II

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2840

To establish a Commission on the Bicentennial of the Louisiana Purchase

and the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JULY 10, 2000

Mr. BREAUX introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Governmental Affairs

A BILL

To establish a Commission on the Bicentennial of the

Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

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 ‘‘Louisiana Purchase

5 and Lewis and Clark Expedition Bicentennial Commission

6 Act’’.

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

8 Congress finds that—

9 (1) the bicentennial of the Louisiana Purchase

10 occurs in 2003, 200 years after the United States,
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1 under the leadership of President Thomas Jefferson

2 and after due consideration and approval by Con3 gress, paid $15,000,000 to France to acquire the

4 vast area in the western half of the Mississippi River

5 basin;

6 (2) the Louisiana Purchase was the largest

7 peaceful land transaction in history and virtually

8 doubled the size of the United States;

9 (3) the Louisiana Purchase opened the heart of

10 the North American continent for exploration, settle11 ment, and achievement, as exemplified by the Lewis

12 and Clark Expedition of 1803 to 1806, which se13 cured through heroic efforts the first documentation

14 of the inhabitants, riches, and grandeur of this new

15 territory of the United States;

16 (4) in the wake of the Louisiana Purchase and

17 Lewis and Clark Expedition, immigrants from

18 around the world came to the American frontier,

19 which became emblematic of the search for political,

20 economic, and spiritual freedom; and

21 (5) commemoration of the Louisiana Purchase

22 and the opening of the West will—

23 (A) enhance public understanding of the

24 impact of westward expansion on American so25 ciety; and
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1 (B) provide lessons for democratic govern2 ance in our own time.

3 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT AND COMPOSITION OF COMMIS4 SION.

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com6 mission to be known as the ‘‘Louisiana Purchase and

7 Lewis and Clark Expedition Bicentennial Commission’’

8 (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Commission’’) to encour9 age, plan, coordinate, and conduct the commemoration of

10 the 200th anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase and the

11 Lewis and Clark Expedition.

12 (b) COMPOSITION.—The Commission shall be com13 posed of 24 members, who shall be appointed not later

14 than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, as

15 follows:

16 (1) 8 members appointed by the President on

17 the recommendation of the majority leader of the

18 Senate, in consultation with the minority leader of

19 the Senate.

20 (2) 8 members appointed by the President on

21 recommendation of the Speaker of the House of

22 Representatives, in consultation with the minority

23 leader of the House of Representatives.

24 (3) 8 members appointed by the President.

25 (c) QUALIFICATIONS.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission members

2 shall be chosen from among individuals who have

3 demonstrated scholarship, a strong sense of public

4 service, expertise in relevant professions, and abili5 ties likely to contribute to the fulfillment of the du6 ties of the Commission.

7 (2) COMPOSITION.—The members of the

8 Commission—

9 (A) shall be broadly representative of the

10 people of the United States; and

11 (B) shall not otherwise be officers or em12 ployees of the United States.

13 (d) TERMS.—Members of the Commission shall be

14 appointed for the life of the Commission.

15 (e) INTERNATIONAL PARTICIPATION.—The President

16 is authorized and requested to invite the Governments of

17 Canada, France, Great Britain, Mexico, and Spain each

18 to appoint, not later than 90 days after the date of the

19 enactment of this Act, 1 individual to serve as a nonvoting

20 participant in the activities of the Commission.

21 (f) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE-CHAIRPERSON.—

22 (1) CHAIRPERSON.—The President shall des23 ignate 1 of the members to be Chairperson.
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1 (2) VICE-CHAIRPERSON.—The Commission

2 shall elect a Vice-Chairperson from among its mem3 bers.

4 (g) QUORUM.—A quorum shall consist of 13 mem5 bers of the Commission, but a lesser number may conduct

6 meetings.

7 (h) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Commission shall

8 be filled in the same manner in which the original appoint9 ment was made.

10 (i) COMPENSATION.—The members of the Commis11 sion shall serve without compensation, but each member

12 shall be reimbursed for travel, subsistence, and other nec13 essary expenses incurred in the performance of Commis14 sion duties.

15 SEC. 4. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall—

17 (1) plan and develop activities appropriate to

18 commemorate the bicentennial of the Louisiana Pur19 chase and the Lewis and Clark Expedition, including

20 a limited number of projects to be carried out by the

21 Federal Government, seeking to harmonize and bal22 ance the important goals of ceremony and celebra23 tion with the equally important goals of scholarship

24 and education;
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1 (2) consult with and encourage Federal agen2 cies, State and local governments, Indian tribes, for3 eign governments, and private organizations to orga4 nize and participate in bicentennial activities com5 memorating or examining—

6 (A) the history of the Louisiana Territory;

7 (B) the negotiation of the Louisiana Pur8 chase;

9 (C) the Lewis and Clark Expedition; and

10 (D) the characteristics of the frontier

11 movement and the westward expansion of the

12 United States and their influences on world cul13 ture; and

14 (3) coordinate throughout the United States

15 and internationally, activities related to the history

16 and influence of the Louisiana Purchase and the

17 Lewis and Clark Expedition.

18 (b) FEDERAL AGENCY COOPERATION.—The head of

19 each Federal agency shall cooperate with the Commission

20 in encouraging, coordinating, planning, and conducting

21 appropriate commemorative activities.

22 SEC. 5. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may provide

24 for—
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1 (1) the preparation, exhibition, dissemination,

2 and sale of historical, commemorative, and informa3 tional materials and objects that contribute to public

4 awareness of, and interest in, the bicentennial of the

5 Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark Expe6 dition, except that any commemorative coins, med7 als, or postage stamps recommended to be issued by

8 the United States shall be sold only by an agency of

9 the United States;

10 (2) competitions and awards for historical,

11 scholarly, artistic, literary, musical, and other works,

12 programs, and projects relating to the bicentennial

13 of the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark

14 Expedition;

15 (3) a bicentennial calendar or register of pro16 grams and projects;

17 (4) a central clearinghouse for information and

18 coordination regarding dates, events, places, docu19 ments, artifacts, and personalities of historical and

20 commemorative significance relating to the bicenten21 nial of the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and

22 Clark Expedition; and

23 (5) the design and designation of logos, sym24 bols, or marks for use in connection with the com25 memoration of the bicentennial of the Louisiana
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1 Purchase and Lewis and Clark Expedition, on the

2 condition that the Commission may not sell, lease, or

3 otherwise grant to any person the right to use any

4 such logo, symbol, or mark in connection with the

5 production or manufacture of any commercial goods,

6 or as part of an advertisement promoting any com7 mercial goods or services.

8 (b) DONATIONS.—The Commission may solicit, ac9 cept, use, and dispose of donations of money, property,

10 or personal services.

11 (c) PRESERVATION.—All books, manuscripts, printed

12 matter, memorabilia, relics, and other materials or prop13 erty relating to the time period of the Louisiana Purchase

14 and the Lewis and Clark Expedition that are donated to

15 the Commission may be deposited for preservation in Na16 tional, State, or local libraries, museums, or other agen17 cies.

18 SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS AND POWERS.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—

20 (1) APPOINTMENT OF OFFICERS.—The Chair21 person, with the advice of the Commission, shall ap22 point, without regard to the provisions of title 5,

23 United States Code, governing appointments in the

24 competitive service—
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1 (A) a Director, who may be compensated

2 at a rate not to exceed the rate of basic pay

3 payable for level IV of the Executive Schedule

4 established under section 5315 of that title; and

5 (B) a Deputy Director, who may be com6 pensated at a rate not to exceed the rate of

7 basic pay payable for level V of the Executive

8 Schedule established under section 5316 of that

9 title.

10 (2) DELEGATION TO DIRECTOR.—The Commis11 sion may delegate such powers and duties to the Di12 rector as may be necessary for the efficient oper13 ation and management of the Commission.

14 (b) GENERAL POWERS.—Subject to regulations pro15 mulgated by the Commission, the Commission may—

16 (1) appoint and fix the compensation of such

17 additional personnel as the Commission considers

18 necessary, not to exceed 20 staff members, without

19 regard to the provisions of title 5, United States

20 Code, governing appointments in the competitive

21 service, and without regard to chapter 51 and sub22 chapter III of chapter 53 of that title relating to

23 classification and General Schedule pay rates, but at

24 rates not in excess of the maximum rate for grade
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1 GS–15 of the General Schedule under section 5332

2 of that title;

3 (2) appoint such advisory committees as the

4 Commission considers necessary; and

5 (3) procure supplies, services, and property,

6 make contracts, and expend funds appropriated, do7 nated, or received to carry out the contracts.

8 (c) STAFF DETAILED FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.—

9 On request of the Commission, the head of any Federal

10 agency may detail any of the personnel of the agency to

11 the Commission to assist the Commission in carrying out

12 the duties of the Commission under this Act.

13 (d) STAFF PAID FROM DONATED FUNDS.—The

14 Commission may appoint and fix the pay of additional per15 sonnel to be paid out of private donations.

16 (e) PRINCIPAL OFFICE.—The principal office of the

17 Commission shall be in St. Louis, Missouri.

18 SEC. 7. REPORTS.

19 (a) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than 60 days after

20 the end of a fiscal year, the Commission shall submit to

21 the President and Congress a report that—

22 (1) describes the activities of the Commission

23 during the fiscal year; and

24 (2) states—
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1 (A) the amount of expenditures made by

2 the Commission during the fiscal year;

3 (B) for each donation received by the Com4 mission during the fiscal year—

5 (i) the amount of the donation; and

6 (ii) the name of the person that made

7 the donation.

8 (b) COMPREHENSIVE REPORT.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after

10 the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission

11 shall submit to the President and Congress a report

12 incorporating specific recommendations for the com13 memoration of the bicentennial of the Louisiana

14 Purchase and Lewis and Clark Expedition and re15 lated events.

16 (2) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—The report under

17 paragraph (1)—

18 (A) shall include recommendations for the

19 allocation of financial and administrative re20 sponsibility among the public and private au21 thorities and organizations recommended for

22 participation by the Commission; and

23 (B) may recommend activities such as—

24 (i) the production, publication, and

25 distribution of books, pamphlets, films,
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1 electronic publications, and other edu2 cational materials focusing on the history

3 and impact of the Louisiana Purchase on

4 the United States and the world;

5 (ii) bibliographical and documentary

6 projects, publications, and electronic re7 sources;

8 (iii) conferences, convocations, lec9 tures, seminars, and other programs;

10 (iv) the development of programs by

11 and for libraries, museums, parks, and his12 toric sites, including national and inter13 national traveling exhibitions;

14 (v) ceremonies and celebrations com15 memorating specific events;

16 (vi) the production, distribution, and

17 performance of artistic works, and of pro18 grams and activities, focusing on the na19 tional and international significance of the

20 Louisiana Purchase and the westward ex21 pansion opening the frontier for present

22 and future generations; and

23 (vii) the issuance of commemorative

24 coins, medals, certificates of recognition,

25 and postage stamps.
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1 (c) FINAL REPORT.—The Commission shall submit

2 to the President and Congress a final report not later than

3 90 days before the termination of the Commission.

4 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro6 priated to carry out this Act—

7 (1) $1,000,000 for the first fiscal year for

8 which appropriations are made; and

9 (2) such sums as are necessary for subsequent

10 fiscal years until the termination of the Commission.

11 (b) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts appro12 priated under this section for any fiscal year shall remain

13 available until the termination of the Commission.

14 SEC. 9. TERMINATION.

15 The Commission shall terminate on the date that is

16 8 years after the date of enactment of this Act.

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