108TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 2201

AN ACT

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

108TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 2201

AN ACT

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,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National War Perma3 nent Tribute Historical Database Act’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

5 Congress finds that—

6 (1) on November 13, 2000, Congress agreed to

7 a resolution expressing the sense of Congress re8 garding the need for cataloging and maintaining

9 public memorials;

10 (2) there are many thousands of public memo11 rials and permanent tributes throughout the United

12 States and abroad that commemorate military con13 flicts of the United States and the service of individ14 uals in the Armed Forces;

15 (3) many of these memorials suffer from ne16 glect and disrepair, and many have been relocated or

17 stored in facilities where the memorials are unavail18 able to the public and subject to further neglect and

19 damage; and

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

21 information regarding the identification, location,

22 and description of these memorials, as no such cata23 log is available to the public from either the Federal

24 Government or any nongovernmental entity.
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1 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF DATABASE.

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

3 and catalog the many thousands of permanent tributes

4 that commemorate the military conflicts of the United

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

6 Armed Forces of the United States, and to make such in7 formation readily available for the educational benefit of

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

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

10 maintain a database known as the National War Perma11 nent Tribute Historical Database.

12 (b) CONTENT.—The database shall contain informa13 tion on—

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

15 permanent tributes;

16 (2) photographs and other information to en17 hance the understanding of the permanent tributes;

18 (3) information about the veterans in whose

19 honor the permanent tributes are dedicated; and

20 (4) any other information the Secretary con21 siders appropriate and necessary.

22 (c) PUBLIC ACCESS.—The database shall be made ac23 cessible to the public, through the Internet or by other

24 means, in a format that permits the public to submit infor25 mation on permanent tributes for the purpose of updating

26 and expanding the database.
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1 (d) ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary of the Interior may

2 seek the assistance of other Federal agencies and the

3 States and their political subdivisions, tribal governments,

4 public or private educational institutions, non-profit orga5 nizations, and individuals or other entities that the Sec6 retary considers appropriate in carrying out this Act, and

7 may enter into contracts and cooperative agreements to

8 obtain information or services that assist in the develop9 ment and implementation of the database.

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

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

12 monument on public property commemorating the service

13 of any person or persons in the Armed Forces.

14 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

15 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec16 retary of the Interior such sums as may be necessary to

17 carry out this Act.

18 SEC. 5. REPORT.

19 Within 3 years after the date of enactment of this

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

21 Congress a report assessing the efficacy and desirability

22 of establishing a permanent fund within the Treasury for

23 the repair, restoration, and maintenance of the memorials

24 identified and catalogued under section 3. The report shall

25 include recommended criteria regarding appropriate re-
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1 cipients of expenditures from such a fund as well as pro2 posed funding mechanisms and any other information con3 sidered by the Secretary to be relevant.

Passed the House of Representatives May 17, 2004.

Attest:

Clerk.