Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress Senate Bill SB728 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	II
2	2	119THCONGRESS
3	3	1
4	4	STSESSION S. 728
5	5	To establish the African Burial Ground International Memorial Museum and
6	6	Educational Center in New York, New York, and for other purposes.
7	7	IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
8	8	FEBRUARY25, 2025
9	9	Mrs. G
10	10	ILLIBRANDintroduced the following bill; which was read twice and
11	11	referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
12	12	A BILL
13	13	To establish the African Burial Ground International Memo-
14	14	rial Museum and Educational Center in New York, New
15	15	York, and for other purposes.
16	16	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
17	17	tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
18	18	SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
19	19	This Act may be cited as the ‘‘African Burial Ground 4
20	20	International Memorial Museum and Educational Center 5
21	21	Act’’. 6
22	22	SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 7
23	23	Congress finds that— 8
24	24	(1) the African Burial Ground National His-9
25	25	toric Landmark in New York, New York, holds the 10
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29	29	remains of up to 20,000 enslaved Africans and 1
30	30	early-generation African Americans from the colonial 2
31	31	era; 3
32	32	(2) the Africans and African Americans that 4
33	33	suffered under slavery show us the strength of the 5
34	34	human character and provide us with a model of 6
35	35	courage, commitment, and perseverance; 7
36	36	(3) as President George W. Bush stated on 8
37	37	July 8, 2003, during his remarks at Goree Island, 9
38	38	Senegal: ‘‘For 250 years the captives endured an as-10
39	39	sault on their culture and their dignity. The spirit 11
40	40	of Africans in America did not break. . . . All the 12
41	41	generations of oppression under the laws of man 13
42	42	could not crush the hope of freedom and defeat the 14
43	43	purposes of God.’’; 15
44	44	(4) on February 27, 2006, President George W. 16
45	45	Bush established the National Monument, which was 17
46	46	comprised of the approximately 15,000-square foot 18
47	47	parcel of the National Historic Landmark that was 19
48	48	bounded by Duane and Elk Streets in Lower Man-20
49	49	hattan; 21
50	50	(5) an international memorial museum facility 22
51	51	dedicated to those individuals who suffered the grave 23
52	52	injustice of slavery in the United States, while at the 24
53	53	same time helping to build the country, would— 25
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57	57	(A) reflect the significance of the African 1
58	58	Burial Ground; and 2
59	59	(B) help the people of the United States 3
60	60	understand the past and honor the history of all 4
61	61	people in the United States; 5
62	62	(6) in 1998, the Secretary of the Smithsonian 6
63	63	Institution— 7
64	64	(A) stated that the African Burial Ground 8
65	65	affords the perfect opportunity to gain insight 9
66	66	into— 10
67	67	(i) the institution of slavery, as prac-11
68	68	ticed in urban, rural, northern, and south-12
69	69	ern parts of the United States; and 13
70	70	(ii) the international slave trade; and 14
71	71	(B) proposed that a partnership be formed 15
72	72	among the Smithsonian, the National Park 16
73	73	Service, and the General Services Administra-17
74	74	tion to further develop the African Burial 18
75	75	Ground; 19
76	76	(7) the National Museum of African American 20
77	77	History and Culture Act (20 U.S.C. 80r et seq.), 21
78	78	which authorized construction of a museum in 22
79	79	Washington, DC, identified the period of slavery as 23
80	80	one of the periods of the African-American diaspora 24
81	81	that would be encompassed by the museum; 25
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85	85	(8) the African Burial Ground— 1
86	86	(A) is unlike any other anthropological and 2
87	87	symbolic site in the United States or the world; 3
88	88	(B) includes DNA samples from the re-4
89	89	markably well-preserved human remains that 5
90	90	will enable researchers to trace the home 6
91	91	‘‘roots’’ in Africa of those individuals buried at 7
92	92	the African Burial Ground; and 8
93	93	(C) provides a fitting location for a na-9
94	94	tional memorial facility, relating to the National 10
95	95	Museum of African American History and Cul-11
96	96	ture that would— 12
97	97	(i) pay special tribute to— 13
98	98	(I) the thousands of enslaved in-14
99	99	dividuals who are buried at the Afri-15
100	100	can Burial Ground; and 16
101	101	(II) all of the individuals who 17
102	102	were enslaved during the history of 18
103	103	the United States; 19
104	104	(ii) examine the African cultural tra-20
105	105	ditions brought to the United States by the 21
106	106	enslaved; and 22
107	107	(iii) explore in-depth the institution of 23
108	108	slavery; 24
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112	112	(9) a memorial museum at the site of the Afri-1
113	113	can Burial Ground— 2
114	114	(A) was first recommended by a Federal 3
115	115	steering committee in 1992; and 4
116	116	(B) in conjunction with the World Trade 5
117	117	Center memorial and other nearby sites, would 6
118	118	attract millions of visitors from the United 7
119	119	States and abroad, making a substantial con-8
120	120	tribution to the development and revitalization 9
121	121	of Lower Manhattan in response to the attacks 10
122	122	on the World Trade Center of September 11, 11
123	123	2001; 12
124	124	(10) Public Law 99–511 (100 Stat. 2080) en-13
125	125	couraged support for the establishment of a com-14
126	126	memorative structure within the National Park Sys-15
127	127	tem or on other Federal land that is dedicated to the 16
128	128	promotion of understanding, knowledge, opportunity, 17
129	129	and equality for all people; 18
130	130	(11) similar to the National Museum of the Na-19
131	131	tive American that was established by section 3(a) of 20
132	132	the National Museum of the American Indian Act 21
133	133	(20 U.S.C. 80q–1(a)), a memorial museum at the 22
134	134	site of the African Burial Ground would benefit from 23
135	135	a partnership among— 24
136	136	(A) the Federal Government; 25
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140	140	(B) the State of New York; 1
141	141	(C) the city of New York; and 2
142	142	(D) members of the private sector; 3
143	143	(12) the African Burial Ground— 4
144	144	(A) has been determined to be nationally 5
145	145	significant as— 6
146	146	(i) a National Historic Landmark; 7
147	147	and 8
148	148	(ii) a National Monument; and 9
149	149	(B) provides an important opportunity for 10
150	150	interpretation, understanding, partnership, and 11
151	151	pride; and 12
152	152	(13) the National Park Service— 13
153	153	(A) has played an important role in the de-14
154	154	velopment of the African Burial Ground (in-15
155	155	cluding the designation of the African Burial 16
156	156	Ground as a National Monument); 17
157	157	(B) successfully operates other national fa-18
158	158	cilities in the city of New York that symbolize 19
159	159	freedom and the quest for freedom in America, 20
160	160	including— 21
161	161	(i) the Statue of Liberty National 22
162	162	Monument; and 23
163	163	(ii) the Ellis Island National Monu-24
164	164	ment; 25
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168	168	(C) provided key support to the Presi-1
169	169	dential Study Commission for the National Mu-2
170	170	seum of African American History and Culture; 3
171	171	and 4
172	172	(D) is well-suited to assume a leadership 5
173	173	role with respect to the creation of the Museum. 6
174	174	SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 7
175	175	In this Act: 8
176	176	(1) A
177	177	DMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis-9
178	178	trator’’ means the Administrator of the General 10
179	179	Services Administration. 11
180	180	(2) A
181	181	DVISORY COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Advisory 12
182	182	Council’’ means the African Burial Ground Advisory 13
183	183	Council established by section 7(a). 14
184	184	(3) C
185	185	ITY.—The term ‘‘City’’ means the city of 15
186	186	New York, New York. 16
187	187	(4) E
188	188	XPANSION PROPERTY .—The term ‘‘expan-17
189	189	sion property’’ means the property that is acquired 18
190	190	by the Secretary under section 5(a). 19
191	191	(5) M
192	192	USEUM.—The term ‘‘Museum’’ means the 20
193	193	African Burial Ground International Memorial Mu-21
194	194	seum and Educational Center established by section 22
195	195	4(a). 23
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199	199	(6) NATIONAL LANDMARK .—The term ‘‘Na-1
200	200	tional Landmark’’ means the African Burial Ground 2
201	201	National Historic Landmark in the City. 3
202	202	(7) N
203	203	ATIONAL MONUMENT .—The term ‘‘Na-4
204	204	tional Monument’’ means the African Burial Ground 5
205	205	National Monument in the City. 6
206	206	(8) S
207	207	ECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 7
208	208	the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di-8
209	209	rector of the National Park Service. 9
210	210	(9) S
211	211	TATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 10
212	212	of New York. 11
213	213	SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF MUSEUM. 12
214	214	(a) E
215	215	STABLISHMENT.—There is established at the 13
216	216	National Monument a memorial museum and educational 14
217	217	center, to be known as the ‘‘African Burial Ground Inter-15
218	218	national Memorial Museum and Educational Center’’. 16
219	219	(b) P
220	220	URPOSES.—The purposes of the Museum are— 17
221	221	(1) to serve as a permanent living memorial— 18
222	222	(A) to the enslaved who are buried at the 19
223	223	African Burial Ground; and 20
224	224	(B) to other Africans and African Ameri-21
225	225	cans who were enslaved; 22
226	226	(2) to examine the African cultural traditions 23
227	227	brought to the United States by the enslaved; 24
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231	231	(3) to explore in-depth the institution of slavery 1
232	232	in the United States and other parts of the world; 2
233	233	(4) to provide a space for— 3
234	234	(A) permanent and temporary exhibits; 4
235	235	and 5
236	236	(B) the collection and study of artifacts 6
237	237	and documents; and 7
238	238	(5) to encourage collaboration between the Mu-8
239	239	seum and the National Museum of African American 9
240	240	History and Culture, other museums, historically 10
241	241	Black colleges and universities, historical societies, 11
242	242	educational institutions, and other appropriate enti-12
243	243	ties and organizations, such as the African Burial 13
244	244	Ground Memorial Foundation, including collabora-14
245	245	tion with respect to— 15
246	246	(A) the development of cooperative pro-16
247	247	grams and exhibitions, including through dig-17
248	248	ital, electronic, and interactive technologies; 18
249	249	(B) the identification, management, and 19
250	250	care of Museum collections; and 20
251	251	(C) the training of Museum and National 21
252	252	Park Service professionals and other persons 22
253	253	concerned with heritage preservation. 23
254	254	(c) A
255	255	SSOCIATIONWITHNATIONALMUSEUM.—The 24
256	256	Museum shall become associated with the National Mu-25
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260	260	seum of African American History and Culture, in a man-1
261	261	ner to be determined by the Secretary, in consultation with 2
262	262	the Advisory Council and the Board of Regents of the 3
263	263	Smithsonian Institution. 4
264	264	SEC. 5. SITE ACQUISITION AND DEVELOPMENT. 5
265	265	(a) I
266	266	NGENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 6
267	267	with the Administrator, the Advisory Council, and other 7
268	268	appropriate entities or organizations, such as the African 8
269	269	Burial Ground Memorial Foundation, shall— 9
270	270	(1) acquire for the Museum property that is lo-10
271	271	cated— 11
272	272	(A) at 22 Reade Street, which is adjacent 12
273	273	to the National Monument; or 13
274	274	(B) in any other area of the National 14
275	275	Landmark other than the location described in 15
276	276	subparagraph (A); and 16
277	277	(2) plan, design, and construct the Museum on 17
278	278	the property acquired under paragraph (1). 18
279	279	(b) F
280	280	EDERALSHARE.—The Secretary shall pay
281	281	2
282	282	⁄3 19
283	283	of the total costs of— 20
284	284	(1) acquiring property for the Museum; and 21
285	285	(2) planning, designing, constructing, recon-22
286	286	structing, and renovating, as applicable, the Mu-23
287	287	seum. 24
288	288	(c) C
289	289	ONTRACTINGAUTHORITY.— 25
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293	293	(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary and the Ad-1
294	294	ministrator may enter into any agreements with 2
295	295	each other, the City, the State, and other parties, 3
296	296	such as the African Burial Ground Memorial Foun-4
297	297	dation, that are necessary for the acquisition, by do-5
298	298	nation or other means, of property for— 6
299	299	(A) establishing the Museum; and 7
300	300	(B) planning, designing, constructing, re-8
301	301	constructing, and renovating, as applicable, the 9
302	302	Museum. 10
303	303	(2) S
304	304	ITE ACQUISITION.—The Secretary may ac-11
305	305	quire property under subsection (a)(1) by purchase, 12
306	306	long-term lease, or any other appropriate means of 13
307	307	acquisition, as determined by the Secretary. 14
308	308	(d) E
309	309	XPANSION OFNATIONALMONUMENT.—The ex-15
310	310	pansion property is incorporated in, and shall be managed 16
311	311	as part of, the National Monument. 17
312	312	SEC. 6. OPERATION OF THE MUSEUM. 18
313	313	(a) I
314	314	NGENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 19
315	315	with the Advisory Council and the African Burial Ground 20
316	316	Memorial Foundation, shall operate the Museum. 21
317	317	(b) A
318	318	UTHORITIES.—The Secretary, in consultation 22
319	319	with the Advisory Council, may— 23
320	320	(1) purchase, accept, borrow, and otherwise ac-24
321	321	quire artifacts for the collections of the Museum; 25
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325	325	(2) loan, exchange, sell, and otherwise dispose 1
326	326	of any part of the collections of the Museum, if the 2
327	327	proceeds of the disposition are used for additions to 3
328	328	the collections of the Museum; 4
329	329	(3) specify criteria with respect to the use of 5
330	330	the collections and resources of the Museum, includ-6
331	331	ing policies on programming, education, exhibitions, 7
332	332	and research; 8
333	333	(4) provide for preservation, restoration, and 9
334	334	maintenance of the collections of the Museum; 10
335	335	(5) solicit, accept, use, and dispose of gifts, be-11
336	336	quests, and devises of real and personal property for 12
337	337	the purpose of facilitating the work of the Museum; 13
338	338	(6) contract with such parties as may be nec-14
339	339	essary to facilitate the operation of the Museum; 15
340	340	(7) administer the National Monument as a 16
341	341	unit of the National Park System in accordance 17
342	342	with— 18
343	343	(A) this Act; and 19
344	344	(B) the laws generally applicable to units 20
345	345	of the National Park System, including applica-21
346	346	ble provisions of division A of subtitle I of title 22
347	347	54, United States Code; and 23
348	348	(8) conduct any other activities that are nec-24
349	349	essary to carry out the purposes of this Act. 25
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353	353	SEC. 7. ADVISORY COUNCIL. 1
354	354	(a) E
355	355	STABLISHMENT.—There is established within 2
356	356	the Department of the Interior an advisory council to be 3
357	357	known as the ‘‘African Burial Ground Advisory Council’’. 4
358	358	(b) M
359	359	EMBERSHIP.— 5
360	360	(1) C
361	361	OMPOSITION.—The Advisory Council shall 6
362	362	be composed of the following members or their des-7
363	363	ignees: 8
364	364	(A) The Secretary, who shall serve as 9
365	365	Chairperson of the Advisory Council. 10
366	366	(B) The Director of the National Park 11
367	367	Service. 12
368	368	(C) The Secretary of the Smithsonian In-13
369	369	stitution. 14
370	370	(D) The Administrator. 15
371	371	(E) The Governor of the State. 16
372	372	(F) The Mayor of the City. 17
373	373	(G) The President of the Borough of Man-18
374	374	hattan. 19
375	375	(H) Fourteen members, to be appointed by 20
376	376	the Secretary, taking into consideration— 21
377	377	(i) recommendations from organiza-22
378	378	tions and entities that are committed to 23
379	379	the legacy of the African Burial Ground, 24
380	380	such as the African Burial Ground Memo-25
381	381	rial Foundation; and 26
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385	385	(ii) recommendations from the mem-1
386	386	bers of the Advisory Council. 2
387	387	(2) N
388	388	ONVOTING MEMBERS .—The Secretary 3
389	389	may appoint as nonvoting members of the Advisory 4
390	390	Council— 5
391	391	(A) members of the United States Senate; 6
392	392	(B) members of the House of Representa-7
393	393	tives; 8
394	394	(C) officials representing the City; 9
395	395	(D) officials representing the State; and 10
396	396	(E) any other individuals that the Sec-11
397	397	retary, in consultation with the members of the 12
398	398	Advisory Council, determines to be appropriate. 13
399	399	(3) D
400	400	ATE OF APPOINTMENTS .—The initial ap-14
401	401	pointment of a member under paragraph (1) shall be 15
402	402	made not later than 180 days after the date of en-16
403	403	actment of this Act. 17
404	404	(c) T
405	405	ERMS.— 18
406	406	(1) I
407	407	N GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-19
408	408	graph (2), each member of the Advisory Council 20
409	409	shall be appointed for a term of 3 years. 21
410	410	(2) I
411	411	NITIAL APPOINTEES.—Of the members 22
412	412	first appointed under subsection (b)(1)(H)— 23
413	413	(A) 5 members shall be appointed for a 24
414	414	term of 1 year; 25
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418	418	(B) 5 members shall be appointed for a 1
419	419	term of 2 years; and 2
420	420	(C) 4 members shall be appointed for a 3
421	421	terms of 3 years. 4
422	422	(3) R
423	423	EAPPOINTMENT.— 5
424	424	(A) I
425	425	N GENERAL.—A member of the Advi-6
426	426	sory Council may be reappointed, except that no 7
427	427	individual may serve on the Advisory Council 8
428	428	for a total of more than 2 terms. 9
429	429	(B) V
430	430	ACANCY APPOINTMENTS .—For pur-10
431	431	poses of subparagraph (A), the number of 11
432	432	terms an individual serves on the Advisory 12
433	433	Council shall not include any portion of a term 13
434	434	for which an individual is appointed to fill a va-14
435	435	cancy under paragraph (4)(B). 15
436	436	(4) V
437	437	ACANCIES.— 16
438	438	(A) I
439	439	N GENERAL.—A vacancy on the Advi-17
440	440	sory Council— 18
441	441	(i) shall not affect the powers of the 19
442	442	Advisory Council; and 20
443	443	(ii) shall be filled in the same manner 21
444	444	as the original appointment was made. 22
445	445	(B) T
446	446	ERM.—Any member of the Advisory 23
447	447	Council appointed to fill a vacancy occurring 24
448	448	before the expiration of the term for which the 25
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452	452	member’s predecessor was appointed shall be 1
453	453	appointed for the remainder of that term. 2
454	454	(d) D
455	455	UTIES.—The Advisory Council shall— 3
456	456	(1) make recommendations to the Secretary on 4
457	457	the planning, design, and construction of the Mu-5
458	458	seum; 6
459	459	(2) advise and assist the Secretary on all mat-7
460	460	ters relating to the administration, operation, main-8
461	461	tenance, and preservation of the Museum; 9
462	462	(3) provide significant opportunities for public 10
463	463	input with respect to carrying out the duties under 11
464	464	paragraphs (1) and (2); and 12
465	465	(4) adopt bylaws for the operation of the Advi-13
466	466	sory Council. 14
467	467	(e) C
468	468	OMPENSATION.— 15
469	469	(1) I
470	470	N GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-16
471	471	graph (2), a member of the Advisory Council shall 17
472	472	serve without compensation. 18
473	473	(2) T
474	474	RAVEL EXPENSES .—A member of the 19
475	475	Council shall be allowed travel expenses, including 20
476	476	per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized 21
477	477	for an employee of an agency under subchapter I of 22
478	478	chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while 23
479	479	away from the home or regular place of business of 24
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483	483	the member in the performance of the duties of the 1
484	484	Advisory Council. 2
485	485	(f) M
486	486	EETINGS.— 3
487	487	(1) I
488	488	N GENERAL.—The Advisory Council shall 4
489	489	meet at the call of the chairperson or on the written 5
490	490	request of a majority of the members of the Advi-6
491	491	sory Council, but not fewer than 2 times each year. 7
492	492	(2) I
493	493	NITIAL MEETINGS.—During the 1-year pe-8
494	494	riod beginning on the date of the first meeting of the 9
495	495	Advisory Council, the Advisory Council shall meet 10
496	496	not fewer than 4 times for the purpose of carrying 11
497	497	out the duties of the Advisory Council. 12
498	498	(g) Q
499	499	UORUM.—A majority of the members of the Ad-13
500	500	visory Council shall constitute a quorum for the purpose 14
501	501	of conducting business, but a lesser number may receive 15
502	502	information on behalf of the Advisory Council. 16
503	503	SEC. 8. DIRECTOR AND STAFF. 17
504	504	(a) D
505	505	IRECTOR.— 18
506	506	(1) I
507	507	N GENERAL.—The Secretary shall appoint 19
508	508	a Director for the Museum, taking into consider-20
509	509	ation recommendations by the Advisory Council. 21
510	510	(2) D
511	511	UTIES.—The Director of the Museum 22
512	512	shall manage the Museum, in accordance with any 23
513	513	policies established by the Secretary, in consultation 24
514	514	with the Advisory Council. 25
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518	518	(b) STAFF.— 1
519	519	(1) A
520	520	PPOINTMENT.—The Secretary may, with-2
521	521	out regard to the civil service laws, appoint 2 em-3
522	522	ployees to assist the Director of the Museum in car-4
523	523	rying out the duties of the Director. 5
524	524	(2) C
525	525	OMPENSATION.—The employees appointed 6
526	526	under subsection (b) may be paid without regard to 7
527	527	the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of 8
528	528	chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code. 9
529	529	SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 10
530	530	(a) I
531	531	NGENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 11
532	532	(b), there are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec-12
533	533	retary to carry out this Act— 13
534	534	(1) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2025; and 14
535	535	(2) such sums as are necessary for each fiscal 15
536	536	year thereafter. 16
537	537	(b) A
538	538	CQUISITION OFMUSEUMSITE.—There are au-17
539	539	thorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary 18
540	540	to carry out section 5. 19
541	541	(c) A
542	542	VAILABILITY.—Amounts made available under 20
543	543	subsections (a) and (b) shall remain available, without fis-21
544	544	cal year limitation, until expended. 22
545	545	(d) U
546	546	SE OFFUNDS.—Amounts made available under 23
547	547	this section may be used to support the Museum and ex-24
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551	551	pand or establish programs that promote and preserve the 1
552	552	legacy of the African Burial Ground, including— 2
553	553	(1) using amounts made available under this 3
554	554	section to raise funds from private sources to sup-4
555	555	port and promote the Museum; 5
556	556	(2) supporting curriculum development, work-6
557	557	shops, and community outreach to deepen public un-7
558	558	derstanding of the historical significance of the Afri-8
559	559	can Burial Ground; 9
560	560	(3) establishing a dedicated visitor’s center to 10
561	561	provide an immersive educational experience, includ-11
562	562	ing interactive exhibits and technology-driven tools 12
563	563	to enhance public engagement; and 13
564	564	(4) ensuring the long-term sustainability of the 14
565	565	facilities and organizational objectives of the Mu-15
566	566	seum. 16
567	567	Æ
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