I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3903

To establish a program to award grants to improve and maintain sites 

honoring Presidents of the United States. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 4, 2004

Mr. GILLMOR (for himself, Mr. ROSS, Mr. PITTS, Mr. HALL, Mr. LATHAM, 

Mr. OXLEY, Mr. GOODE, Mr. SOUDER, Mr. REGULA, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mrs. 

MALONEY, Mr. DAVIS of Tennessee, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. ISRAEL, Mr. 

BERRY, Mr. WOLF, and Mr. JENKINS) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Resources 

A BILL

To establish a program to award grants to improve and 

maintain sites honoring Presidents of the United States.

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 Sites Im5 provement Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that—

8 (1) there are many sites honoring Presidents lo9 cated throughout the United States, including Presi-
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1 dential birthplaces, homes, museums, burial sites, 

2 and tombs; 

3 (2) most of the sites are owned, operated, and 

4 maintained by non-Federal entities such as State 

5 and local agencies, family foundations, colleges and 

6 universities, libraries, historical societies, historic 

7 preservation organizations, and other nonprofit orga8 nizations; 

9 (3) Presidential sites are often expensive to 

10 maintain; 

11 (4) many Presidential sites are in need of cap12 ital, technological, and interpretive display improve13 ments for which funding is insufficient or unavail14 able; and 

15 (5) to promote understanding of the history of 

16 the United States by recognizing and preserving his17 toric sites linked to Presidents of the United States, 

18 the Federal Government should provide grants for 

19 the maintenance and improvement of Presidential 

20 sites. 

21 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

22 In this Act: 

23 (1) GRANT COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Grant 

24 Commission’’ means the Presidential Site Grant 

25 Commission established by section 4(d). 
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1 (2) PRESIDENTIAL SITE.—The term ‘‘Presi2 dential site’’ means a site related to a President of 

3 the United States that has national significance and 

4 is—

5 (A) managed, maintained, and operated 

6 for, and is accessible to, the public; and 

7 (B) owned or operated by—

8 (i) a State; or 

9 (ii) a private institution, organization, 

10 or person. 

11 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

12 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di13 rector of the National Park Service. 

14 SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR PRESIDENTIAL SITES. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award grants 

16 for major maintenance and improvement projects at Presi17 dential sites to owners or operators of Presidential sites 

18 in accordance with this section. 

19 (b) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—A grant awarded under this 

21 section may be used for—

22 (A) repairs or capital improvements at a 

23 Presidential site (including new construction for 

24 necessary modernization) such as—
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1 (i) installation or repair of heating or 

2 air conditioning systems, security systems, 

3 or electric service; or 

4 (ii) modifications at a Presidential site 

5 to achieve compliance with requirements 

6 under titles II and III of the Americans 

7 with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

8 12131 et seq.); and 

9 (B) interpretive improvements to enhance 

10 public understanding and enjoyment of a Presi11 dential site. 

12 (2) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—Of the funds made 

14 available to award grants under this Act—

15 (i) 15 percent shall be used for emer16 gency projects, as determined by the Sec17 retary; 

18 (ii) 65 percent shall be used for 

19 grants for Presidential sites with—

20 (I) a 3-year average annual oper21 ating budget of less than $700,000 

22 (not including the amount of any 

23 grant received under this section); and 
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1 (II) an endowment in an amount 

2 that is less than 3 times the annual 

3 operating budget of the site; and 

4 (iii) 20 percent shall be used for 

5 grants for Presidential sites with—

6 (I) an annual operating budget of 

7 $700,000 or more (not including the 

8 amount of any grant received under 

9 this section); and 

10 (II) an endowment in an amount 

11 that is equal to or more than 3 times 

12 the annual operating budget of the 

13 site. 

14 (B) UNEXPENDED FUNDS.—If any funds 

15 allocated for a category of projects described in 

16 subparagraph (A) are unexpended, the Sec17 retary may use the funds to award grants for 

18 another category of projects described in that 

19 subparagraph. 

20 (c) APPLICATION AND AWARD PROCEDURE.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than a date to be 

22 determined by the Secretary, an owner or operator 

23 of a Presidential site may submit to the Secretary 

24 an application for a grant under this section. 

25 (2) INVOLVEMENT OF GRANT COMMISSION.—
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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

2 forward each application received under para3 graph (1) to the Grant Commission. 

4 (B) CONSIDERATION BY GRANT COMMIS5 SION.—Not later than 60 days after receiving 

6 an application from the Secretary under sub7 paragraph (A), the Grant Commission shall re8 turn the application to the Secretary with a rec9 ommendation of whether the proposed project 

10 should be awarded a Presidential site grant. 

11 (C) RECOMMENDATION OF GRANT COMMIS12 SION.—In making a decision to award a Presi13 dential site grant under this section, the Sec14 retary shall take into consideration any rec15 ommendation of the Grant Commission. 

16 (3) AWARD.—Not later than 180 days after re17 ceiving an application for a Presidential site grant 

18 under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall—

19 (A) award a Presidential site grant to the 

20 applicant; or 

21 (B) notify the applicant, in writing, of the 

22 decision of the Secretary not to award a Presi23 dential site grant. 

24 (4) MATCHING REQUIREMENTS.—
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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Federal share of 

2 the cost of a project at a Presidential site for 

3 which a grant is awarded under this section 

4 shall not exceed 50 percent. 

5 (B) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Fed6 eral share of the cost of a project at a Presi7 dential site for which a grant is awarded under 

8 this section may be provided in cash or in kind. 

9 (d) PRESIDENTIAL SITE GRANT COMMISSION.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established the 

11 Presidential Site Grant Commission. 

12 (2) COMPOSITION.—The Grant Commission 

13 shall be composed of—

14 (A) the Director of the National Park 

15 Service; and 

16 (B) 4 members appointed by the Secretary 

17 as follows: 

18 (i) A State historic preservation offi19 cer. 

20 (ii) A representative of the National 

21 Trust for Historic Preservation. 

22 (iii) A representative of a site de23 scribed in subsection (b)(2)(A)(ii). 

24 (iv) A representative of a site de25 scribed in subsection (b)(2)(A)(iii). 
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1 (3) TERM.—A member of the Grant Commis2 sion shall serve a term of 2 years. 

3 (4) DUTIES.—The Grant Commission shall—

4 (A) review applications for Presidential site 

5 grants received under subsection (c); and 

6 (B) recommend to the Secretary projects 

7 for which Presidential site grants should be 

8 awarded. 

9 (5) INELIGIBILITY OF SITES DURING TERM OF

10 REPRESENTATIVE.—A site described in clause (iii) 

11 or (iv) of paragraph (2)(B) shall be ineligible for a 

12 grant under this Act during the 2-year period in 

13 which a representative of the site serves on the 

14 Grant Commission. 

15 (6) NONAPPLICABILITY OF FACA.—The Grant 

16 Commission shall not be subject to the Federal Advi17 sory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.). 

18 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

19 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act 

20 $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 through 2008, 

21 to remain available until expended.

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