II
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 3442
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
DECEMBER 12, 2001
Received
AN ACT
To establish the National Museum of African American His-
tory and Culture Plan for Action Presidential Commis-
sion to develop a plan of action for the establishment
and maintenance of the National Museum of African
American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., and
for other purposes.
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Museum of
African American History and Culture Plan for Action
Presidential Commission Act of 2001’’.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—There is established the National
Museum of African American History and Culture Plan
for Action Presidential Commission (hereafter in this Act
referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’).
(b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Commission shall consist of
not more than 23 members appointed as follows:
(1) The President shall appoint 7 voting mem-
bers.
(2) The Speaker of the House of Representa-
tives and the Senate Majority Leader shall each ap-
point 6 voting members.
(3) In addition to the members appointed under
paragraph (2), the Speaker of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Senate Majority Leader shall
each appoint 2 additional nonvoting members.
(c) QUALIFICATIONS.—Members of the Commission
shall be chosen from the following professional groups:
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(1) Professional museum associations, including
the Association of African American Museums and
African American Museum Cultural Complex. Inc.
(2) Academic institutions and groups com-
mitted to the research and study of African Amer-
ican life, art, history, and culture, including Histori-
cally Black Colleges and Universities and the Joint
Center for Political and Economic Studies.
SEC. 3. FUNCTIONS OF THE COMMISSION.
(a) PLAN
OF ACTION
FOR ESTABLISHMENT
AND
MAINTENANCE OF MUSEUM.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall sub-
mit a report to the President and the Congress con-
taining its recommendations with respect to a plan
of action for the establishment and maintenance of
the National Museum of African American History
and Culture in Washington, D.C. (hereafter in this
Act referred to as the ‘‘Museum’’).
(2) NATIONAL
CONFERENCE.—In developing
the recommendations, the commission shall convene
a national conference on the Museum, comprised of
individuals committed to the advancement of African
American life, art, history, and culture, not later
than 3 months after the date of the enactment of
this Act.
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(b) FUNDRAISING PLAN.—The Commission shall de-
velop a fundraising plan for supporting the creation and
maintenance of the Museum through contributions by the
American people, and a separate plan on fundraising by
the African American community.
(c) REPORT ON ISSUES.—The Commission shall ex-
amine and submit a report to the President and the Con-
gress on the following issues:
(1) The availability and cost of collections to be
acquired and housed in the Museum.
(2) The impact of the Museum on regional Afri-
can American museums.
(3) Possible locations for the Museum on or ad-
jacent to the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
(4) The cost of converting the Smithsonian In-
stitution’s Arts and Industries Building into a mod-
ern museum with requisite temperature and humid-
ity controls.
(5) Whether the Museum should be located
within the Smithsonian Institution.
(6) The governance and organizational struc-
ture from which the museum should operate.
(d) LEGISLATION
TO CARRY OUT PLAN
OF AC-
TION.—Based on the recommendations contained in the
report submitted under subsection (a) and the report sub-