94TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION

S. 1618

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MAY 1 (legislative day, APRIL 21), 1975
Mr. ABOUREZK (for himself, Mr. HUGH SCOTT, Mr. HATFIELD, Mr. McGEE, Mr. WILLIAMS, Mr. McGOVERN, Mr. STAFFORD, Mr. MATHIAS, Mr. TALMADGE, Mr. PERCY, Mr. BAYH, Mr. HUMPHREY, Mr. PHILIP A. HART, Mr. HARTKE, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. HUDDLESTON, Mr. GOLDWATER, Mr. MOSS, Mr. BELLMON, Mr. MONTOYA, Mr. STEVENS, Mr. DOMENICI, Mr. BAKER, Mr. STEVENSON, Mr. JOHNSTON, Mr. McINTYRE, Mr. RANDOLPH, Mr. PACKWOOD, Mr. EASTLAND, Mr. SPARKMAN, Mr. HATHAWAY, Mr. FONG, Mr. NELSON, Mr. INOUYE, Mr. BURDICK, Mr. METCALF, Mr. GRAVEL, Mr. CLARK, Mr. RIBICOFF, Mr. WILLIAM L. SCOTT, Mr. TOWER, Mr. THURMOND, Mr. BROCK, Mr. CASE, Mr. TUNNEY, Mr. BENTSEN, Mr. CHURCH, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. JAVITS, Mr. MONDALE, Mr. FORD, Mr. MUSKIE, Mr. GLENN, Mr. HELMS, and Mr. CHILES) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration

A BILL
To provide for the establishment of an American Folklife Center in the Library of Congress, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
3 That this Act may be cited as the "American Folklife Pres-
4 ervation Act".
5 DECLARATION OF FINDINGS AND PURPOSE
6 SEC. 2. (a) The Congress hereby finds and declares-

II


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2

1 (1) that the diversity inherent in American folk-
2 life has contributed greatly to the cultural richness of
3 the Nation and has fostered a sense of individuality and
4 identity among the American people;
5 (2) that the history of the United States effectively
6 demonstrates that building a strong nation does not
7 require the sacrifice of cultural differences;
8 (3) that American folklife has a fundamental
9 influence on the desires, beliefs, and values of the Ameri-
10 can people;
11 (4) that is is appropriate and necessary for the Fed-
12 eral Government to support research and scholarship in
13 American folklife in order to contribute to an under-
14 standing of the basic desires, beliefs, and values of the
15 American people in both rural and urban areas;
16 (5) that the encouragement and support of Ameri-
17 can folklife, while primarily a matter for private and
18 local initiative, is also an appropriate matter of concern
19 to the Federal Government; and
20 (6) that it is in the interest of the general welfare
21 of the Nation to maintain, revitalize, and disseminate
22 American folklife traditions and arts.
23 (b) It is therefore the purpose of this Act to establish in
24 the Library of Congress an American Folklife Center to pre-
25 serve and present American folklife.


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3

1 DEFINITIONS
2 SEC. 3. As used in this Act-
3 (1) the term "American folklife" means the tradi-
4 tional expressive culture shared within the various groups
5 in the United States: familial, ethnic, occupational,
6 religious, regional; expressive culture includes a wide
7 range of creative and symbolic forms such as custom,
8 belief, technical skill, language, literature, art, architec-
9 ture, music, play, dance, drama, ritual, pageantry, handi-
10 craft; these expressions are mainly learned orally, by
11 imitation, or in performance, and are generally main-
12 tained without benefit of formal instruction or institu-
13 tional direction.
14 (2) the term "Board" means the Board of Trustees
15 of the Center;
16 (3) the term "Center" means the American Folk-
17 life Center established under this Act;
18 (4) the term "group" includes any State or public
19 agency or institution and any nonprofit society, institu-
20 tion, organization, association, or establishment in the
21 United States;
22 (5) the term "Librarian" means the Librarian of
23 Congress;
24 (6) the term "State" includes, in addition to the
25 several States of the Union, the Commonwealth of Puerto


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4

1 Rico, the District of Columbia, Guam, American Samoa,
2 and the Virgin Islands; and
3 (7) the term "workshop" means an activity the
4 primary purpose of which is to encourage the develop-
5 ment of skills, appreciation, or enjoyment of American
6 folklife among amateur, student, or nonprofessional
7 participants, or to promote scholarship or teaching
8 among the participants.
9 ESTABLISHMENT OF CENTER
10 SEC. 4. (a) There is hereby established in the Library
11 of Congress an American Folklife Center.
12 (b) The Center shall be under the direction of a Board
13 of Trustees. The Board shall be composed as follows-
14 (1) four members appointed by the President from
15 among individuals who are officials of Federal depart-
16 ments and agencies concerned with some aspect of
17 American folklife traditions and arts;
18 (2) seven members appointed by the Librarian of
19 Congress from among individuals from private life who
20 are widely recognized by virtue of their scholarship,
21 experience, creativity, or interest in American folklife
22 traditions and arts;
23 In making appointments from private life under clause 2,
24 the Librarian shall give due consideration to the appointment


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5

1 of individuals who collectively will provide appropriate
2 regional balance on the Board.
3 (c) The term of office of each appointed member of the
4 Board shall be six years; except that (1) (A) the members
5 first appointed under clause (1) of subsection (b) shall serve
6 as designated by the President, two for a term of two years,
7 one for a term of four years, and one for a term of six years,
8 and (B) the members first appointed under clause (2) of
9 subsection (b) shall serve as designated by the Librarian,
10 two for terms of two years, three for terms of four years,
11 and two for terms of six years; and (2) any member ap-
12 pointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration
13 of the term to which his predecessor was appointed shall be
14 appointed for the remainder of such term.
15 (d) Members of the Board who are not regular full-
16 time employees of the United States shall be entitled, while
17 serving on business of the Center, to receive compensation
18 at rates fixed by the Librarian, but not exceeding $100 per
19 diem, including traveltime; and while so serving away from
20 their homes or regular places of business, they may be al-
21 lowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsist-
22 ence, as authorized by section 5703 of title 5, United States
23 Code, for persons in Government service employed intermit-
24 tently.


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6

1 (e) (1) The Librarian shall call the first meeting of
2 the Board, at which the first order of business shall be the
3 election of a Chairman and a Vice Chairman, who shall
4 serve for a term of one year. Thereafter each Chairman and
5 Vice Chairman shall be elected for a term of two years. The
6 Vice Chairman shall perform the duties of the Chairman
7 in his absence. In case of a vacancy occurring in the chair-
8 manship or vice-chairmanship, the Board shall elect a mem-
9 ber to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the unexpired
10 term.
11 (2) A majority of the members of the Board shall con-
12 stitute a quorum.
13 (f) After consultation with the Board, the Librarian
14 shall appoint the Director of the Center. The basic pay of
15 the Director shall be at a per year rate not to exceed GS-18
16 of the General Schedule under section 5332 of title 5, United
17 States Code. The Librarian upon the recommendation of the
18 Director shall appoint a Deputy Director of the Center. The
19 basic pay of the Deputy Director shall be fixed at a rate not
20 to exceed GS-16 of the General Schedule under section
21 5332 of such title.
22 (g) (1) The Director shall be the chief executive officer
23 of the Center. He shall carry out the programs of the Center
24 subject to the supervision and direction of the Board, and


(page 7)
7

1 shall carry out such functions as the Board may delegate
2 to him consistent with the provisions of this Act.
3 (2) The Deputy Director shall perform such functions
4 as the Director, with the approval of the Librarian, may
5 prescribe, and shall serve as Acting Director during the
6 absence or disability of the Director or in the event of a
7 vacancy in the office of the Director.
8 FUNCTIONS OF THE CENTER
9 SEC. 5. The Center and its Director are authorized to-
10 (1) enter into, without regard to Federal procure-
11 ment statutes and regulations, contracts with, make
12 grants and loans to, and award scholarships to in-
13 dividuals and groups for programs for the-
14 (A) initiation, encouragement, support, organi-
15 zation, and promotion of research, scholarship, and
16 training in American folklife;
17 (B) initiation, promotion, support, organiza-
18 tion, and production of live performances, festivals,
19 exhibits, and workshops related to American folk-
20 life;
21 (C) initiation, development, arrangement, pur-
22 chase, and support of the production of exhibitions,
23 displays, publications, and presentations (including
24 those by still and motion picture films, and audio


(page 8)
8

1 and visual magnetic tape recordings) and other ma-
2 terials which represent or illustrate some aspects of
3 American folklife;
4 (2) establish and maintain in conjunction with any
5 Federal department, agency, or institution a national
6 archive and center for American folklife;
7 (3) procure, receive, purchase, and collect for pres-
8 ervation or retention in an appropriate archive creative
9 works, exhibitions, presentations, objects, artifacts, man-
10 uscripts, publications, audio and visual records, and other
11 materials which represent or illustrate some aspect of
12 American folklife;
13 (4) loan, or otherwise make available, through
14 Library of Congress procedures, any item in the archive
15 established under this Act to any individual or group;
16 (5) present, display, exhibit, disseminate, com-
17 municate, and broadcast to local, regional, State, or
18 National audiences any exhibition, display, or presenta-
19 tion referred to in clause (3) of this section or any item
20 in the archive established pursuant to clause (2) of
21 this section, by making appropriate arrangements, in-
22 cluding contracts, loans, and grants with public, non-
23 profit, and private radio and television broadcasters,
24 museums, libraries, educational institutions, and such


(page 9)
9

1 other individuals and organizations, including corpora-
2 tions, as the Board deems appropriate;
3 (6) loan, lease, or otherwise make available to pub-
4 lic, private, and nonprofit educational institutions such
5 exhibitions, programs, presentations, and material devel-
6 oped pursuant to clause (1) (D) of this subsection as
7 the Board deems appropriate; and
8 (7) develop and implement other appropriate pro-
9 grams to preserve, present, support, revitalize, and dis-
10 seminate American folklife.
11 LIMITATIONS ON GRANTS
12 SEC. 6. (a) No payment shall be made pursuant to this
13 Act to carry out any research or training over a period in
14 excess of two years, except that with the concurrence of at
15 least two-thirds of the members of the Board of the Center
16 such research or training may be carried out over a period of
17 not to exceed five years.
18 (b) Assistance pursuant to this Act shall not cover the
19 cost of land acquisition, construction, building acquisitions, or
20 acquisition of major equipment.
21 (c) No individual formerly in the employment of the
22 Federal Government shall be eligible to receive any grant or
23 other assistance pursuant to this Act, or to serve as a trustee


(page 10)
10

1 of the Center in the two-year period following the termina-
2 tion of such employment.
3 ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS
4 SEC. 7. (a) In addition to any authority vested in it by
5 other provisions of this Act, the Librarian of Congress, in
6 carrying out the Center's functions, is authorized to-
7 (1) prescribe such regulations as he deems neces-
8 sary;
9 (2) receive money and other property donated, be-
10 queathed, or devised, without condition or restriction
11 other than that it be for the purposes of the Center and
12 to use, sell, or otherwise dispose of such property for the
13 purpose of carrying out its functions, without reference
14 to Federal property disposal statutes;
15 (3) in the discretion of the Board of Trustees, re-
16 ceive (and use, sell, or otherwise dispose of, in accord-
17 ance with clause (2) ) money and other property
18 donated, bequeathed, or devised to the Center with a
19 condition or restriction, including a condition that the
20 Center use other funds of the Center for the purpose of
21 the gift;
22 (4) appoint and fix the compensation of such per-
23 sonnel as may be necessary to carry out the provisions
24 of the Act in accordance with the provisions of chapter
25 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating


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11

1 to classification and General Schedule pay rates, ex- 
2 cept that the Librarian of Congress may appoint and fix
3 the compensation of a reasonable number of personnel
4 without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and sub-
5 chapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code,
6 relating to classification and General Schedule pay rates,
7 but no individual so appointed shall receive compensa-
8 tion in excess of the rate received by the Deputy Director
9 of the Center;
10 (5) obtain the services of experts and consultants in
11 accordance with the provisions of section 3109 of title 5,
12 United States Code, at rates for individuals not to
13 exceed $100 per diem;
14 (6) accept and utilize the services of voluntary and
15 noncompensated personnel and reimburse them for travel
16 expenses, including per diem, as authorized by section
17 5703 of title 5, United States Code;
18 (7) enter into contracts, grants, or other arrange-
19 ments, or modifications thereof, to carry out the provi-
20 sions of the Act, and such contracts or modifications
21 thereof may, with the concurrence of two-thirds of the
22 members of the Board, be entered into without perform-
23 ance or other bonds and without regard to section 3709
24 of the Revised Statutes, as amended (41 U.S.C. 5); and
25 (8) make advances, progress, and other payments


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12

1 which the Board deems necessary under this Act with-
2 out regard to the provisions of section 3648 of the Re-
3 vised Statutes, as amended (31 U.S.C. 529).
4 (b) The Center and its Director shall submit to the
5 Librarian for inclusion in the annual report of the Library of
6 Congress to the Congress an annual report of its operations
7 under this Act, which shall include a detailed statement of
8 all private and public funds received and expended by it, and
9 such recommendations as the Center deems appropriate.
10 AUTHORIZATION
11 SEC. 8. There are authorized to be appropriated to the
12 Center to carry out the provisions of this Act $167,750 for
13 the fiscal year ending September 30, 1976; $710,000 for
14 the fiscal year ending September 30, 1977; and $1,716,000
15 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1978.


(page 13)
94TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION

S. 1618

A BILL
To provide for the establishment of an American Folklife Center in the Library of Congress, and for other purposes.

By Mr. ABOUREZK, Mr. HUGH SCOTT, Mr. HATFIELD, Mr. McGEE, Mr. WILLIAMS, Mr. McGOVERN, Mr. STAFFORD, Mr. MATHIAS, Mr. TALMADGE, Mr. PERCY, Mr. BAYH, Mr. HUMPHREY, Mr. PHILIP A. HART, Mr. HARTKE, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. HUDDLESTON, Mr. GOLDWATER, Mr. MOSS, Mr. BELLMON, Mr. MONTOYA, Mr. STEVENS, Mr. DOMENICI, Mr. BAKER, Mr. STEVENSON, Mr. JOHNSTON, Mr. McINTYRE, Mr. RANDOLPH, Mr. PACKWOOD, Mr. EASTLAND, Mr. SPARKMAN, Mr. HATHAWAY, Mr. FONG, Mr. NELSON, Mr. INOUYE, Mr. BURDICK, Mr. METCALF, Mr. GRAVEL, Mr. CLARK, Mr. RIBICOFF, Mr. WILLIAM L. SCOTT, Mr. TOWER, Mr. THURMOND, Mr. BROCK, Mr. CASE, Mr. TUNNEY, Mr. BENTSEN, Mr. CHURCH, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. JAVITS, Mr. MONDALE, Mr. FORD, Mr. MUSKIE, Mr. GLENN, Mr. HELMS, and Mr. CHILES

MAY 1 (legislative day, APRIL 21), 1975
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration