H. R. 2303

One Hundred Sixth Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE FIRST SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,

the sixth day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine

An Act

To direct the Librarian of Congress to prepare the history of the House of Representatives, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of

the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘History of the House Awareness

and Preservation Act’’.

SEC. 2. WRITTEN HISTORY OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to available funding and in accordance with the requirements of this Act, the Librarian of Congress

shall prepare, print, distribute, and arrange for the funding of,

a new and complete written history of the House of Representatives,

in consultation with the Committee on House Administration. In

preparing this written history, the Librarian of Congress shall

consult, commission, or engage the services or participation of,

eminent historians, Members, and former Members of the House

of Representatives.

(b) GUIDELINES.—In carrying out subsection (a), the Librarian

of Congress shall take into account the following:

(1) The history should be an illustrated, narrative history

of the House of Representatives, organized chronologically.

(2) The history’s intended audience is the general reader,

as well as Members of Congress and their staffs.

(3) The history should include a discussion of the First

and Second Continental Congresses and the Constitutional

Convention, especially with regard to their roles in creating

the House of Representatives.

(c) PRINTING.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—The Librarian of Congress shall arrange

for the printing of the history.

(2) PRINTING ARRANGEMENTS.—The printing may be

performed—

(A) by the Public Printer pursuant to the provisions

of chapter 5 of title 44, United States Code;

(B) under a cooperative arrangement among the

Librarian of Congress, a private funding source obtained

pursuant to subsection (e), and a publisher in the private

sector; or

(C) under subparagraphs (A) and (B).
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(3) INTERNET DISSEMINATION.—Any arrangement under

paragraph (2) shall include terms for dissemination of the history over the Internet via facilities maintained by the United

States Government.

(4) MEMBER COPIES.—To the extent that the history is

printed by the Public Printer, copies of the history provided

to the Congress under subsection (d) shall be charged to the

Government Printing Office’s congressional allotment for

printing and binding.

(d) DISTRIBUTION.—The Librarian of Congress shall make the

history available for sale to the public, and shall make available,

free of charge, 5 copies to each Member of the House of Representatives and 250 copies to the Senate.

(e) PRIVATE FUNDING.—The Librarian of Congress shall solicit

and accept funding for the preparation, publication, marketing,

and public distribution of the history from private individuals,

organizations, or entities.

SEC. 3. ORAL HISTORY OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

(a) IN GENERAL.—The Librarian of Congress shall accept for

deposit, preserve, maintain, and make accessible an oral history

of the House of Representatives, as told by its Members and former

Members, compiled and updated (on a voluntary or contract basis)

by the United States Association of Former Members of Congress

or other private organization. In carrying out this section, the

Librarian of Congress may enlist the voluntary aid or assistance

of such organization, or may contract with it for such services

as may be necessary.

(b) DEFINITION OF ORAL HISTORY.—In this section, the term

‘‘oral history’’ means a story or history consisting of personal recollection as recorded by any one or more of the following means:

(1) Interviews.

(2) Transcripts.

(3) Audio recordings.

(4) Video recordings.

(5) Such other form or means as may be suitable for the

recording and preservation of such information.

SEC. 4. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.

It is the sense of the Congress that—

(1) orientation programs for freshman Members of the

House of Representatives should contain a seminar on the

history of the House of Representatives; and
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(2) the Speaker of the House of Representatives should

conduct a series of forums on the topic of the history of the

House of Representatives.

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.