Memorials and Commemorative Works Outside Washington, DC: Background, Federal Role, and Options for Congress
Released: 2019-05-29T00:00:00

Introduction

Virtually all societies attempt to remember and memorialize individuals, groups, and events as part of the preservation of shared rhetoric and history. In the United States, there are hundreds, and possibly thousands, of memorials to various individuals, groups, and events. These commemorative works may "engage the population in maintaining memory on a daily basis" in a way that "no documents or records can."

Decisions about which people, groups, or events to memorialize are made by many different entities, including Congress, federal agencies, state and local governments, and private citizens, among others. For example, for memorials on federal land in the District of Columbia, the Commemorative Works Act (CWA) requires that Congress provide authorization for a new memorial. In other areas, various laws, regulations, and policies may provide for different groups and governments to decide what should be commemorated and how. Once a decision to commemorate is made, decisionmakers face issues related to the location and cost of a memorial.

The choice of a memorial's location is significant. Memorials are arguably most meaningful when they are located in a place with a relationship to the individual, group, or event being commemorated. In 2002, for example, a representative from the National Park Service (NPS) testified before Congress about the importance of place:

No memorial designed for placement in Washington, D.C. could capture the emotion and awe of visitors to the USS Arizona Memorial, lying where it was sunk in Pearl Harbor. The Oklahoma City National Memorial would not have nearly the power it has if it had been constructed anywhere else but at the site of the Murrah Building. The memorial landscapes of Gettysburg or Antietam National Battlefields still haunt visitors who contemplate what occurred there nearly 150 years ago. Indeed, people from all over the world continue to be drawn to these hallowed grounds to reflect on the historical events that took place at the sites or, perhaps, to pay their respects to those who lost their lives there.

This report considers the extent of federal involvement in memorials located outside the District of Columbia (Washington, DC). A distinction is drawn between memorials located within and outside of Washington, DC, because of the exclusive role the CWA gives Congress to authorize new memorials on federal land in the District of Columbia, and the role of federal agencies—primarily NPS and the General Services Administration (GSA)—in maintaining District-based memorials once dedicated. Other CRS reports provide further discussion of memorials within the District of Columbia.

Federal Role in Establishing and Maintaining Memorials Outside of Washington, DC

No systematic law or set of regulations governs the establishment of memorials outside Washington, DC. While many such works are established without federal involvement, Congress also has established or recognized numerous memorials nationwide, and some have been designated by the executive branch. For purposes of this report, federal involvement in memorials outside the District of Columbia may be classified as "high," "medium," "low," or "none." ( Figure 1 ).

1. Memorials with "high" federal involvement typically are located on federal land; receive federal funds for design, construction, and maintenance; and are managed by federal agencies. These include memorials established by Congress as units of the National Park System or under the administration of another agency. 2. Memorials with "medium" federal involvement typically either are located on federal land but do not receive federal funding, or are located on nonfederal land but receive assistance from a federal agency. Examples include a number of memorials designated as NPS affiliated areas, which remain under nonfederal management but receive assistance from NPS. 3. Memorials with "low" federal involvement are those for which Congress provides statutory recognition, but which are not located on federal land or affiliated with a federal agency, and do not receive federal funds. 4. Memorials with no federal involvement are those that receive no federal recognition, are located on nonfederal land, and for which nonfederal resources were used to design and build the memorial.

High Federal Involvement: Federal Agency Management

In some instances, Congress authorizes a memorial to be created on federal land and administered by a federal agency. Such memorials have been established primarily as units of the National Park System, but also may be located within the jurisdiction of other agencies. Some of these memorials include multiple facilities such as a visitor center or kiosk in addition to the primary commemorative work. Congress also regularly enacts legislation to place plaques, markers, and similar works at federal sites, or to name federal sites in memory of individuals, groups, or events.

In addition to congressional designations, executive-branch officials also have designated some commemorative works on federal land. Some agencies' regulations and policies allow for agency officials to authorize the placement of plaques, markers, and similar works on agency property, and to name structures or features in memory of a person, group, or event. For example, U.S. Army regulations allow for Army officials to approve memorials to certain distinguished individuals, including deceased Army uniformed and civilian personnel with records of outstanding and honorable service, under specified criteria.

Memorials Within the National Park System

To establish a national memorial as a unit of the National Park System, an act of Congress is required. For example, in the 107 th Congress, P.L. 107-226 established the Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania to "honor the passengers and crew of United Airlines Flight 93 of September 11, 2001." For a discussion of the process for creating a new NPS unit and associated issues, see CRS Report RS20158, National Park System: Establishing New Units .

Table 1 lists national memorials outside the District of Columbia that are National Park System units. The table entries are organized alphabetically by state and the descriptions are adapted from the National Parks Index . Although two of the memorials do not include the word "national" in their names, NPS categorizes them all as national memorials.

Although legislation is required to establish a memorial as an NPS unit, agency management policies allow for the NPS director to approve commemorative names and the placement of commemorative works within park units if specified criteria are met, including that there be a "compelling justification" for associating the memorialized person or event with the park in question, and a specified time lapse between the commemoration and the person's death or the event's occurrence.

Other Federal Agency Memorials

Both Congress and executive-branch officials also have established memorials on property administered by agencies other than NPS, such as the Department of Defense and others. These memorials typically are managed by the administering agency as part of its overall management of a larger site. For example, in 2015, Congress designated the Medicine Creek Treaty National Memorial, which is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), as part of the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge in the state of Washington. In 2000, Congress directed the Secretary of the Interior to designate the Battle of Midway National Memorial in the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, also administered by FWS.

Medium Federal Involvement: Federal Lands or Federal Funds

In some instances, Congress has established a memorial on federal land but required it to be financed by a nonfederal entity, or alternatively, has provided federal financial and/or technical assistance to a nonfederal entity for management of a memorial that is not on federal land. NPS has played a large role in supporting these "medium-involvement" commemorative works, but other agencies have participated as well, especially branches of the Department of Defense.

Memorials Designated as NPS Affiliated Areas

Congress has designated some sites, including several national memorials, as affiliated areas of the National Park Service. These sites are not units of the National Park System and typically remain in nonfederal ownership and management, but receive technical and/or financial assistance from NPS. For example, P.L. 108-199 , the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2004, transferred jurisdiction over the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial from the NPS to the Oklahoma City National Memorial Foundation and provided that the NPS "is authorized to enter into 1 or more cooperative agreements with the Foundation for the National Park Service to provide interpretive services related to the Memorial." The Secretary of the Interior also may designate sites as NPS affiliated areas, but may not provide financial assistance to these sites without an act of Congress.

Table 3 lists national memorials that are NPS affiliated areas, including the memorial's name, its location, and a description from the NPS.

Other Memorials with Partial Federal Involvement

Outside of the NPS affiliated area designation, Congress has sometimes provided for a federal agency to fund or otherwise assist a nonfederally administered memorial. For example, P.L. 107-117 appropriated $4.2 million to the Department of Defense to be used by the Secretary of the Navy as a grant to the U.S.S. Alabama Battleship Foundation, "to be available only for the preservation of the former USS Alabama (BB–60) as a museum and memorial." The same law also provided $4.3 million to the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Foundation to preserve the former USS Intrepid as a museum and memorial.

Congress has also sometimes provided a "medium" level of federal support to a memorial by authorizing its establishment on federal land, but without federal funding. For example, P.L. 115-170 authorized a private organization, Pacific Historic Parks, to establish a commemorative display within a national park unit—the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument in Hawaii—to honor soldiers who fought in the Pacific theater. The law specified that federal funds could not be used to design, procure, prepare, install, or maintain the commemorative display, although the NPS director is authorized to accept contributions of nonfederal funds and resources for such purposes. Similarly, P.L. 113-66 (§2842) authorized the Secretary of the Navy to allow a memorial to military divers to be established at a suitable location under the Secretary's jurisdiction; however, the law prohibited the use of federal funds to design, procure, prepare, install, or maintain the memorial. The law required the Secretary to approve the memorial's final design and to ensure that an "assured" source of nonfederal funding was established for the memorial's construction and ongoing maintenance. Another example is the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial, which is located on federal land (the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, MD) but does not receive federal funds for maintenance. It is maintained by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, a nonprofit organization.

Other variations of federal-nonfederal partnerships have also been established. For example, P.L. 109-163 (§1017) authorized a nonfederal entity, the USS Oklahoma Memorial Foundation, to construct a memorial to the USS Oklahoma on federal land. Although the foundation was required to fund and execute construction of the memorial, the Secretary of the Interior was given ongoing responsibility for its administration. The Silent Heroes of the Cold War National Memorial was dedicated in 2015 by the U.S. Forest Service (FS) at a site in Nevada's Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, administered by FS, but was constructed with private funding.

Low Federal Involvement: Statutory Designation of Nonfederal National Memorials

On numerous occasions, Congress has designated an existing nonfederal memorial as a "national memorial" without any further federal affiliation. These memorials generally do not receive federal funds or support for maintenance or programming. Legislation designating these national memorials often includes explicit language stating that the memorial is not an NPS unit and that federal funds shall not be provided for the memorial. For example, the statute designating the National Distinguished Flying Cross Memorial in Riverside, CA, stated the following:

(c) Effect of Designation.—The national memorial designated by this section is not a unit of the National Park System, and the designation of the national memorial shall not be construed to require or permit Federal funds to be expended for any purpose related to the national memorial.

Table 5 lists statutorily designated national memorials outside of Washington, DC, that are not National Park System units, NPS affiliated areas, or associated with other federal agencies. Some of these memorials do not have the word "national" in their name, but are listed in the U.S. Code as national memorials.

No Federal Involvement

In some cases, memorials located outside of the District of Columbia have been called "national" memorials without being so designated by Congress. For example, the George Washington Masonic National Memorial in Alexandria, VA, and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, AL, are privately established and maintained. In cases where nonfederal sponsoring entities have titled works as national memorials without congressional recognition, these works generally do not receive federal funds or support for maintenance or programming. A comprehensive list of such memorials is not currently available.

Conclusions and Selected Options

Federal involvement with memorials outside of Washington, DC, currently takes a wide variety of forms. Congress has established national memorials that are entirely federally funded and managed, often as units of the National Park System. Congress has also provided for more limited types of federal involvement, such as funding assistance to a nonfederally located memorial or hosting of a nonfederally funded memorial on federal land. Also, Congress has provided statutory recognition to numerous nonfederal memorials without any additional federal involvement. Beyond these federally endorsed memorials, a wide variety of other entities have established and maintained memorials throughout the country with no federal connection, including some titled as "national memorials."

For certain types of commemorations, Congress has taken a more systematized approach. For example, the CWA governs the establishment of memorials on federal lands in the District of Columbia, with provisions for the creation, design, construction, and maintenance of such works. If Congress wished to consider a more systematized approach to the establishment and/or funding of national memorials outside the District of Columbia, there are a number of potential options. For example, Congress could establish a statutory definition of a "national memorial" to guide decisionmaking as new proposals for commemoration arise. Congress might consider applying criteria similar to those of the CWA, or to those used by individual agencies for non-CWA memorials, that relate to the types of people and events that may be commemorated, and the amount of time that must pass between an event or individual's death and the commemoration.

Congress could potentially limit the number of memorial designations that would be appropriate in a given time period, similar to current limits on the number of commemorative coins the U.S. Mint can issue in a year. For commemorative coins, committee rules have also required a minimum number of cosponsors before a bill might be considered. Creating systematic limitations of this nature for national memorials outside of Washington, DC, could potentially make these designations more valuable (if fewer opportunities for recognition were available) and might allow time to elapse for informed historical judgment before memorials are designated. However, such requirements might also serve to limit the number of contemporary national memorial opportunities and could be seen as reducing Congress's flexibility to make case-by-case decisions about memorials.

Conversely, Congress might wish to increase the number of memorials that are nationally recognized outside of Washington, DC, such as through the establishment of a program to identify nonfederal memorials deserving of a national designation. Such a program could potentially include provisions similar to those for the U.S. Civil Rights Network established by P.L. 115-104 , which require the Secretary of the Interior to review studies and take other steps to identify federal and nonfederal sites related to the African American civil rights movement for potential inclusion in the network. Congress also could potentially consider a program to provide grants to nonfederal entities for constructing and/or maintaining national memorials outside of Washington, DC. Such a program could be seen as beneficial in promoting opportunities for public learning and memory, and encouraging suitable maintenance and upkeep of valued commemorative works. Alternatively, it could be opposed (for example, some might claim it would divert federal funds from more highly prioritized uses).

Congress might determine that current practices surrounding the creation of national memorials outside the District of Columbia are effective or that the potential cost of changes outweigh the potential benefits. Congress could thus continue to evaluate requests to designate national memorials outside Washington, DC, on a case-by-case basis.