II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1242 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 2, 2017 

Received 

AN ACT 

To establish the 400 Years of African-American History 

Commission, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘400 Years of African3 American History Commission Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

6 (1) COMMEMORATION.—The term ‘‘commemo7 ration’’ means the commemoration of the 400th an8 niversary of the arrival of Africans in the English 

9 colonies, at Point Comfort, Virginia, in 1619. 

10 (2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

11 means the 400 Years of African-American History 

12 Commission established by section 3(a). 

13 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

14 the Secretary of the Interior. 

15 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established a commis17 sion, to be known as the ‘‘400 Years of African-American 

18 History Commission’’. 

19 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

20 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Commission shall be 

21 composed of 15 members, of whom— 

22 (A) three members shall be appointed by 

23 the Secretary after considering recommenda24 tions of Governors, including the Governor of 

25 Virginia; 


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1 (B) six members shall be appointed by the 

2 Secretary after considering recommendations of 

3 civil rights organizations and historical organi4 zations; 

5 (C) one member shall be an employee of 

6 the National Park Service having experience 

7 relative to the historical and cultural resources 

8 related to the commemoration, to be appointed 

9 by the Secretary; 

10 (D) two members shall be appointed by the 

11 Secretary after considering the recommenda12 tions of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Insti13 tution; and 

14 (E) three members shall be individuals who 

15 have an interest in, support for, and expertise 

16 appropriate to the commemoration, appointed 

17 by the Secretary after considering the rec18 ommendations of Members of Congress. 

19 (2) TIME OF APPOINTMENT.—Each appoint20 ment of an initial member of the Commission shall 

21 be made before the expiration of the 120-day period 

22 beginning on the date of enactment of this Act. 

23 (3) TERM; VACANCIES.— 


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1 (A) TERM.—A member of the Commission 

2 shall be appointed for the life of the Commis3 sion. 

4 (B) VACANCIES.— 

5 (i) IN GENERAL.—A vacancy on the 

6 Commission shall be filled in the same 

7 manner in which the original appointment 

8 was made. 

9 (ii) PARTIAL TERM.—A member ap10 pointed to fill a vacancy on the Commis11 sion shall serve for the remainder of the 

12 term for which the predecessor of the 

13 member was appointed. 

14 (C) CONTINUATION OF MEMBERSHIP.—If 

15 a member of the Commission was appointed to 

16 the Commission as an employee of the National 

17 Park Service, and ceases to be an employee of 

18 the National Park Service, that member may 

19 continue to serve on the Commission for not 

20 longer than the 30-day period beginning on the 

21 date on which that member ceases to be an em22 ployee of the National Park Service. 

23 (c) DUTIES.—The Commission shall— 

24 (1) plan, develop, and carry out programs and 

25 activities throughout the United States— 


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1 (A) appropriate for the commemoration; 

2 (B) to recognize and highlight the resil3 ience and contributions of African-Americans 

4 since 1619; 

5 (C) to acknowledge the impact that slavery 

6 and laws that enforced racial discrimination 

7 had on the United States; and 

8 (D) to educate the public about— 

9 (i) the arrival of Africans in the 

10 United States; and 

11 (ii) the contributions of African-Amer12 icans to the United States; 

13 (2) encourage civic, patriotic, historical, edu14 cational, artistic, religious, economic, and other or15 ganizations throughout the United States to orga16 nize and participate in anniversary activities to ex17 pand understanding and appreciation of— 

18 (A) the significance of the arrival of Afri19 cans in the United States; and 

20 (B) the contributions of African-Americans 

21 to the United States; 

22 (3) provide technical assistance to States, local23 ities, and nonprofit organizations to further the com24 memoration; 


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1 (4) coordinate and facilitate for the public 

2 scholarly research on, publication about, and inter3 pretation of— 

4 (A) the arrival of Africans in the United 

5 States; and 

6 (B) the contributions of African-Americans 

7 to the United States; 

8 (5) ensure that the commemoration provides a 

9 lasting legacy and long-term public benefit by assist10 ing in the development of appropriate programs; and 

11 (6) help ensure that the observances of the 

12 commemoration are inclusive and appropriately rec13 ognize the experiences and heritage of all individuals 

14 present at the arrival of Africans in the United 

15 States. 

16 SEC. 4. COMMISSION MEETINGS. 

17 (a) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 30 days after 

18 the date on which all members of the Commission have 

19 been appointed, the Commission shall hold the initial 

20 meeting of the Commission. 

21 (b) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet— 

22 (1) at least three times each year; or 

23 (2) at the call of the Chairperson or the major24 ity of the members of the Commission. 


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1 (c) QUORUM.—A majority of the voting members 

2 shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number may hold 

3 meetings. 

4 (d) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.— 

5 (1) ELECTION.—The Commission shall elect the 

6 Chairperson and the Vice Chairperson of the Com7 mission on an annual basis. 

8 (2) ABSENCE OF THE CHAIRPERSON.—The Vice 

9 Chairperson shall serve as the Chairperson in the 

10 absence of the Chairperson. 

11 (e) VOTING.—The Commission shall act only on an 

12 affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the Com13 mission. 

14 SEC. 5. COMMISSION POWERS. 

15 (a) GIFTS.—The Commission may solicit, accept, use, 

16 and dispose of gifts, bequests, or devises of money or other 

17 property for aiding or facilitating the work of the Commis18 sion. 

19 (b) APPOINTMENT OF ADVISORY COMMITTEES.—The 

20 Commission may appoint such advisory committees as the 

21 Commission determines to be necessary to carry out this 

22 Act. 

23 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF ACTION.—The Commission 

24 may authorize any member or employee of the Commission 


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1 to take any action that the Commission is authorized to 

2 take under this Act. 

3 (d) PROCUREMENT.— 

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

6 enter into contracts, leases, or other legal agree7 ments, to carry out this Act (except that a contract, 

8 lease, or other legal agreement made or entered into 

9 by the Commission shall not extend beyond the date 

10 of termination of the Commission). 

11 (2) LIMITATION.—The Commission may not 

12 purchase real property. 

13 (e) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Commission may use 

14 the United States mails in the same manner and under 

15 the same conditions as other agencies of the Federal Gov16 ernment. 

17 (f) GRANTS AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The 

18 Commission may— 

19 (1) provide grants in amounts not to exceed 

20 $20,000 per grant to communities and nonprofit or21 ganizations for use in developing programs to assist 

22 in the commemoration; 

23 (2) provide grants to research and scholarly or24 ganizations to research, publish, or distribute inforVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:27 May 04, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1242.RDS H1242

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1 mation relating to the arrival of Africans in the 

2 United States; and 

3 (3) provide technical assistance to States, local4 ities, and nonprofit organizations to further the com5 memoration. 

6 SEC. 6. COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS. 

7 (a) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para9 graph (2), a member of the Commission shall serve 

10 without compensation. 

11 (2) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—A member of the 

12 Commission who is an officer or employee of the 

13 Federal Government shall serve without compensa14 tion other than the compensation received for the 

15 services of the member as an officer or employee of 

16 the Federal Government. 

17 (b) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—A member of the Commis18 sion shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem 

19 in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for an employee 

20 of an agency under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 

21 5, United States Code, while away from the home or reg22 ular place of business of the member in the performance 

23 of the duties of the Commission. 

24 (c) DIRECTOR AND STAFF.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Chairperson of the 

2 Commission may, without regard to the civil service 

3 laws (including regulations), nominate an executive 

4 director to enable the Commission to perform the 

5 duties of the Commission. 

6 (2) CONFIRMATION OF EXECUTIVE DIREC7 TOR.—The employment of an executive director shall 

8 be subject to confirmation by the Commission. 

9 (d) COMPENSATION.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para11 graph (2), the Commission may fix the compensation 

12 of the executive director and other personnel without 

13 regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and sub14 chapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, United States 

15 Code, relating to classification of positions and Gen16 eral Schedule pay rates. 

17 (2) MAXIMUM RATE OF PAY.—The rate of pay 

18 for the executive director and other personnel shall 

19 not exceed the rate payable for level V of the Execu20 tive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, United 

21 States Code. 

22 (e) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.— 

23 (1) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.— 

24 (A) DETAIL.—At the request of the Com25 mission, the head of any Federal agency may 


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1 detail, on a reimbursable or nonreimbursable 

2 basis, any of the personnel of the agency to the 

3 Commission to assist the Commission in car4 rying out the duties of the Commission under 

5 this Act. 

6 (B) CIVIL SERVICE STATUS.—The detail of 

7 an employee under subparagraph (A) shall be 

8 without interruption or loss of civil service sta9 tus or privilege. 

10 (2) STATE EMPLOYEES.—The Commission 

11 may— 

12 (A) accept the services of personnel de13 tailed from the State; and 

14 (B) reimburse the State for services of de15 tailed personnel. 

16 (f) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND INTERMIT17 TENT SERVICES.—The Chairperson of the Commission 

18 may procure temporary and intermittent services in ac19 cordance with section 3109(b) of title 5, United States 

20 Code, at rates for individuals that do not exceed the daily 

21 equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for 

22 level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of 

23 such title. 

24 (g) VOLUNTEER AND UNCOMPENSATED SERVICES.— 

25 Notwithstanding section 1342 of title 31, United States 


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1 Code, the Commission may accept and use such voluntary 

2 and uncompensated services as the Commission deter3 mines to be necessary. 

4 (h) SUPPORT SERVICES.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 

6 to the Commission, on a reimbursable basis, such 

7 administrative support services as the Commission 

8 may request. 

9 (2) REIMBURSEMENT.—Any reimbursement 

10 under this paragraph shall be credited to the appro11 priation, fund, or account used for paying the 

12 amounts reimbursed. 

13 (i) NO EFFECT ON AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this 

14 section supersedes the authority of the National Park 

15 Service with respect to the commemoration. 

16 SEC. 7. PLANS; REPORTS. 

17 (a) STRATEGIC PLAN.—The Commission shall pre18 pare a strategic plan for the activities of the Commission 

19 carried out under this Act. 

20 (b) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than July 1, 2020, 

21 the Commission shall complete and submit to Congress a 

22 final report that contains— 

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; and 

3 (3) the findings and recommendations of the 

4 Commission. 

5 SEC. 8. TERMINATION OF COMMISSION. 

6 (a) DATE OF TERMINATION.—The Commission shall 

7 terminate on July 1, 2020. 

8 (b) TRANSFER OF DOCUMENTS AND MATERIALS.— 

9 Before the date of termination specified in subsection (a), 

10 the Commission shall transfer all documents and materials 

11 of the Commission to the National Archives or another 

12 appropriate Federal entity. 

13 SEC. 9. EXPENDITURES OF COMMISSION. 

14 All expenditures of the Commission shall be made 

15 solely from donated funds. 

Passed the House of Representatives May 1, 2017. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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