§80b Selection of Site

Summary

The Smithsonian’s Board of Regents must look for land and buildings in and near the District of Columbia that could be used to display military collections. After getting advice from the Commission on Fine Arts, the National Capital Planning Commission, and the General Services Administration, the Board must send recommendations to Congress about buying those sites. Buildings bought under those recommendations must hold public exhibits and study collections that don’t fit with the Smithsonian’s military displays on the Mall. They must have room for very large military items and for rebuilding examples of fortifications, trenches, and other military and naval features from the American colonial period, the War of the Revolution, and later U.S. military and naval actions.