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103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 3567
To amend the John F. Kennedy Center Act to transfer operating responsibil-
ities to the Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for
the Performing Arts, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
NOVEMBER 19, 1993
Mr. MINETA (for himself, Mr. MCDADE, Mr. WILSON, Mr. VENTO, Mr.
TRAFICANT, Mr. DUNCAN, and Ms. NORTON) (all by request) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Public Works
and Transportation
A BILL
To amend the John F. Kennedy Center Act to transfer
operating responsibilities to the Board of Trustees of
the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts,
and for other purposes.
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 ‘‘John F. Kennedy Cen-
ter Act Amendments of 1993’’.
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SEC. 2. BUREAU, BOARD OF TRUSTEES, AND ADVISORY
COMMITTEE.
Section 2 of the John F. Kennedy Center Act (here-
after referred to as the ‘‘Act’’) (20 U.S.C. 76h) is amend-
ed—
(1) by redesignating subsections (a), (b), and
(c) as subsections (b), (c), and (d);
(2) by inserting before subsection (b) (as redes-
ignated in paragraph (1)) the following new sub-
sections:
‘‘(a) The Congress finds that—
‘‘(1) the late John Fitzgerald Kennedy served
with distinction as President of the United States,
and as a Member of the Senate and the House of
Representatives;
‘‘(2) by the untimely death of John Fitzgerald
Kennedy this Nation and the world have suffered a
great loss;
‘‘(3) the late John Fitzgerald Kennedy was par-
ticularly devoted to education and cultural under-
standing and the advancement of the performing
arts;
‘‘(4) it is fitting and proper that a living insti-
tution of the performing arts, designated as the Na-
tional Center for the Performing Arts, named in the
memory and honor of this great leader, shall serve
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as the sole national monument to his memory within
the city of Washington and its environs;
‘‘(5) such a living memorial serves all of the
people of the United States by preserving, fostering,
and transmitting the performing arts traditions of
the people of this Nation and other countries by pro-
ducing and presenting music, opera, theater, dance,
and other performing arts; and
‘‘(6) such a living memorial should be housed in
the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing
Arts, located in the District of Columbia.’’;
(3) in subsection (b) (as redesignated in para-
graph (1)),
(A) in the first sentence, by inserting ‘‘as
the National Center for the Performing Arts, a
living memorial to John Fitzgerald Kennedy,’’
after ‘‘thereof’’; and
(B) in the second sentence—by striking
‘‘Chairman of the District of Columbia Recre-
ation Board’’ and inserting ‘‘Superintendent of
Schools of the District of Columbia’’;
(4) by amending subsection (c) (as redesignated
in paragraph (1)) to read as follows:
‘‘(c) The general trustees shall be appointed by the
President of the United States and each such trustee shall
HR 3567 IH1S
hold office as a member of the Board for a term of 6 years,
except that—
‘‘(1) any member appointed to fill a vacancy oc-
curring prior to the expiration of the term for which
such member’s predecessor was appointed shall be
appointed for the remainder of such term;
‘‘(2) a member shall continue to serve until
such member’s successor has been appointed; and
‘‘(3) the term of office of a member appointed
prior to the date of enactment of this subsection
shall expire as designated at the time of appoint-
ment.’’;
(5) in subsection (d) (as redesignated in para-
graph (1)),
(A) in the first sentence, by inserting ‘‘of
the United States’’ after ‘‘President’’ and be-
fore ‘‘may’’;
(B) in the fourth sentence, by striking
‘‘in’’ after ‘‘cultural activities to be carried on’’
and substituting ‘‘by’’; and
(C) by inserting a period after ‘‘compensa-
tion’’ and striking the remainder of the last
sentence.
(6) EFFECTIVE DATE FOR CERTAIN APPOINT-
MENTS.—The appointment made pursuant to the
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amendment made by clause (ii) of subsection (3)(B)
shall not commence until the expiration of the term
of the chairman of the District of Columbia Recre-
ation Board, serving as a trustee of the John F.
Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on the date
of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 3. PRESENTATIONS, PROGRAMS, FACILITIES FOR AC-
TIVITIES, AND MEMORIAL IN HONOR OF THE
LATE PRESIDENT; RESTRICTION ON ADDI-
TIONAL MEMORIALS.
Subsection (a) of section 4 of the Act (20 U.S.C. 76j)
is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(a)(1) The Board shall—
‘‘(A) present classical and contemporary music,
opera, drama, dance, and other performing arts
from the United States and other countries;
‘‘(B) promote and maintain the Center as the
National Center for the Performing Arts by—
‘‘(i) developing and maintaining a leader-
ship role in national performing arts education
policy and programs, including developing and
presenting original and innovative performing
arts and educational programs for children,
youth, families, adults, and educators designed
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specifically to foster an appreciation and under-
standing of the performing arts;
‘‘(ii) developing and maintaining, a com-
prehensive and broad program for national and
community outreach, including establishing
model programs for adaptation by other pre-
senting and educational institutions; and
‘‘(iii) conducting joint initiatives with the
national education and outreach programs of
the Very Special Arts, an entity affiliated with
the John F. Kennedy Center for the Perform-
ing Arts which has an established program for
the identification, development and implementa-
tion of model programs and projects in the arts
for disabled individuals;
‘‘(C) strive to ensure that the John F. Kennedy
Center for the Performing Arts education and out-
reach programs and policies meet the highest level of
excellence and reflect the cultural diversity of the
Nation;
‘‘(D) provide facilities for other civic activities
at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing
Arts;
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‘‘(E) provide within the John F. Kennedy Cen-
ter for the Performing Arts a suitable memorial in
honor of the late President;
‘‘(F) develop a comprehensive building needs
plan for the existing features of the John F. Ken-
nedy Center for the Performing Arts;
‘‘(G) plan, design, and construct all major cap-
ital projects at the John F. Kennedy Center for the
Performing Arts; and
‘‘(H) provide information and interpretation; all
maintenance, repair, and alteration of the building;
and janitorial, security, and all other services nec-
essary for operating the building and site.
‘‘(2)(A) The Board, in accordance with applicable
law, may enter into contracts or other arrangements with,
and make payments to, public agencies or private organi-
zations or persons in order to carry out the Board’s func-
tions under this Act. This includes, but is not limited to,
utilizing the services and facilities of other agencies, in-
cluding the Department of the Interior, General Services
Administration, and Smithsonian Institution.
‘‘(B) The Board shall prepare a budget pursuant to
31 U.S.C. sections 1104 and 1105(a) and subject to 31
U.S.C. section 1513(b).
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‘‘(C) The Board may utilize or employ the services
of personnel of any agency or instrumentality of the Fed-
eral Government or of the District of Columbia, with the
consent of the agency or the instrumentality concerned,
upon a reimbursable basis, or utilize voluntary or uncom-
pensated personnel.
‘‘(D) In carrying out its duties under this Act, the
Board may negotiate any contract for an environmental
system, a protection system or a repair to, maintenance
of, or restoration of the John F. Kennedy Center for the
Performing Arts with selected contractors and award the
contract on the basis of contractor qualifications as well
as price.
‘‘(E) The Board shall maintain the Hall of Nations,
the Hall of States, and the Grand Foyer in a manner that
is suitable to a national performing arts center that is op-
erated as a Presidential memorial.’’
SEC. 4. OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES, REVIEW OF BOARD
ACTIONS.
Section 5 of the Act (20 U.S.C. 76k) is amended—
(1) in the first sentence of subsection (a), by
striking ‘‘Smithsonian Institution’’ and inserting
‘‘John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts,
as a bureau of the Smithsonian Institution,’’;
(2) in subsection (b)—
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(A) in the section heading, by deleting
‘‘DIRECTOR, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR,’’ and in-
serting ‘‘CHAIRPERSON’’.
(B) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘di-
rector, an assistant director, and a secretary of
the John F. Kennedy Center for the Perform-
ing Arts and of’’ and inserting ‘‘chairperson of
the John F. Kennedy Center for the Perform-
ing Arts (hereafter in this Act referred to as
the ‘chairperson’), who shall serve as the chief
executive officer of the Center, and a secretary
of the Center. The chairperson may appoint a
senior level executive who, by virtue of the indi-
vidual’s background, shall be well suited to be
responsible for facilities management and serv-
ices and who may, without regard to the provi-
sions of title 5, be appointed and compensated
with appropriated funds, provided that com-
pensation does not exceed the maximum rate of
pay under 5 U.S.C. section 5376 for Senior-
Level IV positions, and’’
(C) in the last sentence by striking ‘‘direc-
tor, assistant director,’’ and inserting ‘‘chair-
person’’; and
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(3) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub-
section (e) in this section, and amending it to read
as follows:
‘‘(e) The actions of the Board relating to performing
arts and to payments made or directed to be made by it
from any trust funds shall not be subject to review by any
officer or agency other than a court of law.’’; and
(4) by adding after subsection (b) the following
new subsections:
‘‘(c) TRANSFER.—The property, liabilities, contracts,
records, and unexpended balance of appropriations, au-
thorizations, allocations and other funds employed, held,
used, arising from, available to or to be made available
in connection with the functions transferred from the Sec-
retary of the Interior by enactment of this law, subject
to 31 U.S.C. section 1531, shall be transferred to the
Board as the Board and the Secretary of the Interior may
determine, but not later than October 1, 1995. Unex-
pended funds transferred pursuant to this subsection shall
be used only for the purposes for, and subject to the terms
under, which the funds were originally authorized and ap-
propriated.
‘‘(d) TRANSFER OF PERSONNEL.—Employees of the
National Park Service assigned to duties related to those
functions being undertaken by the Board will be trans-