I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 909 

To amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to provide 

for the establishment and maintenance of existing libraries and resource 

centers at United States diplomatic and consular missions to provide 

information about United States culture, society, and history, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 4, 2009 

Ms. WATSON (for herself, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. NADLER of New York, Ms. 

EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Ms. KILPATRICK

of Michigan, Ms. SHEA-PORTER, Mr. HARE, Mr. MICHAUD, Mr. 

KUCINICH, Ms. MATSUI, Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Ms. CLARKE, Mr. TOWNS, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mr. 

CUMMINGS, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. RUSH, and Ms. KAPTUR) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 

1956 to provide for the establishment and maintenance 

of existing libraries and resource centers at United 

States diplomatic and consular missions to provide information about United States culture, society, and history, 

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 ‘‘Public Diplomacy Re3 source Centers Act of 2009’’. 

4 SEC. 2. UNITED STATES PUBLIC DIPLOMACY. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF LI6 BRARIES.—Section 1(b)(3) of the State Department Basic 

7 Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2651a(b)(3)) is 

8 amended— 

9 (1) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

10 the end; 

11 (2) in subparagraph (E), by striking the period 

12 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

13 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub14 paragraph: 

15 ‘‘(F) provide for the establishment of new 

16 and the maintenance of existing libraries and 

17 resource centers at or in connection with United 

18 States diplomatic and consular missions.’’. 

19 (b) OPERATION OF LIBRARIES.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall 

21 ensure that libraries and resource centers estab22 lished and maintained in accordance with subpara23 graph (F) of section 1(b)(3) of the State Depart24 ment Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (as added by 

25 section 2(a)(3) of this Act) are open to the general 

26 public to the greatest extent practicable, subject to 


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1 policies and procedures established by the Secretary 

2 to ensure the safety and security of United States 

3 diplomatic and consular missions and of United 

4 States officers, employees, and personnel posted at 

5 such missions at which such libraries are located. 

6 (2) SHOWINGS OF UNITED STATES FILMS.—To 

7 the extent practicable, the Secretary of State shall 

8 ensure that such libraries and resource centers 

9 schedule public showings of United States films that 

10 showcase United States culture, society, values, and 

11 history. 

12 (c) ADVISORY COMMISSION ON PUBLIC DIPLO13 MACY.—Not later than one year after the date of the en14 actment of this Act, the Advisory Commission on Public 

15 Diplomacy (authorized under section 1334 of the Foreign 

16 Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 

17 6553)) shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

18 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

19 Foreign Relations of the Senate a report containing an 

20 evaluation of the functions and effectiveness of the librar21 ies and resource centers that are authorized under this 

22 Act. 

23 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In addi24 tion to amounts that are otherwise authorized to be appro25 priated to the Department of State to carry out purposes 


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1 similar to those required under this Act, there are author2 ized to the Secretary of State such sums as may be nec3 essary to carry out this Act. 

Æ 


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