[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 124 (Wednesday, September 15, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H6713-H6714]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    ESTABLISHING ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS VETERANS' CURATION PROGRAM

  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend 
the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5282) to provide funds to the Army 
Corps of Engineers to hire veterans and members of the Armed Forces to 
assist the Corps with curation and historic preservation activities, 
and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 5282

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds the following:
       (1) The Corps of Engineers and other Federal agencies are 
     required to preserve and catalogue artifacts and other items 
     of national historical significance that are uncovered during 
     the course of their work.
       (2) Uncatalogued artifacts within the care of Federal 
     agencies are stored in hundreds of repositories and museums 
     across the Nation.
       (3) In October 2009, the Corps of Engineers, Center of 
     Expertise for Curation and Management of Archeological 
     Collections, used $3,500,000 in temporary funds made 
     available in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 
     2009 (Public Law 111-5) to begin the Veterans' Curation 
     Program to employ and train Iraq and Afghanistan veterans in 
     archaeological processing.
       (4) The Veterans' Curation Program employs veterans and 
     members of the Armed Forces in the sorting, cleaning, and 
     cataloguing of artifacts managed by the Corps of Engineers.
       (5) Employees of the Veterans' Curation Program gain 
     valuable work skills, including computer database management, 
     records management, photographic and scanning techniques, 
     computer software proficiency, vocabulary and writing skills, 
     and interpersonal communication skills, as well as knowledge 
     and training in archaeology and history.
       (6) Experience in archaeological curation gained through 
     the Veterans' Curation Program is valuable training and 
     experience for the museum, forensics, administrative, records 
     management, and other fields.
       (7) Veterans' Curation Program participants may assist the 
     Corps of Engineers in developing a more efficient and 
     comprehensive collections management program and also may 
     provide the workforce to meet the records management needs at 
     other agencies and departments, including the Department of 
     Veterans Affairs.

     SEC. 2. TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT FOR VETERANS AND MEMBERS OF 
                   ARMED FORCES IN CURATION AND HISTORIC 
                   PRESERVATION.

       (a) Training and Employment.--The Secretary of the Army, 
     acting through the Chief of Engineers, shall develop a 
     Veterans' Curation Program to hire veterans and members of 
     the Armed Forces to assist the Secretary in carrying out 
     curation and historic preservation activities.
       (b) Authorization of Appropriation.--There is authorized to 
     be appropriated to carry out this section--
       (1) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2011;
       (2) $6,000,000 for fiscal year 2012;
       (3) $7,000,000 for fiscal year 2013;
       (4) $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2014; and
       (5) $9,000,000 for fiscal year 2015.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. 
Mario Diaz-Balart) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Texas.


                             General Leave

  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous 
consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to 
revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous materials on 
H.R. 5282.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield myself 
such time as I may consume.
  I rise in strong support of H.R. 5282, a bill introduced by the 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Barrow) to provide a 5-year authorization 
for the Corps of Engineers' Veterans' Curation Program.

                              {time}  1300

  H.R. 5282 is a worthy piece of legislation. It provides job training 
to our veterans. It helps to record and protect our Nation's cultural 
resources, and it assists the Corps in fulfilling its obligations to 
protect our Nation's cultural and historical legacy.
  Thousands upon thousands of artifacts rest uncataloged in hundreds of 
museums and Federal repositories across the country. These objects 
represent our past and help describe who we are today. It is, 
therefore, a cultural imperative that we preserve and understand these 
pieces. It is also a matter of law and policy that we do so.
  The Veterans' Curation Program, located at labs in Georgia, the 
District of Columbia, and Missouri, provides veterans with a skill set 
to preserve the many cultural and historical artifacts encountered by 
the Corps of Engineers.
  These employees gain valuable work skills in a host of areas, 
including computer database management, photographic and scanning 
techniques, and software proficiency. The development of these skills 
provides valuable training and experience for future work at museums, 
forensics labs, records management entities, and at government 
agencies.
  This legislation authorizes the program for 5 years, through fiscal 
year 2015. It also provides a realistic step increase of authorized 
funding from $5 million in 2011 through $9 million in 2015. This will 
allow the Corps to incrementally expand the program in a rational and 
deliberate manner.
  The Corps has had success with this program using Recovery Act 
dollars, so I ask all of the Members to join me in supporting this 
bill. It will ensure the continuation of a worthwhile program that 
respects the Nation's cultural heritage at the same time as providing 
valuable training to the men and women who have valiantly served our 
Nation.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such 
time as I may consume.
  Serving our country in uniform is, frankly, probably the most noble 
thing that any human being can do, and it is such incredible sacrifice 
that our

[[Page H6714]]

troops do, and their families as well. And they are the ones who allow 
everything that we take for granted on a daily basis--to live in 
freedom, to live in democracy. They are the ones who allow us to do 
that. So today we have the opportunity to help transition our soldiers 
and our veterans into civilian life much more easily.
  H.R. 5282 will help to make opportunities available to the brave men 
and women who are returning from the fight on the global war on terror. 
And so this legislation will continue our commitment to our veterans 
through education and employment opportunities.
  As part of the civil works mission, the Corps of Engineers uncovers 
countless historic artifacts continuously. However, a lot of these 
historic artifacts which are very important items are, frankly, just 
uncataloged and just semi-abandoned, and they need curation.
  This is such a commonsense bill. It helps preserve our history and 
preserve our past, while also making sure that we give opportunities to 
the most noble, to the best and the brightest of our country, to our 
troops and to our veterans.
  I urge all Members to support our veterans and support this real 
commonsense, noble legislation.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield such time 
as he may consume to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Barrow).
  Mr. BARROW. I thank the gentlelady for yielding her leadership on 
this issue.
  Madam Speaker, in October of 2009, the Army Corps of Engineers used 
temporary funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to 
begin the Veterans' Curation project to employ and train wounded Iraq 
and Afghanistan veterans in archeological processing. The project gives 
these veterans an opportunity to learn transferable job skills and earn 
a fair wage while cataloging artifacts that the Corps has discovered 
and is required to preserve. The project now employs about 50 veterans 
in Augusta, Georgia; St. Louis, Missouri; and Washington, D.C.
  Unfortunately, temporary funding for the Veterans' Curation project 
is set to run out just when our returning veterans and our economy need 
it the most. H.R. 5282 provides long-term authorization for the program 
and will preserve the program and allow it to grow.
  The Veterans' Curation project not only helps educate, train, and 
employ veterans, but it allows them to heal through the power of 
meaningful work. Since the Army Corps of Engineers has to catalog these 
artifacts anyway, there can be no better qualified or more deserving 
group than our own veterans to help get the job done. We owe no debt as 
citizens that is greater than the debt we owe to the veterans who 
fought for our freedoms. We literally owe them everything.
  That is why I urge my colleagues to support this worthy program to 
help our wounded veterans heal and get good job skills at the same 
time. It's not only the right thing to do; it is the smart thing to do.
  Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Madam Speaker, I think the issue 
has been adequately explained. This is something that has to be done. 
Who better to do it? Who is more qualified and who is more deserving? 
Who is better to do it than our veterans, than our troops and our 
soldiers?
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5282, as 
amended, introduced by the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Barrow). This 
legislation makes permanent an innovative U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' 
program begun under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, 
Recovery Act, P.L. 111-5. Under the Recovery Act, the Corps allocated 
$3.5 million to open three Veterans Curation Project, VCP, laboratories 
throughout the nation. This legislation is important because it 
provides funding for hiring and training our veterans, while helping 
the Corps meet its cultural responsibilities. At a time when Americans 
need jobs more than ever, we should do all we can to increase training 
and employment, especially for returning veterans.
  One of the Army Corps' responsibilities is its role in providing 
curation support for its projects. Accordingly, the Corps identifies, 
evaluates, and manages cultural resources that are eligible for listing 
in, or are listed in, the National Register of Historic Places. The 
Corps is responsible for ensuring that cultural resource management 
activities are consistent with Federal laws and regulations pertaining 
to Native American rights, curation and collections management, and the 
protection of resources from looting and vandalism.
  To that end, the Corps used Recovery Act dollars to open three VCP 
laboratories in Augusta, Georgia; Washington, DC; and St. Louis, 
Missouri. These laboratories are tasked with carrying out the Corps' 
curation responsibilities, including cataloging, scanning, and 
photographing records and artifacts. At the same time, these 
laboratories use and train a workforce of disabled, wounded veterans, 
as well as veterans who have recently returned from overseas.
  The VCP program is a very important program for our veterans because 
it teaches them skills in computer databases, digital scanning, digital 
image capture, and writing. Veterans who participate in this program 
can use these technical skills in jobs outside the VCP laboratories, 
including as forensic technicians and records managers.
  This bill provides a statutory, five-year authorization of the Corps' 
Veterans Curation Project. The bill allows the Corps to meet its dual 
mission of hiring and training the Nation's veterans, while also 
carrying out its responsibilities to preserve and protect the Nation's 
cultural heritage.
  We owe our veterans all the training and support we can provide them 
when they return home from serving our country. I would also like to 
point out that the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
received letters of support for this legislation from the Veterans of 
Foreign Wars of the United States and the Society for American 
Archaeology.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 5282.
  Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Madam Speaker, I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I have no further 
requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5282, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________