II

Calendar No. 602

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 951

To commemorate the service of First Ladies Jacqueline Kennedy and Patricia

Nixon to improving and maintaining the Executive Residence of the

President and to authorize grants to the White House Endowment Fund

in their memory to continue their work.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JUNE 21 (legislative day, JUNE 19), 1995

Mrs. HUTCHISON introduced the following bill; which was read twice and

referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

SEPTEMBER 16, 1996

Reported by Mr. MURKOWSKI, with an amendment and an amendment to the

title

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

A BILL

To commemorate the service of First Ladies Jacqueline Kennedy and Patricia Nixon to improving and maintaining

the Executive Residence of the President and to authorize grants to the White House Endowment Fund in

their memory to continue their work.

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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S 951 RS

1 SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

2 The Congress makes the following findings:

3 (a) First Ladies Jacqueline Kennedy and Patri4 cia Nixon devoted much of their service to preserv5 ing and improving the White House. They made it

6 a national showplace of American history, fine arts,

7 and decorative arts.

8 (b) The White House historic preservation pro9 gram was initiated by Mrs. Kennedy almost thirty10 five years ago, in 1961. Mrs. Kennedy initiated a

11 program to restore the historic integrity of the pub12 lic rooms of the White House; to establish a fine and

13 decorative arts collection; and to establish the White

14 House Historical Association to publish and distrib15 ute educational materials describing the White

16 House and its history.

17 (c) Mrs. Nixon provided leadership in the most

18 extensive acquisition of fine and decorative arts in

19 the history of the White House. Her plan for refur20 bishment of the public rooms remains intact after

21 more than twenty years.

22 (d) The fine and decorative arts donated to the

23 White House during the leadership of Mrs. Kennedy

24 and Mrs. Nixon, valued today at tens of millions of

25 dollars, far exceed those received during all other

26 modern Presidential administrations combined.
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1 (e) The White House is the only Executive Res2 idence in the world that is regularly open to the gen3 eral public. With over 1.5 million visitors annually,

4 the Executive Residence’s public rooms need con5 stant care and complete refurbishing every eight to

6 ten years. To maintain the collection of fine arts,

7 historic pieces must be acquired, loaned works must

8 be acquired, reproductions need to be replaced, and

9 repairs need to be made.

10 (f) First Lady Barbara Bush established the

11 White House Endowment Fund in 1990 to create a

12 permanent endowment of $25,000,000 to maintain

13 the public rooms and collection of the White House.

14 Although substantial contributions have been re15 ceived from the public, additional funds are needed

16 to complete the endowment.

17 (g) In recognition of the service of Mrs. Ken18 nedy and Mrs. Nixon in preserving and improving

19 the White House, and in their memory following

20 their recent deaths, it is fitting and proper for the

21 Congress to memorialize their work by making a

22 public contribution to continue preservation activities

23 at the White House.

24 (h) Bestowing this honor on Mrs. Kennedy and

25 Mrs. Nixon would be in accord with the well-estab-
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1 lished congressional precedent by which a grateful

2 Nation recognizes noteworthy and enduring con3 tributions to the public interest with the appropria4 tion of funds to programs, endowments, and founda5 tions to memorialize the contributions of the

6 honorees.

7 SEC. 2. GRANTS TO THE WHITE HOUSE ENDOWMENT FUND.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President of the United

9 States shall make grants to the White House Endowment

10 Fund, a nonprofit corporation chartered under the laws

11 of the State of Maryland, to be used for the preservation

12 and conservation of the public rooms of the White House

13 and the acquisition of historical objects for the White

14 House collection of fine and decorative American art.

15 (b) TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE GRANTS.—The

16 purposes, terms, and conditions of grants made under this

17 section shall be prescribed in agreements to be entered

18 into between the President, after consultation with the

19 Committee for the Preservation of the White House, and

20 the White House Endowment Fund.

21 (c) AUTHORITY TO USE INTEREST INCOME.—If

22 funds made available to the Endowment Fund under this

23 section are invested by the Endowment Fund pending the

24 disbursement of those funds, any interest realized from

25 such investment shall not be required to be deposited in
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1 the Treasury if it is used for the purposes for which the

2 funds were made available.

3 (d) SOURCE OF FUNDS.—Grants under this section

4 shall be made from funds appropriated to the President

5 for such purpose.

6 (e) AMOUNT AND DEADLINE FOR MAKING

7 GRANTS.—The President shall make grants under this

8 section, in amounts not to exceed a total of $10,000,000,

9 not later than September 30, 1996.

10 SECTION 1.—GRANTS TO THE WHITE HOUSE ENDOWMENT

11 FUND.

12 Subject to appropriations, the Secretary of the Interior

13 is authorized to make grants totaling not more than

14 $10,000,000 to the White House Endowment Fund to sup15 port the acquisition of objects for, and the preservation of,

16 the public rooms of the White House and its collection of

17 Fine and Decorative Arts; and to serve as a memorial to

18 the Nation’s First Ladies, whose interest and dedication

19 have done so much to preserve and enhance the historic in20 tegrity of the White House.

Amend the title so as to read ‘‘A bill to commemorate the service of the Nation’s First Ladies to improving

and maintaining the Executive Residence of the President and to authorize grants to the White House Endowment Fund in their memory to continue their work.’’.

Calendar No. 602

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 951

A BILL

To commemorate the service of First Ladies Jactinue their work. House Endowment Fund in their memory to con- President and to authorize grants to the White and maintaining the Executive Residence of the queline Kennedy and Patricia Nixon to improving

SEPTEMBER 16, 1996

Reported with an amendment and an amendment to the

title