I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4040

To authorize a national memorial to commemorate the final resting place 

of those lost at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 25, 2004

Mr. FOSSELLA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Resources 

A BILL

To authorize a national memorial to commemorate the final 

resting place of those lost at the World Trade Center 

on September 11, 2001, 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 ‘‘September 11th He5 roes Memorial Park Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) On September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked 

9 4 civilian aircraft, crashing 2 of them into the tow-
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1 ers of the World Trade Center in New York City, 

2 causing the destruction of the towers. 

3 (2) These were by far the deadliest terrorist at4 tacks ever launched against the United States, 

5 claiming the lives of more than 3,000 innocent peo6 ple, 2,797 of whom died in New York City. 

7 (3) The debris from the destruction of the 

8 World Trade Center towers was taken to a landfill 

9 on Staten Island, New York, for cleanup and inves10 tigation and to continue the recovery of victim re11 mains and effects that could not be performed at the 

12 site of the towers’ collapse in Manhattan. 

13 (4) Over the 10-month period following Sep14 tember 11, 2001, more than 1,000 people worked at 

15 the landfill around the clock every day, tirelessly and 

16 carefully sifting through all 1,620,000 tons of debris 

17 from the World Trade Center site searching for re18 mains, personal effects, and evidence from what is 

19 now considered to be history’s largest crime scene. 

20 (5) Approximately 20 percent of all the victim 

21 remains recovered following the towers’ collapse, as 

22 well as more than 54,000 personal items, from wed23 ding rings and photographs to driver licenses and 

24 keys were retrieved at the Staten Island site. 
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1 (6) The remains of 306 of the 1,423 World 

2 Trade Center victims whose remains have been iden3 tified and returned to their families were recovered 

4 at the Staten Island site. 

5 (7) Victims’ families were brought some sort of 

6 peace by being given back something personal of lost 

7 loved ones, whether through a positive identification 

8 of a victim’s remains or the return of something so 

9 simple and yet so meaningful as a wedding ring, a 

10 watch, or a wallet. 

11 (8) On July 15, 2002, after 10 months, the 

12 cleanup and recovery operations at the landfill on 

13 Staten Island, New York, came to a somber conclu14 sion. 

15 (9) The site commemorates those lost. The de16 termination of appropriate recognition there will be 

17 a slowly unfolding process in order to address the in18 terests and concerns of all interested parties. Appro19 priate national assistance and recognition must give 

20 ample opportunity for those involved to voice these 

21 broad concerns. 

22 (10) It is appropriate that the site be des23 ignated a unit of the National Park System. 

24 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are as fol25 lows: 
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1 (1) To establish a national memorial to honor 

2 the final resting place of some of those lost at the 

3 World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. 

4 (2) To establish the memorial advisory commis5 sion to assist with consideration and formulation of 

6 plans for a permanent memorial to those lost at the 

7 World Trade Center, including its nature, design, 

8 and construction. 

9 (3) To authorize the Secretary of the Interior 

10 to coordinate and facilitate the activities of the Me11 morial Advisory Commission and administer a vic12 tim’s memorial at the site of the Fresh Kills Landfill 

13 operation on Staten Island, New York. 

14 SEC. 3. MEMORIAL TO HONOR THE FINAL RESTING PLACE 

15 OF THOSE LOST AT THE WORLD TRADE CEN16 TER ON SEPTEMBER 11, 2001. 

17 There is established a memorial at the Staten Island 

18 recovery site to honor the final resting place of those lost 

19 at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. 

20 SEC. 4. ADVISORY COMMISSION. 

21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com22 mission to be known as the ‘‘September 11th Heroes Me23 morial Park Advisory Commission’’ (hereafter in this Act 

24 referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 
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1 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Commission shall consist of 

2 15 members as follows: 

3 (1) The Director of the National Park Service, 

4 or the Director’s designee. 

5 (2) 7 members appointed by the Secretary of 

6 the Interior. 

7 (3) 5 members appointed by the Member of 

8 Congress representing the 13th Congressional Dis9 trict of the State of New York. 

10 (4) 1 member appointed by the mayor of the 

11 City of New York, New York. 

12 (5) 1 member appointed by the governor of the 

13 State of New York. 

14 (c) TERM.—The term of the members of the Commis15 sion shall be for the life of the Commission. 

16 (d) CHAIR.—The members of the Commission shall 

17 select the Chair of the Commission. 

18 (e) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the Commission 

19 shall not affect its powers if a quorum is present, but shall 

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

21 (f) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at the 

22 call of the Chairperson or a majority of the members, but 

23 not less often than quarterly. Notice of the Commission 

24 meetings and agendas for the meetings shall be published 

25 in local newspapers and in the Federal Register. Meetings 
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1 of the Commission shall be subject to section 552b of title 

2 5, United States Code (relating to open meetings). 

3 (g) QUORUM.—A majority of the members serving on 

4 the Commission shall constitute a quorum for the trans5 action of any business. 

6 (h) NO COMPENSATION.—Members of the Commis7 sion shall serve without compensation, but may be reim8 bursed for expenses incurred in carrying out the duties 

9 of the Commission. 

10 (i) DUTIES.—The Commission shall—

11 (1) not later than 3 years after the date of the 

12 enactment of this Act, submit to the Secretary of 

13 the Interior and Congress a report containing rec14 ommendations for the planning, design, construc15 tion, and long-term management of a permanent me16 morial at the memorial site; 

17 (2) advise the Secretary of the Interior on the 

18 boundaries of the memorial site; 

19 (3) advise the Secretary of the Interior in the 

20 development of a management plan for the memo21 rial; 

22 (4) consult and coordinate closely with the city 

23 of New York, the State of New York, and other in24 terested parties, including coordination with the City 
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1 of New York’s Master Planning for the Fresh Kills 

2 Landfill site; 

3 (5) ensure a plan for adequate Federal funding 

4 of long-term operation and maintenance of the me5 morial; 

6 (6) provide significant opportunities for public 

7 participation in the planning and design of the me8 morial; and 

9 (7) officially name the memorial. 

10 (j) POWERS.—The Commission may—

11 (1) make such expenditures for services and 

12 materials for the purpose of carrying out this Act as 

13 the Commission considers advisable from funds ap14 propriated or received as gifts for that purpose; 

15 (2) accept gifts to be used in carrying out this 

16 section or to be used in connection with the con17 struction or other expenses of the memorial; 

18 (3) hold hearings, enter into contracts for per19 sonal services and otherwise; 

20 (4) do such other things as are necessary to 

21 carry out this Act; and 

22 (5) by a vote of the majority of the Commis23 sion, delegate such of its duties as it determines ap24 propriate to employees of the National Park Service 

25 staff. 
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1 (k) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall terminate 

2 upon dedication of the completed memorial. 

3 SEC. 5. DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY. 

4 The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to—

5 (1) provide assistance to the Commission, in6 cluding advice on collections, storage, and archives; 

7 (2) consult and assist the Commission in pro8 viding information, interpretation, and the conduct 

9 of oral history interviews; 

10 (3) provide assistance in conducting public 

11 meetings and forums held by the Commission; 

12 (4) participate in or support the planning ef13 forts for the memorial; 

14 (5) provide programming and design assistance 

15 to the Commission for possible memorial exhibits, 

16 collections, or activities; 

17 (6) provide project management assistance to 

18 the Commission for design and construction activi19 ties; 

20 (7) provide staff assistance and support to the 

21 Commission; 

22 (8) participate in the formulation of plans for 

23 the design of the memorial and to construct the me24 morial; 
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1 (9) acquire from willing sellers the land or in2 terests in land for the memorial site by donation, 

3 purchase with donated or appropriated funds, or ex4 change; and 

5 (10) administer the ‘‘September 11th Heroes’’ 

6 memorial as a unit of the National Park Service in 

7 accordance with this Act and with the laws generally 

8 applicable to units of the National Park System such 

9 as the Act of August 25, 1916 (39 Stat. 585).

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