[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 6203-6204]
[From the U.S. 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, 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

[[Page 6204]]

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. 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.
  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 588, the 
Vietnam Veterans Donor Acknowledgment Act of 2013. This legislation 
will permit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund to display and recognize 
donor contributions at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Visitor Center. 
Other memorials located on the National Mall, including the MLK 
Memorial and FDR Memorial, include engraved walls of donors. By 
allowing recognition of major donors at the Visitor Center, this will 
allow the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund to reach its goal of raising 
$95 million in private funds to complete construction of the Education 
Center at the Wall.
  It is in our national interest to make sure there is a place to 
properly honor the fallen and pay the proper respects to all Americans 
who so proudly display the values of honor, service and duty by wearing 
our country's uniform. The Education Center at The Wall will be just 
that place. Passing this legislation will help fulfill our 
responsibility to ensure that future generations understand the 
tremendous sacrifices made by those who have answered the nation's call 
to duty for more than 200 years, as well as the living legacy of 
service carried forward by today's military.
  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.

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