II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1582 

To establish the Frederick Douglass Bicentennial Commission. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 19, 2017 

Mr. VAN HOLLEN (for himself and Mr. CARDIN) introduced the following bill; 

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

A BILL 

To establish the Frederick Douglass Bicentennial 

Commission. 

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 ‘‘Frederick Douglass 

5 Bicentennial Commission Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) Born into slavery on the Eastern Shore of 

9 Maryland in 1818 and given the name Frederick 

10 Augustus Washington Bailey after his mother HarVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 Jul 26, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1582.IS S1582

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1 riet Bailey, Frederick Douglass has been called the 

2 father of the civil rights movement. 

3 (2) Douglass rose through determination, bril4 liance, and eloquence to shape the American Nation. 

5 He was an abolitionist, human rights and women’s 

6 rights activist, orator, author, journalist, publisher, 

7 and social reformer. 

8 (3) Taught basic reading skills by his mistress 

9 until she was forced to stop, Douglass continued to 

10 teach himself to read and write and taught other 

11 slaves to read despite risks including death. 

12 (4) During the course of his remarkable life 

13 Frederick Douglass escaped from slavery, became 

14 internationally renowned for his eloquence in the 

15 cause of liberty, and went on to serve the national 

16 government in several official capacities. 

17 (5) Forced to leave the country to avoid arrest 

18 as an escaped slave, he returned to become a 

19 staunch advocate of the Union cause and helped re20 cruit African-American troops for the Union Army, 

21 including two of his sons, Charles and Lewis Doug22 lass. His personal relationship with Abraham Lin23 coln helped persuade the President to make emanci24 pation a cause of the Civil War. 


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1 (6) With the abolition of slavery at the close of 

2 the Civil War, Douglass then turned his attention to 

3 the full integration of African-Americans into the 

4 political and economic life of the United States. 

5 Committed to freedom, Douglass dedicated his life 

6 to achieving justice for all Americans, in particular 

7 African-Americans, women, and minority groups. He 

8 envisioned America as an inclusive Nation strength9 ened by diversity and free of discrimination. 

10 (7) Douglass served as an advisor to Presi11 dents. Abraham Lincoln referred to him as the most 

12 meritorious man of the nineteenth century. Douglass 

13 was appointed to several offices. He served as the 

14 United States Marshal of the District of Columbia 

15 under Rutherford B. Hayes’ administration; Presi16 dent James Garfield appointed Douglass the District 

17 of Columbia Recorder of Deeds. In 1889, President 

18 Benjamin Harrison appointed Frederick Douglass to 

19 be the United States minister to Haiti. He was also 

20 appointed by President Grant to serve as Assistant 

21 Secretary of the Commission of Inquiry to Santo 

22 Domingo. 

23 (8) Douglass lived in the District of Columbia 

24 for 23 of his 57 years as a free man, and in recogni25 tion of his leadership and continuous fight for jusVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:49 Jul 26, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1582.IS S1582

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1 tice and freedom, his home, Cedar Hill, was estab2 lished as a National Historic Site in Anacostia, in 

3 Southeast Washington, DC. 

4 (9) The statue of Frederick Douglass in the 

5 United States Capitol is a gift from the almost 

6 700,000 residents of the District of Columbia. 

7 (10) All Americans could benefit from studying 

8 the life of Frederick Douglass, for Douglass dedi9 cated his own life to ensuring freedom and equality 

10 for future generations of Americans. This Nation 

11 should ensure that his tireless struggle, trans12 formative words, and inclusive vision of humanity 

13 continue to inspire and sustain us. 

14 (11) The year 2018 marks the bicentennial an15 niversary of the birth of Frederick Douglass, and a 

16 commission should be established to plan, develop, 

17 and carry out, and to recommend to Congress, pro18 grams and activities that are fitting and proper to 

19 celebrate that anniversary in a manner that appro20 priately honors Frederick Douglass. 

21 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT. 

22 There is established a commission to be known as the 

23 Frederick Douglass Bicentennial Commission (referred to 

24 in this Act as the ‘‘Commission’’). 


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1 SEC. 4. DUTIES. 

2 The Commission shall have the following duties: 

3 (1) To plan, develop, and carry out programs 

4 and activities that are fitting and proper to honor 

5 Frederick Douglass on the occasion of the bicenten6 nial anniversary of Douglass’ birth. 

7 (2) To recommend to Congress programs and 

8 activities that the Commission considers fitting and 

9 proper to honor Frederick Douglass on such occa10 sion, and the entity or entities in the Federal Gov11 ernment that the Commission considers most appro12 priate to carry out such programs and activities. 

13 SEC. 5. MEMBERSHIP. 

14 (a) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Commission 

15 shall be composed of 16 members appointed as follows: 

16 (1) Two members, each of whom shall be a 

17 qualified citizen described in subsection (b), ap18 pointed by the President. 

19 (2) One member, who shall be a qualified cit20 izen described in subsection (b), appointed by the 

21 President on the recommendation of the Governor of 

22 Maryland. 

23 (3) One member, who shall be a qualified cit24 izen described in subsection (b), appointed by the 

25 President on the recommendation of the Governor of 

26 Massachusetts. 


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1 (4) One member, who shall be a qualified cit2 izen described in subsection (b), appointed by the 

3 President on the recommendation of the Governor of 

4 New York. 

5 (5) One member, who shall be a qualified cit6 izen described in subsection (b), appointed by the 

7 President on the recommendation of the Mayor of 

8 the District of Columbia. 

9 (6) Three members, at least one of whom shall 

10 be a Member of the House of Representatives, ap11 pointed by the Speaker of the House of Representa12 tives. 

13 (7) Three members, at least one of whom shall 

14 be a Senator, appointed by the majority leader of 

15 the Senate. 

16 (8) Two members, at least one of whom shall 

17 be a Member of the House of Representatives, ap18 pointed by the minority leader of the House of Rep19 resentatives. 

20 (9) Two members, at least one of whom shall 

21 be a Senator, appointed by the minority leader of 

22 the Senate. 

23 (b) QUALIFIED CITIZEN.—A qualified citizen de24 scribed in this subsection is a private citizen of the United 

25 States with— 


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1 (1) a demonstrated dedication to educating oth2 ers about the importance of historical figures and 

3 events; and 

4 (2) substantial knowledge and appreciation of 

5 Frederick Douglass. 

6 (c) TIME OF APPOINTMENT.—Each initial appoint7 ment of a member of the Commission shall be made before 

8 the expiration of the 60-day period beginning on the date 

9 of the enactment of this Act. 

10 (d) CONTINUATION OF MEMBERSHIP.—If a member 

11 of the Commission was appointed to the Commission as 

12 a Member of Congress, and ceases to be a Member of Con13 gress, that member may continue to serve on the Commis14 sion for not longer than the 30-day period beginning on 

15 the date that member ceases to be a Member of Congress. 

16 (e) TERMS.—Each member shall be appointed for the 

17 life of the Commission. 

18 (f) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Commission shall 

19 not affect the powers of the Commission but shall be filled 

20 in the manner in which the original appointment was 

21 made. 

22 (g) BASIC PAY.—Members shall serve on the Com23 mission without pay. 

24 (h) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member shall receive 

25 travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, 


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1 in accordance with sections 5702 and 5703 of title 5, 

2 United States Code. 

3 (i) QUORUM.—Six members of the Commission shall 

4 constitute a quorum but a lesser number may hold hear5 ings. 

6 (j) CHAIR.—The Commission shall select a Chair 

7 from among the members of the Commission. 

8 (k) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at the 

9 call of the Chair. Periodically, the Commission shall hold 

10 a meeting in Rochester, New York. 

11 SEC. 6. DIRECTOR AND STAFF. 

12 (a) DIRECTOR.—The Commission may appoint and 

13 fix the pay of a Director and such additional personnel 

14 as the Commission considers to be appropriate. 

15 (b) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN CIVIL SERVICE

16 LAWS.— 

17 (1) DIRECTOR.—The Director of the Commis18 sion may be appointed without regard to the provi19 sions of title 5, United States Code, governing ap20 pointments in the competitive service, and may be 

21 paid without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 

22 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of that title relat23 ing to classification and General Schedule pay rates. 

24 (2) STAFF.—The staff of the Commission shall 

25 be appointed subject to the provisions of title 5, 


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1 United States Code, governing appointments in the 

2 competitive service, and shall be paid in accordance 

3 with the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III 

4 of chapter 53 of that title relating to classification 

5 and General Schedule pay rates. 

6 SEC. 7. POWERS. 

7 (a) HEARINGS AND SESSIONS.—The Commission 

8 may, for the purpose of carrying out this Act, hold such 

9 hearings, sit and act at such times and places, take such 

10 testimony, and receive such evidence as the Commission 

11 considers to be appropriate. 

12 (b) POWERS OF MEMBERS AND AGENTS.—Any mem13 ber or agent of the Commission may, if authorized by the 

14 Commission, take any action that the Commission is au15 thorized to take by this Act. 

16 (c) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA.—The Commission 

17 may secure directly from any department or agency of the 

18 United States information necessary to enable the Com19 mission to carry out this Act. Upon request of the Chair 

20 of the Commission, the head of that department or agency 

21 shall furnish that information to the Commission. 

22 (d) MAILS.—The Commission may use the United 

23 States mails in the same manner and under the same con24 ditions as other departments and agencies of the United 

25 States. 


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1 (e) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.—Upon 

2 the request of the Commission, the Administrator of Gen3 eral Services shall provide to the Commission, on a reim4 bursable basis, the administrative support services nec5 essary for the Commission to carry out its responsibilities 

6 under this Act. 

7 (f) GIFTS.—The Commission may solicit, accept, use, 

8 and dispose of gifts, bequests, or devises of money or other 

9 property for carrying out its duties. 

10 SEC. 8. REPORTS. 

11 (a) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than August 1, 

12 2018, the Commission shall submit to Congress an initial 

13 report containing its recommendations under section 4(2). 

14 (b) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than June 1, 2019, 

15 the Commission shall submit a final report to Congress, 

16 and shall include in the final report— 

17 (1) a summary of its activities and programs; 

18 (2) a final accounting of the funds the Commis19 sion received and expended; and 

20 (3) any other information that the Commission 

21 considers to be appropriate. 

22 SEC. 9. TERMINATION. 

23 The Commission shall terminate 30 days after sub24 mitting the final report pursuant to section 8(b). 

Æ 


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