IB 

Union Calendar No. 578 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7764 

[Report No. 118–683] 

To establish a commission to study the potential transfer of the Weitzman 

National Museum of American Jewish History to the Smithsonian Institution, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 20, 2024 

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (for herself, Mr. TURNER, Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, and Mr. MILLER of Ohio) introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on House Administration 

SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 

Additional sponsors: Mr. MORELLE, Ms. SCANLON, Mr. GOTTHEIMER, Mr. 

FITZPATRICK, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. TORRES of New York, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. MALLIOTAKIS, Mrs. RODGERS of Washington, 

Mr. GOLDMAN of New York, Mr. NORCROSS, Mr. BACON, Mr. LAWLER, 

Mr. STEUBE, Mr. GARBARINO, Ms. WILD, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. 

DIAZ-BALART, Mr. KEAN of New Jersey, Mr. DAVIS of North Carolina, 

Ms. STEVENS, Mr. KUSTOFF, Ms. TENNEY, Mr. YAKYM, Mr. WENSTRUP, 

Mr. CISCOMANI, Mrs. CHAVEZ-DEREMER, Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Florida, 

Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Mr. SCHNEIDER, Mr. CUELLAR, Mr. JACKSON

of Illinois, Mr. EDWARDS, Ms. MANNING, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, Mrs. MILLERMEEKS, Mr. VEASEY, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. DUNN of Florida, Mr. FLOOD, 

Mr. KILMER, Mr. FERGUSON, Mr. RUTHERFORD, Ms. BROWNLEY, Mr. 

GREEN of Texas, Mr. MANN, Ms. PETTERSEN, Mr. D’ESPOSITO, Mr. 

MOULTON, Ms. PORTER, Mr. TRONE, Ms. CHU, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. 

SOTO, Ms. SEWELL, Mr. FLEISCHMANN, Ms. STEFANIK, Mr. DOGGETT, 

Mr. RYAN, Mr. LALOTA, Mr. CURTIS, Ms. SALINAS, Ms. CROCKETT, Mr. 

PALLONE, Mrs. KIM of California, Mr. LANDSMAN, Mr. SORENSEN, Mr. 

CARBAJAL, Mr. LAMALFA, Mr. SCOTT FRANKLIN of Florida, Mr. 

MOLINARO, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. VALADAO, Mr. BUCSHON, Mr. LEVIN, 

Mr. CRENSHAW, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. VAN DREW, Mr. JACKSON of 

North Carolina, Mrs. TORRES of California, Mr. LAHOOD, Mr. GALLEGO, 


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Ms. TITUS, Mr. DELUZIO, Mr. KIM of New Jersey, Ms. MCCLELLAN, Ms. 

SA ́NCHEZ, Ms. DE LA CRUZ, Mr. LOUDERMILK, and Mr. SCHIFF

SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 20, 2024] 

A BILL 

To establish a commission to study the potential transfer 

of the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish 

History to the Smithsonian Institution, and for other 

purposes. 


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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 ‘‘Commission to Study 

5 the Potential Transfer of the Weitzman National Museum 

6 of American Jewish History to the Smithsonian Institution 

7 Act’’. 

8 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established the Commis10 sion to Study the Potential Transfer of the Weitzman Na11 tional Museum of American Jewish History to the Smithso12 nian Institution (hereafter in this Act referred to as the 

13 ‘‘Commission’’). 

14 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Commission shall be com15 posed of 8 members, of whom— 

16 (1) 2 voting members shall be appointed by the 

17 majority leader of the Senate; 

18 (2) 2 voting members shall be appointed by the 

19 Speaker of the House of Representatives; 

20 (3) 2 voting members shall be appointed by the 

21 minority leader of the Senate; and 

22 (4) 2 voting members shall be appointed by the 

23 minority leader of the House of Representatives. 

24 (c) QUALIFICATION.—Members of the Commission 

25 shall be appointed to the Commission from among individVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:42 Sep 18, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H7764.RH H7764

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1 uals, or representatives of institutions or entities, who pos2 sess— 

3 (1)(A) a demonstrated commitment to the re4 search, study, or promotion of Jewish American his5 tory, art, political or economic status, or culture; and 

6 (B)(i) expertise in museum administration; 

7 (ii) expertise in fund-raising for nonprofit or 

8 cultural institutions; 

9 (iii) experience in the study and teaching of 

10 Jewish American history; 

11 (iv) experience in the study and teaching of com12 bating and countering antisemitism; 

13 (v) experience in studying the issue of the rep14 resentation of Jewish Americans in art, life, history, 

15 and culture at the Smithsonian Institution; or 

16 (vi) extensive experience in public or elected serv17 ice; 

18 (2) experience in the administration of, or the 

19 strategic planning for, museums; or 

20 (3) experience in the planning or design of mu21 seum facilities. 

22 (d) DEADLINE FOR INITIAL APPOINTMENT.—The ini23 tial members of the Commission shall be appointed not later 

24 than the date that is 90 days after the date of enactment 

25 of this Act. 


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1 (e) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Commission— 

2 (1) shall not affect the powers of the Commission; 

3 and 

4 (2) shall be filled in the same manner as the 

5 original appointment was made. 

6 (f) CHAIRPERSON.—The Commission shall, by major7 ity vote of all of the voting members, select 1 member of 

8 the Commission to serve as the Chairperson of the Commis9 sion. 

10 (g) PROHIBITION.—No employee of the Federal Gov11 ernment may serve as a member of the Commission. 

12 SEC. 3. DUTIES OF COMMISSION. 

13 (a) REPORTS AND OTHER DELIVERABLES.—Not later 

14 than 2 years after the date of the first meeting of the Com15 mission, the Commission shall submit to the President and 

16 to Congress the report, plan, and recommendations de17 scribed in paragraphs (1) through (3). 

18 (1) REPORT ON ISSUES.—A report that addresses 

19 the following issues relating to the Weitzman National 

20 Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia, 

21 PA, and its environs (hereafter in this Act referred to 

22 as the ‘‘Museum’’): 

23 (A) The collections held by the Museum at 

24 the time of the report, the extent to which such 

25 collections are already represented in the SmithVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:42 Sep 18, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H7764.RH H7764

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1 sonian Institution and Federal memorials at the 

2 time of the report, and the availability and cost 

3 of future collections to be acquired and housed in 

4 the Museum. 

5 (B) The impact of the Museum on edu6 cational and governmental efforts to study and 

7 counter antisemitism. 

8 (C) The financial assets and liabilities held 

9 by the Museum, and the cost of operating and 

10 maintaining the Museum. 

11 (D) The governance and organizational 

12 structure from which the Museum should operate 

13 if transferred to the Smithsonian Institution. 

14 (E) The financial and legal considerations 

15 associated with the potential transfer of the Mu16 seum to the Smithsonian Institution, includ17 ing— 

18 (i) any donor or legal restrictions on 

19 the Museum’s collections, endowments, and 

20 real estate; 

21 (ii) costs associated with actions that 

22 will be necessary to resolve the status of em23 ployees of the Museum, if the Museum is 

24 transferred to the Smithsonian Institution; 

25 and 


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1 (iii) all additional costs for the Smith2 sonian Institution that would be associated 

3 with operating and maintaining a new mu4 seum outside of the Washington, D.C. met5 ropolitan area. 

6 (F) The feasibility of the Museum becoming 

7 part of the Smithsonian Institution, taking into 

8 account the Museum’s potential impact on the 

9 Smithsonian’s existing facilities maintenance 

10 backlog, collections storage needs, and identified 

11 construction or renovation costs for new or exist12 ing museums. 

13 (2) FUND-RAISING PLAN.—A fund-raising plan 

14 that addresses the following topics: 

15 (A) The ability to support the transfer, op16 eration, and maintenance of the Museum through 

17 contributions from the public, including poten18 tial charges for admission. 

19 (B) Any potential issues with funding the 

20 operations and maintenance of the Museum in 

21 perpetuity without reliance on appropriations of 

22 Federal funds. 

23 (3) LEGISLATIVE RECOMMENDATIONS.—A report 

24 containing recommendations regarding a legislative 


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1 plan for transferring the Museum to the Smithsonian 

2 Institution, which shall include each of the following: 

3 (A) Proposals regarding the time frame, 

4 one-time appropriations level, and continuing 

5 appropriations levels that might be included in 

6 such legislation. 

7 (B) Recommendations for the future name 

8 of the Museum if it is transferred to the Smithso9 nian Institution. 

10 (b) NATIONAL CONFERENCE.—Not later than 2 years 

11 after the date on which the initial members of the Commis12 sion are appointed under section 2, the Commission may, 

13 in carrying out the duties of the Commission under this 

14 section, convene a national conference relating to the Mu15 seum, to be comprised of individuals committed to the ad16 vancement of the life, art, history, and culture of Jewish 

17 Americans. 

18 SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS. 

19 (a) COMPENSATION.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—A member of the Commis21 sion— 

22 (A) shall not be considered to be a Federal 

23 employee for any purpose by reason of service on 

24 the Commission; and 

25 (B) shall serve without pay. 


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1 (2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—A member of the Com2 mission shall be allowed a per diem allowance for 

3 travel expenses, at rates consistent with those author4 ized under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, 

5 United States Code. 

6 (3) GIFTS, BEQUESTS, AND DEVISES.—The Com7 mission may solicit, accept, use, and dispose of gifts, 

8 bequests, or devises of money, services, or real or per9 sonal property for the purpose of aiding or facili10 tating the work of the Commission. Such gifts, be11 quests, or devises may be from the Museum. 

12 (b) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall terminate 

13 on the date that is 30 days after the date on which the final 

14 versions of the report, plan, and recommendations required 

15 under section 3 are submitted. 

16 (c) FUNDING.—The Commission shall be solely respon17 sible for acceptance of contributions for, and payment of 

18 the expenses of, the Commission. 

19 (d) DIRECTOR AND STAFF OF COMMISSION.— 

20 (1) DIRECTOR AND STAFF.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may 

22 employ and compensate an executive director 

23 and any other additional personnel that are nec24 essary to enable the Commission to perform the 

25 duties of the Commission. 


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1 (B) RATES OF PAY.—Rates of pay for per2 sons employed under subparagraph (A) shall be 

3 consistent with the rates of pay allowed for em4 ployees of a temporary organization under sec5 tion 3161 of title 5, United States Code. 

6 (2) NOT FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT.—Any indi7 vidual employed under this subsection shall not be 

8 considered a Federal employee for the purpose of any 

9 law governing Federal employment. 

10 (3) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subparagraph 

12 (B), on request of the Commission, the head of a 

13 Federal agency shall provide technical assistance 

14 to the Commission. 

15 (B) PROHIBITION.—No Federal employees 

16 may be detailed to the Commission. 

17 (4) VOLUNTEER SERVICES.—Notwithstanding 

18 section 1342 of title 31, United States Code, the Com19 mission may accept and use voluntary and uncom20 pensated services as the Commission determines nec21 essary. 

22 (e) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.—Upon re23 quest of the Commission, the Administrator of the General 

24 Services Administration shall provide to the Commission, 

25 on a reimbursable basis, the administrative support services 


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1 necessary for the Commission to carry out its responsibil2 ities under this Act. The involvement of the General Services 

3 Administration shall be limited to providing administra4 tive support to the Commission, and such involvement shall 

5 terminate upon termination of the Commission. 

6 (f) MEETING LOCATION.—The Commission may meet 

7 virtually or in-person. 

8 (g) APPOINTMENT DELAYS.—The Commission may 

9 begin to meet and carry out activities under this Act before 

10 all members of the Commission have been appointed if— 

11 (1) 90 days have passed since the date of the en12 actment of this Act; and 

13 (2) a majority of the members of the Commission 

14 have been appointed. 


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Union Calendar No. 578 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7764 

[Report No. 118–683] 

A BILL 

To establish a commission to study the potential 

stitution, and for other purposes. American Jewish History to the Smithsonian Intransfer of the Weitzman National Museum of 

SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


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