Department of Veterans Affairs and regional leaders 
of Dayton, Ohio, to advance a history office as a 
community partnership. 
(2) A report commissioned by the Department 
determined that, ‘‘a central History Office, properly 
staffed and resourced, can become an essential ally 
for the Department’s senior staff at Headquarters 
and in the field.’’. 
(3) The establishment of a History Office in the 
Department pursuant to an executive memorandum 
of the Department, dated April 10, 2020, is a vital 
contribution to honoring veterans and improving the 
understanding of how they served the United States. 
(4) Department of Veterans Affairs Directive 
7777, titled ‘‘Implementation of the VA History 
Program’’, was issued on February 9, 2021, and es-
tablished the policies, responsibilities, and manage-
ment directions for the Department of Veterans Af-
fairs History Program. 
(5) The centennial year of the Department is 
2030 and such year is a goal for establishing a ro-
bust program of ongoing history outreach activities 
and permanent public exhibits telling the story of 
the Department. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:22 Jan 13, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6947.IH
H6947
SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS HISTORY OF-
FICE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 3 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new section: 
‘‘§ 325. History Office 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established within 
the Department an office comprising a history pro-
gram and a national history center. 
‘‘(2) DESIGNATION.—The office established by 
paragraph (1) shall be known as the ‘Department of 
Veterans Affairs History Office’ (in this section the 
‘Office’). 
‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Office are— 
‘‘(1) to collect, preserve, and provide access to 
relevant historical records, artifacts, and cultural re-
sources of the Department (including those of its 
predecessor organizations); and 
‘‘(2) to tell a comprehensive story of the De-
partment and its predecessor organizations to vet-
erans, government agencies, and the public. 
‘‘(c) CHIEF HISTORIAN
AND STAFF.—The Office 
shall be led by the Chief Historian of the Department of 
Veterans Affairs (in this section referred to as the ‘Chief 
Historian’) who may be assisted by such professional and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
17:44 Jan 13, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6947.IH
H6947
administrative staff as the Secretary considers necessary 
to carry out the purposes of the Office under subsection 
(b) and the requirements set forth under subsection (d). 
‘‘(d) REQUIREMENTS.—The Office shall— 
‘‘(1) carry out the activities set forth in Depart-
ment Directive 7777 (relating to implementation of 
a Department history program), or successor direc-
tive; 
‘‘(2) assist with planning appropriate history- 
related events leading up to the centennial of the 
Department in 2030 (in this section referred to as 
the ‘Centennial’) and in events after the Centennial 
as the Chief Historian considers appropriate in the 
context of the purposes of the Office set forth under 
subsection (b); 
‘‘(3) carry out public activities and educational 
opportunities, including print and web-based publica-
tions and exhibits, that increase awareness of the 
contributions of the Department in supporting vet-
erans; 
‘‘(4) construct, renovate, repair, operate, and 
maintain new or existing Department facilities used 
for— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:22 Jan 13, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6947.IH
H6947
‘‘(A) preservation, restoration, and public 
access to Department historic materials, ar-
chives, and artifacts; 
‘‘(B) training on the preservation of his-
toric materials, archives, and artifacts; or 
‘‘(C) education relating to the history of 
the Department and its predecessor organiza-
tions; 
‘‘(5) maintain facilities for access to, and stor-
age of, historic materials, artifacts, and archives, 
compliant with recognized specifications for such fa-
cilities, which may include storage, conference, and 
public exhibit space; and 
‘‘(6) conduct education and training on the 
preservation of historical materials, archival manage-
ment, digitization, restoration, historical research, 
and related subjects to assist the Department. 
‘‘(e) GIFTS AND BEQUESTS.— 
‘‘(1) AUTHORITY TO ACCEPT.—The Secretary 
may accept, hold, administer, and spend any gift, 
devise, or bequest of real property, personal prop-
erty, or money made on the condition that the gift, 
devise, or bequest be used for the benefit, or in con-
nection with, the purposes and activities of the Of-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:22 Jan 13, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6947.IH
H6947
fice, including a gift, devise, or bequest of an im-
provement made pursuant to subsection (f)(3). 
‘‘(2) DISPOSITION
OF
PROPERTY.—The Sec-
retary may authorize the sale of donated property 
received under paragraph (1). A sale under this 
paragraph need not be conducted in accordance with 
disposal requirements that would otherwise apply, so 
long as the sale is conducted at arms-length and in-
cludes an auditable transaction record. 
‘‘(3) USE
OF
MONEY
AND
PROCEEDS.—Any 
money received under paragraph (1) and any pro-
ceeds from the sale of property under paragraph (2) 
shall be deposited into a fund established in the 
Treasury to support the purposes and activities of 
the Office. 
‘‘(f) PARTNERSHIPS, COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS, 
AND LEASE AUTHORITY.— 
‘‘(1) PARTNERSHIPS.—The Secretary may enter 
into a partnership or cooperative agreement with an 
organization to support the purposes set forth in 
subsection (b). 
‘‘(2) LEASE AUTHORITY.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary may 
lease portions of any real property or facility of 
the Office to a nonprofit organization for use in 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
17:44 Jan 13, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6947.IH
H6947
generating revenue for the support of activities 
of the Office and for such administrative pur-
poses as may be necessary for support of the 
Office. 
‘‘(B) RENT.—Any rent received by the 
Secretary under a lease under subparagraph 
(A), including rent-in-kind, shall be used solely 
to cover or defray the costs of carrying out sub-
section (b) or (d). 
‘‘(3) IMPROVEMENTS.—The Secretary may per-
mit a nonprofit organization to make improvements 
to real property or a facility of the Office for the 
construction of a multipurpose facility to be used for 
historical displays for public viewing, curation, and 
storage of artifacts, research facilities, classrooms, 
offices, and associated activities consistent with the 
mission of the Office. 
‘‘(g) INTERNAL COORDINATION GROUP.— 
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 180 
days after the date of the enactment of the Vet-
erans Affairs Centennial and Heritage Act of 
2024, the Secretary shall establish an internal 
coordinating group (in this subsection the 
‘Group’) to assist the Office in carrying out the 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
17:44 Jan 13, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6947.IH
H6947
purposes under subsection (b) and the require-
ments of subsection (d) by advising the Office 
on matters relating to operations of the Office, 
which may include advising on matters relating 
to the provisions of continuity and resourcing 
for the Centennial or for development of the 
history program or the history center described 
in subsection (a). 
‘‘(B) PROCEDURES
AND
CHARTER.—The 
Group shall operate in accordance with such 
procedures as the Secretary may establish and 
in accordance with a charter the Secretary shall 
establish for the Group. 
‘‘(2) COMPOSITION.—The Group shall be com-
posed of the following: 
‘‘(A) The Deputy Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs. 
‘‘(B) The Assistant Secretary for Manage-
ment and Chief Financial Officer, or designee. 
‘‘(C) The Chief Historian. 
‘‘(D) A senior employee selected by the 
Secretary from each of the following: 
‘‘(i) The Veterans Experience Office. 
‘‘(ii) The Office of Congressional and 
Legislative Affairs. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:22 Jan 13, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6947.IH
H6947
‘‘(iii) The Office of Acquisition Logis-
tics and Construction. 
‘‘(iv) The Office of the General Coun-
sel. 
‘‘(v) The Veterans Health Administra-
tion. 
‘‘(vi) The Veterans Benefits Adminis-
tration. 
‘‘(vii) The National Cemetery Admin-
istration. 
‘‘(E) Such other officers and employees of 
the Department as the Secretary considers ap-
propriate. 
‘‘(3) CHAIRPERSON.—The chairperson of the 
Group shall be the Deputy Secretary of Veterans Af-
fairs. 
‘‘(h) NONCONFLICT.—This section shall not be con-
strued to affect the authority of the Archivist of the 
United States for management of permanent records of 
the Department. 
‘‘(i) DEFINITION OF NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.— 
In this section, the term ‘nonprofit organization means’ 
an organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the In-
ternal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation 
under section 501(a) of that Code.’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:22 Jan 13, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6947.IH
H6947
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
at the beginning of chapter 3 of such title is amended by 
adding at the end the following new item: 
‘‘325. History Office.’’. 
SEC. 4. REPORTS. 
(a) LONG-RANGE PLANNING.—Not later than 180 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committee 
on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 
Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a report 
on proposed activities of the Department of Veterans Af-
fairs History Office established pursuant to section 325(a) 
of title 38, United States Code, as added by section 3, 
leading up to the centennial described in subsection (d)(2) 
of such section 325. 
(b) CONTENTS.—The report submitted pursuant to 
subsection (a) shall include plans for the following: 
(1) Staffing and budget. 
(2) Organization charts pertaining to the cur-
rent staff and location of the History Office within 
the Department. 
(3) Construction and renovation of facilities 
supporting the History Office, including the Na-
tional Department of Veterans Affairs History Cen-
ter. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:22 Jan 13, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6947.IH
H6947
(4) Public activities to mark the centennial de-
scribed in subsection (a). 
(5) Such recommendations for legislative or ad-
ministrative action as the Secretary may have with 
respect to the History Office and the centennial de-
scribed in subsection (a). 
(c) ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORTS.—Not later than 
one year after the date on which the Secretary submits 
the report required by subsection (a) pursuant to such 
subsection and not less frequently than once each year 
thereafter until December 31, 2030, the Chief Historian 
of the Department of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the 
committees described in such subsection a report on the 
progress of the History Office. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:22 Jan 13, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00011
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H6947.IH
H6947