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108TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2201

To authorize the establishment of a national database for purposes of identifying, locating, and cataloging the many memorials and permanent tributes to America’s veterans.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 21, 2003

Mr. UDALL of Colorado introduced the following bill; which was referred to

the Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker,

in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To authorize the establishment of a national database for

purposes of identifying, locating, and cataloging the

many memorials and permanent tributes to America’s

veterans.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National War Perma5 nent Tribute Historical Database Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress finds that—
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1 (1) on November 13, 2000, Congress agreed to

2 a resolution expressing the sense of Congress re3 garding the need for cataloging and maintaining

4 public memorials;

5 (2) there are many thousands of public memo6 rials and permanent tributes throughout the United

7 States and abroad that commemorate military con8 flicts of the United States and the service of individ9 uals in the Armed Forces;

10 (3) many of these memorials suffer from ne11 glect and disrepair, and many have been relocated or

12 stored in facilities where the memorials are unavail13 able to the public and subject to further neglect and

14 damage; and

15 (4) there exists a need to collect and centralize

16 information regarding the identification, location,

17 and description of these memorials, as no such cata18 log is available to the public from either the Federal

19 Government or any nongovernmental entity.

20 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF DATABASE.

21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—In order to locate, identify,

22 and catalog the many thousands of permanent tributes

23 that commemorate the military conflicts of the United

24 States, and the service and sacrifice of individuals in the

25 Armed Forces of the United States, and to make such in-
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1 formation readily available for the educational benefit of

2 the public, the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation

3 with the Secretary of Veterans’ Affairs, may establish and

4 maintain a database known as the National War Perma5 nent Tribute Historical Database.

6 (b) CONTENT.—The database shall contain informa7 tion on—

8 (1) the location, history, and background of the

9 permanent tributes;

10 (2) photographs and other information to en11 hance the understanding of the permanent tributes;

12 (3) information about the veterans in whose

13 honor the permanent tributes are dedicated; and

14 (4) any other information the Secretary con15 siders appropriate and necessary.

16 (c) PUBLIC ACCESS.—The database shall be made ac17 cessible to the public, through the Internet or by other

18 means, in a format that permits the public to submit infor19 mation on permanent tributes for the purpose of updating

20 and expanding the database.

21 (d) ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary of the Interior may

22 seek the assistance of other Federal agencies and the

23 States and their political subdivisions, tribal governments,

24 public or private educational institutions, non-profit orga25 nizations, and individuals or other entities that the Sec-
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1 retary considers appropriate in carrying out this Act, and

2 may enter into contracts and cooperative agreements to

3 obtain information or services that assist in the develop4 ment and implementation of the database.

5 (e) DEFINITION.—As used in this section, the term

6 ‘‘permanent tribute’’ means any statue, structure, or other

7 monument on public property commemorating the service

8 of any person or persons in the Armed Forces.

9 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

10 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec11 retary of the Interior such sums as may be necessary to

12 carry out this Act.

13 SEC. 5. REPORT.

14 Within 3 years after the date of enactment of this

15 Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall transmit to the

16 Congress a report assessing the efficacy and desirability

17 of establishing a permanent fund within the Treasury for

18 the repair, restoration, and maintenance of the memorials

19 identified and catalogued under section 3. The report shall

20 include recommended criteria regarding appropriate re21 cipients of expenditures from such a fund as well as pro22 posed funding mechanisms and any other information con23 sidered by the Secretary to be relevant.

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