I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2865 

To establish the 9/11 Memorial Cross located at the National 9/11 Memorial 

Museum in New York as a national monument, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 8, 2011 

Mr. GRIMM (for himself, Mr. BISHOP of New York, Mr. KING of New York, 

Mr. MEEKS, and Mr. RANGEL) introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To establish the 9/11 Memorial Cross located at the National 

9/11 Memorial Museum in New York as a 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 ‘‘9/11 Memorial Cross 

5 National Monument Establishment Act of 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) the 9/11 Memorial Cross is located at the 

9 National 9/11 Memorial Museum at the intersection 


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1 of Albany and Greenwich Streets at 1 Albany Street, 

2 New York, NY 10006; 

3 (2) after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 

4 2001, on New York City, a massive operation was 

5 launched to clear the site and attempt to find any 

6 survivors amongst the rubble; 

7 (3) when One World Trade Center collapsed, it 

8 sent debris down onto 6 World Trade Center, and 

9 gutted the interior of the building. In the midst of 

10 the debris was this intact cross beam, which its dis11 coverer believes came from One World Trade Center; 

12 (4) first encountered by construction worker 

13 Frank Silecchia in the vicinity of where 6 World 

14 Trade Center had stood, the 17-foot-tall cross be15 came an icon of hope and comfort throughout the 

16 recovery effort in the wake of the September 11, 

17 2001 attacks; 

18 (5) after a few weeks an expedited approval 

19 from the office of New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani 

20 was granted to erect it on a pedestal on a portion 

21 of the former plaza on Church Street near Liberty; 

22 (6) the 9/11 Memorial Cross was moved by 

23 crane on October 3, 2001, and installed on October 

24 4, 2001, where it continued as a shrine and tourist 

25 attraction; 


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1 (7) on July 23, 2011, the cross was transported 

2 onto the World Trade Center site and lowered into 

3 its permanent setting inside the Museum, which will 

4 open to the public in 2012; 

5 (8) the 9/11 Memorial Cross has received inter6 national attention; and 

7 (9) Port Authority of New York and New Jer8 sey, the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation 

9 and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, have been work10 ing together— 

11 (A) to protect the site; and 

12 (B) to develop further educational opportu13 nities using artifacts from the site itself to tell 

14 the story of not only what happened on 9/11 

15 but the 9-month recovery period that followed. 

16 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

17 In this Act: 

18 (1) CITY.—The term ‘‘City’’ means the city of 

19 New York, New York. 

20 (2) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘‘manage21 ment plan’’ means the management plan for the 

22 Monument prepared under section 5(c)(1). 

23 (3) MAP.—The term ‘‘map’’ means the map en24 titled ‘‘Proposed Boundary Waco-Mammoth NaVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:34 Sep 09, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2865.IH H2865

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1 tional Monument’’, numbered T21/80,000, and 

2 dated April 2009. 

3 (4) MONUMENT.—The term ‘‘Monument’’ 

4 means the 9/11 Memorial Cross, which is owned by 

5 the Museum. 

6 (5) MUSEUM.—The term ‘‘Museum’’ means the 

7 National 9/11 Memorial Museum in the State. 

8 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

9 the Secretary of the Interior. 

10 (7) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 

11 of New York. 

12 SEC. 4. 9/11 MEMORIAL CROSS NATIONAL MONUMENT, NEW 

13 YORK. 

14 The 9/11 Memorial Cross is hereby established as a 

15 national monument. 

16 SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATION OF MONUMENT. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall administer 

18 the Monument in accordance with— 

19 (1) this Act; and 

20 (2) any cooperative agreements entered into 

21 under subsection (b)(1). 

22 (b) AUTHORITIES OF SECRETARY.— 

23 (1) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The Sec24 retary may enter into cooperative management 

25 agreements with the Museum and the City, in acVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:34 Sep 09, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2865.IH H2865

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1 cordance with section 3(l) of Public Law 91–383 (16 

2 U.S.C. 1a–2(l)). 

3 (2) ACQUISITION OF LAND.—The Secretary 

4 may acquire by donation from the City any land or 

5 interest in land owned by the City within the pro6 posed boundary of the Monument. 

7 (c) GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 

9 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in 

10 consultation with the Museum and the City, shall 

11 complete a general management plan for the Monu12 ment. 

13 (2) INCLUSIONS.—The management plan shall 

14 include, at a minimum— 

15 (A) measures for the preservation of the 

16 resources of the Monument; 

17 (B) requirements for the type and extent 

18 of development and use of the Monument; 

19 (C) identification of the capacity of the 

20 Monument for accommodating visitors; and 

21 (D) opportunities for involvement by the 

22 Museum, City, State, and other local and na23 tional entities in— 

24 (i) developing educational programs 

25 for the Monument; and 


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1 (ii) developing and supporting the 

2 Monument. 

3 (d) PROHIBITION OF USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS.—No 

4 Federal funds may be used to pay the costs of— 

5 (1) carrying out a cooperative agreement under 

6 subsection (b)(1); 

7 (2) acquiring land for inclusion in the Monu8 ment under subsection (b)(2); 

9 (3) developing a visitor center for the Monu10 ment; 

11 (4) operating or maintaining the Monument; 

12 (5) constructing exhibits for the Monument; or 

13 (6) developing the general management plan 

14 under subsection (c). 

15 (e) USE OF NON-FEDERAL FUNDS.—Non-Federal 

16 funds may be used to pay any costs that may be incurred 

17 by the Secretary or the National Park Service in carrying 

18 out this section. 

19 (f) EFFECT ON ELIGIBILITY FOR FINANCIAL ASSIST20 ANCE.—Nothing in this Act affects the eligibility of the 

21 Monument for Federal grants or other forms of financial 

22 assistance that the Monument would have been eligible to 

23 apply for had National Park System status not been con24 ferred to the Monument under this Act. 


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1 (g) TERMINATION OF NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM STA2 TUS.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Designation of the Monu4 ment as a unit of the National Park System shall 

5 terminate if the Secretary determines that Federal 

6 funds are required to operate and maintain the 

7 Monument. 

8 (2) REVERSION.—If the designation of the 

9 Monument as a unit of the National Park System is 

10 terminated under paragraph (1), any land acquired 

11 by the Secretary from the City under subsection 

12 (b)(2) shall revert to the City. 

13 SEC. 6. NO BUFFER ZONES. 

14 Nothing in this Act, the establishment of the Monu15 ment, or the management plan shall be construed to create 

16 buffer zones outside of the Monument. 

Æ 


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