II

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2598

To authorize appropriations for the United States Holocaust Memorial

Museum, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MAY 18, 2000

Mr. BINGAMAN (for himself, Mr. MURKOWSKI, Mr. HATCH, Mr. DASCHLE,

Mr. ABRAHAM, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. MOYNIHAN, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. SMITH of Oregon, Mr. KOHL, Mr. LEVIN,

Mr. WYDEN, Mr. FEINGOLD, Mr. ROBB, Mr. WELLSTONE, Mr.

LIEBERMAN, and Mr. INOUYE) introduced the following bill, which was

read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To authorize appropriations for the United States Holocaust

Memorial Museum, 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. AMENDMENT.

4 Chapter 23 of title 36, United States Code, is amend5 ed to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘CHAPTER 23—UNITED STATES

2 HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM

‘‘Sec. 2301. Establishment of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum; functions.

‘‘Sec. 2302. Functions of the Council; membership.

‘‘Sec. 2303. Compensation; travel expenses; full-time officers or employees of

United States or Members of Congress.

‘‘Sec. 2304. Administrative provisions.

‘‘Sec. 2305. Staff.

‘‘Sec. 2306. Memorial museum.

‘‘Sec. 2307. Gifts, bequests, and devises of property; tax treatment.

‘‘Sec. 2308. Annual report.

‘‘Sec. 2309. Audit of financial transactions.

‘‘Sec. 2310. Authorization of appropriations.

3 ‘‘SEC. 2301. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE UNITED STATES HOL4 OCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM; FUNCTIONS.

5 ‘‘The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

6 (hereinafter in this chapter referred to as the ‘Museum’)

7 is an independent establishment of the United States Gov8 ernment. The Museum shall—

9 ‘‘(1) provide for appropriate ways for the Na10 tion to commemorate the Days of Remembrance, as

11 an annual, national, civic commemoration of the

12 Holocaust, and encourage and sponsor appropriate

13 observances of such Days of Remembrance through14 out the United States;

15 ‘‘(2) operate and maintain a permanent living

16 memorial museum to the victims of the Holocaust,

17 in cooperation with the Secretary of the Interior and

18 other Federal agencies as provided in section 2306

19 of this title; and
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1 ‘‘(3) carry out the recommendations of the

2 President’s Commission on the Holocaust in its re3 port to the President of September 27, 1979, to the

4 extent such recommendations are not otherwise pro5 vided for in this chapter.

6 ‘‘SEC. 2302. FUNCTIONS OF THE COUNCIL; MEMBERSHIP.

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The United States Holocaust

8 Memorial Council (hereinafter in this chapter referred to

9 as the ‘Council’) shall be the board of trustees of the Mu10 seum and shall have overall governance responsibility for

11 the Museum, including policy guidance and strategic direc12 tion, general oversight of Museum operations, and fidu13 ciary responsibility. The Council shall establish an Execu14 tive Committee which shall exercise ongoing governance

15 responsibility when the Council is not in session.

16 ‘‘(b) COMPOSITION OF COUNCIL; APPOINTMENT; VA17 CANCIES.—The Council shall consist of 65 voting members

18 appointed (except as otherwise provided in this section)

19 by the President and the following ex officio nonvoting

20 members:

21 ‘‘(1) 1 appointed by the Secretary of the Inte22 rior.

23 ‘‘(2) 1 appointed by the Secretary of State.

24 ‘‘(3) 1 appointed by the Secretary of Education.

25 Of the 65 voting members, 5 shall be appointed by
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1 the Speaker of the United States House of Rep2 resentatives from among Members of the United

3 States House of Representatives and 5 shall be ap4 pointed by the President pro tempore of the United

5 States Senate upon the recommendation of the ma6 jority and minority leaders from among Members of

7 the United States Senate. Any vacancy in the Coun8 cil shall be filled in the same manner as the original

9 appointment was made.

10 ‘‘(c) TERM OF OFFICE.—

11 ‘‘(1) Except as otherwise provided in this sub12 section, Council members shall serve for 5-year

13 terms.

14 ‘‘(2) The terms of the 5 Members of the United

15 States House of Representatives and the 5 Members

16 of the United States Senate appointed during any

17 term of Congress shall expire at the end of such

18 term of Congress.

19 ‘‘(3) Any member appointed to fill a vacancy

20 occurring before the expiration of the term for which

21 his predecessor was appointed shall be appointed

22 only for the remainder of such term. A member,

23 other than a Member of Congress appointed by the

24 Speaker of the United States House of Representa25 tives or the President pro tempore of the United
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1 States Senate, may serve after the expiration of his

2 term until his successor has taken office.

3 ‘‘(d) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON; TERM

4 OF OFFICE.—The Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of

5 the Council shall be appointed by the President from

6 among the members of the Council and such Chairperson

7 and Vice Chairperson shall each serve for terms of 5 years.

8 ‘‘(e) REAPPOINTMENT.—Members whose terms ex9 pire may be reappointed, and the Chairperson and Vice

10 Chairperson may be reappointed to those offices.

11 ‘‘(f) BYLAWS.—The Council shall adopt bylaws to

12 carry out its functions under this chapter. The Chair13 person may waive a bylaw when the Chairperson decides

14 that waiver is in the best interest of the Council. Imme15 diately after waiving a bylaw, the Chairperson shall send

16 written notice of the waiver to every voting member of the

17 Council. The waiver becomes final 30 days after the notice

18 is sent unless a majority of Council members disagree in

19 writing before the end of the 30-day period.

20 ‘‘(g) QUORUM.—One-third of the members of the

21 Council shall constitute a quorum, and any vacancy in the

22 Council shall not affect its power to function.

23 ‘‘(h) ASSOCIATED COMMITTEES.—Subject to appoint24 ment by the Chairperson, an individual who is not a mem25 ber of the Council may be designated as a member of a
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1 committee associated with the Council. Such an individual

2 shall serve without cost to the Federal Government.

3 ‘‘SEC. 2303. COMPENSATION; TRAVEL EXPENSES; FULL4 TIME OFFICERS OR EMPLOYEES OF UNITED

5 STATES OR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection

7 (b) of this section, members of the Council are each au8 thorized to be paid the daily equivalent of the annual rate

9 of basic pay in effect for positions at level IV of the Execu10 tive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, for each day

11 (including travel time) during which they are engaged in

12 the actual performance of duties of the Council. While

13 away from their homes or regular places of business in

14 the performance of services for the Council, members of

15 the Council shall be allowed travel expenses, including per

16 diem in lieu of subsistence, in the same manner as persons

17 employed intermittently in Government service are allowed

18 expenses under section 5703 of title 5.

19 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION.—Members of the Council who are

20 full-time officers or employees of the United States or

21 Members of Congress shall receive no additional pay by

22 reason of their service on the Council.

23 ‘‘SEC. 2304. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.

24 ‘‘(a) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Museum

25 may obtain the services of experts and consultants in ac-
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1 cordance with the provisions of section 3109 of title 5,

2 at rates not to exceed the daily equivalent of the annual

3 rate of basic pay in effect for positions at level IV of the

4 Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5.

5 ‘‘(b) AUTHORITY TO CONTRACT.—The Museum may,

6 in accordance with applicable law, enter into contracts and

7 other arrangements with public agencies and with private

8 organizations and persons and may make such payments

9 as may be necessary to carry out its functions under this

10 chapter.

11 ‘‘(c) ASSISTANCE FROM OTHER FEDERAL DEPART12 MENTS AND AGENCIES.—The Secretary of the Smithso13 nian Institution, the Library of Congress, and the heads

14 of all executive branch departments, agencies, and estab15 lishments of the United States may assist the Museum

16 in the performance of its functions under this chapter.

17 ‘‘(d) ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES AND SUPPORT.—

18 The Secretary of the Interior may provide administrative

19 services and support to the Museum on a reimbursable

20 basis.

21 ‘‘SEC. 2305. STAFF.

22 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF THE MUSEUM DIRECTOR

23 AS CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER.—There shall be a direc24 tor of the Museum (hereinafter in this chapter referred

25 to as the ‘Director’) who shall serve as chief executive offi-
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1 cer of the Museum and exercise day-to-day authority for

2 the Museum. The Director shall be appointed by the

3 Chairperson of the Council, subject to confirmation of the

4 Council. The Director may be paid with nonappropriated

5 funds, and, if paid with appropriated funds shall be paid

6 the rate of basic pay for positions at level IV of the Execu7 tive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5. The Director

8 shall report to the Council and its Executive Committee

9 through the Chairperson. The Director shall serve at the

10 pleasure of the Council.

11 ‘‘(b) APPOINTMENT OF EMPLOYEES.—The Director

12 shall have authority to—

13 ‘‘(1) appoint employees in the competitive serv14 ice subject to the provisions of chapter 51 and sub15 chapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, relating to clas16 sification and general schedule pay rates;

17 ‘‘(2) appoint and fix the compensation (at a

18 rate not to exceed the rate of basic pay in effect for

19 positions at level IV of the Executive Schedule under

20 section 5315 of title 5) of up to 3 employees not21 withstanding any other provision of law; and

22 ‘‘(3) implement the decisions and strategic plan

23 for the Museum, as approved by the Council, and

24 perform such other functions as may be assigned

25 from time to time by the Council, the Executive
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1 Committee of the Council, or the Chairperson of the

2 Council, consistent with this legislation.

3 ‘‘SEC. 2306. MEMORIAL MUSEUM.

4 ‘‘(a) ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN APPROVAL.—The ar5 chitectural design for the memorial museum shall be sub6 ject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, in

7 consultation with the Commission of Fine Arts and the

8 National Capital Planning Commission.

9 ‘‘(b) INSURANCE.—The Museum shall maintain in10 surance on the memorial museum to cover such risks, in

11 such amount, and containing such terms and conditions

12 as the Museum deems necessary.

13 ‘‘SEC. 2307. GIFTS, BEQUESTS, AND DEVISES OF PROPERTY;

14 TAX TREATMENT.

15 ‘‘The Museum may solicit, and the Museum may ac16 cept, hold, administer, invest, and use gifts, bequests, and

17 devises of property, both real and personal, and all reve18 nues received or generated by the Museum to aid or facili19 tate the operation and maintenance of the memorial mu20 seum. Property may be accepted pursuant to this section,

21 and the property and the proceeds thereof used as nearly

22 as possible in accordance with the terms of the gift, be23 quest, or devise donating such property. Funds donated

24 to and accepted by the Museum pursuant to this section

25 or otherwise received or generated by the Museum are not
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1 to be regarded as appropriated funds and are not subject

2 to any requirements or restrictions applicable to appro3 priated funds. For the purposes of Federal income, estate,

4 and gift taxes, property accepted under this section shall

5 be considered as a gift, bequest, or devise to the United

6 States.

7 ‘‘SEC. 2308. ANNUAL REPORT.

8 ‘‘The Director shall transmit to Congress an annual

9 report on the Director’s stewardship of the authority to

10 operate and maintain the memorial museum. Such report

11 shall include the following:

12 ‘‘(1) An accounting of all financial transactions

13 involving donated funds.

14 ‘‘(2) A description of the extent to which the

15 objectives of this chapter are being met.

16 ‘‘(3) An examination of future major endeavors,

17 initiatives, programs, or activities that the Museum

18 proposes to undertake to better fulfill the objectives

19 of this chapter.

20 ‘‘(4) An examination of the Federal role in the

21 funding of the Museum and its activities, and any

22 changes that may be warranted.

23 ‘‘SEC. 2309. AUDIT OF FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS.

24 ‘‘Financial transactions of the Museum, including

25 those involving donated funds, shall be audited by the
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1 Comptroller General as requested by Congress, in accord2 ance with generally accepted auditing standards. In con3 ducting any audit pursuant to this section, appropriate

4 representatives of the Comptroller General shall have ac5 cess to all books, accounts, financial records, reports, files

6 and other papers, items or property in use by the Museum,

7 as necessary to facilitate such audit, and such representa8 tives shall be afforded full facilities for verifying trans9 actions with the balances.

10 ‘‘SEC. 2310. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

11 ‘‘To carry out the purposes of this chapter, there are

12 authorized to be appropriated such sums as many be nec13 essary. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, none

14 of the funds authorized to carry out this chapter may be

15 made available for construction. Authority to enter into

16 contracts and to make payments under this chapter, using

17 funds authorized to be appropriated under this chapter,

18 shall be effective only to the extent, and in such amounts,

19 as provided in advance in appropriations Acts.’’.

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