I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1455 

To direct the Librarian of Congress to carry out a project to collect video 

and audio recordings of personal histories and testimonials of emergency 

responders and recovery and cleanup workers who responded to the 

September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 8, 2011 

Mr. ISRAEL (for himself and Mr. KING of New York) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration 

A BILL 

To direct the Librarian of Congress to carry out a project 

to collect video and audio recordings of personal histories 

and testimonials of emergency responders and recovery 

and cleanup workers who responded to the September 

11, 2001, terrorist attacks. 

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 ‘‘9/11 First Responders 

5 History Project Act of 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds as follows: 


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1 (1) Over 410,000 people were exposed to the 

2 site of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks at 

3 the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York City, 

4 including 50,000 workers from across the Nation 

5 who traveled to the site to lend their support. 

6 (2) Of these over 410,000 people, 91,000 were 

7 rescue and recovery workers. 

8 (3) Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was 

9 one of the major health effects for individuals who 

10 responded to the WTC attacks. 

11 (4) Nineteen percent of adult enrollees (about 

12 71,000 people) in the WTC Health Registry report 

13 new PTSD symptoms, 4 times the rate typically 

14 seen in adults in the United States. 

15 (5) Of the more than 10,000 rescue and recov16 ery workers monitored for a study at the Mount 

17 Sinai WTC Consortium over a five-year period from 

18 2002 to 2007, 11% met criteria for probable PTSD, 

19 8.8% had probable depression, 5.0% had probable 

20 panic disorder, and 62% had substantial stress reac21 tion. 

22 (6) According to the Mount Sinai study, the 

23 rate of PTSD among responders to the September 

24 11, 2001, terrorist attacks at the WTC is signifi25 cantly greater than in the general population and is 


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1 on par with the rate experienced by veterans of the 

2 war in Afghanistan. For example, 15.5% of fire3 fighters report probable post–9/11 PTSD and fire4 fighters who worked at Ground Zero lost an average 

5 of 12 years of lung function. 

6 (b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to create 

7 a new federally sponsored, authorized, and funded project 

8 that will coordinate at a national level the collection of 

9 video and audio recordings of personal histories and 

10 testimonials of emergency responders and recovery and 

11 cleanup workers who responded to the September 11, 

12 2001, terrorist attacks that will build upon and com13 plement previous and ongoing documentary work on this 

14 subject, and to assist and encourage local efforts to pre15 serve the memories of such individuals so that Americans 

16 of all current and future generations may hear from them 

17 directly and better appreciate the sacrifices they made. 

18 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROJECT AT LIBRARY OF CON19 GRESS TO COLLECT VIDEO AND AUDIO RE20 CORDINGS OF HISTORIES OF 9/11 FIRST RE21 SPONDERS. 

22 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROJECT.—Within the lim23 its of available funds, the Librarian of Congress (hereafter 

24 referred to as the ‘‘Librarian’’) shall establish an oral his25 tory project— 


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1 (1) to survey, during the initial phase of the 

2 project, collections of audio and video recordings of 

3 the reminiscences of 9/11 first responders that are 

4 housed in archives, libraries, museums, and other 

5 educational institutions, as well as ongoing documen6 tary work, in order to augment and complement 

7 these endeavors and avoid duplication of effort; 

8 (2) to solicit, reproduce, and collect— 

9 (A) video and audio recordings of personal 

10 histories and testimonials of 9/11 first respond11 ers; and 

12 (B) visual and written materials (such as 

13 letters, diaries, photographs, and ephemera) rel14 evant to the personal histories of individuals; 

15 (3) to create a collection of the recordings and 

16 other materials obtained, and to catalog and index 

17 the collection in a manner the Librarian considers 

18 appropriate; and 

19 (4) to make the collection available for public 

20 use through the Library of Congress, as well as 

21 through such other methods as the Librarian con22 sider appropriate. 

23 (b) USE OF AND CONSULTATION WITH OTHER ENTI24 TIES.—The Librarian may carry out the activities de25 scribed in subsection (a) through agreements and partnerVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:03 Apr 12, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1455.IH H1455

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1 ships entered into with other government and private enti2 ties, and may otherwise consult with interested persons 

3 (within the limits of available resources) and develop ap4 propriate guidelines and arrangements for soliciting, ac5 quiring, and making available recordings under the project 

6 under this Act. 

7 (c) SERVICES OF EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS; AC8 CEPTANCE OF VOLUNTEER SERVICES; ADVANCE PAY9 MENTS.—In carrying out activities described in subsection 

10 (a)(1), the Librarian may— 

11 (1) procure temporary and intermittent services 

12 under section 3109 of title 5, United States Code; 

13 (2) accept and utilize the services of volunteers 

14 and other uncompensated personnel and reimburse 

15 them for travel expenses, including per diem, as au16 thorized under section 5703 of title 5, United States 

17 Code; and 

18 (3) make advances of money and payments in 

19 advance in accordance with section 3324 of title 31, 

20 United States Code. 

21 (d) TIMING.—As soon as practicable after the enact22 ment of this Act, the Librarian shall begin collecting video 

23 and audio recordings and other materials under subsection 

24 (a), and shall attempt to collect the first such recordings 

25 from the oldest individuals involved. 


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1 (e) DEFINITION.—In this Act, the term ‘‘9/11 first 

2 responders’’ means emergency responders and recovery 

3 and cleanup workers who responded to the terrorist at4 tacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, in New York 

5 City, in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and at the Pentagon 

6 (including the aftermath of such attacks). 

7 SEC. 4. PRIVATE SUPPORT FOR PROJECT. 

8 (a) ENCOURAGING SOLICITATION AND ACCEPTANCE

9 OF DONATIONS.—The Librarian of Congress is encour10 aged to solicit and accept donations of funds and in-kind 

11 contributions to support activities under section 3. 

12 (b) DEDICATION OF FUNDS PROVIDED TO LIBRARY

13 OF CONGRESS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of 

14 law— 

15 (1) any funds donated to the Librarian of Con16 gress to support the activities of the Librarian under 

17 section 3 shall be deposited entirely into an account 

18 established for such purpose; 

19 (2) the funds contained in such account shall be 

20 used solely to support such activities; and 

21 (3) the Librarian of Congress may not deposit 

22 into such account any funds donated to the Librar23 ian which are not donated for the exclusive purpose 

24 of supporting such activities. 


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1 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

3 this Act— 

4 (1) $250,000 for fiscal year 2012; and 

5 (2) $150,000 for each of the 4 succeeding fiscal 

6 years. 

Æ 


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