IIB 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1927 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 27, 2017 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources 

AN ACT 

To amend title 54, United States Code, to establish within 

the National Park Service the African American Civil 

Rights Network, 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 ‘‘African American Civil 

3 Rights Network Act of 2017’’. 

4 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

5 The purposes of this Act are— 

6 (1) to recognize— 

7 (A) the importance of the African Amer8 ican civil rights movement; and 

9 (B) the sacrifices made by the people who 

10 fought against discrimination and segregation; 

11 and 

12 (2) to authorize the National Park Service to 

13 coordinate and facilitate Federal and non-Federal 

14 activities to commemorate, honor, and interpret— 

15 (A) the history of the African American 

16 civil rights movement; 

17 (B) the significance of the civil rights 

18 movement as a crucial element in the evolution 

19 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 

20 2000a et seq.); and 

21 (C) the relevance of the African American 

22 civil rights movement in fostering the spirit of 

23 social justice and national reconciliation. 


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1 SEC. 3. U.S. CIVIL RIGHTS NETWORK PROGRAM. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subdivision 1 of division B of sub3 title III of title 54, United States Code, is amended by 

4 inserting after chapter 3083 the following: 

5 ‘‘CHAPTER 3084—U.S. CIVIL RIGHTS 

6 NETWORK 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘308401. Definition of network. 

‘‘308402. U.S. Civil Rights Network. 

‘‘308403. Cooperative agreements and memoranda of understanding. 

‘‘308404. Sunset. 

7 ‘‘§ 308401. Definition of network 

8 ‘‘In this chapter, the term ‘Network’ means the Afri9 can American Civil Rights Network established under sec10 tion 308402(a). 

11 ‘‘§ 308402. U.S. Civil Rights Network 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish, 

13 within the Service, a program to be known as the ‘U.S. 

14 Civil Rights Network’. 

15 ‘‘(b) DUTIES OF SECRETARY.—In carrying out the 

16 Network, the Secretary shall— 

17 ‘‘(1) review studies and reports to complement 

18 and not duplicate studies of the historical impor19 tance of the African American civil rights movement 

20 that may be underway or completed, such as the 

21 Civil Rights Framework Study; 

22 ‘‘(2) produce and disseminate appropriate edu23 cational materials relating to the African American 


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1 civil rights movement, such as handbooks, maps, in2 terpretive guides, or electronic information; 

3 ‘‘(3) enter into appropriate cooperative agree4 ments and memoranda of understanding to provide 

5 technical assistance under subsection (c); and 

6 ‘‘(4)(A) create and adopt an official, uniform 

7 symbol or device for the Network; and 

8 ‘‘(B) issue regulations for the use of the symbol 

9 or device adopted under subparagraph (A). 

10 ‘‘(c) ELEMENTS.—The Network shall encompass the 

11 following elements: 

12 ‘‘(1) All units and programs of the Service that 

13 are determined by the Secretary to relate to the Af14 rican American civil rights movement during the pe15 riod from 1939 through 1968. 

16 ‘‘(2) With the consent of the property owner, 

17 other Federal, State, local, and privately owned 

18 properties that— 

19 ‘‘(A) relate to the African American civil 

20 rights movement; 

21 ‘‘(B) have a verifiable connection to the 

22 African American civil rights movement; and 

23 ‘‘(C) are included in, or determined by the 

24 Secretary to be eligible for inclusion in, the Na25 tional Register of Historic Places. 


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1 ‘‘(3) Other governmental and nongovernmental 

2 facilities and programs of an educational, research, 

3 or interpretive nature that are directly related to the 

4 African American civil rights movement. 

5 ‘‘§ 308403. Cooperative agreements and memoranda 

6 of understanding 

7 ‘‘To achieve the purposes of this chapter and to en8 sure effective coordination of the Federal and non-Federal 

9 elements of the Network described in section 308402(c) 

10 with System units and programs of the Service, the Sec11 retary may enter into cooperative agreements and memo12 randa of understanding with, and provide technical assist13 ance to the heads of other Federal agencies, States, units 

14 of local government, regional governmental bodies, and 

15 private entities. 

16 ‘‘§ 308404. Sunset 

17 ‘‘This program shall expire on the date that is 7 years 

18 after the date of enactment of this chapter.’’. 

19 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of chapters 

20 for title 54, United States Code, is amended by inserting 

21 after the item relating to chapter 3083 the following: 

‘‘3084 U.S. Civil Rights Network ............................................................308401’’. 

22 SEC. 4. NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED. 

23 No additional funds are authorized to carry out the 

24 requirements of this Act and the amendments made by 


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1 this Act. Such requirements shall be carried out using 

2 amounts otherwise authorized. 

Passed the House of Representatives July 26, 2017. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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