Congressional Record, Volume 162 Issue 64 (Tuesday, April 26, 2016)

[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 64 (Tuesday, April 26, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H1979-H1981]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

VIRGIN ISLANDS OF THE UNITED STATES CENTENNIAL COMMISSION ACT

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 2615) to establish the Virgin Islands of the United States
Centennial Commission, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:

H.R. 2615

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 ``Virgin Islands of the United
States Centennial Commission Act''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT.

There is established a commission to be known as the
``Virgin Islands of the United States Centennial Commission''
(in this Act referred to as the ``Commission'').

SEC. 3. DUTIES OF COMMISSION.

The Commission shall--
(1) plan, develop, and carry out such activities as the
Commission determines to be appropriate to commemorate the
100th anniversary of the Virgin Islands of the United States
becoming an unincorporated territory of the United States;
(2) provide advice and assistance to Federal, State, and
local governmental agencies, as well as civic groups to carry
out activities to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the
Virgin Islands of the United States becoming an
unincorporated territory of the United States; and
(3) submit to the President and Congress the reports
required pursuant to section 7.

SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP.

(a) Number and Appointment.--The Commission shall be
composed of 8 members as follows:
(1) The Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Insular
Affairs or a designee of the Assistant Secretary.
(2) One member appointed by the Governor of the Virgin
Islands of the United States or a designee of the Governor.
(3) Two Members of the House of Representatives appointed
by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
(4) One Member of the House of Representatives appointed by
the minority leader of the House of Representatives.
(5) Two Members of the Senate appointed by the majority
leader of the Senate.
(6) One Member of the Senate appointed by the minority
leader of the Senate.
(b) Terms.--Each member of the Commission shall be
appointed for the life of the Commission.
(c) Deadline for Appointment.--All members of the
Commission shall be appointed not later than 90 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act.
(d) Vacancies.--A vacancy on the Commission shall--
(1) not affect the powers of the Commission; and
(2) be filled in the manner in which the original
appointment was made.
(e) Rates of Pay.--Members shall not receive compensation
for the performance of duties on behalf of the Commission.
(f) Travel Expenses.--Each member of the Commission shall
be reimbursed for travel and per diem in lieu of subsistence
expenses during the performance of duties of the Commission
while away from home or regular place of business of the
member, in accordance with applicable provisions under
subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code.
(g) Quorum.--A majority of the members of the Commission
shall constitute a quorum to conduct business, but two or
more members may hold hearings.
(h) Chairperson.--The chairperson of the Commission shall
be selected by a majority vote of the members of the
Commission.

SEC. 5. DIRECTOR AND STAFF OF COMMISSION.

(a) Director and Staff.--The Commission shall appoint an
executive director and such other additional personnel as are
necessary to enable the Commission to perform the duties of
the Commission.
(b) Applicability of Certain Civil Service Laws.--The
executive director and staff of the Commission may be
appointed without regard to the provisions of title 5, United
States Code, governing appointments in the competitive
service, and may be paid without regard to the provisions of
chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title
relating to classification and General Schedule pay rates,
except that the rate of pay for the executive director and
other staff may not exceed the rate payable for level III of
the Executive Schedule under section 5314 of such title.
(c) Detail of Federal Employees.--Upon request of the
Commission, the Secretary of the Interior or the Archivist of
the United States may detail, on a reimbursable basis, any of
the personnel of the Department of the Interior or the
National Archives and Records Administration, respectively to
the Commission to assist the Commission to perform the duties
of the Commission.
(d) Experts and Consultants.--The Commission may procure
such temporary and intermittent services from experts and
consultants as are necessary to enable the Commission to
perform the duties of the Commission.
(e) Volunteer and Uncompensated Services.--Notwithstanding
section 1342 of title 31, United States Code, the Commission
may accept and use voluntary and uncompensated services as
the Commission determines necessary.

SEC. 6. POWERS OF COMMISSION.

(a) Hearings.--The Commission may, for the purpose of
carrying out this Act, hold hearings, sit and act at times
and places, take testimony, and receive evidence as the
Commission considers appropriate.
(b) Mails.--The Commission may use the United States mails
in the same manner and under the same conditions as other
Federal agencies.
(c) Obtaining Official Data.--The Commission may secure
directly from any Federal agency information necessary to
enable the Commission to perform the duties of the
Commission. Upon request of the chairperson of the
Commission, the head of that Federal agency shall furnish
that information to the Commission.
(d) Gifts, Bequests, Devises.--The Commission may solicit,
accept, use, and dispose of gifts, bequests, or devises of
money, services, or property, both real and personal, for the
purpose of aiding or facilitating the work of the Commission.
(e) Available Space.--Upon the request of the Commission,
the Administrator of General Services shall make available to
the Commission, at a normal rental rate for Federal agencies,
such assistance and facilities as may be necessary for the
Commission to perform the duties of the Commission.
(f) Contract Authority.--The Commission may enter into
contracts with and compensate the Federal Government, State
and local governments, private entities, or individuals to
enable the Commission to perform the duties of the
Commission.

SEC. 7. REPORTS.

(a) Annual Reports.--Not later than January 31 of each
year, and annually thereafter until the final report is
submitted pursuant to subsection (b), the Commission shall
submit to the President and the Congress a report on--
(1) the activities of the Commission; and
(2) the revenue and expenditures of the Commission,
including a list of each gift, bequest, or devise to the
Commission with a value of more than $250, including the
identity of the donor of each gift, bequest, or devise.
(b) Final Report.--Not later than January 31, 2018, the
Commission shall submit a final report to the President and
the Congress containing--
(1) a summary of the activities of the Commission; and
(2) a final accounting of funds received and expended by
the Commission.

SEC. 8. ANNUAL AUDIT.

The Inspector General of the Department of the Interior--

[[Page H1980]]

(1) may perform an audit of the Commission;
(2) shall make the results of any such audit available to
the public; and
(3) shall transmit such results to the Committee on
Oversight and Government Reform of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate.

SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:
(1) Federal agency.--The term ``Federal agency'' has the
meaning given the term ``agency'' in section 551 of title 5,
United States Code.
(2) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several
States, the District of Columbia, each territory or
possession of the United States, and each federally
recognized Indian tribe.

SEC. 10. TERMINATION.

The Commission shall terminate on September 30, 2018, or
may terminate at an earlier date determined by the Commission
after the final report is submitted pursuant to section 7(b).

SEC. 11. NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED.

No Federal funds are authorized or may be obligated to
carry out this Act.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Utah (Mr. Chaffetz) and the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Ms.
Plaskett) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Utah.

General Leave

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which 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 Utah?
There was no objection.
Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I prefer to have the gentlewoman from the
Virgin Islands, who is the chief sponsor of this bill, speak first on
this issue.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume
and thank the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Chaffetz) for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak on behalf of H.R. 2615, the Virgin
Islands of the United States Centennial Commission Act. H.R. 2615 will
establish a short-term commission to research, plan, develop, and carry
out activities related to the 100th anniversary of the Virgin Islands
becoming part of the United States.
The commission will revisit the history leading up to and directly
following the transfer of the islands from Denmark to the United
States. Its purpose will be to educate those unaware of that history on
a national level of the importance of the territories to the
geopolitical advancement of this great Nation.
The history of the Virgin Islands and its people is profound, Mr.
Speaker. It tells a story of a land so resource-rich and unique in its
geography that it was occupied by seven different nations. It tells the
story of a resilient people who insurrected slavery and colonial
oppression to achieve self-governance.
In 1493, when Christopher Columbus landed on the island of St. Croix,
which was then called Aye Aye by its native inhabitants, it is the only
place in what is now the United States in which Christopher Columbus
landed, but it is also reported to be the first place that he met armed
resistance. He renamed islands, part of a chain, the Virgin Islands.
In 1733, on the island of St. John, the slaves rose up, taking
control of the island for almost a year until European powers worked
together and the Danish received the help of the French and Spanish
Armada to help quell what would have been and was one of the first
slave uprisings in the New World.
In the mid-1700s, a young boy on the island of St. Croix by the name
of Alexander Hamilton received the support of merchant patrons on the
island who put together sufficient money to finance his travel and
education to the Colonies. He brought to the Colonies his understanding
of finance and a monetary system learned from apprenticeship from those
merchants, as well as the unique accounting theories from the West
African slaves of the island.
Those economic gifts, along with his fighting spirit for revolution,
liberty, and abolitionist fervor served him and this country well, as
he would soon become the first United States Secretary of the Treasury
and creator of our modern financial system.
Virgin Islanders have played an integral role in the history of this
Nation well before we were even part of this country. From its
inception and beyond, activists and politicians, David Levy Yulee, the
first Jewish United States Senator; Denmark Vesey, leader of the
Charleston, South Carolina, slave revolt; Judah Benjamin, Secretary of
Treasury of the Confederate Army, are all Virgin Islanders.
William Leidesdorff, the founder of San Francisco, and Edward Wilmot
Blyden, one of the founders of Liberia, are also from the Virgin
Islands.
After purchase by the United States in 1917, the contributions of
Virgin Islanders have continued through individuals like David Hamilton
Jackson, who was a staunch free press advocate and labor movement
leader; Hubert Harrison, a key figure in the movement of the Harlem
Renaissance; military veterans like Alton Adams, who was the first
African American naval bandleader; and General Samuel Ebbesen.
Ambassador Terence Todman and Congress of Racial Equality chief, Roy
Innis, are Virgin Islanders. Actor Kelsey Grammer and future NBA Hall-
of-Famer Timothy Duncan are all from the Virgin Islands.
The first female physician of this body as a Member of Congress, my
predecessor, Donna Christensen, is a Virgin Islander.
During the time of exploration and slave trade, our geographic
location made us a hub of Western Hemisphere commerce for several
centuries and served a crucial role in naval military activity in the
Caribbean Basin.
So nearly a century ago, the United States purchased the Virgin
Islands from Denmark for its geographic importance. On March 31, 2017,
the Virgin Islands of the United States will celebrate 100 years as a
possession and part of the union of the United States.
This bill, H.R. 2615, establishes the Virgin Islands of the United
States Centennial Commission to research, plan, develop, and carry out
activities the commission considers appropriate to commemorate--and I
say commemorate, not celebrate--commemorate a more solemn and worthy
endeavor, the 100th anniversary of the Virgin Islands of the United
States becoming an unincorporated territory of the United States.
Now, I have spent a lot of time talking about the Virgin Islands'
history and people because at the time of its transfer nearly 100 years
ago, little thought was given to the history, and even less to the
people of the Virgin Islands.
As the Islanders during that time, my ancestors, my grandparents,
watched the Danish flag come down and the Stars and Stripes unfold and
ripple over the Fort in Christiansted and over many places in the
Virgin Islands, they thought out loud: We knew what we had, but we
don't know what we are going to get.
Our elders and leaders hoped and believed that the purchase by the
United States would herald greater opportunities and profound
modernization. Unfortunately, this has not happened.

It took a decade of petitioning and lobbying to be given citizenship,
and we asked for--we asked for it and petitioned again to be part of
the draft.
What people willingly offer their sons to fight and die, except those
wholly willing to be part of the entire American experience?
Even now we have greater casualties per capita than any other group
in this Nation in a volunteer military and is an example in part of our
valor and patriotism.
Through passage of H.R. 2615, the commission will serve as a vehicle
to begin the work to tell the story and serve to expose the aspirations
and dreams of the American people who call the Virgin Islands home.
The commission will begin a national conservation, a discussion to
assist in commemorating the great relationship between the United
States and its islands--its American islands.
The commission will allow a platform for meaningful dialogue around
the Virgin Islands' history with the United States, the genesis of the
issues affecting the territory, as well as how we solve them.
This is an opportunity to engage lawmakers and our Nation around the
challenges and enormous opportunities present in the Virgin Islands--
opportunities like our ports and transshipment position, our broadband
capacity, our intellectual and artistic pursuits, our university which
serves as the only

[[Page H1981]]

HBCU in the Caribbean, and, most important, our people. Yes, the people
still waiting to be recognized and made whole in that transfer nearly a
century ago.
As the Virgin Islands enters this next century under United States
jurisdiction, it will have continued relevance in the region as foreign
investments, commerce, information technology, and maritime traffic
grow in the Caribbean. It is my hope and it is my dream that its people
will have greater relevance in this great Nation and that this
commission will show all the importance of that.
I would like to thank all of the members of the committee for
supporting this bill, voting it unanimously out of committee, and thank
Ranking Member Cummings and especially the chairman, Mr. Chaffetz, for
working with my staff and me on this bill.

{time} 1745

This bipartisan commission, which will be comprised of House and
Senate Members along with the administration and other officials, seems
only fitting, as the 100th anniversary comes only once.
I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 2615.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
How can you reject that? She said it as eloquently and as
passionately from her heart as you possibly could. I am pleased that we
could move this forward.
In short, this bill creates a bipartisan congressional commission to
plan and carry out commemorative activities for the 100th anniversary
of the Virgin Islands becoming an unincorporated territory of the
United States. The transfer of the Virgin Islands from Denmark to the
United States in 1917 was a significant historic and cultural event.
Under the bill, the bipartisan commission will develop, plan, and
execute formal commemorative activities to honor the rich heritage of
the Virgin Islands. The commission's goal is to highlight the cultural,
economic, and historical importance of the Virgin Islands. By
celebrating this anniversary, the commission also has the opportunity
to educate the citizens about the history of the United States Virgin
Islands.
The commission may solicit and accept gifts and donations to fund its
activities, but there is a prohibition, as the legislation bars any use
of Federal funds.
Again, I thank our colleague, Stacey Plaskett, the Delegate from the
Virgin Islands, for her passion and caring. It is one of the most
beautiful places on the face of the planet--second, of course, to
Utah's Third Congressional District. But, nevertheless, I think that is
why they accepted this. I hope everybody gets a chance to visit there.
My daughter--on a personal note--was able to work there this past
summer for 3 months. She thoroughly enjoyed the people, the culture,
and the sheer beauty that is the Virgin Islands.
I look forward to supporting this piece of legislation.
I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Utah (Mr. Chaffetz) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 2615, 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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