Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Veterans Affairs Centennial and Heritage Act of 2024”.
Veterans Affairs Centennial and Heritage Act of 2024
A BILL
To establish within the Department of Veterans Affairs a Veterans Affairs History Office, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Findings
Congress makes the following findings:
On January 19, 2017, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert A. McDonald signed a Memorandum of Agreement that established goals for the Department of Veterans Affairs and regional leaders of Dayton, Ohio, to advance a history office as a community partnership.
A report commissioned by the Department determined that, “a central History Office, properly staffed and resourced, can become an essential ally for the Department’s senior staff at Headquarters and in the field.”.
The establishment of a History Office in the Department pursuant to an executive memorandum of the Department, dated April 10, 2020, is a vital contribution to honoring veterans and improving the understanding of how they served the United States.
Department of Veterans Affairs Directive 7777, titled “Implementation of the VA History Program”, was issued on February 9, 2021, and established the policies, responsibilities, and management directions for the Department of Veterans Affairs History Program.
The centennial year of the Department is 2030 and such year is a goal for establishing a robust program of ongoing history outreach activities and permanent public exhibits telling the story of the Department.
Sec. 3 Department of Veterans Affairs History Office
In general— Chapter 3 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
“325. History Office
“(a) Establishment
“(1) In general—There is established within the Department an office comprising a history program and a national history center.
“(2) Designation—The office established by paragraph (1) shall be known as the “Department of Veterans Affairs History Office” (in this section the “Office”).
“(b) Purposes—The purposes of the Office are—
“(1) to collect, preserve, and provide access to relevant historical records, artifacts, and cultural resources of the Department (including those of its predecessor organizations); and
“(2) to tell a comprehensive story of the Department and its predecessor organizations to veterans, government agencies, and the public.
“(c) Chief Historian and staff—The Office shall be led by the Chief Historian of the Department of Veterans Affairs (in this section referred to as the “Chief Historian”) who may be assisted by such professional and administrative staff as the Secretary considers necessary to carry out the purposes of the Office under subsection (b) and the requirements set forth under subsection (d).
“(d) Requirements—The Office shall—
“(1) carry out the activities set forth in Department Directive 7777 (relating to implementation of a Department history program), or successor directive;
“(2) assist with planning appropriate history-related events leading up to the centennial of the Department in 2030 (in this section referred to as the “Centennial”) and in events after the Centennial as the Chief Historian considers appropriate in the context of the purposes of the Office set forth under subsection (b);
“(3) carry out public activities and educational opportunities, including print and web-based publications and exhibits, that increase awareness of the contributions of the Department in supporting veterans;
“(4) construct, renovate, repair, operate, and maintain new or existing Department facilities used for—
“(A) preservation, restoration, and public access to Department historic materials, archives, and artifacts;
“(B) training on the preservation of historic materials, archives, and artifacts; or
“(C) education relating to the history of the Department and its predecessor organizations;
“(5) maintain facilities for access to, and storage of, historic materials, artifacts, and archives, compliant with recognized specifications for such facilities, which may include storage, conference, and public exhibit space; and
“(6) conduct education and training on the preservation of historical materials, archival management, digitization, restoration, historical research, and related subjects to assist the Department.
“(e) Gifts and bequests
“(1) Authority to accept—The Secretary may accept, hold, administer, and spend any gift, devise, or bequest of real property, personal property, or money made on the condition that the gift, devise, or bequest be used for the benefit, or in connection with, the purposes and activities of the Office, including a gift, devise, or bequest of an improvement made pursuant to subsection (f)(3).
“(2) Disposition of property—The Secretary may authorize the sale of donated property received under paragraph (1). A sale under this paragraph need not be conducted in accordance with disposal requirements that would otherwise apply, so long as the sale is conducted at arms-length and includes an auditable transaction record.
“(3) Use of money and proceeds—Any money received under paragraph (1) and any proceeds from the sale of property under paragraph (2) shall be deposited into a fund established in the Treasury to support the purposes and activities of the Office.
“(f) Partnerships, cooperative agreements, and lease authority
“(1) Partnerships—The Secretary may enter into a partnership or cooperative agreement with an organization to support the purposes set forth in subsection (b).
“(2) Lease authority
“(A) In general—The Secretary may lease portions of any real property or facility of the Office to a nonprofit organization for use in generating revenue for the support of activities of the Office and for such administrative purposes as may be necessary for support of the Office.
“(B) Rent—Any rent received by the Secretary under a lease under subparagraph (A), including rent-in-kind, shall be used solely to cover or defray the costs of carrying out subsection (b) or (d).
“(3) Improvements—The Secretary may permit a nonprofit organization to make improvements to real property or a facility of the Office for the construction of a multipurpose facility to be used for historical displays for public viewing, curation, and storage of artifacts, research facilities, classrooms, offices, and associated activities consistent with the mission of the Office.
“(g) Internal coordination group
“(1) Establishment
“(A) In general—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of the Veterans Affairs Centennial and Heritage Act of 2024, the Secretary shall establish an internal coordinating group (in this subsection the “Group”) to assist the Office in carrying out the purposes under subsection (b) and the requirements of subsection (d) by advising the Office on matters relating to operations of the Office, which may include advising on matters relating to the provisions of continuity and resourcing for the Centennial or for development of the history program or the history center described in subsection (a).
“(B) Procedures and charter—The Group shall operate in accordance with such procedures as the Secretary may establish and in accordance with a charter the Secretary shall establish for the Group.
“(2) Composition—The Group shall be composed of the following:
“(A) The Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
“(B) The Assistant Secretary for Management and Chief Financial Officer, or designee.
“(C) The Chief Historian.
“(D) A senior employee selected by the Secretary from each of the following:
“(i) The Veterans Experience Office.
“(ii) The Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs.
“(iii) The Office of Acquisition Logistics and Construction.
“(iv) The Office of the General Counsel.
“(v) The Veterans Health Administration.
“(vi) The Veterans Benefits Administration.
“(vii) The National Cemetery Administration.
“(E) Such other officers and employees of the Department as the Secretary considers appropriate.
“(3) Chairperson—The chairperson of the Group shall be the Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
“(h) Nonconflict—This section shall not be construed to affect the authority of the Archivist of the United States for management of permanent records of the Department.
“(i) Definition of nonprofit organization—In this section, the term nonprofit organization means an organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of that Code.”
Clerical amendment— The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 3 of such title is amended by adding at the end the following new item:
Sec. 4 Reports
Long-Range planning— Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a report on proposed activities of the Department of Veterans Affairs History Office established pursuant to section 325(a) of title 38, United States Code, as added by section 3, leading up to the centennial described in subsection (d)(2) of such section 325.
Contents— The report submitted pursuant to subsection (a) shall include plans for the following:
Staffing and budget.
Organization charts pertaining to the current staff and location of the History Office within the Department.
Construction and renovation of facilities supporting the History Office, including the National Department of Veterans Affairs History Center.
Public activities to mark the centennial described in subsection (a).
Such recommendations for legislative or administrative action as the Secretary may have with respect to the History Office and the centennial described in subsection (a).
Annual progress reports— Not later than one year after the date on which the Secretary submits the report required by subsection (a) pursuant to such subsection and not less frequently than once each year thereafter until December 31, 2030, the Chief Historian of the Department of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the committees described in such subsection a report on the progress of the History Office.