[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 115 (Tuesday, July 22, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H6619-H6620]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  EXTENSION OF LEGISLATIVE AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH COMMEMORATIVE WORK 
                  HONORING FORMER PRESIDENT JOHN ADAMS

  Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3802) to extend the legislative authority of the Adams 
Memorial Foundation to establish a commemorative work in honor of 
former President John Adams and his legacy, and for other purposes, as 
amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 3802

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

     SECTION 1. EXTENSION OF LEGISLATIVE AUTHORITY FOR MEMORIAL 
                   ESTABLISHMENT.

       Section 1 of Public Law 107-62 (40 U.S.C. 1003 note), as 
     amended by Public Law 111-169, is amended--
       (1) by striking ``2013'' and inserting ``2020'' in 
     subsection (c); and
       (2) by amending subsection (e) to read as follows:
       ``(e) Deposit of Excess Funds for Established Memorial.--
       ``(1) If upon payment of all expenses for the establishment 
     of the memorial (including the maintenance and preservation 
     amount required by section 8906(b)(1) of title 40, United 
     States Code), there remains a balance of funds received for 
     the establishment of the commemorative work, the Adams 
     Memorial Foundation shall transmit the amount of the balance 
     to the account provided for in section 8906(b)(3) of title 
     40, United States Code.
       ``(2) If upon expiration of the authority for the 
     commemorative work under section 8903(e) of title 40, United 
     States Code, there remains a balance of funds received for 
     the establishment of the commemorative work, the Adams 
     Memorial Foundation shall transmit the amount of the balance 
     to a separate account with the National Park Foundation for 
     memorials, to be available to the Secretary of the Interior 
     or the Administrator (as appropriate) following the process 
     provided for in section 8906(b)(4) of title 40, United States 
     Code, for accounts established under section 8906(b)(2) or 
     (3) of title 40, United States Code.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Montana (Mr. Daines) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Holt) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Montana.


                             General Leave

  Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
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 Montana?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  In 2001, President George Bush signed Public Law 107-62, which 
authorized the Adams Memorial Foundation to create a commemorative work 
on Federal land in the District of Columbia. When completed, the 
memorial will honor former President John Adams, along with his wife, 
Abigail Adams, former President John Quincy Adams, and their legacy of 
public service.
  The Foundation has been working towards securing a location for the 
memorial, but a previous extension to their authority expired in 2013. 
H.R. 3802 authorizes an extension to this authority so that the 
Foundation may continue development and planning until December 2, 
2020. No Federal funds are involved in the creation of this memorial 
and this extension has no impact on the Federal budget.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  As many of us know, finding a location for a memorial in Washington, 
D.C., is not always easy. In 2001, Congress authorized the Adams 
Memorial Foundation to establish a memorial in Washington, D.C., to 
honor the public service and legacy of the Adams family. Planning often 
takes longer sometimes than the initial authorization allows, and in 
this case, the Foundation was granted an extension, which expired in 
2013. H.R. 3802 grants another extension until 2020.
  I am happy to provide more time to make sure that President John 
Adams and his wife, Abigail Adams, and President John Quincy Adams all 
receive the commemoration in our Nation's Capital that their sacrifice 
and service deserve.
  I would particularly like to thank my colleague from Massachusetts 
(Mr. Lynch) for sponsoring this bill and for navigating it through the 
legislative process. I think without his hard work this memorial may 
have been mired in the planning process and might never be built. I now 
believe that, with this extension, we will see a worthy and fitting 
commemoration of the Adams family.
  With that, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield such time as he may 
consume to my colleague from Massachusetts (Mr. Lynch).
  Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman for yielding 
the time and also for his kind words.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill, H.R. 3802, to extend the 
legislative authority for the Adams Memorial Foundation to establish a 
commemorative work in honor of former President John Adams and his 
legacy, and for other purposes.
  I would like to thank full committee Chairman Doc Hastings and 
Ranking Member Peter DeFazio, as well as the gentleman from Utah, 
Subcommittee Chairman Rob Bishop, and Ranking Member Raul Grijalva for 
helping get this very important bill to the floor.
  This bill simply extends the authorization of the Adams Memorial 
Foundation for 7 years. It is supported by the entire Massachusetts 
delegation, as well as Chairman Bishop, as I said, and will allow the 
Adams Memorial Foundation, the National Park Service, the National 
Capital Memorial Advisory Commission, and all stakeholders to continue 
to work toward finding a site and building a commemorative memorial 
honoring President John Adams and his family and the role they played 
in the shaping of our great Nation.
  I have the great and good fortune to represent the Massachusetts 
Eighth Congressional District, a district rich in history that includes 
the city of Quincy, nicknamed the ``City of Presidents.'' Quincy is 
home to the Adams National Historic Park, birthplace of John Adams, and 
the home at which his family lived until 1927. I am also proud to hold 
the House seat associated with our Nation's sixth President and 
dedicated public servant, John Quincy Adams.
  John Adams was a defender of due process, champion of independence, 
diplomat, Vice President, President, and Founding Father. He authored 
the Massachusetts Constitution, which is the oldest continually 
functioning written constitution in the world and the document after 
which the United States Constitution, frequently referenced on this 
very floor, was modeled.
  As the second President of the United States, he was first to reside 
in the District of Columbia and to occupy the White House. Yet there is 
no memorial in our Nation's Capital dedicated to one of our most 
influential Founding Fathers, a man Thomas Jefferson called ``a 
colossus of independence.'' That is a tragic omission that must be 
corrected.
  Our former colleague, my dear friend, Congressman Bill Delahunt, 
acted to

[[Page H6620]]

correct this oversight when he introduced a bill authorizing the 
creation of the Adams Memorial Foundation.
  The Adams Memorial Foundation was established to commemorate not only 
John Adams, but also the legacy of the Adams family, who for 
generations embraced his ideals. That includes his wife, Abigail; his 
son and our sixth President and Congressman, John Quincy Adams; his 
wife, Louisa Catherine; their son, Charles Francis; and his sons, Henry 
and Brooks Adams.
  As the enabling legislation states:

       Both individually and collectively, the members of this 
     illustrious family have enriched the Nation through their 
     profound civic consciousness, abiding belief in the 
     perfectibility of the Nation's democracy, and commitment to 
     service and sacrifice for the common good.

  Since its authorization, the Adams Memorial Foundation, which counts 
among its leadership members of the Adams family and respected 
historians and architects, has been committed to realizing its goal of 
creating a commemorative memorial. However, siting a commemorative 
memorial in the Nation's Capital is an arduous undertaking, as my 
colleagues have pointed out.
  Despite broad support and the best efforts of the Adams Memorial 
Foundation, we remain without an agreed-upon location--but we are 
getting much closer--for this important memorial. I know that all 
stakeholders firmly believe the Adams legacy is worthy of memorializing 
in the Nation's Capital. This bill, if passed, will give all parties 
the time needed to reach agreement on a location that appropriately 
honors President Adams' legacy.
  For many of us who grew up in Massachusetts, the John and Abigail 
Adams family and their contributions to the Commonwealth and our Nation 
serve as a beacon upon which to focus our own efforts. George 
Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams are referred to as the 
sword, the pen, and the voice of our Nation's independence. Yet the 
voice, which was carried for generations beyond independence, goes 
unrecognized in this seat of the government he helped to create and 
sustain.
  In closing, I look forward to working with the Adams Memorial 
Foundation, the National Park Service, the National Capital Memorial 
Advisory Commission, and all stakeholders to correct this oversight.
  I thank Chairman Bishop of Utah again for his courtesy and support of 
this legislation, and I urge my colleagues to support this very 
important bill.
  Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman from Montana is ready to 
close, I strongly recommend we pass the bill, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, I, too, strongly support the passage of this 
bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Montana (Mr. Daines) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 3802, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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