THIS SEARCH     THIS DOCUMENT     GO TO
Next Hit        Forward           New Bills Search
Prev Hit        Back              HomePage
Hit List        Best Sections     Help
                Contents Display

Printer Friendly Display - 9,012 bytes.[Help]

Billno should always have and extension i.e. h1.ih

America's National World War II Museum Act of 2003 (Introduced in House)

HR 2109 IH

108th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 2109

To authorize reference to the National D-Day Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana, as `America's National World War II Museum'.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

May 14, 2003

Mr. VITTER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services

A BILL

To authorize reference to the National D-Day Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana, as `America's National World War II Museum'.

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 `America's National World War II Museum Act of 2003'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

The Congress finds the following:

(1) The National D-Day Museum Foundation, Inc., a nonprofit corporation under section 503(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, was established `to celebrate the American Spirit'.

(2) The National D-Day Museum Foundation, Inc., is responsible for the finances and management of the National D-Day Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana.

(3) The National D-Day Museum is the only museum in the Nation that exists for the exclusive purpose of interpreting the American experience in the World War II years (1939-1945), both on the battle front and the home front, including all branches of the Armed Forces (including the United States merchant marine).

(4) The National D-Day Museum was founded by the preeminent American historian, Stephen E. Ambrose, as a result of a conversation with President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1963. During that conversation, the former Supreme Allied Commander credited Andrew Jackson Higgins, chief executive officer of Higgins Industries in New Orleans, as the `man who won the war for us' because the 12,000 landing craft designed by Higgins made possible all the amphibious invasions of World War II and carried American soldiers into every theater of the war.

(5) Since the grand opening of the National D-Day Museum on June 6, 2000, the museum has attracted nearly 1,000,000 visitors from around the world, of which 85 percent are Americans from across the Nation.

(6) There is an urgent need to preserve the stories, artifacts, and heroic achievements of the `greatest generation' of World War II, who are dying at a rate of more than 1,200 each day.

(7) The Nation has a need to preserve forever the knowledge and history of America's most decisive achievement in the 20th century and to portray that history to citizens, visitors, and school children for centuries to come.

(8) The Congress recognized this need first in 1992 with an appropriation to fund the design and construction of the National D-Day Museum to commemorate the epic 1944 Normandy invasion and later in 1998, 2000, 2001, and 2002, with appropriations to help expand the museum's exhibits to the D-Days of the Pacific and other campaigns of World War II.

(9) The State of Louisiana and thousands of donors and foundations across the Nation have contributed millions of dollars to help build this national institution.

(10) The board of trustees of the National D-Day Museum is national in scope and diverse in its makeup.

(11) The World War II Memorial now under construction on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., should always be the Nation's memorial where people go to remember America's sacrifices in World War II.

(12) The National D-Day Museum should always be America's museum of the American experience in the World War II years (1939-1945) where people go to learn about this critical period and where the history of the Nation's monumental struggle will be preserved so that future generations may understand the role the United States played in the preservation and advancement of democracy and freedom in the middle of the 20th century.

(13) The National D-Day Museum seeks to educate a diverse group of audiences through its collection of artifacts, photographs, letters, documents, and firsthand personal accounts of the participants in the war on the home front during one of history's darkest hours.

(14) The National D-Day Museum is devoted to the combat experience of America's citizen soldiers in all theaters of the war and to the heroic efforts of the men and women on the home front who worked tirelessly to support the troops and the war effort.

(15) The National D-Day Museum continues to add to and maintain one of the Nation's largest personal history collections of the men and women who participated in World War II and on the home front.

(16) No other museum seeks to describe the volunteer spirit that arose throughout the United States during the war years of World War II--the spirit that united the country.

(17) The National D-Day Museum is currently engaged in a 250,000-square-foot expansion to include as the core exhibitions of the museum the Center for the Study of the American Spirit, an advanced format theater, and a new United States pavilion.

(18) The planned `We're All in This Together' Exhibit will describe the role played by every State, commonwealth, and territory in World War II, and the computer-driven database and software of the National D-Day Museum's educational program will be made available to the teachers and school children of every State, commonwealth, and territory.

(19) The National D-Day Museum is an official Smithsonian affiliate institution with formal agreement to borrow Smithsonian artifacts for future exhibitions.

(20) `Le Memorial de Caen' in Normandy, France, has officially recognized the National D-Day Museum as its official partner in a patriotic alliance signed by both museums on October 16, 2002.

(21) The official Battle of the Bulge Museums in Luxembourg and the American Battlefield Monuments Commission in Europe are already collaborating with the National D-Day Museum on World War II exhibitions.

(22) The Congress authorized $4,200,000 in fiscal year 2002 and $3,000,000 in fiscal year 2003 Department of Defense Appropriations Acts for planning the expansion of the National D-Day Museum to portray the untold campaigns of World War II and to include new exhibits on the war on land, sea, and air and special exhibits on the China-Burma-India theater, the Japanese invasion of Alaska's Aleutian Islands, the role of women in World War II, the role of African Americans in World War II, and other relevant subjects.

(23) It is fitting and proper to refer to the National D-Day Museum Foundation, Inc., as `America's National World War II Museum'.

SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

The purposes of this Act are--

(1) to authorize reference to the National D-Day Museum, including its future and expanded exhibits, collections, and educational programs, as `America's National World War II Museum';

(2) to ensure the continuing preservation, maintenance, and interpretation of the artifacts, documents, images, and history collected by the museum;

(3) to enhance the knowledge of the American people of the American experience during the World War II years, both in combat and on the home front;

(4) to provide and support a facility for the public display of the artifacts, photographs, letters, documents, and personal histories of the World War II years (1939-1945);

(5) to provide educational outreach programs for teachers and students throughout the Nation;

(6) to encourage for educational purposes the further expansion of the European and Pacific exhibits in the museum to include the Center for the Study of the American Spirit; and

(7) to ensure that all future generations understand the magnitude of the American contribution to the Allied victory in World War II, the sacrifices made to preserve freedom and democracy, and the benefits of peace for all future generations in the 21st century and beyond.

SEC. 4. REFERENCE TO AMERICA'S NATIONAL WORLD WAR II MUSEUM.

The National D-Day Museum located in New Orleans, Louisiana, and managed by the National D-Day Museum Foundation, Inc., is hereby authorized to be referred to as `America's National World War II Museum'.

THIS SEARCH     THIS DOCUMENT     GO TO
Next Hit        Forward           New Bills Search
Prev Hit        Back              HomePage
Hit List        Best Sections     Help
                Contents Display