Commission to Study the Creation of a National Museum of Irish American History

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1780 To establish the Commission to study the potential creation of a National Museum of Irish American History, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 14, 2019 Mr. BYRNE (for himself, Mr. NEAL, Mr. TONKO, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, and Mr. KING of New York) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speak- er, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the ju- risdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To establish the Commission to study the potential creation of a National Museum of Irish American History, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Commission to Study 4 the Creation of a National Museum of Irish American His- 5 tory’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Mar 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1780.IH H1780 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 1780 IH SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 3 means the Commission to study the potential cre- 4 ation of a National Museum of Irish American His- 5 tory established by section 3(a). 6 (2) MUSEUM.—The term ‘‘Museum’’ means the 7 National Museum of Irish American History. 8 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.— 10 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established the 11 Commission to study the potential creation of an 12 Irish American Museum. 13 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Commission shall con- 14 sist of 23 members appointed not later than 6 15 months after the date of the enactment of this Act 16 as follows: 17 (A) The President shall appoint 7 voting 18 members. 19 (B) The Speaker of the House of Rep- 20 resentatives, the Minority Leader of the House 21 of Representatives, the Majority Leader of the 22 Senate, and the Minority Leader of the Senate 23 shall each appoint— 24 (i) 3 voting members; and 25 (ii) 1 nonvoting member. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Mar 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1780.IH H1780 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 1780 IH (3) QUALIFICATIONS.—Members of the Com- 1 mission shall be chosen from individuals, or rep- 2 resentatives of institutions or entities, who possess 3 either— 4 (A) a demonstrated commitment to the re- 5 search, study, or promotion of Irish-American 6 life, art, history, political or economic status, or 7 culture, together with— 8 (i) expertise in museum administra- 9 tion; 10 (ii) expertise in fundraising for non- 11 profit or cultural institutions; 12 (iii) experience in the study and 13 teaching of Irish-American culture and his- 14 tory at the post-secondary level; 15 (iv) experience in studying the issue of 16 the Smithsonian Institution’s representa- 17 tion of Irish-American art, life, history, 18 and culture; or 19 (v) extensive experience in public or 20 elected service; or 21 (B) experience in the administration of, or 22 the planning for the establishment of, museums 23 devoted to the study and promotion of the role 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Mar 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1780.IH H1780 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 1780 IH of ethnic, racial, or cultural groups in American 1 history. 2 (4) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Commis- 3 sion— 4 (A) shall not affect the powers of the Com- 5 mission; and 6 (B) shall be filled in the same manner as 7 the original appointment was made. 8 (5) CHAIRPERSON.—The Commission shall, by 9 majority vote of all of the members, select 1 member 10 of the Commission to serve as the Chairperson of 11 the Commission. 12 SEC. 4. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION. 13 (a) REPORTS.— 14 (1) PLAN OF ACTION FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT 15 AND MAINTENANCE OF MUSEUM.—The Commission 16 shall submit a report to the President and the Con- 17 gress containing its recommendations with respect to 18 a plan of action for the establishment and mainte- 19 nance of an Irish-American Museum in Washington, 20 DC. 21 (2) REPORT ON ISSUES.—The Commission shall 22 examine, in consultation with the Secretary of the 23 Smithsonian Institution, and submit a report to the 24 President and the Congress on the following issues: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Mar 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1780.IH H1780 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 1780 IH (A) The availability and cost of collections 1 to be acquired and housed in the Museum. 2 (B) The impact of the Museum on regional 3 Irish-American-related museums. 4 (C) Possible locations for the Museum in 5 Washington, DC and its environs, to be consid- 6 ered in consultation with the National Capital 7 Planning Commission and the Commission of 8 Fine Arts, the Department of the Interior, and 9 Smithsonian Institution. 10 (D) Whether the Museum should be lo- 11 cated within the Smithsonian Institution. 12 (E) The governance and organizational 13 structure from which the Museum should oper- 14 ate. 15 (F) How to engage the Irish-American 16 community in the development and design of 17 the Museum. 18 (G) The cost of constructing, operating, 19 and maintaining the Museum. 20 (b) FUNDRAISING PLAN.— 21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall de- 22 velop a fundraising plan to support the establish- 23 ment, operation, and maintenance of the Museum 24 through contributions from the public. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Mar 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1780.IH H1780 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 1780 IH (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing the fund- 1 raising plan under paragraph (1), the Commission 2 shall consider issues relating to funding the oper- 3 ations and maintenance of the Museum in perpetuity 4 without reliance on appropriations of Federal funds. 5 (c) INDEPENDENT REVIEW.—The Commission shall 6 obtain an independent review of the viability of the plan 7 developed under subsection (b)(1) and such review shall 8 include an analysis as to whether the plan is likely to 9 achieve the level of resources necessary to fund the con- 10 struction of the Museum and the operations and mainte- 11 nance of the Museum in perpetuity without reliance on 12 appropriations of Federal funds. 13 (d) SUBMISSION.—The Commission shall submit the 14 plan developed under subsection (b)(1) and the review con- 15 ducted under paragraph (3) to the Committees on Trans- 16 portation and Infrastructure, House Administration, Nat- 17 ural Resources, and Appropriations of the House of Rep- 18 resentatives and the Committees on Rules and Adminis- 19 tration, Energy and Natural Resources, and Appropria- 20 tions of the Senate. 21 (e) RECOMMENDATIONS FOR LEGISLATION TO 22 CARRY OUT PLAN OF ACTION.—Based on the rec- 23 ommendations contained in the report submitted under 24 subsection (a), the Commission shall submit for consider- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Mar 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1780.IH H1780 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 1780 IH ation recommendations for a legislative plan of action to 1 create and construct the Museum to— 2 (1) the Committee on Transportation and In- 3 frastructure of the House of Representatives; 4 (2) the Committee on House Administration of 5 the House of Representatives; 6 (3) the Committee on Rules and Administration 7 of the Senate; 8 (4) the Committee on Natural Resources of the 9 House of Representatives; 10 (5) the Committee on Energy and Natural Re- 11 sources of the Senate; and 12 (6) the Committees on Appropriations of the 13 House of Representatives and the Senate. 14 (f) DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF REPORTS.—The 15 Commission shall submit final versions the reports and 16 plans required— 17 (1) under subsection (a) and (b) not later than 18 24 months after the date of the Commission’s first 19 meeting; and 20 (2) under subsection (e) not later than 12 21 months after the date that the reports and plans re- 22 ferred to in paragraph (1) are submitted. 23 (g) NATIONAL CONFERENCE.—In carrying out its 24 functions under this section, not later than 18 months 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Mar 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1780.IH H1780 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 1780 IH after the commission members are selected, the Commis- 1 sion may host a national conference on the Museum, com- 2 prised of individuals committed to the advancement of 3 Irish-American life, art, history, and culture. 4 SEC. 5. DIRECTOR AND STAFF OF COMMISSION. 5 (a) DIRECTOR AND STAFF.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may em- 7 ploy and compensate an executive director and any 8 other additional personnel that are necessary to en- 9 able the Commission to perform the duties of the 10 Commission. 11 (2) RATES OF PAY.—Rates of pay for persons 12 employed under paragraph (1) shall be consistent 13 with the rates of pay allowed for employees of a tem- 14 porary organization under section 3161 of title 5, 15 United States Code. 16 (b) NOT FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT.—Any individual 17 employed under this Act shall not be considered a Federal 18 employee for the purpose of any law governing Federal 19 employment. 20 (c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), on 22 request of the Commission the head of a Federal 23 agency may provide technical assistance to the Com- 24 mission. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Mar 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1780.IH H1780 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 1780 IH (2) DETAILEES.—No Federal employees may be 1 detailed to the Commission. 2 SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS. 3 (a) COMPENSATION.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—A member of the Commis- 5 sion— 6 (A) shall not be considered to be a Federal 7 employee for any purpose by reason of service 8 on the Commission; and 9 (B) shall serve without pay. 10 (2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—A member of the 11 Commission shall be allowed a per diem allowance 12 for travel expenses, at rates consistent with those 13 authorized under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 14 5, United States Code. 15 (b) GIFTS, BEQUESTS, DEVISES.—The Commission 16 may solicit, accept, use, and dispose of gifts, bequests, or 17 devises of money, services, or real or personal property for 18 the purpose of aiding or facilitating the work of the Com- 19 mission. 20 (c) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The 21 Commission is not subject to the provisions of the Federal 22 Advisory Committee Act. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Mar 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1780.IH H1780 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 1780 IH SEC. 7. TERMINATION. 1 The Commission shall terminate on the date that is 2 30 days after the date on which the final versions of the 3 reports and plans required under section 4 are submitted. 4 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION FOR APPROPRIATIONS. 5 There are authorized to be appropriated for carrying 6 out the activities of the Commission— 7 (1) $2,100,000 for the first fiscal year begin- 8 ning after the date of the enactment of this Act; and 9 (2) $1,100,000 for the second fiscal year begin- 10 ning after the date of the enactment of this Act. 11 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Mar 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1780.IH H1780 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS