IB 

Union Calendar No. 173 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1927 

[Report No. 115–241] 

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

Park Service the African American Civil Rights Network, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 5, 2017 

Mr. CLAY (for himself, Mr. SMITH of Missouri, Ms. ADAMS, Ms. BASS, Mrs. 

BEATTY, Mr. BEYER, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mr. 

CARSON of Indiana, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Ms. CLARKE of New 

York, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. COHEN, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. 

CUMMINGS, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. DELAURO, Mrs. DINGELL, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. AL GREEN of Texas, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. HASTINGS, Ms. NORTON, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, Mr. 

HOYER, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. JEFFRIES, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Ms. 

LEE, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. 

MEEKS, Ms. MOORE, Mr. NADLER, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. 

POCAN, Mr. POLIS, Mr. RICHMOND, Mr. RUSH, Mr. SERRANO, Ms. SEWELL of Alabama, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, 

Mrs. TORRES, Mr. TURNER, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. VEASEY, Ms. WILSON of 

Florida, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. HUFFMAN, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. 

SABLAN, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, 

Mr. ROSS, Ms. TSONGAS, Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana, Mr. PRICE of North 

Carolina, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. RUIZ, Mr. PETERS, Ms. 

PLASKETT, Mr. EVANS, Mr. RASKIN, Mrs. DEMINGS, and Ms. LOFGREN) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Natural Resources 

JULY 24, 2017 

Additional sponsor: Mr. MCEACHIN


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 1927 RH

JULY 24, 2017 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on April 5, 2017] 

A BILL 

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

the National Park Service the African American Civil 

Rights Network, and for other purposes. 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 1927 RH

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 ‘‘African American Civil 

5 Rights Network Act of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

7 The purposes of this Act are— 

8 (1) to recognize— 

9 (A) the importance of the African American 

10 civil rights movement; and 

11 (B) the sacrifices made by the people who 

12 fought against discrimination and segregation; 

13 and 

14 (2) to authorize the National Park Service to co15 ordinate and facilitate Federal and non-Federal ac16 tivities to commemorate, honor, and interpret— 

17 (A) the history of the African American 

18 civil rights movement; 

19 (B) the significance of the civil rights move20 ment as a crucial element in the evolution of the 

21 Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000a et 

22 seq.); and 

23 (C) the relevance of the African American 

24 civil rights movement in fostering the spirit of 

25 social justice and national reconciliation. 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 1927 RH

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 in4 serting 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. 

7 ‘‘§ 308401. Definition of network 

8 ‘‘In this chapter, the term ‘Network’ means the African 

9 American Civil Rights Network established under section 

10 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 importance 

19 of the African American civil rights movement that 

20 may be underway or completed, such as the Civil 

21 Rights Framework Study; 

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


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 1927 RH

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 Afri14 can 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 prop18 erties that— 

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

20 rights movement; 

21 ‘‘(B) have a verifiable connection to the Af22 rican 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. 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 1927 RH

1 ‘‘(3) Other governmental and nongovernmental 

2 facilities and programs of an educational, research, or 

3 interpretive nature that are directly related to the Af4 rican American civil rights movement. 

5 ‘‘§ 308403. Cooperative agreements and memoranda of 

6 understanding 

7 ‘‘To achieve the purposes of this chapter and to ensure 

8 effective coordination of the Federal and non-Federal ele9 ments of the Network described in section 308402(c) with 

10 System units and programs of the Service, the Secretary 

11 may enter into cooperative agreements and memoranda of 

12 understanding with, and provide technical assistance to the 

13 heads of other Federal agencies, States, units of local gov14 ernment, regional governmental bodies, and private enti15 ties.’’. 

16 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of chapters for 

17 title 54, United States Code, is amended by inserting after 

18 the item relating to chapter 3083 the following: 

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


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS

lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
Union Calendar No. 173 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1927 

[Report No. 115–241] 

A BILL 

To amend title 54, United States Code, to establish 

purposes. American Civil Rights Network, and for other within the National Park Service the African 

JULY 24, 2017 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS