II

Calendar No. 119

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1046

To establish a commission for the purpose of encouraging and providing

for the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court

decision in Brown v. Board of Education.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JUNE 14, 2001

Mr. ROBERTS (for himself and Mr. BROWNBACK) introduced the following bill;

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

AUGUST 2, 2001

Reported by Mr. LEAHY, with amendments

[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic]

A BILL

To establish a commission for the purpose of encouraging

and providing for the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Brown v.

Board of Education.

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

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

4 Congress finds that as the Nation approaches May

5 17, 2004, marking the 50th anniversary of the Supreme
2

S 1046 RS

1 Court decision in Oliver L. Brown et al. v. Board of Edu2 cation of Topeka, Kansas et al., it is appropriate to estab3 lish a national commission to plan and coordinate the com4 memoration of that anniversary.

5 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT.

6 There is established a commission to be known as the

7 ‘‘Brown v. Board of Education 50th Anniversary Commis8 sion’’ (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Commission’’).

9 SEC. 3. DUTIES.

10 In order to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the

11 Brown decision, the Commission shall—

12 (1) in conjunction with the Department of Edu13 cation, plan and coordinate public education activi14 ties and initiatives, including public lectures, writing

15 contests, and public awareness campaigns, through

16 the Department of Education’s ten regional offices;

17 (2) in cooperation with the Brown Foundation

18 for Educational Equity, Excellence, and Research in

19 Topeka, Kansas, (referred to in this Act as the

20 ‘‘Brown Foundation’’) and such other public or pri21 vate entities as the Commission considers appro22 priate, encourage, plan, develop, and coordinate ob23 servances of the anniversary of the Brown decision;

24 and
3

S 1046 RS

1 (3) submit recommendations to the Congress

2 relating to a joint session of Congress for the pur3 pose of commemorating the anniversary.

4 SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP.

5 (a) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Commission

6 shall be composed as follows:

7 (1) Two representatives of the Department of

8 Education appointed by the Secretary of Education,

9 one of whom shall serve as Chair one of two Co10 chairpersons of the Commission.

11 (2) Two representatives of the Department of

12 Justice appointed by the Attorney General, one of

13 whom shall serve as one of two Co-Chairpersons of the

14 Commission.

15 (2) (3) Eleven individuals appointed by the

16 President after receiving recommendations as fol17 lows:

18 (A) Members of the Senate from each of

19 the States in which the lawsuits decided by the

20 Brown decision were originally filed, Delaware,

21 Kansas, South Carolina, and Virginia, and from

22 the State of the first legal challenge, Massachu23 setts, shall jointly recommend to the President

24 one individual from their respective States.
4

S 1046 RS

1 (B) Members of the House of Representa2 tives from each of the States referred to in sub3 paragraph (A) shall jointly recommend to the

4 President one individual from their respective

5 States.

6 (A)(i) The Members of the Senate from each

7 State described in clause (iii) shall each submit

8 the name of 1 individual from the State to the

9 majority leader and minority leader of the Sen10 ate.

11 (ii) After review of the submissions made

12 under clause (i), the majority leader of the Sen13 ate, in consultation with the minority leader of

14 the Senate, shall recommend to the President 5

15 individuals, 1 from each of the States described

16 in clause (iii).

17 (iii) The States described in this clause are

18 the States in which the lawsuits decided by the

19 Brown decision were originally filed (Delaware,

20 Kansas, South Carolina, and Virginia), and the

21 State of the first legal challenge involved (Massa22 chusetts).

23 (B)(i) The Members of the House of Rep24 resentatives from each State described in sub25 paragraph (A)(iii) shall each submit the name of
5

S 1046 RS

1 1 individual from the State to the Speaker of the

2 House of Representatives and the minority lead3 er of the House of Representatives.

4 (ii) After review of the submissionis made

5 under clause (i), the Speaker of the House of

6 Representatives, in consultation with the minor7 ity leader of the House of Representatives, shall

8 recommend to the President 5 individuals, 1

9 from each of the States described in subpara10 graph (A)(iii).

11 (C) The Delegate to the House of Rep12 resentatives from the District of Columbia shall

13 recommend to the President one individual

14 from the District of Columbia.

15 (3) (4) Two representatives of the judicial

16 branch of the Federal Government appointed by the

17 Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

18 (4) (5) Two representatives of the Brown Foun19 dation.

20 (5) (6) Two representatives of the NAACP

21 Legal Defense and Education Fund.

22 (6) (7) One representative of the Brown v.

23 Board of Education National Historic Site.

24 (b) TERMS.—Members of the Commission shall be

25 appointed for the life of the Commission.
6

S 1046 RS

1 (c) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Commission shall

2 be filled in the same manner as the original appointment.

3 (d) COMPENSATION.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.— Members of the Commis5 sion shall serve without pay.

6 (2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member shall

7 receive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of

8 subsistence, in accordance with applicable provisions

9 under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United

10 States Code.

11 (e) QUORUM.—A majority of members of the Com12 mission shall constitute a quorum.

13 (f) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall hold its first

14 meeting not later than 6 months after the date of enact15 ment of this Act. The Commission shall subsequently meet

16 at the call of the Chair a Co-chairperson or a majority

17 of its members.

18 (g) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND STAFF.— The Com19 mission may secure the services of an executive director

20 and staff personnel as it considers appropriate.

21 SEC. 5. POWERS.

22 (a) POWERS OF MEMBERS AND AGENTS.—Any mem23 ber or agent of the Commission may, if so authorized by

24 the Commission, take any action which the Commission

25 is authorized to take under this Act.
7

S 1046 RS

1 (b) GIFTS AND DONATIONS.—

2 (1) AUTHORITY TO ACCEPT.—The Commission

3 may accept and use gifts or donations of money,

4 property, or personal services.

5 (2) DISPOSITION OF PROPERTY.—Any books,

6 manuscripts, miscellaneous printed matter, memora7 bilia, relics, or other materials donated to the Com8 mission which relate to the Brown decision, shall,

9 upon termination of the Commission—

10 (A) be deposited for preservation in the

11 Brown Foundation Collection at the Spencer

12 Research Library at the University of Kansas

13 in Lawrence, Kansas; or

14 (B) be disposed of by the Commission in

15 consultation with the Librarian of Congress,

16 and with the express consent of the Brown

17 Foundation and the Brown v. Board of Edu18 cation National Historic Site.

19 (c) MAILS.—The Commission may use the United

20 States mails in the same manner and under the same con21 ditions as other departments and agencies of the United

22 States.

23 SEC. 6. REPORTS.

24 (a) INTERIM REPORTS.—The Commission shall

25 transmit interim reports to the President and Congress
8

S 1046 RS

1 not later than December 31 of each year. Each such re2 port shall include a description of the activities of the

3 Commission during the year covered by the report, an ac4 counting of any funds received or expended by the Com5 mission during such year, and recommendations for any

6 legislation or administrative action which the Commission

7 considers appropriate.

8 (b) FINAL REPORT.—The Commission shall transmit

9 a final report to the President and Congress not later than

10 December 31, 2004. Such report shall include an account11 ing of any funds received or expended, and the disposition

12 of any other properties, not previously reported.

13 SEC. 7. TERMINATION.

14 (a) DATE.—The Commission shall terminate on such

15 date as the Commission may determine, but not later than

16 February 1, 2005.

17 (b) DISPOSITION OF FUNDS.—Any funds held by the

18 Commission on the date the Commission terminates shall

19 be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury.

20 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

21 There are authorized to be appropriated at total of

22 $300,000 for fiscal years 2003 and 2004 to carry out this

23 Act, to remain available until expended.

Calendar No. 119

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1046

A BILL

To establish a commission for the purpose of encouraging and providing for the commemoration

of the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Courtdecision in Brown v. Board of Education.

AUGUST 2, 2001

Reported with amendments