II

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 3137

To establish a commission to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the

birth of James Madison.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

SEPTEMBER 28 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 22), 2000

Mr. SESSIONS (for himself Mr. BYRD, Mr. THURMOND, Mr. MOYNIHAN, Mr.

WARNER, Mr. ROBB, Mr. HATCH, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. LOTT, Mr. KENNEDY,

Mr. MURKOWSKI, Mr. BIDEN, Mr. HELMS, Mr. DODD, Mr. SMITH of

New Hampshire, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. EDWARDS, Mr.

VOINOVICH, Mr. BAYH, Mr. HAGEL, Mr. MILLER, Mr. ASHCROFT, Mr.

DORGAN, Mr. ALLARD, Mr. CLELAND, Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. SHELBY, Mr.

MACK, Mr. BUNNING, Mr. KYL, Mr. FEINGOLD, Mr. GREGG, Mr. REID,

and Mr. DOMENICI) introduced the following bill; which was read the first

time

A BILL

To establish a commission to commemorate the 250th

anniversary of the birth of James Madison.

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘James Madison Commemoration Commission Act’’.

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for

7 this Act is as follows:
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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Congressional findings.

Sec. 3. Establishment.

Sec. 4. Duties.

Sec. 5. Membership.

Sec. 6. Powers.

Sec. 7. Staffing and support.

Sec. 8. Contributions.

Sec. 9. Reports.

Sec. 10. Audit of financial transactions.

Sec. 11. Termination.

Sec. 12. Authorization of appropriations.

1 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.

2 Congress finds that—

3 (1) March 16, 2001, marks the 250th anniver4 sary of the birth of James Madison;

5 (2) as a delegate to the Continental Congress,

6 and to the Annapolis Convention of 1786, James

7 Madison foresaw the need for a more effective na8 tional government and was a persuasive advocate for

9 such a government at the Philadelphia Constitu10 tional Convention of 1787;

11 (3) James Madison worked tirelessly and suc12 cessfully at the Constitutional Convention to mold a

13 national charter, the United States Constitution,

14 that combined both energy and restraint, empow15 ering the legislature, the executive, and the judici16 ary, within a framework of limited government, sep17 arated powers, and a system of federalism;

18 (4) James Madison was an eloquent proponent

19 of the first 10 amendments to the Constitution, the

20 Bill of Rights;
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1 (5) James Madison faithfully served his country

2 as a Representative in Congress from 1789 to 1797,

3 as Secretary of State from 1801 to 1809, and as

4 President of the United States from 1809 to 1817;

5 (6) as President, James Madison showed cour6 age and resolute will in leading the United States to

7 victory over Great Britain in the War of 1812;

8 (7) James Madison’s political writings, as ex9 emplified by his Notes on the Federal Convention

10 and his contributions to The Federalist Papers, are

11 among the most distinguished of American state pa12 pers;

13 (8) by his learning, his devotion to ordered lib14 erty, and by the force of his intellect, James Madi15 son made an indispensable contribution to the Amer16 ican tradition of democratic constitutional repub17 licanism embodied in the Constitution of the United

18 States, and is justifiably acclaimed as father of the

19 Constitution;

20 (9) it is appropriate to remember, honor, and

21 renew the legacy of James Madison for the Amer22 ican people and, indeed for all mankind; and

23 (10) as the Nation approaches March 16, 2001,

24 marking the anniversary of the birth of James Madi-
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1 son, it is appropriate to establish a commission for

2 the commemoration of that anniversary.

3 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT.

4 A commission to be known as the James Madison

5 Commemoration Commission (in this Act referred to as

6 the ‘‘Commission’’) and a committee to be known as the

7 James Madison Commemoration Advisory Committee (in

8 this Act referred to as the ‘‘Advisory Committee’’) are es9 tablished.

10 SEC. 4. DUTIES.

11 (a) COMMISSION.—The Commission shall—

12 (1) in cooperation with the Advisory Committee

13 and the Library of Congress, direct the Government

14 Printing Office to compile and publish a substantial

15 number of copies of a book (as directed by the Com16 mission) containing a selection of the most impor17 tant writings of James Madison and tributes to him

18 by members of the Commission and other persons

19 that the Commission deems appropriate;

20 (2) in cooperation with the Advisory Committee

21 and the Library of Congress, plan and coordinate 1

22 or more symposia, at least 1 of which will be held

23 on March 16, 2001, and all of which will be devoted

24 to providing a better understanding of James Madi25 son’s contribution to American political culture;
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1 (3) in cooperation with the Advisory Committee

2 recognize such other events celebrating James Madi3 son’s birth and life as official events of the Commis4 sion;

5 (4) develop and coordinate any other activities

6 relating to the anniversary of the birth of James

7 Madison as may be appropriate;

8 (5) accept essay papers (via the Internet or oth9 erwise) from students attending public and private

10 institutions of elementary and secondary education

11 in any State regarding James Madison’s life and

12 contributions to America and award certificates to

13 students who author exceptional papers on this sub14 ject; and

15 (6) bestow honorary memberships to the Com16 mission or to the Advisory Committee upon such

17 persons as it deems appropriate.

18 (b) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The Advisory Com19 mittee shall—

20 (1) submit a suggested selection of James

21 Madison’s most important writings to the Commis22 sion for the Commission to consider for inclusion in

23 the book printed as provided in subsection (a)(1);

24 (2) submit a list and description of events con25 cerning the birth and life of James Madison to the
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1 Commission for the Commission’s consideration in

2 recognizing such events as official ‘‘Commission

3 Events’’; and

4 (3) make such other recommendations to the

5 Commission as a majority of its members deem ap6 propriate.

7 SEC. 5. MEMBERSHIP.

8 (a) MEMBERSHIP OF THE COMMISSION.—

9 (1) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Com10 mission shall be composed of 19 members, as fol11 lows:

12 (A) The Chief Justice of the United States

13 or such individual’s delegate who is an Asso14 ciate Justice of the Supreme Court of the

15 United States.

16 (B) The Majority Leader and the Minority

17 Leader of the Senate or each such individual’s

18 delegate who is a Member of the Senate.

19 (C) The Speaker of the House of Rep20 resentatives and the Minority Leader of the

21 House of Representatives or each such individ22 ual’s delegate who is a Member of the House of

23 Representatives.

24 (D) The Chairman and the Ranking Mem25 ber of the Committee on the Judiciary of the
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1 Senate or each such individual’s delegate who is

2 a member of such committee.

3 (E) The Chairman and the Ranking Mem4 ber of the Committee on the Judiciary of the

5 House of Representatives or each such individ6 ual’s delegate who is a member of such com7 mittee.

8 (F) Two Members of the Senate selected

9 by the Majority Leader of the Senate and 2

10 Members of the Senate selected by the Minority

11 Leader of the Senate.

12 (G) Two members of the House of Rep13 resentatives selected by the Speaker of the

14 House of Representatives and 2 Members of the

15 House of Representatives selected by the Minor16 ity Leader of the House of Representatives.

17 (H) Two members of the executive branch

18 selected by the President of the United States.

19 (2) CHAIRMAN AND VICE CHAIRMAN.—The

20 Chief Justice of the United States shall serve as

21 Chairman of the Commission and the members of

22 the Commission shall select a vice chairman from its

23 members, unless the Chief Justice appoints a dele24 gate to serve in his stead, in which circumstance, the
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1 members of the Commission shall select a chairman

2 and vice chairman from its members.

3 (b) MEMBERSHIP OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—

4 (1) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Advi5 sory Committee shall be composed of 14 members,

6 as follows:

7 (A) The Archivist of the United States or

8 such individual’s delegate.

9 (B) The Secretary of the Smithsonian In10 stitution or such individual’s delegate.

11 (C) The Executive Director of Montpelier,

12 the home of James Madison, and the 2001

13 Planning Committee of Montpelier or such indi14 vidual’s delegate.

15 (D) The President of James Madison Uni16 versity in Harrisonburg, Virginia or such indi17 vidual’s delegate.

18 (E) The Director of the James Madison

19 Center, James Madison University in Harrison20 burg, Virginia or such individual’s delegate.

21 (F) The President of the James Madison

22 Memorial Fellowship Foundation or such indi23 vidual’s delegate.

24 (G) Two members, who are not Members

25 of Congress but have expertise on the legal and
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1 historical significance of James Madison, se2 lected by the Majority Leader of the Senate,

3 and 2 members, who are not Members of Con4 gress but have expertise on the legal and histor5 ical significance of James Madison, selected by

6 the Minority Leader of the Senate.

7 (H) Two members, who are not Members

8 of Congress but who have expertise on the legal

9 and historical significance of James Madison,

10 selected by the Speaker of the House of Rep11 resentatives, and 2 members, who are not Mem12 bers of Congress but who have expertise on the

13 legal and historical significance of James Madi14 son, selected by the Minority Leader of the

15 House of Representatives.

16 (2) CHAIRMAN AND VICE CHAIRMAN.—The

17 members of the Advisory Committee shall select a

18 chairman and vice chairman from its members.

19 (c) TERMS.—Each member of the Commission shall

20 be selected and each member of the Advisory Committee

21 shall be selected not later than 90 days after the date of

22 enactment of this Act and shall serve for the life of the

23 Commission and the Advisory Committee, respectively.

24 (d) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Commission shall

25 be filled in the same manner in which the original appoint-
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1 ment was made in subsection (a). A vacancy in the Advi2 sory Committee shall be filled by the person holding the

3 office named in subsection (b) or his designate.

4 (e) COMPENSATION.—

5 (1) RATES OF PAY.—Members of the Commis6 sion and the Advisory Committee shall serve without

7 pay.

8 (2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member of the

9 Commission and the Advisory Committee may re10 ceive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of

11 subsistence, in accordance with sections 5702 and

12 5703 of title 5, United States Code.

13 (f) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at the

14 call of its chairman or a majority of its members. The

15 Advisory Committee shall meet at the call of the chairman

16 or a majority of its members.

17 (g) APPROVAL OF ACTIONS.—All official actions of

18 the Commission under this Act shall be approved by the

19 affirmative vote of not less than a majority of the mem20 bers. All official actions of the Advisory Committee under

21 this Act shall be approved by the affirmative vote of not

22 less than a majority of the members.

23 SEC. 6. POWERS.

24 (a) DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY.—Any member or

25 staff person of the Commission may, if authorized by the
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1 Commission, take any action that the Commission is au2 thorized to take by this Act.

3 (b) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may pro5 cure services and property, and make or enter into

6 contracts, leases, or other legal agreements, in order

7 to carry out this Act.

8 (2) RESTRICTION.—The contracts, leases, or

9 other legal agreements made or entered into by the

10 Commission shall not extend beyond the date of ter11 mination of the Commission.

12 (3) TERMINATION.—All supplies and property

13 acquired by the Commission under this Act that re14 main in the possession of the Commission on the

15 date of termination of the Commission shall become

16 the property of the General Services Administration

17 upon the date of the termination.

18 (c) INFORMATION.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may secure

20 directly from any Federal agency information nec21 essary to enable it to carry out this Act. Upon re22 quest of the chairperson of the Commission, the

23 head of the Federal agency shall furnish the infor24 mation to the Commission.
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1 (2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not

2 apply to any information that the Commission is

3 prohibited to secure or request by another law.

4 (d) RULES AND REGULATIONS.—The Commission

5 may adopt such rules and regulations as may be necessary

6 to conduct meetings and carry out its duties under this

7 Act. The Commission may also adopt such rules for the

8 Advisory Committee.

9 (e) MAILS.—The Commission may use the United

10 States mails in the same manner and under the same con11 ditions as other Federal agencies, and the Committee on

12 the Judiciary of the Senate may mail items on behalf of

13 the Commission.

14 (f) NECESSARY AND PROPER POWERS.—The Com15 mission may exercise such other powers as are necessary

16 and proper in carrying out and effecting the purposes of

17 this Act.

18 SEC. 7. STAFFING AND SUPPORT.

19 The Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary of

20 the Senate, the Chairman of the Committee on the Judici21 ary of the House of Representatives, and the Librarian

22 of Congress shall provide the Commission and the Advi23 sory Committee with such assistance, including staff sup24 port, facilities, and supplies at no charge, as may be nec25 essary to carry out its duties.
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1 SEC. 8. CONTRIBUTIONS.

2 (a) DONATIONS.—The Commission may accept dona3 tions of money, personal services, and property, both real

4 and personal, including books, manuscripts, miscellaneous

5 printed matter, memorabilia, relics, and other materials

6 related to James Madison.

7 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any funds donated to the

9 Commission may be used by the Commission to

10 carry out this Act. The source and amount of such

11 funds shall be listed in the interim and final reports

12 required under section 9.

13 (2) PROCUREMENT REQUIREMENTS.—

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any pro15 curement requirement otherwise applicable to

16 the Commission, the Commission shall conduct

17 procurements of property or services involving

18 donated funds pursuant to the small purchase

19 procedures required by section 303(g) of the

20 Federal Property and Administrative Services

21 Act of 1949 (41 U.S.C. 253(g)). Section 15(j)

22 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(j))

23 shall not apply to such procurements.

24 (B) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the

25 term ‘‘donated funds’’ means any funds of
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1 which 50 percent or more derive from funds do2 nated to the Commission.

3 (c) VOLUNTEER SERVICES.—Notwithstanding sec4 tion 1342 of title 31, United States Code, the Commission

5 may accept and use voluntary and uncompensated services

6 as the Commission determines necessary.

7 (d) REMAINING FUNDS.—Funds remaining upon the

8 date of termination of the Commission shall be used to

9 ensure the proper disposition of property donated to the

10 Commission as specified in the final report required by

11 section 9.

12 SEC. 9. REPORTS.

13 (a) INTERIM REPORT.—Not later than February 15,

14 2001, the Commission shall prepare and submit to the

15 President and Congress an interim report detailing the ac16 tivities of the Commission, including an accounting of

17 funds received and expended by the Commission, during

18 the period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act

19 and ending on December 31, 2000.

20 (b) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than February 15,

21 2002, the Commission shall submit to the President and

22 to Congress a final report containing—

23 (1) a summary of the activities of the Commis24 sion;
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1 (2) a final accounting of funds received and ex2 pended by the Commission;

3 (3) the findings, conclusions, and recommenda4 tions of the Commission;

5 (4) specific recommendations concerning the

6 final disposition of historically significant items do7 nated to the Commission under section 8(a), if any;

8 and

9 (5) any additional views of any member of the

10 Commission concerning the Commission’s rec11 ommendations that such member requests to be in12 cluded in the final report.

13 SEC. 10. AUDIT OF FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS.

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Inspector General of the Gen15 eral Services Administration shall audit financial trans16 actions of the Commission, including financial trans17 actions involving donated funds, in accordance with gen18 erally accepted auditing standards. In conducting an audit

19 pursuant to this section, the Inspector General shall have

20 access to all books, accounts, financial records, reports,

21 files, and other papers, items, or property in use by the

22 Commission, as necessary to facilitate the audit, and shall

23 be afforded full facilities for verifying transactions with

24 the balances or securities held by depositories, fiscal

25 agents, and custodians.
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1 (b) AUDIT REPORTS.—Not later than March 15,

2 2001, the Inspector General of the General Services Ad3 ministration shall submit to the President and to Congress

4 a report detailing the results of any audit of the financial

5 transactions of the Commission conducted before January

6 1, 2001. Not later than March 15, 2002, such Inspector

7 General shall submit to the President and to Congress a

8 report detailing the results of any audit of the financial

9 transactions of the Commission conducted during the pe10 riod beginning on January 1, 2001, and ending on Decem11 ber 31, 2001.

12 SEC. 11. TERMINATION.

13 The Commission and the Advisory Committee shall

14 terminate not later than 60 days following submission of

15 the final report required by section 9.

16 SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

17 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

18 this Act $250,000 for fiscal year 2001.

Æ