I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7550 

To direct the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Defense, and the 

Secretary of Veterans Affairs to inventory Confederate commemorative 

works on certain Federal lands, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 9, 2020 

Mr. MCEACHIN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on 

Armed Services, and Veterans’ Affairs, for a period to be subsequently 

determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of 

Defense, and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to inventory Confederate commemorative works on certain Federal lands, 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 ‘‘Confederate Com5 memorative Works Inventory and Joint Resource Study 

6 Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) The American Civil War was fought be4 tween 1861 and 1865. 

5 (2) As early as 1864, efforts were underway to 

6 preserve places that had been the location of pivotal 

7 battles during the Civil War, even before surrender 

8 occurred. 

9 (3) The National Park Service preserves 

10 unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and 

11 values of the National Park System for the enjoy12 ment, education, and inspiration of this and future 

13 generations, including sites dedicated to the inter14 pretation of the American Civil War. 

15 (4) The National Park Service, the Department 

16 of Veterans Affairs, and the Department of Defense 

17 administer public lands that are responsible for Con18 federate commemorative works. Public lands play a 

19 vital role in capturing the historical and cultural sto20 ries that shape the Nation’s history, and the lands 

21 administered by the National Park Service, the De22 partment of Veterans Affairs, and the Department 

23 of Defense help facilitate the national narrative of 

24 the American Civil War. 

25 (5) There are 147 national cemeteries in the 

26 United States. Fourteen are maintained by the DeVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:51 Jul 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7550.IH H7550

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1 partment of the Interior, through the National Park 

2 Service. The Department of Veterans Affairs, 

3 through the National Cemetery Administration, ad4 ministers 131 cemeteries. The Department of De5 fense, through the Army, administers 2 cemeteries. 

6 (6) The Department of Defense has jurisdiction 

7 over— 

8 (A) 10 major United States military instal9 lations named in honor of Confederate military 

10 leaders; and 

11 (B) Navy ships named after Confederate 

12 victories. 

13 (7) Given the significance these public lands 

14 and works play in our Nation’s education and reflec15 tion of the American Civil War, a full inventory and 

16 special resource study are necessary to locate Con17 federate commemorative works and help evaluate 

18 their suitability as resources for the interpretation of 

19 the American Civil War. 

20 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

21 For the purposes of this Act: 

22 (1) CONFEDERATE COMMEMORATIVE WORK.— 

23 The term ‘‘Confederate commemorative work’’— 


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1 (A) means any work that mentions individ2 uals or units who participated or served in the 

3 advancement of Confederate efforts; and 

4 (B) includes the Confederate flag and any 

5 other symbols or signage that honors the Con6 federacy, including any monument, statue, or 

7 plaque that honors a Confederate leader, sol8 dier, or supporter of the Confederate States of 

9 America. 

10 (2) CONFEDERATE FLAG.—The term ‘‘Confed11 erate flag’’— 

12 (A) means the national flag of the Confed13 eracy from 1861 through 1865; and 

14 (B) includes the Stars and Bars, the 

15 Stainless Banner, the Blood-Stained Banner, 

16 the Confederate States Navy flag, the battle 

17 flag of the Army of Northern Virginia, any 

18 State or regimental flag as such flag was de19 picted from 1861 through 1865, and modern 

20 representations of the Confederate battle flag. 

21 (3) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

22 the Director of the National Park Service. 

23 (4) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec24 retary concerned’’ means the Secretary of the Inte25 rior, the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of 


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1 Veterans Affairs, each in reference to Federal land 

2 under the jurisdiction of that Secretary. 

3 SEC. 4. INVENTORY AND RESOURCE STUDY. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each Secretary concerned shall— 

5 (1) conduct a full inventory of Confederate 

6 commemorative works under the administrative ju7 risdiction of that Secretary; and 

8 (2) submit a copy of that inventory to the Di9 rector. 

10 (b) CONTENTS OF STUDY.—Using the inventories re11 ceived pursuant to subsection (a), the Director shall con12 duct a special resource study that— 

13 (1) examines works, commemorating and inter14 preting the Civil War, the commemoration thereof, 

15 the soldiers, people on the home front and battle 

16 lines, and the related locations in the United States 

17 from 1861 through 1865; and 

18 (2) identifies— 

19 (A) a historical assessment, based on ex20 tensive research, of each inventoried Confed21 erate commemorative work; 

22 (B) an evaluation of the suitability and 

23 feasibility of retaining the Confederate com24 memorative work; 


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1 (C) the identification of properties that 

2 could meet criteria for listing in the National 

3 Register of Historic Places or criteria for des4 ignation as National Historic Landmarks or if 

5 the Confederate commemorative work is already 

6 on the or part of, another designation or dis7 trict; 

8 (D) an evaluation of relevant historical re9 search on, education about, interpretation of, 

10 and public awareness of the Confederate com11 memorative work; and 

12 (E) any other matters that the Director 

13 determines to be appropriate for this study. 

14 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after funds are 

15 made available for the study, the Secretary of the Interior 

16 shall submit to the Committee on Natural Resources of 

17 the House of Representatives and the Committee on En18 ergy and Natural Resources of the Senate a report con19 taining the findings of the study required under subsection 

20 (b) and any related recommendations. 

Æ 


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