Title: To authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to sell Pershing Hall.
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
This bill amends the Veterans' Benefits Programs Improvement Act of 1991 to direct the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to sell Pershing Hall, in Paris, France, for fair market value, on the condition that the purchaser agrees to preserve its interior and exterior architectural details.
The VA shall transfer to the American Battle Monuments Commission any personal property in the VA's possession, including memorabilia regarding General Pershing and the American Expeditionary Forces in France during World War I, regardless of the location of the property at the time of the transfer.
The funds received from such sale shall be transferred to the commission and made available for maintaining cemeteries, monuments, and memorials under the commission's jurisdiction.
The Pershing Hall Revolving Fund shall be abolished one year after such sale and its funds shall be transferred to the commission.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2773 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2773

 To authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to sell Pershing Hall.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 6, 2017

Mr. Coffman (for himself, Mr. Perlmutter, Ms. Kuster of New Hampshire, 
 and Mr. Duncan of Tennessee) introduced the following bill; which was 
             referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to sell Pershing Hall.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. AUTHORIZATION OF SALE OF PERSHING HALL.

    Section 403 of the Veterans' Benefits Programs Improvement Act of 
1991 (Public Law 102-86; 38 U.S.C. 2400 note) is amended by adding at 
the end the following new subsection:
    ``(f) Authorization of Sale.--(1) The Secretary shall sell for fair 
market value Pershing Hall and transfer and convey to the purchaser all 
right, title, and interest of the United States in or to such property. 
The Secretary shall determine fair market value based on an independent 
assessment conducted by a nongovernmental entity. The Secretary may 
only accept money as consideration for such sale. As a condition of 
such sale, the Secretary shall require that the purchaser agree to 
preserve the architectural details of the exterior and interior of 
Pershing Hall.
    ``(2) On or before the date on which the Secretary sells Pershing 
Hall pursuant to paragraph (1), the Secretary shall transfer to the 
American Battle Monuments Commission any personal property (including 
memorabilia regarding General Pershing and the American Expeditionary 
Forces in France during World War I) in the possession of the 
Department of Veterans Affairs as of the date of the enactment of this 
subsection, regardless of the location of the property at the time of 
the transfer, that was located in Pershing Hall (or otherwise 
associated with Pershing Hall) on the date on which the United States 
acquired Pershing Hall pursuant to the Act of June 28, 1935 (Chapter 
323; 49 Stat. 426).
    ``(3) The funds received by the Secretary pursuant to the sale of 
Pershing Hall under paragraph (1) shall be transferred to the American 
Battle Monuments Commission and be made available, subject to 
appropriation and without fiscal year limitation, for maintaining 
cemeteries, monuments, and memorials under the jurisdiction of the 
Commission.
    ``(4)(A) Effective on the day after the date of the sale of 
Pershing Hall authorized under paragraph (1), the authority of the 
Secretary to carry out subsections (a), (b), (c), and (e) shall 
terminate except for purposes of carrying out paragraph (2) of this 
subsection.
    ``(B) Effective on the date that is one year after the date of the 
sale of Pershing Hall authorized under paragraph (1), the Pershing Hall 
Revolving Fund shall be abolished and the corpus of the fund, including 
accrued interest, shall be transferred to the American Battle Monuments 
Commission and be made available, subject to appropriation and without 
fiscal year limitation, for maintaining cemeteries, monuments, and 
memorials under the jurisdiction of the Commission.
    ``(5) Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of 
this subsection, and each 180-day period thereafter until the date on 
which the Secretary sells Pershing Hall pursuant to paragraph (1), the 
Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the 
House of Representatives and the Senate a report on the implementation 
of this subsection. Not later than 30 days after the date of such sale, 
the Secretary shall submit to such committees a final report on the 
implementation of this subsection.''.
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