§309101 Sites and structures that commemorate former Presidents

Summary

The Secretary may survey places that seem best for honoring a former President. The survey can look at places tied to a President’s deeds or life work and at buildings or sites not already linked to that person but that could make a fitting memorial. The Secretary must send reports to the House Committee on Natural Resources and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Each report must say whether the place should become a national historic site and give needed details about land, facilities, operation and maintenance, and estimated costs. If neither committee, within 6 months, has voted by a majority to reject the Secretary’s recommendation, the Secretary may establish the place as a national historic site, including the land named in the report. The Secretary may get the land by donation, purchase with donated or appropriated money, transfer from another federal agency, or exchange. Nothing here reduces the Secretary’s powers under chapter 3201 or lets the Secretary create a national memorial that only Congress can create.