[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 62 (Monday, May 6, 2013)]
[House]
[Pages H2409-H2410]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
VIETNAM VETERANS DONOR ACKNOWLEDGMENT ACT OF 2013
Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 588) to provide for donor contribution
acknowledgments to be displayed at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Visitor Center, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 588
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 ``Vietnam Veterans Donor
Acknowledgment Act of 2013''.
SEC. 2. DONOR CONTRIBUTION ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AT THE VIETNAM
VETERANS MEMORIAL VISITOR CENTER.
Section 6(b) of Public Law 96-297 (16 U.S.C. 431 note) is
amended--
(1) in paragraph (4) by striking the ``and'' after the
semicolon;
(2) in paragraph (5) by striking the period and inserting
``; and''; and
(3) by inserting at the end the following new paragraph:
``(6) notwithstanding section 8905(b)(7) of title 40,
United States Code--
``(A) the Secretary of the Interior shall allow the Vietnam
Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc. to acknowledge donor
contributions to the visitor center by displaying, inside the
visitor center, an appropriate statement or credit
acknowledging the contribution;
``(B) donor contribution acknowledgments shall be displayed
in a form approved by the Secretary of the Interior and for a
period of time commensurate with the level of the
contribution and the life of the facility;
``(C) the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund shall bear all
expenses related to the display of donor acknowledgments;
``(D) prior to the display of donor acknowledgments, the
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc. shall submit to the
Secretary for approval, its plan for displaying donor
acknowledgments;
``(E) such plan shall include the sample text and types of
the acknowledgments or credits to be displayed and the form
and location of all displays;
``(F) the Secretary shall approve the plan, if the
Secretary determines that the plan--
``(i) allows only short, discrete, and unobtrusive
acknowledgments or credits;
``(ii) does not permit any advertising slogans or company
logos; and
``(iii) conforms to applicable National Park Service
guidelines for indoor donor recognition; and
``(G) if the Secretary of the Interior determines that the
proposed plan submitted under this paragraph, does not meet
the requirements of this paragraph, the Secretary shall--
``(i) advise the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc. not
later than 30 days after receipt of the proposed plan of the
reasons that such plan does not meet the requirements; and
``(ii) allow the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc. to
submit a revised donor recognition plan.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Alaska (Mr. Young) and the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Grijalva) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Alaska.
General Leave
Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Alaska?
There was no objection.
Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, last year, Jan Scruggs, president of the Vietnam
Veterans Memorial Fund, came to my office and told me about an absurd
fund-raising problem he had. He told me that in order to build a much-
needed education center at the Vietnam Wall, he had to raise nearly
$100 million of private money. Normally, this would not be a big
problem; however, in this case,
[[Page H2410]]
VVMF had to raise all of this $100 million without the ability to
recognize their donors because current law did not allow donor
recognition.
Mr. Speaker, I think we can agree that it is ridiculous to force any
organization to fund-raise without the ability to recognize donors. How
are we supposed to raise any money? Even the National Park Service
understands the importance of donor recognition. I personally have seen
hundreds of benches in national parks all across this country that have
little metal plaques on them thanking people for their generous
donations.
In spite of current law and this donor recognition handicap, VVMF has
raised over 25 percent of the nearly $100 million needed to build this
education center. My bill, H.R. 588, will give them the extra pulling
power they need to quickly complete their fund-raising and finally
cross the $100 million finish line.
Overall, my bill is very straightforward. It merely provides VVMF the
ability to recognize their donors. This recognition will lead to larger
donations, a faster fund-raising pace, and quick and timely
construction of the education center. It will also make the act of
giving more personal and more rewarding. Put simply, every donor
deserves a ``thank you,'' and my bill will finally allow VVMF to give
the ``thank you'' their donors so rightly deserve.
{time} 1710
Also, in order to ensure that appropriate standards for donor
recognition were met, I made sure that H.R. 588 dovetailed exactly with
existing Parks Service guidelines. This regulatory overlap ensures that
any donor recognition will be discreet, unobtrusive, and will not
contain any advertising or company logos.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 588 is supported by numerous veterans'
organizations, including the VFW, the American Gold Star Mothers, the
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, and the Military Order of the
Purple Heart, among many others. I urge my colleagues to support the
quick passage this bill.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
(Mr. GRIJALVA asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Congressman Young for his
work on this legislation, and I am very proud to be a cosponsor.
H.R. 588 allows the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund to acknowledge
donor contributions to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Visitor Center.
The Memorial Fund has raised $45 million in private funds and
anticipates the cost of the center to be approximately $85 million.
This legislation is specific to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Visitor
Center and deserves immediate attention.
I am hopeful that subcommittee Chairman Bishop and I might explore
whether a broader amendment to the Commemorative Works Act, setting
standards for donor acknowledgment for all memorials covered under the
act, makes sense, but that project should not slow down this
legislation.
Again, I thank Congressman Young for his leadership, the leadership
of the foundation, and others who have worked very hard on this issue
for the past 2 years.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my
time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 588.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
____________________