I

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 546

To redesignate General Grant National Memorial as Grant’s Tomb National

Monument, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 4, 1997

Mr. NADLER (for himself and Mr. HALL of Ohio) introduced the following bill;

which was referred to the Committee on Resources

A BILL

To redesignate General Grant National Memorial as Grant’s

Tomb National Monument, 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. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Grant’s Tomb National

5 Monument Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—

8 (1) Ulysses S. Grant has been heralded as a na9 tional hero by his contemporaries and by generations

10 thereafter;
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1 (2) Ulysses S. Grant led the Union army to vic2 tory, bringing to an end the Civil War in 1865, as3 suring the preservation of the United States of

4 America, and resulting in the emancipation of Amer5 ican slaves;

6 (3) Ulysses S. Grant served as the 18th Presi7 dent of the United States from 1869 through 1877;

8 (4) Ulysses S. Grant demonstrated his commit9 ment to maintaining the rights of freed slaves by

10 executing his authority as Commander in Chief to

11 command Federal troops to protect the rights and

12 freedoms of former slaves; and

13 (5) Ulysses S. Grant demonstrated his commit14 ment to rebuilding the Nation and restoring unity

15 among the American people.

16 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—

17 (1) to recognize and pay tribute to Ulysses S.

18 Grant, both as a general and as the President of the

19 United States;

20 (2) to restore, complete, and preserve in per21 petuity the Grant’s Tomb National Monument and

22 surrounding areas which are of National historical

23 significance in a manner consistent with the existing

24 architectural, historical, and educational value of the

25 monument’s original design and purpose; and
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1 (3) to educate present and future generations

2 about the life of Ulysses S. Grant and his contribu3 tions to the United States.

4 SEC. 3. REDESIGNATION OF MEMORIAL AND ADMINISTRA5 TION OF GRANT’S TOMB NATIONAL MONU6 MENT.

7 (a) REDESIGNATION.—General Grant National Me8 morial, located at Riverside Drive and West One Hundred

9 and Twenty-Second Street in New York, New York, is

10 hereby redesignated as Grant’s Tomb National Monument

11 (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘monument’’).

12 (b) AREA INCLUDED.—The monument shall consist

13 of the tomb of Ulysses S. Grant and the surrounding plaza

14 area, as generally depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Grant’s

15 Tomb National Monument’’ and dated April 27, 1994.

16 The map shall be on file and available for public inspection

17 in the offices of the National Park Service, Department

18 of the Interior.

19 (c) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary of the Interior

20 (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall

21 administer, repair, restore, preserve, maintain, and pro22 mote the monument in accordance with this Act and with

23 the provisions of law generally applicable to units of the

24 National Park System, including the Act entitled ‘‘An Act
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1 to establish a National Park Service, and for other pur2 poses’’, approved August 25, 1916 (39 Stat. 535; 16

3 U.S.C. 1, 2, 3, and 4).

4 (d) VISITORS CENTER.—(1) The Secretary shall de5 sign and construct a visitors center (including public rest6 rooms) at the monument to aid in the interpretation and

7 maintain the historical significance of the monument.

8 (2) The visitors center shall—

9 (A) be established in consultation with the

10 study commission established under section 5; and

11 (B) be designed in a manner which is consistent

12 with the existing architectural and historical intent

13 of the site and which does not detract from the his14 torical interpretation and the scenic views of the

15 monument and the existing park area.

16 SEC. 4. LAND ACQUISITION; LEASE OR COOPERATIVE MAN17 AGEMENT AGREEMENT.

18 (a) ACQUISITION.—The Secretary shall acquire from

19 the city of New York non-Federal lands located within the

20 boundaries of the monument as depicted on the map re21 ferred to in section 3(b) by donation, purchase with do22 nated or appropriated funds, or exchange.

23 (b) LEASE OR COOPERATIVE MANAGEMENT AGREE24 MENT.—The Secretary may lease non-Federal lands lo25 cated within the boundary of the monument or enter into
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1 a cooperative agreement for the management of such lands

2 to carry out the purposes of this Act.

3 SEC. 5. STUDY COMMISSION.

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—(1) The Secretary shall estab5 lish a study commission of seven persons within 60 days

6 after the date of enactment of this Act which shall be com7 posed of the president and at least three members of the

8 executive committee of the Grant Monument Association,

9 representatives of the community surrounding the monu10 ment, and citizens with a unique knowledge or expertise

11 relating to the monument. No officer or employee of the

12 Federal, State, or local government is eligible for member13 ship on the study commission.

14 (2) Members of the study commission shall serve

15 without pay.

16 (3) The members of the study commission shall des17 ignate a chair of the study commission.

18 (4) Upon request of the study commission, the Sec19 retary shall furnish on a reimbursable basis such adminis20 trative support services (including staff, supplies, and fa21 cilities) as necessary for the study commission to carry

22 out its responsibilities under this Act.

23 (b) DUTIES.—The study commission shall review se24 curity and maintenance at the monument, as well as plan

25 for interpretive programs and for the complete restoration
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1 of the monument, and within 180 days after the date of

2 their first meeting, submit a written report regarding their

3 study to the Secretary. The report shall include proposed

4 measures to improve security, maintenance, and interpre5 tive programs, including such improvements as may be re6 quired to be carried out by April 27, 1999, which shall

7 be based on the original plans of the architect of the tomb,

8 John H. Duncan, and the plans of architect John Russell

9 Pope, approved in 1928 by the Grant Monument Associa10 tion. The report shall also include an estimate of the cap11 ital costs and general operating costs of implementing

12 these proposed measures. Following the submission of the

13 report to the Secretary, the study commission shall mon14 itor the progress of the repairs being made to the Tomb,

15 and shall, until the study commission’s termination as pro16 vided herein, submit reports to the Secretary and the Con17 gress on the progress of such repairs as the commission

18 deems necessary.

19 (c) FINAL PLAN.—Not later than 90 days after the

20 date on which the report is submitted to the Secretary

21 under subsection (b), the Secretary shall review and evalu22 ate the report and submit to the Congress a final plan

23 for the projects at the monument to be fully completed

24 by April 27, 1999. Unless the Secretary reports to the

25 Congress that specific aspects of the study commission’s
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1 report are unreasonable; inconsistent with the existing ar2 chitectural, historical, and educational intent of the site;

3 detract from, distort, or otherwise compromise the histori4 cal interpretation or scenic views of the monument; or con5 flict with the purpose of this Act as described in section

6 2(b), such final plan shall be entirely consistent with the

7 study commission’s report. The final plan shall contain de8 signs for the site which are consistent with the existing

9 architectural and historical intent of the site and do not

10 detract from or distort the historical interpretation or sce11 nic views of the monument and the existing park area.

12 (d) MEETINGS.—All meetings of the study commis13 sion shall be open to the public. Interested persons may

14 attend such meetings, appear before the study commis15 sions, or file statements related to the purposes of this

16 Act with the study commission.

17 (e) TERMINATION; FACA.—(1) The study commis18 sion shall terminate no later than three years after the

19 date that it is established.

20 (2) The provisions of the Federal Advisory Commit21 tee Act (5 U.S.C. Appendix; 86 Stat. 776), shall not apply

22 to the study commission.

23 SEC. 6. HONOR GUARD.

24 The Secretary of the Interior in coordination with the

25 Secretary of Defense, acting through the Secretary of the
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1 Army, shall provide no less than three military guards who

2 shall protect the monument and the site on a twenty-four

3 hour basis every day in perpetuity, beginning no later than

4 the start of implementation of the final plan referred to

5 in section 5(c).

6 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

7 There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as

8 may be necessary to carry out this Act.

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