Union Calendar No. 91

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 877

[Report No. 103–140, Parts I and II]

A BILL

To authorize the establishment of the National AfInstitution. rican-American Museum within the Smithsonian

JUNE 28, 1993

Reported from the Committee on House Administration,

the State of the Union; and ordered to be printedcommitted to the Committee of the Whole House on
IB

Union Calendar No. 91

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 877

[Report No. 103–140, Parts I and II]

To authorize the establishment of the National African-American Museum

within the Smithsonian Institution.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 4, 1993

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia (for himself, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin, Mr. BISHOP, Mr. BLACKWELL, Mr. BONIOR, Ms. BROWN of Florida, Mr. CLAY, Mrs. CLAYTON, Mr. CLYBURN, Miss COLLINS of Michigan, Mrs. COLLINS of Illinois, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. CRAMER, Mr. DELLUMS, Mr. DE LUGO, Mr. DIXON, Mr. FILNER, Mr. FINGERHUT, Mr.

FLAKE, Mr. FORD of Tennessee, Mr. FROST, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr.

HILLIARD, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. JEFFERSON, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mrs. KENNELLY, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. LANCASTER, Mr. MAZZOLI, Ms. MCKINNEY, Mrs. MEEK, Mr. MFUME, Mr. MILLER of California, Mr. MINETA, Mr. MORAN, Ms. NORTON, Mr. OWENS, Mr. PARKER,

Mr. PAYNE, Mr. REYNOLDS, Mr. ROMERO-BARCELO ́, Mr. RUSH, Mr.

SCHUMER, Mr. SCOTT, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. SISISKY, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr.

STOKES, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. TUCKER, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mr. VENTO, Mr.

WASHINGTON, Ms. WATERS, Mr. WATT, Mr. WHEAT, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr.

WYNN, Mr. FIELDS of Louisiana, and Mr. RANGEL) introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to the Committees on House Administration and Public Works and Transportation

JUNE 18, 1993

Reported from the Committee on Public Works and Transportation with an

amendment

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

JUNE 28, 1993

Reported from the Committee on House Administration, committed to the
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Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered

to be printed

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on February 4, 1993]

A BILL

To authorize the establishment of the National AfricanAmerican Museum within the Smithsonian Institution.

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 African Amer5 ican Museum Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—

8 (1) the presentation and preservation of African

9 American life, art, history, and culture within the

10 National Park System and other Federal entities is

11 inadequate;

12 (2) the inadequate presentation and preservation

13 of African American life, art, history, and culture se14 riously restricts the ability of the people of the United

15 States, particularly African Americans, to under16 stand themselves and their past;

17 (3) African American life, art, history, and cul18 ture includes the varied experiences of Africans in

19 slavery and freedom and the continued struggles for
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1 full recognition of citizenship and treatment with

2 human dignity;

3 (4) in enacting Public Law 99–511, the Congress

4 encouraged support for the establishment of a com5 memorative structure within the National Park Sys6 tem, or on other Federal lands, dedicated to the pro7 motion of understanding, knowledge, opportunity,

8 and equality for all people;

9 (5) the establishment of a national museum and

10 the conducting of interpretive and educational pro11 grams, dedicated to the heritage and culture of Afri12 can Americans, will help to inspire and educate the

13 people of the United States regarding the cultural leg14 acy of African Americans and the contributions made

15 by African Americans to the society of the United

16 States; and

17 (6) the Smithsonian Institution operates 15 mu18 seums and galleries, a zoological park, and 5 major

19 research facilities, none of which is a national insti20 tution devoted solely to African American life, art,

21 history, or culture.
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1 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NATIONAL AFRICAN AMER2 ICAN MUSEUM.

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within the

4 Smithsonian Institution a Museum, which shall be known

5 as the ‘‘National African American Museum’’.

6 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Museum is to pro7 vide—

8 (1) a center for scholarship relating to African

9 American life, art, history, and culture;

10 (2) a location for permanent and temporary ex11 hibits documenting African American life, art, his12 tory, and culture;

13 (3) a location for the collection and study of ar14 tifacts and documents relating to African American

15 life, art, history, and culture;

16 (4) a location for public education programs re17 lating to African American life, art, history, and cul18 ture; and

19 (5) a location for training of museum profes20 sionals and others in the arts, humanities, and

21 sciences regarding museum practices related to Afri22 can American life, art, history, and culture.
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1 SEC. 4. LOCATION AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE NATIONAL

2 AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM.

3 The Board of Regents is authorized to plan, design,

4 reconstruct, and renovate the Arts and Industries Building

5 of the Smithsonian Institution to house the Museum.

6 SEC. 5. BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF MUSEUM.

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the

8 Smithsonian Institution the Board of Trustees of the Na9 tional African American Museum.

10 (b) COMPOSITION AND APPOINTMENT.—The Board of

11 Trustees shall be composed of 23 members as follows:

12 (1) The Secretary of the Smithsonian Institu13 tion.

14 (2) An Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian

15 Institution, designated by the Board of Regents.

16 (3) Twenty-one individuals of diverse disciplines

17 and geographical residence who are committed to the

18 advancement of knowledge of African American art,

19 history, and culture appointed by the Board of Re20 gents, of which 9 members shall be from among indi21 viduals nominated by African American museums,

22 historically black colleges and universities, and cul23 tural or other organizations.

24 (c) TERMS.—

25 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para26 graph (2), members of the Board of Trustees shall be
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1 appointed for terms of 3 years. Members of the Board

2 of Trustees may be reappointed.

3 (2) STAGGERED TERMS.—As designated by the

4 Board of Regents at the time of initial appointments

5 under paragraph (3) of subsection (b), the terms of 7

6 members shall expire at the end of 1 year, the terms

7 of 7 members shall expire at the end of 2 years, and

8 the terms of 7 members shall expire at the end of 3

9 years.

10 (d) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the Board of Trustees

11 shall not affect its powers and shall be filled in the manner

12 in which the original appointment was made. Any member

13 appointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the expiration

14 of the term for which the predecessor of the member was

15 appointed shall be appointed for the remainder of the term.

16 (e) NONCOMPENSATION.—Except as provided in sub17 section (f), members of the Board of Trustees shall serve

18 without pay.

19 (f) EXPENSES.—Members of the Board of Trustees

20 shall receive per diem, travel, and transportation expenses

21 for each day, including traveltime, during which they are

22 engaged in the performance of the duties of the Board of

23 Trustees in accordance with section 5703 of title 5, United

24 States Code, with respect to employees serving intermit25 tently in the Government service.
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1 (g) CHAIRPERSON.—The Board of Trustees shall elect

2 a chairperson by a majority vote of the members of the

3 Board of Trustees.

4 (h) MEETINGS.—The Board of Trustees shall meet at

5 the call of the chairperson or upon the written request of

6 a majority of its members, but shall meet not less than 2

7 times each year.

8 (i) QUORUM.—A majority of the Board of Trustees

9 shall constitute a quorum for purposes of conducting busi10 ness, but a lesser number may receive information on behalf

11 of the Board of Trustees.

12 (j) VOLUNTARY SERVICES.—Notwithstanding section

13 1342 of title 31, United States Code, the chairperson of the

14 Board of Trustees may accept for the Board of Trustees vol15 untary services provided by a member of the Board of

16 Trustees.

17 SEC. 6. DUTIES OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE MU18 SEUM.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Board of Trustees shall—

20 (1) recommend annual budgets for the Museum;

21 (2) consistent with the general policy established

22 by the Board of Regents, have the sole authority to—

23 (A) loan, exchange, sell, or otherwise dispose

24 of any part of the collections of the Museum, but

25 only if the funds generated by such disposition
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1 are used for additions to the collections of the

2 Museum or for additions to the endowment of the

3 Museum;

4 (B) subject to the availability of funds and

5 the provisions of annual budgets of the Museum,

6 purchase, accept, borrow, or otherwise acquire

7 artifacts and other property for addition to the

8 collections of the Museum;

9 (C) establish policy with respect to the utili10 zation of the collections of the Museum; and

11 (D) establish policy regarding program12 ming, education, exhibitions, and research, with

13 respect to the life and culture of African Ameri14 cans, the role of African Americans in the his15 tory of the United States, and the contributions

16 of African Americans to society;

17 (3) consistent with the general policy established

18 by the Board of Regents, have authority to—

19 (A) provide for restoration, preservation,

20 and maintenance of the collections of the Mu21 seum;

22 (B) solicit funds for the Museum and deter23 mine the purposes to which those funds shall be

24 used;
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1 (C) approve expenditures from the endow2 ment of the Museum, or of income generated

3 from the endowment, for any purpose of the Mu4 seum; and

5 (D) consult with, advise, and support the

6 Director in the operation of the Museum;

7 (4) establish programs in cooperation with other

8 African American museums, historically black colleges

9 and universities, historical societies, educational in10 stitutions, cultural and other organizations for the

11 education and promotion of understanding regarding

12 African American life, art, history, and culture;

13 (5) support the efforts of other African American

14 museums, historically black colleges and universities,

15 and cultural and other organizations to educate and

16 promote understanding regarding African American

17 life, art, history, and culture, including—

18 (A) development of cooperative programs

19 and exhibitions;

20 (B) identification, management, and care of

21 collections;

22 (C) participation in the training of mu23 seum professionals; and

24 (D) creating opportunities for—

25 (i) research fellowships; and
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1 (ii) professional and student intern2 ships;

3 (6) adopt bylaws to carry out the functions of

4 the Board of Trustees; and

5 (7) report annually to the Board of Regents on

6 the acquisition, disposition, and display of African

7 American objects and artifacts and on other appro8 priate matters.

9 SEC. 7. DIRECTOR AND STAFF.

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Smithsonian

11 Institution, in consultation with the Board of Trustees,

12 shall appoint a Director who shall manage the Museum.

13 (b) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN CIVIL SERVICE

14 LAWS.—The Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution

15 may—

16 (1) appoint the Director and 5 employees under

17 subsection (a), without regard to the provisions of

18 title 5, United States Code, governing appointments

19 in the competitive service; and

20 (2) fix the pay of the Director and such 5 em21 ployees, without regard to the provisions of chapter 51

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

24 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.

25 For purposes of this Act:
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1 (1) The term ‘‘Board of Regents’’ means the

2 Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution.

3 (2) The term ‘‘Board of Trustees’’ means the

4 Board of Trustees of the National African American

5 Museum established in section 5(a).

6 (3) The term ‘‘Museum’’ means the National Af7 rican American Museum established under section

8 3(a).

9 (4) The term ‘‘Arts and Industries Building’’

10 means the building located on the Mall at 900 Jeffer11 son Drive, S.W. in Washington, the District of Co12 lumbia.

13 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

14 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

15 this Act $5,000,000 for fiscal year 1994 and such sums as

16 may be necessary for each of the succeeding fiscal years.

17 Amounts appropriated pursuant to this section shall be

18 available only for costs directly relating to the establishment

19 and operation of the Museum.