II

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1282

To provide for the establishment of the National Museum for the Peopling

of America within the Smithsonian Institution, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

OCTOBER 9, 1997

Mr. AKAKA (for himself, Ms. MOSELEY-BRAUN, and Mrs. MURRAY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration

A BILL

To provide for the establishment of the National Museum

for the Peopling of America within the Smithsonian Institution, 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,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Peopling of America

5 Museum Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress finds the following:
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1 (1) The history of the United States is in large

2 measure the history of how the United States was

3 populated.

4 (2) The evolution of the American population is

5 broadly termed the ‘‘peopling of America’’ and is

6 characterized by the movement of groups of people

7 across external and internal boundaries of the Unit8 ed States as well as by the interactions of the groups

9 with each other.

10 (3) Each of the groups has made unique, im11 portant contributions to American history, culture,

12 art, and life.

13 (4) The spiritual, intellectual, cultural, political,

14 and economic vitality of the United States is a result

15 of the pluralism and diversity of the population.

16 (5) The Smithsonian Institution operates 16

17 museums and galleries, a zoological park, and 5

18 major research facilities. None of these public enti19 ties is a national institution dedicated to presenting

20 the history of the peopling of the United States, as

21 described in paragraph (2).

22 (6) The respective missions of the National Mu23 seum of American History of the Smithsonian Insti24 tution and the Ellis Island Immigration Museum of

25 the National Park Service limit the ability of those
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1 museums to present fully and adequately the history

2 of the diverse population and rich cultures of the

3 United States.

4 (7) The absence of a national facility dedicated

5 solely to presenting the history of the peopling of the

6 United States restricts the ability of the citizens of

7 the United States to fully understand the rich and

8 varied heritage of the United States derived from

9 the unique histories of many peoples from many

10 lands.

11 (8) The establishment of a Peopling of America

12 Museum to conduct educational and interpretive pro13 grams on the multiethnic and multiracial character

14 of the history of the United States will assist in in15 spiring and better informing the citizens of the Unit16 ed States concerning the rich and diverse cultural

17 heritage of the citizens.

18 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

19 In this Act:

20 (1) CHAIRPERSON.—The term ‘‘Chairperson’’

21 means the Chairperson of the Committee.

22 (2) COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Committee’’

23 means the Advisory Committee on American Cul24 tural Heritage established under section 7(a).
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1 (3) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means

2 the Director of the Museum.

3 (4) MUSEUM.—The term ‘‘Museum’’ means the

4 National Museum for the Peopling of America estab5 lished under section 4(a).

6 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM FOR

7 THE PEOPLING OF AMERICA.

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within

9 the Smithsonian Institution a facility that shall be known

10 as the ‘‘National Museum for the Peopling of America’’.

11 (b) PURPOSES OF THE MUSEUM.—The purposes of

12 the Museum are—

13 (1) to promote knowledge of the life, art, cul14 ture, and history of the many groups of people who

15 comprise the citizens of the United States;

16 (2) to illustrate how such groups cooperated,

17 competed, or otherwise interacted with each other;

18 and

19 (3) to explain how the diverse, individual expe20 riences of each group collectively helped forge a uni21 fied national experience.

22 (c) COMPONENTS OF THE MUSEUM.—The Museum

23 shall include—
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1 (1) a location for permanent and temporary ex2 hibits depicting the historical process by which the

3 United States was populated;

4 (2) a center for research and scholarship relat5 ing to the life, art, culture, and history of the groups

6 of people of the United States;

7 (3) a repository for the collection, study, and

8 preservation of artifacts, artworks, and documents

9 relating to the diverse population of the United

10 States;

11 (4) a venue for public education programs de12 signed to explicate the multicultural past and

13 present of the United States;

14 (5) a location for the development of a stand15 ardized index of documents, artifacts, and artworks

16 in collections that are held by the Smithsonian Insti17 tution, classified in a manner consistent with the

18 purposes of the Museum;

19 (6) a clearinghouse for information on docu20 ments, artifacts, and artworks relating to the groups

21 of people of the United States that may be available

22 to researchers, scholars, or the general public

23 through non-Smithsonian collections, such as docu24 ments, artifacts, and artworks relating to the groups

25 that are held by—
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1 (A) other Federal agencies;

2 (B) other museums;

3 (C) universities;

4 (D) individuals; and

5 (E) foreign institutions;

6 (7) a folklife center committed to highlighting

7 the cultural expressions of various groups of people

8 within the United States;

9 (8) a center to promote mutual understanding

10 and tolerance among the groups of people of the

11 United States through exhibits, films, brochures,

12 and other appropriate means;

13 (9) an oral history library developed through

14 interviews with volunteers, including visitors;

15 (10) a location for a visitor center that shall

16 provide individually tailored orientation guides for

17 visitors to all Smithsonian Institution facilities;

18 (11) a location for the training of museum pro19 fessionals and others in the arts, humanities, and

20 sciences with respect to museum practices relating

21 to the life, art, history, and culture of the various

22 groups of people of the United States; and

23 (12) a location for developing, testing, dem24 onstrating, evaluating, and implementing new mu25 seum-related technologies that assist in fulfilling the
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1 purposes of the Museum, enhance the operation of

2 the Museum, and improve the accessibility of the

3 Museum.

4 SEC. 5. LOCATION AND CONSTRUCTION.

5 (a) LOCATION.—The Museum shall be located—

6 (1) in a facility of the Smithsonian Institution

7 that is, or is not, in existence on the date of enact8 ment of this Act; and

9 (2) on or near the National Mall located in the

10 District of Columbia.

11 (b) CONSTRUCTION.—The Board of Regents of the

12 Smithsonian Institution may plan, design, reconstruct, or

13 construct appropriate facilities to house the Museum.

14 SEC. 6. DIRECTOR AND STAFF.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—

16 (1) APPOINTMENTS.—The Secretary of the

17 Smithsonian Institution shall appoint and fix the

18 compensation and duties of—

19 (A) a Director, Assistant Director, Sec20 retary, and Chief Curator of the Museum; and

21 (B) any other officers and employees that

22 are necessary for the operation of the Museum.

23 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—Each individual ap24 pointed under paragraph (1) shall be an individual

25 who is qualified through experience and training to
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1 perform the duties of the office to which that indi2 vidual is appointed.

3 (b) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN CIVIL SERVICE

4 LAWS.—The Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution

5 may—

6 (1) appoint the Director and 5 employees under

7 subsection (a), without regard to the provisions of

8 title 5, United States Code, governing appointments

9 in the competitive service; and

10 (2) fix the pay of the Director and the 5 em11 ployees, without regard to the provisions of chapter

12 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title,

13 relating to classification of positions and General

14 Schedule pay rates.

15 SEC. 7. ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON AMERICAN CULTURAL

16 HERITAGE.

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—

18 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established an

19 advisory committee to be known as the ‘‘Advisory

20 Committee on American Cultural Heritage’’.

21 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—

22 (A) COMPOSITION.—The Committee shall

23 be composed of 15 members, who shall—

24 (i) be appointed by the Secretary of

25 the Smithsonian Institution;
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1 (ii) have expertise in immigration his2 tory, ethnic studies, museum science, or

3 any other academic or professional field

4 that involves matters relating to the cul5 tural heritage of the citizens of the United

6 States; and

7 (iii) reflect the diversity of the citizens

8 of the United States.

9 (B) INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—The initial

10 appointments of the members of the Committee

11 shall be made not later than 6 months after the

12 date of enactment of this Act.

13 (3) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT; VACANCIES.—

14 Members shall be appointed for the life of the Com15 mittee. Any vacancy in the Committee shall not af16 fect its powers, but shall be filled in the same man17 ner as the original appointment.

18 (4) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 30 days

19 after the date on which all members of the Commit20 tee have been appointed, the Committee shall hold

21 its first meeting.

22 (5) MEETINGS.—The Committee shall meet at

23 the call of the Chairperson, but shall meet not less

24 frequently than 2 times each fiscal year.
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1 (6) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of

2 the Committee shall constitute a quorum, but a less3 er number of members may hold hearings.

4 (7) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.—

5 The Committee shall select a Chairperson and Vice

6 Chairperson from among its members.

7 (b) DUTIES OF THE COMMITTEE.—The Committee

8 shall advise the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution

9 and the Director concerning policies and programs affect10 ing the Museum.

11 (c) COMMITTEE PERSONNEL MATTERS.—

12 (1) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—

13 (A) NON-FEDERAL MEMBERS.—Each

14 member of the Committee who is not an officer

15 or employee of the Federal Government shall be

16 compensated at a rate equal to the daily equiva17 lent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed

18 for level IV of the Executive Schedule under

19 section 5315 of title 5, United States Code, for

20 each day (including travel time) during which

21 such member is engaged in the performance of

22 the duties of the Committee.

23 (B) FEDERAL MEMBERS.—Members of the

24 Committee who are officers or employees of the

25 United States shall serve without compensation
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1 in addition to that received for their services as

2 officers or employees of the United States.

3 (2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The members of the

4 Committee shall be allowed travel expenses, includ5 ing per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates author6 ized for employees of agencies under subchapter I of

7 chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while

8 away from their homes or regular places of business

9 in the performance of services for the Committee.

10 (3) STAFF.—

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Chairperson may,

12 without regard to the civil service laws and reg13 ulations, appoint and terminate an executive di14 rector and such other additional personnel as

15 may be necessary to enable the Committee to

16 perform its duties. The employment of an exec17 utive director shall be subject to confirmation

18 by the Committee.

19 (B) COMPENSATION.—The Chairperson

20 may fix the compensation of the executive direc21 tor and other personnel without regard to the

22 provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of

23 chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, relat24 ing to classification of positions and General

25 Schedule pay rates, except that the rate of pay
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1 for the executive director and other personnel

2 may not exceed the rate payable for level V of

3 the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of

4 such title.

5 (4) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—

6 Any Federal Government employee may be detailed

7 to the Committee without reimbursement, and such

8 detail shall be without interruption or loss of civil

9 service status or privilege.

10 (5) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND INTER11 MITTENT SERVICES.—The Chairperson may procure

12 temporary and intermittent services under section

13 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, at rates for

14 individuals which do not exceed the daily equivalent

15 of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level

16 V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of

17 such title.

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