOR ACTION 
                  PRESIDENTIAL COMMISSION ACT OF 2001

  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3442) to establish the National Museum of African American 
History and Culture Plan for Action Presidential Commission to develop 
a plan of action for the establishment and maintenance of the National 
Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., and 
for other purposes.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 3442

       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 ``National Museum of African 
     American History and Culture Plan for Action Presidential 
     Commission Act of 2001''.

     SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.

       (a) In General.--There is established the National Museum 
     of African American History and Culture Plan for Action 
     Presidential Commission (hereafter in this Act referred to as 
     the ``Commission'').
       (b) Membership.--The Commission shall consist of not more 
     than 23 members appointed as follows:
       (1) The President shall appoint 7 voting members.
       (2) The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the 
     Senate Majority Leader shall each appoint 6 voting members.
       (3) In addition to the members appointed under paragraph 
     (2), the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the 
     Senate Majority Leader shall each appoint 2 additional 
     nonvoting members.
       (c) Qualifications.--Members of the Commission shall be 
     chosen from the following professional groups:
       (1) Professional museum associations, including the 
     Association of African American Museums and African American 
     Museum Cultural Complex. Inc.
       (2) Academic institutions and groups committed to the 
     research and study of African

[[Page H9171]]

     American life, art, history, and culture, including 
     Historically Black Colleges and Universities and the Joint 
     Center for Political and Economic Studies.

     SEC. 3. FUNCTIONS OF THE COMMISSION.

       (a) Plan of Action for Establishment and Maintenance of 
     Museum.--
       (1) In general.--The Commission shall submit a report to 
     the President and the Congress containing its recommendations 
     with respect to a plan of action for the establishment and 
     maintenance of the National Museum of African American 
     History and Culture in Washington, D.C. (hereafter in this 
     Act referred to as the ``Museum'').
       (2) National conference.--In developing the 
     recommendations, the commission shall convene a national 
     conference on the Museum, comprised of individuals committed 
     to the advancement of African American life, art, history, 
     and culture, not later than 3 months after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act.
       (b) Fundraising Plan.--The Commission shall develop a 
     fundraising plan for supporting the creation and maintenance 
     of the Museum through contributions by the American people, 
     and a separate plan on fundraising by the African American 
     community.
       (c) Report on Issues.--The Commission shall examine and 
     submit a report to the President and the Congress on the 
     following issues:
       (1) The availability and cost of collections to be acquired 
     and housed in the Museum.
       (2) The impact of the Museum on regional African American 
     museums.
       (3) Possible locations for the Museum on or adjacent to the 
     National Mall in Washington, D.C.
       (4) The cost of converting the Smithsonian Institution's 
     Arts and Industries Building into a modern museum with 
     requisite temperature and humidity controls.
       (5) Whether the Museum should be located within the 
     Smithsonian Institution.
       (6) The governance and organizational structure from which 
     the museum should operate.
       (d) Legislation to Carry Out Plan of Action.--Based on the 
     recommendations contained in the report submitted under 
     subsection (a) and the report submitted under subsection (c), 
     the Commission shall submit for consideration to the 
     Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 
     of Representatives, the Committee on House Administration of 
     the House of Representatives, the Committee on Rules and 
     Administration of the Senate, and the Committees on 
     Appropriations of the House of Representatives and Senate a 
     legislative plan of action to create and construct the 
     Museum.

     SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.

       (a) Facilities and Support of Secretary of Interior.--The 
     Secretary of the Interior shall provide the administrative 
     services, facilities, and funds necessary for the performance 
     of the Commission's functions.
       (b) Compensation.--Each member of the Commission who is not 
     an officer or employee of the Federal government may receive 
     compensation for each day on which the member is engaged in 
     the work of the Commission, at a daily rate to be determined 
     by the Secretary of the Interior.
       (c) Travel Expenses.--Each member shall receive travel 
     expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in 
     accordance with applicable provisions under subchapter I of 
     chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code.

     SEC. 5. DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF REPORTS; TERMINATION.

       (a) Deadline.--The Commission shall submit final versions 
     of the reports and plans required under section 3 not later 
     than 9 months after the date of the enactment of this Act.
       (b) Termination.--The Commission shall terminate not later 
     than 30 days after submitting the final versions of reports 
     and plans pursuant to subsection (a).

     SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       There are authorized to be appropriated $3,000,000 for 
     activities of the Commission during fiscal year 2002.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Ohio (Mr. LaTourette) and the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Clement) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette).
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3442 establishes the National Museum of African 
American History and Culture Plan for Action Presidential Commission, 
which will develop a plan to establish and maintain the National Museum 
of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. I want to 
commend the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Watts) and the gentleman from 
Georgia (Mr. Lewis) for bringing this legislation to our attention.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the distinguished 
gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Watts) to further amplify and to explain 
the purpose of the commission and the ultimate goal of the legislation.
  Mr. WATTS of Oklahoma. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, the gentleman 
from Ohio, for yielding me time.
  Mr. Speaker, the contributions made by African Americans to our 
Nation and to our communities need to be not only celebrated, but 
demonstrated. The legislation we are considering today establishes a 
Presidential Commission to create a blueprint on how to move forward on 
a National Museum of African American History and Culture.
  African Americans have made countless contributions throughout the 
history of our country. From the founding of this great Nation, African 
Americans fought for independence from Great Britain, liberty in the 
Civil War and equal rights in the peaceful marches of the civil rights 
movement. As my colleagues are aware, African Americans played a key 
role in the actual construction of prominent landmarks, such as the 
White House and the building where we stand today, the United States 
Capitol.
  From language, to art, to science, to technology, to food and music 
and total spiritual heritage, African Americans have made an 
extraordinary, indelible mark on American culture and American history.
  An African American Museum on the National Mall would be a valuable 
resource for all Americans, including visitors to our Nation's Capital. 
From scholarly research, to school field trips, to lunch hour leisure, 
its existence would serve a needed purpose by demonstrating the 
significance of African American history to American history.
  I want to thank the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young) with the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, the gentleman from 
Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar), the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette), the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ney), the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) 
and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Costello), and I want to thank the 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis), who has worked tirelessly over the 
last 12 years to get us to this point on this issue.
  This has been a bipartisan effort. It is my hope the importance of 
this initiative becomes a bicameral focus so we may put this 
legislation on the President's desk for his signature.
  Mr. Speaker, this is an excellent blueprint for a permanent public 
exhibition of the history and culture of African Americans. It puts us 
one step closer toward the reality of a museum that celebrates and 
demonstrates the achievements, contributions and the lives of Americans 
of African descent.
  I urge my colleagues to support this legislation and the effort to 
construct a National Museum as soon as possible.
  Mr. CLEMENT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation that will 
establish a Presidential Commission to develop a report for the 
President and the Congress regarding the establishment of a National 
Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.
  Among other issues, the report will address fund-raising, the 
availability and cost of these collections to be acquired and housed in 
the museum, possible locations here in the District of Columbia, the 
cost of converting the Arts and Industries Building owned by the 
Smithsonian Institute, and the governance and organizational structure 
of the new museum.
  The report will include recommendations on a legislative plan of 
action, and will be submitted to the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure, the Committee on House Administration, the Committee on 
Rules and the Senate. The Committee on Appropriations will also be 
involved.
  Congress can expect to receive the report 9 months after enactment of 
this bill. Information contained in the report will provide the basis 
for Congress to make a prudent determination regarding the location, 
size, budget and construction costs for a world-class museum in our 
Nation's Capital.
  Mr. Speaker, I wish to commend my colleagues, the gentleman from 
Georgia (Mr. Lewis) and the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Watts) for 
their diligence and determination on this bill. The gentleman from 
Georgia (Mr. Lewis) has been a steadfast champion for this innovative 
program more than a decade. We look forward to receiving the report 
from the Presidential Commission.
  I urge my colleagues to support the bill.

[[Page H9172]]

  Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. 
Lewis), who walked and marched with Martin Luther King, who has been a 
real champion in the U.S. House of Representatives, and I have read his 
book.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend and 
colleague, the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Clement), for yielding me 
time, from the great City of Nashville, where I had the opportunity to 
study and to learn much from the people of Tennessee and the people of 
Nashville.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank all of my colleagues for working to 
bring this bill before us today. I rise today in support of H.R. 3442, 
the National Museum of African American History and Culture Plan for 
Action Presidential Commission Act of 2001.
  During the past few months, Mr. Speaker, it has been my honor and 
pleasure to work with my friend and colleague, the gentleman from 
Oklahoma (Mr. Watts), and his staff. I want to take this opportunity to 
thank the staff of the Subcommittee on Public Buildings and also my own 
staff for their good work on this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, this Commission would develop and recommend a 
legislative plan of action for creating a national African American 
museum. It is my hope and prayer that this will finally bring Congress 
closer to achieving the goal of establishing a national African 
American museum in our Nation's Capital.

                              {time}  2000

  This Presidential commission is a step, a necessary step in the right 
direction to preserve the rich history of African Americans.
  As I travel across this land, I have been to several local African 
American museums in such cities as Memphis, Birmingham, Philadelphia, 
and Detroit. So I believe the time has long passed for a national 
African American museum right here in our Capitol city, right here in 
Washington.
  I have introduced legislation during every session of Congress since 
1988 to authorize a national African American museum. The time has come 
for passage of this legislation. By establishing this museum and 
placing it on the national Mall, we will be able to honor the legacy of 
African Americans and put it in a national light where it belongs.
  African American history is an important part of our country; yet the 
vital and important contributions of African Americans go virtually 
unrecognized. Until we understand the full African American story, we 
cannot understand ourselves as a Nation. The African American story 
must be told and a national African American museum in Washington, D.C. 
is critical to telling that story.
  This Presidential commission is our chance to take an important and 
productive step in establishing an African American museum and healing 
our Nation's racial wounds. This is our chance to create an African 
American community of every individual, an all-inclusive community that 
is at peace with itself, a beloved community.
  Mr. Speaker, the time is right. The time is now.
  Mr. CLEMENT. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton), a real spokesperson for all of 
us on various issues, including this one.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the kind words of the 
gentleman, and I very much appreciate his yielding me this time and his 
work on this bill, bringing it forward. I also appreciate the diligent 
work of the chairman of our Subcommittee on Economic Development, 
Public Buildings, and Emergency Management.
  I especially want to thank the sponsors of this resolution, the 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis) and the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. 
Watts), for moving us forward for the first time with substantial 
action on a national museum of African American history on the Mall. 
This bill has been introduced for each of the 11 years I have been in 
Congress; and it was introduced for years before that, initially by the 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis).
  If I may say a word about the persistence of the gentleman from 
Georgia (Mr. Lewis) in introducing this bill. It is one thing to 
introduce a bill like this, a kind of showcase bill as a freshman 
Congressman, as he did. It is quite another thing to fight for a bill 
like this each and every year as he has. The gentleman moved on into 
the leadership of the Democrats and continued to make this bill a 
priority, so it is a special tribute to him to have this bill move 
forward; and I am very pleased that the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. 
Watts) has joined him to make this a truly bipartisan effort.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill has been regularly before the Subcommittee on 
Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management. I 
remember that almost one year I thought we were going to get there. We 
got a bill actually out of the House to renovate the tower at the 
Smithsonian to make it the African American museum on the Mall; but the 
Congress found out that even when we renovate it costs money, and the 
lack of money is what stopped this bill.
  I want to report to the House that there are African Americans ready 
and willing to contribute funds to build this museum. I have had a very 
interesting conversation with one such potential contributor; and he 
said that unless the House took some action that showed there was some 
hope that this would happen, he would be reluctant to step forward. I 
think today's action is the kind of action that will encourage 
contributors to step forward, because the Presidential commission moves 
the idea forward in two ways. First, it is the first concrete action 
ever; and in this bill is all of the planning, all of the logistics. It 
contains all of the elements that our subcommittee, the Subcommittee on 
Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management, 
requires for monumental buildings. It is all here. All we have to do is 
do it once the commission finishes its work.
  Second, this commission raises the importance of the idea, and I say 
to my colleagues, important it is. African Americans have been at the 
very center of the development of our country itself, let alone its 
history, from our music and all that is unique about American culture, 
all that is derivative to our most historic structures, including this 
Capitol building built with the labor of freed blacks and slaves.
  Mr. Speaker, there are all manner of museums and monuments in this 
Capital, all manner of commemorations to events and to people of every 
kind, and to be kind, I will say many of them obscure. It is 
astonishing to me that we have entered the 21st century, the third 
century of our existence as a Nation, with precious few monuments or 
structures of any kind to commemorate African Americans or African 
American history. This bill, perhaps, assures that we will not go much 
longer if we value the history of our country. I thank the sponsors 
once again.
  Mr. CLEMENT. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee) where I used to live.
  (Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas asked and was given permission to revise 
and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished 
gentleman for his kind introduction and tell him that there is always a 
place for him in Texas.
  Mr. Speaker, allow me again to thank the distinguished gentleman from 
Tennessee as well as the chairman of the subcommittee for his 
leadership and, collectively, the leadership of the ranking member and 
chairperson of the full Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 
knowing their continued concern on issues of, if you will, highlighting 
and honoring our history. It is important as well to thank the two 
authors of this legislation as it moves through the House, and that is 
the establishment of a Presidential commission. One step is a giant 
step for where we want to take these opportunities to be able to 
highlight and to reinforce the wonderment of this Nation, and that is 
that we are built on many shoulders.
  The gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis) is an icon, and I thank him 
for his persistence and determination. Besides his own leadership in 
our caucus and on the Committee on Ways and Means, he has taken upon 
himself to frame for this Congress and this Nation the ability to honor 
those who have given of their lives to help this country be a better 
place to live. In his commitment to the Institute of Faith and

[[Page H9173]]

Politics, he has educated so many Members of Congress about our civil 
rights history.
  But this particular legislative initiative takes African American 
history to another level. It chronicles from the very beginning the 
important role that African Americans have played in this Nation and in 
nation-building. It is not a legislative initiative that takes us 
backwards; it is one that moves us forward.
  I am very gratified that through a detailed commission we will now 
have a structure to begin the architectural building, if you will, of 
how we would create a national museum of African American history. Who 
will we talk to? What will that story be like? How will it be told? Who 
will we include, and not to exclude anyone. Where will we reach to in 
order to make sure that it is an all-comprehensive story of the African 
American in this Nation?
  These are very troubling times. September 11 drew all of us closer 
together. Now we approach the holiday season when families will be 
gathered and stories will be told. Will it not be wonderful to be able 
to come to the United States Capital in years to come because of the 
leadership of the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis) and the gentleman 
from Oklahoma (Mr. Watts), and ultimately from the work of this 
commission to be able to see the story of a very strong component of 
our history. This is not to deny the wonderment of the history of those 
who came across this Nation through Ellis Island or those who may have 
walked across the border from South America, or maybe those who came in 
a fishing boat. But what it says of those who came to this Nation in a 
slave boat have a very special history and now today that story will be 
told.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to again thank the authors of this legislation 
and the committee for its wisdom in allowing us to debate this 
legislation, and I hope all of my colleagues will join me in 
enthusiastically supporting the first step of a very big step in our 
Nation.
  Mr. CLEMENT. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar), our ranking Democrat on the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the 
legislation before us to establish a Presidential commission to develop 
a plan of action for the establishment and maintenance of the national 
museum of African American history and culture in Washington, D.C. It 
is a great tribute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis) that he 
has worked so diligently and vigorously, in a bipartisan fashion with 
the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Watts), to bring this bill to the 
House floor.
  For over a decade, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis) has been a 
persistent and a persuasive advocate for the establishment of a 
national African American museum, support for which is well established 
and has already been advocated for quite some time going back to the 
early 1990s by the Smithsonian Institution, which vigorously endorsed 
the concept of such a museum.
  This commission that we are authorizing will supply significant 
information and data to support the size, the appropriate size of the 
building, the location, the budget, the extent and type of collection 
and displays to be managed there. Some of the ideas for the museum 
include exhibits on the reconstruction era, the Harlem Renaissance, and 
the Civil Rights movement. We also anticipate that the commission and 
the museum to be established will work collaboratively with academic 
institutions to research and study African American life, history, art, 
and culture, as well as the abominable era of slave trade, which the 
gentlewoman from Texas alluded to so powerfully in her remarks.
  As a part of the initiative we launch today, the Presidential 
commission will convene a national conference to consider and to 
include the views and opinions of learned persons who are dedicated to 
the advancement of African American life. This initiative is long 
overdue; and I strongly urge not only its support in this House, but 
swift enactment into law and establishment so that the progress can get 
quickly underway.
  Mr. CLEMENT. Mr. Speaker, this is a very serious issue. We have had 
some excellent speakers to comment concerning this legislation, and we 
strongly support it.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield back the balance 
of my time.
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of the bill, and I yield 
back the balance of our time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Ose). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3442.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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