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104TH CONGRESS

1ST 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

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,

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

4 The Congress makes the following findings:

5 (a) First Ladies Jacqueline Kennedy and Patri6 cia Nixon devoted much of their service to preserv7 ing and improving the White House. They made it
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1 a national showplace of American history, fine arts,

2 and decorative arts.

3 (b) The White House historic preservation pro4 gram was initiated by Mrs. Kennedy almost thirty5 five years ago, in 1961. Mrs. Kennedy initiated a

6 program to restore the historic integrity of the pub7 lic rooms of the White House; to establish a fine and

8 decorative arts collection; and to establish the White

9 House Historical Association to publish and distrib10 ute educational materials describing the White

11 House and its history.

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

13 extensive acquisition of fine and decorative arts in

14 the history of the White House. Her plan for refur15 bishment of the public rooms remains intact after

16 more than twenty years.

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

18 White House during the leadership of Mrs. Kennedy

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

20 dollars, far exceed those received during all other

21 modern Presidential administrations combined.

22 (e) The White House is the only Executive Res23 idence in the world that is regularly open to the gen24 eral public. With over 1.5 million visitors annually,

25 the Executive Residence’s public rooms need con-
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1 stant care and complete refurbishing every eight to

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

3 historic pieces must be acquired, loaned works must

4 be acquired, reproductions need to be replaced, and

5 repairs need to be made.

6 (f) First Lady Barbara Bush established the

7 White House Endowment Fund in 1990 to create a

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

9 the public rooms and collection of the White House.

10 Although substantial contributions have been re11 ceived from the public, additional funds are needed

12 to complete the endowment.

13 (g) In recognition of the service of Mrs. Ken14 nedy and Mrs. Nixon in preserving and improving

15 the White House, and in their memory following

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

17 Congress to memorialize their work by making a

18 public contribution to continue preservation activities

19 at the White House.

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

21 Mrs. Nixon would be in accord with the well-estab22 lished congressional precedent by which a grateful

23 Nation recognizes noteworthy and enduring con24 tributions to the public interest with the appropria25 tion of funds to programs, endowments, and founda-
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1 tions to memorialize the contributions of the

2 honorees.

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

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

5 States shall make grants to the White House Endowment

6 Fund, a nonprofit corporation chartered under the laws

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

8 and conservation of the public rooms of the White House

9 and the acquisition of historical objects for the White

10 House collection of fine and decorative American art.

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

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

13 section shall be prescribed in agreements to be entered

14 into between the President, after consultation with the

15 Committee for the Preservation of the White House, and

16 the White House Endowment Fund.

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

18 funds made available to the Endowment Fund under this

19 section are invested by the Endowment Fund pending the

20 disbursement of those funds, any interest realized from

21 such investment shall not be required to be deposited in

22 the Treasury if it is used for the purposes for which the

23 funds were made available.
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1 (d) SOURCE OF FUNDS.—Grants under this section

2 shall be made from funds appropriated to the President

3 for such purpose.

4 (e) AMOUNT AND DEADLINE FOR MAKING

5 GRANTS.—The President shall make grants under this

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

7 not later than September 30, 1996.

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