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Calendar No. 120

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2133

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JUNE 28, 2001

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

AUGUST 2, 2001

Reported by Mr. LEAHY, with amendments

[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic]

AN ACT

To establish a commission for the purpose of encouraging

and providing for the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Brown v.

Board of Education.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

4 The Congress finds that as the Nation approaches

5 May 17, 2004, marking the 50th anniversary of the Su6 preme Court decision in Oliver L. Brown et al. v. Board

7 of Education of Topeka, Kansas et al., it is appropriate
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1 to establish a national commission to plan and coordinate

2 the commemoration of that anniversary.

3 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT.

4 There is established a commission to be known as the

5 ‘‘Brown v. Board of Education 50th Anniversary Commis6 sion’’ (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Commission’’).

7 SEC. 3. DUTIES.

8 In order to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the

9 Brown decision, the Commission shall—

10 (1) in conjunction with the Department of Edu11 cation, plan and coordinate public education activi12 ties and initiatives, including public lectures, writing

13 contests, and public awareness campaigns, through

14 the Department of Education’s ten regional offices;

15 and

16 (2) in cooperation with the Brown Foundation

17 for Educational Equity, Excellence, and Research in

18 Topeka, Kansas (referred to in this Act as the

19 ‘‘Brown Foundation’’), and such other public or pri20 vate entities as the Commission considers appro21 priate, encourage, plan, develop, and coordinate ob22 servances of the anniversary of the Brown decision.

23 SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP.

24 (a) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Commission

25 shall be composed as follows:
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1 (1) Two representatives of the Department of

2 Education appointed by the Secretary of Education,

3 one of whom shall serve as Chair one of two Co4 chairpersons of the Commission.

5 (2) Two representatives of the Department of

6 Justice appointed by the Attorney General, one of

7 whom shall serve as one of two Co-chairpersons of the

8 Commission.

9 (2) (3) Eleven individuals appointed by the

10 President after receiving recommendations as fol11 lows:

12 (A) Members of the Senate from each of

13 the States in which the lawsuits decided by the

14 Brown decision were originally filed, Delaware,

15 Kansas, South Carolina, and Virginia, and from

16 the State of the first legal challenge, Massachu17 setts, shall jointly recommend to the President

18 one individual from their respective States.

19 (B) Members of the House of Representa20 tives from each of the States referred to in sub21 paragraph (A) shall jointly recommend to the

22 President one individual from their respective

23 States.

24 (A)(i) The Members of the Senate from each

25 State described in clause (iii) shall each submit
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1 the name of 1 individual from the State to the

2 majority leader and minority leader of the Sen3 ate.

4 (ii) After review of the submissions made

5 under clause (i), the majority leader of the Sen6 ate, in consultation with the minority leader of

7 the Senate, shall recommend to the President 5

8 individuals, 1 from each of the States described

9 in clause (iii).

10 (iii) The States described in this clause are

11 the States in which the lawsuits decided by the

12 Brown decision were originally filed (Delaware,

13 Kansas, South Carolina, and Virginia), and the

14 State of the first legal challenge involved (Massa15 chusetts).

16 (B)(i) The Members of the House of Rep17 resentatives from each State described in sub18 paragraph (A)(iii) shall each submit the name of

19 1 individual from the State to the Speaker of the

20 House of Representatives and the minority lead21 er of the House of Representatives.

22 (ii) After review of the submissions made

23 under clause (i), the Speaker of the House of

24 Representatives, in consultation with the minor25 ity leader of the House of Representatives, shall
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1 recommend to the President 5 individuals, 1

2 from each of the States described in subpara3 graph (A)(iii).

4 (C) The Delegate to the House of Rep5 resentatives from the District of Columbia shall

6 recommend to the President one individual

7 from the District of Columbia.

8 (3) (4) Two representatives of the judicial

9 branch of the Federal Government appointed by the

10 Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

11 (4) (5) Two representatives of the Brown Foun12 dation.

13 (5) (6) Two representatives of the NAACP

14 Legal Defense and Education Fund.

15 (6) (7) One representative of the Brown v.

16 Board of Education National Historic Site.

17 (b) TERMS.—Members of the Commission shall be

18 appointed for the life of the Commission.

19 (c) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Commission shall

20 be filled in the same manner as the original appointment.

21 (d) COMPENSATION.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Members of the Commission

23 shall serve without pay.

24 (2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member shall

25 receive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of
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1 subsistence, in accordance with applicable provisions

2 under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United

3 States Code.

4 (e) QUORUM.—A majority of members of the Com5 mission shall constitute a quorum.

6 (f) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall hold its first

7 meeting not later than 6 months after the date of enact8 ment of this Act. The Commission shall subsequently meet

9 at the call of the Chair a Co-chairperson or a majority

10 of its members.

11 (g) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND STAFF.— The Com12 mission may secure the services of an executive director

13 and staff personnel as it considers appropriate.

14 SEC. 5. POWERS.

15 (a) POWERS OF MEMBERS AND AGENTS.—Any mem16 ber or agent of the Commission may, if so authorized by

17 the Commission, take any action which the Commission

18 is authorized to take under this Act.

19 (b) GIFTS AND DONATIONS.—

20 (1) AUTHORITY TO ACCEPT.—The Commission

21 may accept and use gifts or donations of money,

22 property, or personal services.

23 (2) DISPOSITION OF PROPERTY.—Any books,

24 manuscripts, miscellaneous printed matter, memora25 bilia, relics, or other materials donated to the Com-
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1 mission which relate to the Brown decision, shall,

2 upon termination of the Commission—

3 (A) be deposited for preservation in the

4 Brown Foundation Collection at the Spencer

5 Research Library at the University of Kansas

6 in Lawrence, Kansas; or

7 (B) be disposed of by the Commission in

8 consultation with the Librarian of Congress,

9 and with the express consent of the Brown

10 Foundation and the Brown v. Board of Edu11 cation National Historic Site.

12 (c) MAILS.—The Commission may use the United

13 States mails in the same manner and under the same con14 ditions as other departments and agencies of the United

15 States.

16 SEC. 6. REPORTS.

17 (a) INTERIM REPORTS.—The Commission shall

18 transmit interim reports to the President and the Con19 gress not later than December 31 of each year. Each such

20 report shall include a description of the activities of the

21 Commission during the year covered by the report, an ac22 counting of any funds received or expended by the Com23 mission during such year, and recommendations for any

24 legislation or administrative action which the Commission

25 considers appropriate.
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1 (b) FINAL REPORT.—The Commission shall transmit

2 a final report to the President and the Congress not later

3 than December 31, 2004. Such report shall include an ac4 counting of any funds received or expended, and the dis5 position of any other properties, not previously reported.

6 SEC. 7. TERMINATION.

7 (a) DATE.—The Commission shall terminate on such

8 date as the Commission may determine, but not later than

9 February 1, 2005.

10 (b) DISPOSITION OF FUNDS.—Any funds held by the

11 Commission on the date the Commission terminates shall

12 be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury.

13 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

14 There are authorized to be appropriated $250,000 for

15 the period encompassing fiscal years 2003 and 2004 to

16 carry out this Act, to remain available until expended.

Calendar No. 120

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2133

AN ACT

To establish a commission for the purpose of encouraging and providing for the commemoration

of the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Courtdecision in Brown v. Board of Education.

AUGUST 2, 2001

Reported with amendments