[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 123 (Wednesday, September 27, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H7664-H7667]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  COMMISSION TO STUDY THE POTENTIAL CREATION OF A NATIONAL MUSEUM OF 
                  AMERICAN LATINO HERITAGE ACT OF 2006

  Mr. GOHMERT. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2134) to establish the Commission to Study the Potential 
Creation of a National Museum of the American Latino Community to 
develop a plan of action for the establishment and maintenance of a 
National Museum of the American Latino Community in Washington, D.C., 
and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 2134

       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 ``Commission to Study the 
     Potential Creation of a National Museum of American Latino 
     Heritage Act of 2006''.

     SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.

       (a) In General.--There is established the Commission to 
     Study the Potential Creation of a National Museum of American 
     Latino Heritage (hereafter in this Act referred to as the 
     ``Commission'').
       (b) Membership.--The Commission shall consist of 23 members 
     appointed not later than 6 months after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act as follows:
       (1) The President shall appoint 7 voting members.
       (2) The Speaker of the House of Representatives, the 
     minority leader of the House of Representatives, the majority 
     leader of the Senate, and the minority leader of the Senate 
     shall each appoint 3 voting members.
       (3) In addition to the members appointed under paragraph 
     (2), the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the 
     minority leader of the House of Representatives, the majority 
     leader of the Senate, and the minority leader of the Senate 
     shall each appoint 1 nonvoting member.
       (c) Qualifications.--Members of the Commission shall be 
     chosen from among individuals, or representatives of 
     institutions or entities, who possess either--
       (1) a demonstrated commitment to the research, study, or 
     promotion of American Latino life, art, history, political or 
     economic status, or culture, together with--
       (A) expertise in museum administration;
       (B) expertise in fundraising for nonprofit or cultural 
     institutions;
       (C) experience in the study and teaching of Latino culture 
     and history at the post-secondary level;
       (D) experience in studying the issue of the Smithsonian 
     Institution's representation of American Latino art, life, 
     history, and culture; or
       (E) extensive experience in public or elected service; or
       (2) experience in the administration of, or the planning 
     for the establishment of, museums devoted to the study and 
     promotion of the role of ethnic, racial, or cultural groups 
     in American history.

     SEC. 3. FUNCTIONS OF THE COMMISSION.

       (a) Plan of Action for Establishment and Maintenance of 
     Museum.--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 a National Museum of American Latino Heritage 
     in Washington, DC (hereafter in this Act referred to as the 
     ``Museum'').
       (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 American Latino 
     community.
       (c) Report on Issues.--The Commission shall examine (in 
     consultation with the Secretary of the Smithsonian 
     Institution), and submit a report to the President and the 
     Congress on, the following issues:

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       (1) The availability and cost of collections to be acquired 
     and housed in the Museum.
       (2) The impact of the Museum on regional Hispanic- and 
     Latino-related museums.
       (3) Possible locations for the Museum in Washington, DC and 
     its environs, to be considered in consultation with the 
     National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of 
     Fine Arts, the Department of the Interior and Smithsonian 
     Institution.
       (4) Whether the Museum should be located within the 
     Smithsonian Institution.
       (5) The governance and organizational structure from which 
     the Museum should operate.
       (6) How to engage the American Latino community in the 
     development and design of the Museum.
       (7) The cost of constructing, operating, and maintaining 
     the Museum.
       (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, the Committee on Resources of 
     the House of Representatives, the Committee on Energy and 
     Natural Resources of the Senate, and the Committees on 
     Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate 
     recommendations for a legislative plan of action to create 
     and construct the Museum.
       (e) National Conference.--In carrying out its functions 
     under this section, the Commission may convene a national 
     conference on the Museum, comprised of individuals committed 
     to the advancement of American Latino life, art, history, and 
     culture, not later than 18 months after the commission 
     members are selected.

     SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.

       (a) Facilities and Support of Department of the Interior.--
     The Department of the Interior shall provide from funds 
     appropriated for this purpose administrative services, 
     facilities, and funds necessary for the performance of the 
     Commission's functions. These funds shall be made available 
     prior to any meetings of the Commission.
       (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 be entitled to 
     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.
       (d) Federal Advisory Committee Act.--The Commission is not 
     subject to the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee 
     Act.

     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 24 months after the date of the Commission's first 
     meeting.
       (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 for carrying out 
     the activities of the Commission $2,100,000 for the first 
     fiscal year beginning after the date of the enactment of this 
     Act and $1,100,000 for the second fiscal year beginning after 
     the date of the enactment of this Act.
       Amend the title so as to read: ``A bill to establish the 
     Commission to Study the Potential Creation of a National 
     Museum of American Latino Heritage to develop a plan of 
     action for the establishment and maintenance of a National 
     Museum of American Latino Heritage in Washington, DC, and for 
     other purposes.''.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Gohmert) and the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kind) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.
  Mr. GOHMERT. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, H.R. 2134 would create a commission to study and 
report on the potential creation of a National Museum of American 
Latino Heritage. The commission would be comprised of 23 members 
appointed by the President, the Speaker, the House Minority Leader, the 
Senate Majority Leader, and the Senate Minority Leader. The commission 
would issue a report on the cost of the museum, fund-raising, its 
impact on other Hispanic- and Latino-related museums, the possible 
location, and how the museum should be operated.
  I appreciate the cooperation of Chairman Ehlers of the Committee on 
House Administration to allow this bill to be scheduled today, and I 
urge adoption of the bill.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. KIND. Madam Speaker, I would like to yield at this time such time 
as he may consume to the chief sponsor of this legislation, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Becerra).
  Mr. BECERRA. Madam Speaker, I would like to first begin by thanking 
our managers of the time for their patience and indulgence in moving 
forward so many good pieces of legislation.
  I want to thank, first and foremost, the principal co-chair of this 
legislation, Ms. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, for her efforts in 
trying to help move this legislation forward. And while I have a 
written statement, which I will submit for the Record, I also want to 
thank the work of the committee chairman and ranking members here, not 
only the full committee members, Mr. Pombo, and Mr. Rahall, the ranking 
member, but also our National Parks chairman, Mr. Pearce, and ranking 
member Mrs. Christensen for their work in moving this bill through the 
Resources Committee. And, of course, the chairman, Mr. Ehlers, and 
ranking member, Ms. Millender-McDonald, from the Committee on House 
Administration for also moving the bill through their committee.

                              {time}  2345

  I certainly want to thank them very much for the work of the 
leadership to place this bill on the suspension calendar.
  Madam Speaker, I thank my colleagues, the gentleman from New Mexico 
(Mr. Pearce) and the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Ms. 
Christensen) for their work in support of H.R. 2134, the National 
American Latino Heritage Museum Commission Act.
  I am also grateful to the leadership and members of the House 
Committee on Resources and the Committee on House Administration for 
bringing this legislation to the floor today.
  I first sponsored this legislation with my good friend, 
Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, during Hispanic Heritage Month 
nearly three years ago. Since then, we have been hearing from many 
supporters, not just in the Latino community, but throughout the 
nation. The Senate version of this bill was sponsored by Senator Ken 
Salazar and Senator Mel Martinez.
  We have a good, bipartisan group of co-sponsors, but I would like to 
emphasize that this is non-partisan legislation that will benefit all 
Americans. Our national museums have great influence over what 
Americans know and believe about our collective history and cultural 
life. When the children of America visit the capital to learn what our 
museums have to teach them, they go home believing that they have an 
understanding about what it means to be an American. H.R. 2134 would 
bring light to the issue of whether our national museums are doing all 
they can to provide future generations a more complete portrayal of 
American Latino contributions to American life, by showing that 
American Latinos are and always have been a part of the American 
experience.
  The bipartisan Commission created by this bill (``Commission'') would 
be charged with examining and reporting to Congress and the President 
their recommendations on whether and how to establish a new museum 
dedicated to the art, history, and culture of the American Latino 
population of the United States. The Commission would be comprised of 
experts from the national art and museum communities as well as 
individuals with experience in administration and development of 
cultural institutions. Commissioners would be appointed in a bipartisan 
manner by the President and the leaders of the House and Senate.
  Along with the question of whether a new museum is warranted, the 
Commission would examine such issues as the capacity for fundraising 
for a new museum, the availability of a collection to exhibit, whether 
a new museum should be part of the Smithsonian Institution or 
independent, the cost of establishing and maintaining a museum, and 
where a museum might be located in Washington, D.C. or its environs. 
Congress then may choose whether to act on the recommendations as it 
sees fit.
  American Latinos will play an ever increasing role in the whole of 
our society. Americans of Latino heritage are a very youthful 
population and are projected to be more integral to the nation's 
economy, workforce, and electorate. Almost half of American Latinos are 
under the age of 25. American Latinos have a higher proportion of 
preschool aged children among their population then any other group. 
Similarly, 11 percent of the Latino population is under the age of 
five. Among our nation's school-age population, about every fifth 
student is Latino. In fact, the Census Bureau tells

[[Page H7666]]

us that every fifth child born today in the United States is an 
American of Latino heritage.
  Americans of Latino heritage have been part of American history since 
before the founding of the United States. They were present on the 
American continent for more than two centuries prior to the Declaration 
of Independence. Spanish colonists founded the first permanent 
settlement in the territorial United States in St. Augustine, Florida 
in 1565, four decades before Jamestown and Plymouth Rock. The first 
church in North America was constructed by the Spanish in 1598 at San 
Juan Pueblo, 30 miles north of Santa Fe. One of the sixteen windows in 
the Colorado State Capitol depicts Casimiro Barela, a Hispano and 
former Governor and member of the state senate from 1876 to 1914, who 
was instrumental in the state's decision to publish all laws in 
English, German and Spanish.
  During the American Revolutionary War, General Washington's army was 
successful at Yorktown in part because of support from a multiethnic 
army led by Spanish General Bernardo de Galvez on a southern front 
against the British, driving them out of the Gulf of Mexico, fighting 
them on the Mississippi and in Florida. The town of Galveston, Texas is 
named for him.

  In every subsequent military conflict, American Latino soldiers 
fought alongside their American brethren. One of the first U.S. 
soldiers to die in Iraq, Jose Gutierrez, was an orphaned Guatemalan who 
at the time of his death was not even an American citizen. American 
Latino participation in our armed forces is not a new phenomenon. More 
than 10,000 Americans of Latino heritage fought for both the North and 
the South during the civil war. It has been estimated that anywhere 
from 250,000 to 500,000 American Latinos served in the armed forces 
during World War II. Over 53,000 Puerto Ricans served in World War II 
during the period 1940-1946.
  According to the Pew Hispanic Center, while Latinos make up 9.5 
percent of the actively enlisted forces, they are over-represented in 
the categories that get the most dangerous assignments (infantry, gun 
crews and seamanship) and make up over 17.5 percent of the front lines. 
This is likely the reason why, as a proportion of their total numbers, 
American Latinos have earned more Congressional Medals of Honor than 
any other ethnic group.
  Presently, Latinos have one of the highest retention rates in 
military service. Their dedication is rooted in their deep belief in 
protecting American values demonstrated by post enlistment surveys 
which illustrate that Latino recruits note ``patriotism'' and ``service 
to country'' as the top two reasons for joining, as well as ``duty'' 
and ``honor.''
  The richness of American culture also has benefited greatly from 
contributions made by the American Latino community.
  New Orleans jazz legend Jelly Roll Morton said that our 
quintessential American music, jazz, was born with a ``Spanish tinge.'' 
The famous jazz saxophonist Stan Getz released several albums in the 
1950s that integrated Brazilian samba into traditional jazz, and used 
the paintings of a Latina, Olga Abizu, for his album covers.
  Many of our old American icons were also influenced by American 
Latino culture. The term ``buckaroo'' is derived form the Spanish word 
``vaquero'' or cowman, from which we also got the word ``cowboy.'' 
Cowboy garb, boots and wide brimmed hats are all derived from the 
traditions of the northern Mexican charros and caballeros.
  In science, the ground-controlled radar systems used for aircraft 
landings, and the meteorite theory of dinosaur extinction were both 
discovered by an American Latino, Californian Luis Walter Alvarez. 
Without American Latino ingenuity in bringing large-scale irrigation 
systems, or acequias, to the Southwest, the semi-arid climate would not 
have supported the crops that allowed colonization. The earliest 
acequias in Texas were dug by Pueblo Indians in 1680, portions of this 
system which were still in use in the early 1990s.
  The civil rights era was a time in which American Latinos also made 
contributions. Before Brown v. Board of Education, California schools 
were desegregated by Mendez v. Westminster School District, a federal 
lawsuit brought by the parents of Mexican American students.
  American Latinos also are investing mightily in the American economy. 
American Latino purchasing power nationally will top $1.08 trillion by 
2010, up 413 percent from $212 billion in 1990--a gain far greater than 
the 177 percent increase in the buying power of all U.S. consumers in 
the same period. From 1997-2002, the number of businesses owned by 
American Latinos grew by 31 percent, three times the national average. 
These are indicators that American Latinos will be increasingly vital 
to the nation's economic well-being.
  These examples show that the American Latino experience is integral 
to the nation's past and future. Yet scarcely any of the exhibits in 
our national museums in the nation's capital portray American Latino 
contributions to American life.
  H.R. 2134 would take the next step toward ensuring that the lessons 
taught by our premier institutions for the arts, humanities, and 
American history include a better representation of Latino 
contributions. We hope that we will soon be able to say that the 
nation's capital truly exhibits America's rich cultural diversity.
  I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation.
  Ms. MILLENDER-McDONALD. Madam Speaker, as Ranking Member of the 
Committee on House Administration, which favorably reported this 
important legislation along with the Resources Committee, I urge my 
colleagues to move quickly so that the bill can become law this year 
and we can begin the process of planning a National Museum of American 
Latino Heritage here in Washington, D.C. I congratulate Rep. Becerra 
and Rep. Ros-Lehtinen for their leadership in introducing this 
legislation and for their hard work in pushing it forward.
  Persons of Hispanic, or Latino, descent have lived in the Western 
Hemisphere since the 16th Century. In the United States, they have 
become the largest minority group, and their impact will only grow 
stronger in the future. The culture of the Americas reflects a unique 
mixture of what was inherited from Europe, retained from the indigenous 
Native American inhabitants, contributed by Africans brought here 
during the era of slavery, and stirred in the melting pot of 
interaction with later immigrants from all around the world.
  I am pleased to support consideration of a Latino Museum which I hope 
would undertake serious scholarly research as well as create and 
display exhibits to tell the story of the American Latino to an ever 
growing population, which will be increasingly exposed to such cultural 
influences in the years ahead. This is a project which all Americans 
can enthusiastically embrace.
  Our Committee on House Administration worked for years with the 
gentleman from Georgia, Rep. John Lewis, to establish the Smithsonian 
African American Museum which finally became law in 2003. That 
legislation worked its way through Congress over a period of 17 years, 
passing the House and the Senate in different forms during that time, 
and then being successfully revived and studied by a Commission 
appointed by the President and Congress.
  Madam Speaker, that Commission worked through 2002 and early 2003 to 
compile information and recommendations for Congress to use in 
considering whether to finally establish the Museum, and in what form. 
While we did not accept all of the Commission's recommendations, I 
found that it provided invaluable focus and momentum in moving the 
project forward.
  H.R. 2134, and any future legislation to establish a new Museum which 
may spring from it, will hopefully enjoy a less tortuous path to a 
successful conclusion. The Commission to be created by this bill 
relating to the Museum of American Latino Heritage is largely patterned 
after the African American Museum Commission, and this time we are 
considering establishing the Commission at the beginning of the process 
of studying a Museum rather than near the end.
  The new Commission will examine, among other issues, whether this new 
Museum should be part of the Smithsonian Institution, as is the new 
African American Museum. The Smithsonian has unique expertise in both 
museum governance and successfully presenting information which tells a 
story in both educational and entertaining ways.
  Madam Speaker, I urge passage of this legislation.
  Mr. KIND. Madam Speaker, again I want to congratulate and commend my 
colleague for his leadership and encourage adoption, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. GOHMERT. Madam Speaker, we are grateful to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Becerra) for his work.
  We have no additional speakers, and yield back the balance of our 
time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gohmert) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 2134, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  The title of the bill was amended so as to read: ``A bill to 
establish the Commission to Study the Potential Creation of a National 
Museum of American Latino Heritage to develop a plan of action for the 
establishment and maintenance of a National Museum of American Latino 
Heritage in Washington, DC, and for other purposes.''.

[[Page H7667]]

  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________