106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 5212

AN ACT

To direct the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress to establish a program to collect video and audio recordings of personal histories and testimonials of American war veterans,

and for other purposes.

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 5212

AN ACT

To direct the American Folklife Center at the Library of

Congress to establish a program to collect video and

audio recordings of personal histories and testimonials

of American war veterans, 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,
2

•HR 5212 EH

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterans’ Oral History

3 Project Act’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE.

5 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds as follows:

6 (1) Military service during a time of war is the

7 highest sacrifice a citizen may make for his or her

8 country.

9 (2) 4,700,000 Americans served in World War

10 I, 16,500,000 Americans served in World War II,

11 6,800,000 Americans served in the Korean Conflict,

12 9,200,000 Americans served in the Vietnam Con13 flict, 3,800,000 Americans served in the Persian

14 Gulf War, and countless other Americans served in

15 military engagements overseas throughout the 20th

16 century.

17 (3) The Department of Veterans Affairs reports

18 that there are almost 19,000,000 war veterans living

19 in this Nation today.

20 (4) Today there are only approximately 3,400

21 living veterans of World War I, and of the some

22 6,000,000 veterans of World War II alive today, al23 most 1,500 die each day.

24 (5) Oral histories are of immeasurable value to

25 historians, researchers, authors, journalists, film
3

•HR 5212 EH

1 makers, scholars, students, and citizens of all walks

2 of life.

3 (6) War veterans possess an invaluable resource

4 in their memories of the conflicts in which they

5 served, and can provide a rich history of our Nation

6 and its people through the retelling of those memo7 ries, yet frequently those who served during times of

8 conflict are reticent to family and friends about their

9 experiences.

10 (7) It is in the Nation’s best interest to collect

11 and catalog oral histories of American war veterans

12 so that future generations will have original sources

13 of information regarding the lives and times of those

14 who served in war and the conditions under which

15 they endured, so that Americans will always remem16 ber those who served in war and may learn first17 hand of the heroics, tediousness, horrors, and tri18 umphs of war.

19 (8) The Library of Congress, as the Nation’s

20 oldest Federal cultural institution and largest and

21 most inclusive library in human history (with nearly

22 119,000,000 items in its multimedia collection) is an

23 appropriate repository to collect, preserve, and make

24 available to the public an archive of these oral his25 tories. The Library’s American Folklife Center has
4

•HR 5212 EH

1 expertise in the management of documentation

2 projects and experience in the development of cul3 tural and educational programs for the public.

4 (b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to create

5 a new federally sponsored, authorized, and funded pro6 gram that will coordinate at a national level the collection

7 of video and audio recordings of personal histories and

8 testimonials of American war veterans, and to assist and

9 encourage local efforts to preserve the memories of this

10 Nation’s war veterans so that Americans of all current and

11 future generations may hear directly from veterans and

12 better appreciate the realities of war and the sacrifices

13 made by those who served in uniform during wartime.

14 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM AT AMERICAN

15 FOLKLIFE CENTER TO COLLECT VIDEO AND

16 AUDIO RECORDINGS OF HISTORIES OF VET17 ERANS.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the American

19 Folklife Center at the Library of Congress shall establish

20 an oral history program—

21 (1) to collect video and audio recordings of per22 sonal histories and testimonials of veterans of the

23 armed forces who served during a period of war;

24 (2) to create a collection of the recordings ob25 tained (including a catalog and index) which will be
5

•HR 5212 EH

1 available for public use through the National Digital

2 Library of the Library of Congress and such other

3 methods as the Director considers appropriate to the

4 extent feasible subject to available resources; and

5 (3) to solicit, reproduce, and collect written ma6 terials (such as letters and diaries) relevant to the

7 personal histories of veterans of the armed forces

8 who served during a period of war and to catalog

9 such materials in a manner the Director considers

10 appropriate, consistent with and complimentary to

11 the efforts described in paragraphs (1) and (2).

12 (b) USE OF AND CONSULTATION WITH OTHER ENTI13 TIES.—The Director may carry out the activities described

14 in paragraphs (1) and (3) of subsection (a) through agree15 ments and partnerships entered into with other govern16 ment and private entities, and may otherwise consult with

17 interested persons (within the limits of available re18 sources) and develop appropriate guidelines and arrange19 ments for soliciting, acquiring, and making available re20 cordings under the program under this Act.

21 (c) TIMING.—As soon as practicable after the enact22 ment of this Act, the Director shall begin collecting video

23 and audio recordings under subsection (a)(1), and shall

24 attempt to collect the first such recordings from the oldest

25 veterans.
6

•HR 5212 EH

1 SEC. 4. PRIVATE SUPPORT.

2 (a) ACCEPTANCE OF DONATIONS.—The Librarian of

3 Congress may solicit and accept donations of funds and

4 in-kind contributions to carry out the oral history program

5 under section 3.

6 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF SEPARATE GIFT AC7 COUNT.—There is established in the Treasury (among the

8 accounts of the Library of Congress) a gift account for

9 the oral history program under section 3.

10 (c) DEDICATION OF FUNDS.—Notwithstanding any

11 other provision of law—

12 (1) any funds donated to the Librarian of Con13 gress to carry out the oral history program under

14 section 3 shall be deposited entirely into the gift ac15 count established under subsection (b);

16 (2) the funds contained in such account shall be

17 used solely to carry out the oral history program

18 under section 3; and

19 (3) the Librarian of Congress may not deposit

20 into such account any funds donated to the Librar21 ian which are not donated for the exclusive purpose

22 of carrying out the oral history program under sec23 tion 3.

24 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

25 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

26 this Act—
7

•HR 5212 EH

1 (1) $250,000 for fiscal year 2001; and

2 (2) such sums as may be necessary for each

3 succeeding fiscal year.

Passed the House of Representatives October 4,

2000.

Attest:

Clerk.