II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1537 

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to accept from the Board of 

Directors of the National September 11 Memorial and Museum at the 

World Trade Center Foundation, Inc., the donation of title to The 

National September 11 Memorial and Museum at the World Trade 

Center, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 9, 2011 

Mr. INOUYE (for himself, Mr. SCHUMER, and Mrs. GILLIBRAND) introduced 

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 

on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to accept from 

the Board of Directors of the National September 11 

Memorial and Museum at the World Trade Center Foundation, Inc., the donation of title to The National September 11 Memorial and Museum at the World Trade 

Center, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National September 

5 11 Memorial and Museum Act of 2011’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

3 (1) on September 11, 2001, the United States 

4 was attacked and our world was changed forever 

5 when terrorists murdered nearly 3,000 innocent peo6 ple at the World Trade Center, at the Pentagon, and 

7 in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, in the largest 

8 terrorist attack ever committed in the United States; 

9 (2) millions of people from every State and 

10 every country have visited Ground Zero to pay their 

11 respects; 

12 (3) established in 2003, the National September 

13 11 Memorial and Museum at the World Trade Cen14 ter Foundation, Inc., a nonprofit organization de15 scribed in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 

16 Code of 1986, has been dedicated to raising funds 

17 for and overseeing the design, construction, and op18 eration of the Memorial and Museum at the World 

19 Trade Center site; 

20 (4) the Memorial will ensure that future gen21 erations never forget the thousands of people who 

22 were killed by the terrorist attack on September 

23 11th, 2001, in New York, Pennsylvania, and Vir24 ginia as well as those who died in the terrorist 

25 bombing at the World Trade Center on February 

26 26, 1993; 


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1 (5) the Memorial— 

2 (A) will further recognize the thousands 

3 who survived the terrorist attacks and all who 

4 demonstrated extraordinary compassion in the 

5 aftermath; 

6 (B) will ensure, through educational pro7 grams, that the history of September 11, 2011, 

8 and the implications of that day, continue to be 

9 told, especially to the youth of the United 

10 States; and 

11 (C) will be a resource to the more than 

12 600 September 11 Memorials being established 

13 throughout the United States; 

14 (6) the Memorial is scheduled to open on the 

15 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks, while the 

16 Museum is scheduled to open in 2012; 

17 (7) it is projected that the Memorial will be one 

18 of the most visited venues in the United States, with 

19 millions of visitors each year, reflecting the enor20 mous impact the terrorist attacks had on the United 

21 States and the world; 

22 (8) throughout the history of the United States, 

23 Congress has stepped forward to authorize operating 

24 funds, in public and private partnership with private 


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1 donors, for memorials and museums of national sig2 nificance; 

3 (9) the Memorial is a true public and private 

4 partnership, recognized as a public charity under the 

5 Internal Revenue Code of 1986; and 

6 (10) of the funds raised for the Memorial and 

7 Museum— 

8 (A) nearly 60 percent have come from over 

9 300,000 private donations; and 

10 (B) 40 percent have come from public 

11 sources. 

12 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to promote 

13 the purposes of the Memorial, including— 

14 (1) remembering and honoring the thousands of 

15 innocent men, women, and children murdered by ter16 rorists in the horrific attacks of February 26, 1993, 

17 and September 11, 2001; 

18 (2) respecting the site made sacred through 

19 tragic loss; 

20 (3) recognizing— 

21 (A) the endurance of the individuals who 

22 survived the terrorist attacks; 

23 (B) the courage of the individuals who 

24 risked their lives to save others; and 


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1 (C) the compassion of the individuals who 

2 supported the people of the United States in 

3 our darkest hours; 

4 (4) ensuring, through educational programs, 

5 that the history of September 11, 2001, and the im6 plications of that day continue to be told, especially 

7 to the youth of the United States; and 

8 (5) ensuring that the Memorial will be a re9 source to the more than 600 September 11 Memo10 rials being established throughout the United States. 

11 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

12 In this Act: 

13 (1) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the 

14 Board of Directors of the National September 11 

15 Memorial and Museum at the World Trade Center 

16 Foundation, Inc. 

17 (2) MEMORIAL.—The term ‘‘Memorial’’ means 

18 The National September 11 Memorial and Museum 

19 at the World Trade Center in New York City, New 

20 York. 

21 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

22 the Secretary of the Interior. 


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1 SEC. 4. DONATION OF MEMORIAL. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may accept from 

3 the Board the donation of title to the Memorial, subject 

4 to— 

5 (1) any terms and conditions that the Secretary 

6 and the Board may mutually agree to; 

7 (2) the approval of the donation by the Gov8 ernor of the State of New York, the Governor of the 

9 State of New Jersey, and the Mayor of the City of 

10 New York; and 

11 (3) the requirement that title to the Memorial 

12 be in a form satisfactory to the Secretary. 

13 (b) TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may provide 

15 technical and financial assistance to the Board relat16 ing to the operation of the Memorial. 

17 (2) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary may con18 sult with, and seek technical assistance from, the 

19 Secretary of Defense, Secretary of Education, Sec20 retary of Homeland Security, Secretary of Housing 

21 and Urban Development, and Administrator of Gen22 eral Services in providing assistance to the Board 

23 under paragraph (1). 

24 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

25 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

26 this Act not more than $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2013 


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1 and each fiscal year thereafter, subject to the requirement 

2 that any funds appropriated to carry out this Act shall 

3 be matched with funds from non-Federal sources. 

Æ 


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