II 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3477 

To amend title 44, United States Code, to authorize grants for Presidential 

Centers of Historical Excellence. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 11, 2008 

Mr. WARNER (for himself and Mr. WEBB) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend title 44, United States Code, to authorize grants 

for Presidential Centers of Historical Excellence. 

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 ‘‘Presidential Historical 

5 Records Preservation Act of 2008’’. 

6 SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM. 

7 Section 2504 of title 44, United States Code, is 

8 amended by— 

9 (1) redesignating subsection (f) as subsection 

10 (g); 


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1 (2) amending subsection (g)(1) (as so redesig2 nated by paragraph (1))— 

3 (A) in subparagraph (R), by striking 

4 ‘‘and’’; 

5 (B) in subparagraph (S), by striking the 

6 period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

7 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(T) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2010.’’; 

9 and 

10 (3) inserting after subsection (e), the following: 

11 ‘‘(f) GRANTS FOR PRESIDENTIAL CENTERS OF HIS12 TORICAL EXCELLENCE.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Archivist, with the rec14 ommendation of the Commission, shall make grants, 

15 on a competitive basis and in accordance with this 

16 subsection, to eligible entities to promote the histor17 ical preservation of, and public access to, historical 

18 records and documents relating to any President 

19 who does not have a Presidential archival depository 

20 currently managed and maintained by the Federal 

21 Government pursuant to section 2112 (commonly 

22 known as the ‘Presidential Libraries Act of 1955’). 

23 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—For purposes of this 

24 subsection, an eligible entity is— 


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1 ‘‘(A) an organization described under sec2 tion 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

3 1986 and exempt from taxation under section 

4 501(a) of that Code; or 

5 ‘‘(B) a State or local government of the 

6 United States. 

7 ‘‘(3) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts received by an 

8 eligible entity under paragraph (1) shall be used to 

9 promote the historical preservation of, and public ac10 cess to, historical records or historical documents re11 lating to any President covered under paragraph (1). 

12 ‘‘(4) PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUNDS.— 

13 Amounts received by an eligible entity under para14 graph (1) may not be used for the maintenance, op15 erating costs, or construction of any facility to house 

16 the historical records or historical documents relat17 ing to any President covered under paragraph (1). 

18 ‘‘(5) APPLICATION.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity 

20 seeking a grant under this subsection shall sub21 mit to the Commission an application at such 

22 time, in such manner, and containing or accom23 panied by such information as the Commission 

24 may require, including a description of the acVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:12 Sep 12, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3477.IS S3477

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1 tivities for which a grant under this subsection 

2 is sought. 

3 ‘‘(B) APPROVAL OF APPLICATION.—The 

4 Commission shall not consider or recommend a 

5 grant application submitted under subpara6 graph (A) unless an eligible entity establishes 

7 that such entity— 

8 ‘‘(i) possesses, with respect to any 

9 President covered under paragraph (1), 

10 historical works and collections of histor11 ical sources that the Commission considers 

12 appropriate for preserving, publishing, or 

13 otherwise recording at the public expense; 

14 ‘‘(ii) has appropriate facilities and 

15 space for preservation of, and public access 

16 to, the historical works and collections of 

17 historical sources; 

18 ‘‘(iii) shall ensure preservation of, and 

19 public access to, such historical works and 

20 collections of historical sources at no 

21 charge to the public; 

22 ‘‘(iv) has educational programs that 

23 make the use of such documents part of 

24 the mission of such entity; 


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1 ‘‘(v) has raised funds from non-Fed2 eral sources in support of the efforts of the 

3 entity to promote the historical preserva4 tion of, and public access to, such histor5 ical works and collections of historical 

6 sources in an amount equal to the amount 

7 of the grant the entity seeks under this 

8 subsection; 

9 ‘‘(vi) shall coordinate with any rel10 evant Federal program or activity, includ11 ing programs and activities relating to 

12 Presidential archival depositories; 

13 ‘‘(vii) shall coordinate with any rel14 evant non-Federal program or activity, in15 cluding programs and activities conducted 

16 by State and local governments and private 

17 educational historical entities; and 

18 ‘‘(viii) has a workable plan for pre19 serving and providing public access to such 

20 historical works and collections of histor21 ical sources.’’. 

Æ 


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