Vietnam Veterans Memorial Education Center Act

(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the Senate on July 11, 2003. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Title I: Vietnam Veterans Memorial Education Center - Authorizes the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc., to construct at or near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial site an education center for informing and educating the public about the Memorial. Considers the Center a commemorative work, but waives location and final approval requirements.

Requires the center size to be limited to the minimum necessary to: (1) provide for appropriate educational and interpretive functions; (2) prevent interference with or encroachment on the Memorial; and (3) protect open space and visual sightlines on the Mall.

Requires the center to be operated and maintained by the Secretary of the Interior. Prohibits the use of Federal funds for center planning, design, or construction.

Title II: Commemorative Works Act Amendments - Commemorative Works Clarification and Revision Act of 2003 - Prohibits the location of any commemorative work (work) within the Reserve (defined as the great cross-axis area of the Mall in the District of Columbia, which generally extends from the U.S. Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial, and from the White House to the Jefferson Memorial) after enactment of this Act.

Revises conditions which must be met in order to extend the legislative authority for a work in the District beyond its normal seven-year limit to include determinations of the Secretary and the Administrator of General Services that final design approvals have been obtained from the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) and the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA), and that 75 percent of the amount estimated to be required to complete the memorial has been raised, in which case the seven-year authority may be extended for not to exceed three years.

Redesignates the National Capital Memorial Commission as the National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission.

Requires money provided after enactment of this Act by a sponsor of a work to be credited to a separate account with the National Park Foundation.

Prohibits a work primarily designed as a museum from being located on lands under the jurisdiction of the Secretary in Area I or in East Potomac Park. Authorizes the NCPC and the CFA to develop criteria specific to each site to ensure that the design of a work meets specified comparability requirements. Prohibits donor contributions to works from being acknowledged in any manner as part of the work or site.

Requires the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees concerning the relocation of stable, maintenance, and concession facilities that are within the Reserve, as well as on limitations on the sale or distribution of permitted merchandise.

[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1076 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1076

To authorize construction of an education center at or near the Vietnam 
                           Veterans Memorial.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 19, 2003

   Mr. Hagel (for himself, Mr. McCain, and Mr. Kerry) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                      Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize construction of an education center at or near the Vietnam 
                           Veterans Memorial.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Vietnam Veterans Memorial Education 
Center Act''.

SEC. 2. VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL EDUCATION CENTER.

    Public Law 96-297 (16 U.S.C. 431 note) is amended by adding at the 
end the following:

``SEC. 6. EDUCATION CENTER.

    ``(a) Authorization.--(1) The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc., 
is authorized to construct an education center at or near the Vietnam 
Veterans Memorial site, subject to the provisions of this section, in 
order to better inform and educate the public about the Vietnam 
Veterans Memorial.
    ``(2) The education center may be located above ground or 
underground, as determined through the approval process set forth under 
chapter 89 of title 40, United States Code, and this section.
    ``(3) As used in this section, the term `education center' or 
`center' means a building or other structure approved in accordance 
with chapter 89 of title 40, United States Code, and this section.
    ``(b) Applicable Law.--(1) Chapter 89 of title 40, United States 
Code, shall apply to the education center, and the center shall be 
considered a commemorative work for the purposes of that Act, except 
that--
            ``(A) final approval of the education center shall not be 
        withheld; and
            ``(B) the provisions of section 8908(b)(1) of title 40, 
        United States Code, requiring approval by law for the location 
        of a commemorative work within Area I, shall not apply.
    ``(2) The size of the education center shall be limited to the 
minimum necessary--
            ``(A) to provide for appropriate educational and 
        interpretive functions; and
            ``(B) to prevent interference or encroachment on the 
        Vietnam Veterans Memorial and to protect open space and visual 
        sightlines on the Mall.
    ``(3) The education center shall be constructed and landscaped in a 
manner harmonious with the site of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, 
consistent with the special nature and sanctity of the Mall.
    ``(c) Operation and Maintenance.--(1) The education center shall be 
operated and maintained by the Secretary of the Interior.
    ``(2) This subsection does not waive section 8906(b) of title 40, 
United States Code (requiring the donation of funds to offset the costs 
of perpetual maintenance and preservation of the commemorative work).
    ``(d) Funding.--All funds required for the planning, design, and 
construction of the education center shall be provided by the Vietnam 
Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc. No Federal funds shall be used for the 
planning, design, or construction of the center.''.
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