I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4539 

To establish the 400 Years of African-American History Commission, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 11, 2016 

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia (for himself, Mr. RIGELL, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mr. 

FORBES, Mr. LEWIS, Mr. WITTMAN, Mr. BEYER, Mr. CONNOLLY, Ms. 

NORTON, Mr. RICHMOND, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. LEE, Mr. 

FATTAH, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. JEFFRIES, Mr. 

MEEKS, Mr. HASTINGS, Ms. BASS, Ms. FUDGE, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Mr. 

GUTIE ́RREZ, Ms. EDWARDS, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. DOGGETT, Ms. 

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. RANGEL, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. 

NORCROSS, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. COHEN, Mr. CONYERS, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. MOORE, Mr. 

RUSH, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of 

Georgia, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Mrs. WATSON

COLEMAN, Mr. MURPHY of Florida, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. SMITH

of Washington, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. AL

GREEN of Texas, Mr. HUFFMAN, Ms. PLASKETT, Mr. HONDA, and Ms. 

MCCOLLUM) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 

A BILL 

To establish the 400 Years of African-American History 

Commission, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘400 Years of African3 American History Commission Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

6 (1) COMMEMORATION.—The term ‘‘commemo7 ration’’ means the commemoration of the 400th an8 niversary of the arrival of Africans in the English 

9 colonies, at Point Comfort, Virginia, in 1619. 

10 (2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

11 means the 400 Years of African-American History 

12 Commission established by section 3(a). 

13 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

14 the Secretary of the Interior. 

15 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established a commis17 sion, to be known as the ‘‘400 Years of African-American 

18 History Commission’’. 

19 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

20 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Commission shall be 

21 composed of 15 members, of whom— 

22 (A) 3 members shall be appointed by the 

23 Secretary, after considering the recommenda24 tions of the Governor of Virginia; 

25 (B) 1 member shall be appointed by the 

26 Secretary, after considering the recommendaVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:30 Feb 13, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4539.IH H4539

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1 tions of the Chairman of the Committee on En2 ergy and Natural Resources of the Senate; 

3 (C) 4 members shall be appointed by the 

4 Secretary, after considering the recommenda5 tions of— 

6 (i) civil rights organizations; and 

7 (ii) historical organizations; 

8 (D) 1 member shall be an employee of the 

9 National Park Service having experience rel10 evant to the historical resources relating to the 

11 commemoration, to be appointed by the Sec12 retary; 

13 (E) 2 members shall be appointed by the 

14 Secretary, after considering the recommenda15 tions of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Insti16 tution; and 

17 (F) 4 members shall be individuals who 

18 have an interest in, support for, and expertise 

19 appropriate to the commemoration, to be ap20 pointed by the Secretary, after considering the 

21 recommendations of Members of Congress. 

22 (2) TIME OF APPOINTMENT.—Each appoint23 ment of an initial member of the Commission shall 

24 be made before the expiration of the 120-day period 

25 beginning on the date of enactment of this Act. 


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1 (3) TERM; VACANCIES.— 

2 (A) TERM.—A member of the Commission 

3 shall be appointed for the life of the Commis4 sion. 

5 (B) VACANCIES.— 

6 (i) IN GENERAL.—A vacancy on the 

7 Commission shall be filled in the same 

8 manner in which the original appointment 

9 was made. 

10 (ii) PARTIAL TERM.—A member ap11 pointed to fill a vacancy on the Commis12 sion shall serve for the remainder of the 

13 term for which the predecessor of the 

14 member was appointed. 

15 (C) CONTINUATION OF MEMBERSHIP.—If 

16 a member of the Commission was appointed to 

17 the Commission as an employee of the National 

18 Park Service, and ceases to be an employee of 

19 the National Park Service, that member may 

20 continue to serve on the Commission for not 

21 longer than the 30-day period beginning on the 

22 date on which that member ceases to be an em23 ployee of the National Park Service. 

24 (c) DUTIES.—The Commission shall— 


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1 (1) plan, develop, and carry out programs and 

2 activities throughout the United States— 

3 (A) appropriate for the commemoration; 

4 (B) to recognize and highlight the resil5 ience and contributions of African-Americans 

6 since 1619; 

7 (C) to acknowledge the impact that slavery 

8 and laws that enforced racial discrimination 

9 had on the United States; and 

10 (D) to educate the public about— 

11 (i) the arrival of Africans in the 

12 United States; and 

13 (ii) the contributions of African-Amer14 icans to the United States; 

15 (2) encourage civic, patriotic, historical, edu16 cational, artistic, religious, economic, and other or17 ganizations throughout the United States to orga18 nize and participate in anniversary activities to ex19 pand understanding and appreciation of— 

20 (A) the significance of the arrival of Afri21 cans in the United States; and 

22 (B) the contributions of African-Americans 

23 to the United States; 


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1 (3) provide technical assistance to States, local2 ities, and nonprofit organizations to further the com3 memoration; 

4 (4) coordinate and facilitate for the public 

5 scholarly research on, publication about, and inter6 pretation of— 

7 (A) the arrival of Africans in the United 

8 States; and 

9 (B) the contributions of African-Americans 

10 to the United States; 

11 (5) ensure that the commemoration provides a 

12 lasting legacy and long-term public benefit by assist13 ing in the development of appropriate programs; and 

14 (6) help ensure that the observances of the 

15 commemoration are inclusive and appropriately rec16 ognize the experiences and heritage of all individuals 

17 present at the arrival of Africans in the United 

18 States. 

19 SEC. 4. COMMISSION MEETINGS. 

20 (a) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 30 days after 

21 the date on which all members of the Commission have 

22 been appointed, the Commission shall hold the initial 

23 meeting of the Commission. 

24 (b) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet— 

25 (1) at least 3 times each year; or 


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1 (2) at the call of the Chairperson or the major2 ity of the members of the Commission. 

3 (c) QUORUM.—A majority of the voting members 

4 shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number may hold 

5 meetings. 

6 (d) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.— 

7 (1) ELECTION.—The Commission shall elect the 

8 Chairperson and the Vice Chairperson of the Com9 mission on an annual basis. 

10 (2) ABSENCE OF THE CHAIRPERSON.—The Vice 

11 Chairperson shall serve as the Chairperson in the 

12 absence of the Chairperson. 

13 (e) VOTING.—The Commission shall act only on an 

14 affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the Com15 mission. 

16 SEC. 5. COMMISSION POWERS. 

17 (a) GIFTS.—The Commission may solicit, accept, use, 

18 and dispose of gifts, bequests, or devises of money or other 

19 property for aiding or facilitating the work of the Commis20 sion. 

21 (b) APPOINTMENT OF ADVISORY COMMITTEES.—The 

22 Commission may appoint such advisory committees as the 

23 Commission determines to be necessary to carry out this 

24 Act. 


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1 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF ACTION.—The Commission 

2 may authorize any member or employee of the Commission 

3 to take any action that the Commission is authorized to 

4 take under this Act. 

5 (d) PROCUREMENT.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may pro7 cure supplies, services, and property, and make or 

8 enter into contracts, leases, or other legal agree9 ments, to carry out this Act (except that a contract, 

10 lease, or other legal agreement made or entered into 

11 by the Commission shall not extend beyond the date 

12 of termination of the Commission). 

13 (2) LIMITATION.—The Commission may not 

14 purchase real property. 

15 (e) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Commission may use 

16 the United States mails in the same manner and under 

17 the same conditions as other agencies of the Federal Gov18 ernment. 

19 (f) GRANTS AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The 

20 Commission may— 

21 (1) provide grants in amounts not to exceed 

22 $20,000 per grant to communities and nonprofit or23 ganizations for use in developing programs to assist 

24 in the commemoration; 


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1 (2) provide grants to research and scholarly or2 ganizations to research, publish, or distribute infor3 mation relating to the arrival of Africans in the 

4 United States; and 

5 (3) provide technical assistance to States, local6 ities, and nonprofit organizations to further the com7 memoration. 

8 SEC. 6. COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS. 

9 (a) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para11 graph (2), a member of the Commission shall serve 

12 without compensation. 

13 (2) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—A member of the 

14 Commission who is an officer or employee of the 

15 Federal Government shall serve without compensa16 tion other than the compensation received for the 

17 services of the member as an officer or employee of 

18 the Federal Government. 

19 (b) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—A member of the Commis20 sion shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem 

21 in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for an employee 

22 of an agency under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 

23 5, United States Code, while away from the home or reg24 ular place of business of the member in the performance 

25 of the duties of the Commission. 


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1 (c) DIRECTOR AND STAFF.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Chairperson of the 

3 Commission may, without regard to the civil service 

4 laws (including regulations), nominate an executive 

5 director to enable the Commission to perform the 

6 duties of the Commission. 

7 (2) CONFIRMATION OF EXECUTIVE DIREC8 TOR.—The employment of an executive director shall 

9 be subject to confirmation by the Commission. 

10 (d) COMPENSATION.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para12 graph (2), the Commission may fix the compensation 

13 of the executive director and other personnel without 

14 regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and sub15 chapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, United States 

16 Code, relating to classification of positions and Gen17 eral Schedule pay rates. 

18 (2) MAXIMUM RATE OF PAY.—The rate of pay 

19 for the executive director and other personnel shall 

20 not exceed the rate payable for level V of the Execu21 tive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, United 

22 States Code. 

23 (e) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.— 

24 (1) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.— 


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1 (A) DETAIL.—At the request of the Com2 mission, the head of any Federal agency may 

3 detail, on a reimbursable or nonreimbursable 

4 basis, any of the personnel of the agency to the 

5 Commission to assist the Commission in car6 rying out the duties of the Commission under 

7 this Act. 

8 (B) CIVIL SERVICE STATUS.—The detail of 

9 an employee under subparagraph (A) shall be 

10 without interruption or loss of civil service sta11 tus or privilege. 

12 (2) STATE EMPLOYEES.—The Commission 

13 may— 

14 (A) accept the services of personnel de15 tailed from the State; and 

16 (B) reimburse the State for services of de17 tailed personnel. 

18 (f) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND INTERMIT19 TENT SERVICES.—The Chairperson of the Commission 

20 may procure temporary and intermittent services in ac21 cordance with section 3109(b) of title 5, United States 

22 Code, at rates for individuals that do not exceed the daily 

23 equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for 

24 level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of 

25 such title. 


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1 (g) VOLUNTEER AND UNCOMPENSATED SERVICES.— 

2 Notwithstanding section 1342 of title 31, United States 

3 Code, the Commission may accept and use such voluntary 

4 and uncompensated services as the Commission deter5 mines to be necessary. 

6 (h) SUPPORT SERVICES.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 

8 to the Commission, on a reimbursable basis, such 

9 administrative support services as the Commission 

10 may request. 

11 (2) REIMBURSEMENT.—Any reimbursement 

12 under this paragraph shall be credited to the appro13 priation, fund, or account used for paying the 

14 amounts reimbursed. 

15 (i) NO EFFECT ON AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this 

16 section supersedes the authority of the National Park 

17 Service with respect to the commemoration. 

18 SEC. 7. PLANS; REPORTS. 

19 (a) STRATEGIC PLAN.—The Commission shall pre20 pare a strategic plan for the activities of the Commission 

21 carried out under this Act. 

22 (b) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than July 1, 2020, 

23 the Commission shall complete and submit to Congress a 

24 final report that contains— 


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1 (1) a summary of the activities of the Commis2 sion; 

3 (2) a final accounting of funds received and ex4 pended by the Commission; and 

5 (3) the findings and recommendations of the 

6 Commission. 

7 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro9 priated to the Commission such sums as are necessary to 

10 carry out this Act. 

11 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts made available under 

12 subsection (a) shall remain available until July 1, 2020. 

13 SEC. 9. TERMINATION OF COMMISSION. 

14 (a) DATE OF TERMINATION.—The Commission shall 

15 terminate on July 1, 2020. 

16 (b) TRANSFER OF DOCUMENTS AND MATERIALS.— 

17 Before the date of termination specified in subsection (a), 

18 the Commission shall transfer all documents and materials 

19 of the Commission to the National Archives or another 

20 appropriate Federal entity. 

Æ 


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