Introduction

Congress creates commissions for a variety of purposes. In addition to investigatory commissions that provide expert advice or study a complex policy issue, Congress also creates commissions to commemorate a person or event. Typically, these commissions are statutorily mandated to coordinate celebrations, scholarly events, public gatherings, and other activities, often to coincide with a milestone anniversary. For example, in 2017, Congress created the Frederick Douglass Bicentennial Commission to "plan, develop, and carry out programs and activities that are fitting and proper to honor Frederick Douglass on the occasion of the bicentennial anniversary of Douglass' birth" and to "recommend to Congress programs and activities that the Commission considers fitting and proper to honor Frederick Douglass on such occasion, and the entity or entities in the Federal Government that the Commission considers most appropriate to carry out such programs and activities."¹

This report examines commemorative commissions created by statute since the 96^th Congress (1979-1980), with a focus on the typical structure of legislation and funding.² This report does not address noncommemorative congressional commissions, commemorative entities created by the President, or statutory commissions tasked with designing and building monuments and memorials in Washington, DC.

Cataloging Commemorative Commissions

Each Congress, legislation is typically introduced to authorize commemorative commissions. To compile a list of commemorative commissions created since the 96^th Congress, a database search was conducted in Congress.gov.³ Each piece of legislation returned was examined to determine (1) if the legislation contained a commission and (2) if the commission was commemorative in nature.

The search of Congress.gov found a total of 22 enacted commemorative commissions. Table 1 lists the name, public law number, and date of enactment. Of the 22 commissions, 9 were created to commemorate individuals and coincided with a milestone anniversary of their birth.⁴ The other 13 commissions were created to commemorate an historical event or aspect of American history.⁵

Authorizing Commemorative Commissions

Legislative Features

Commemorative commission legislation, similar to measures authorizing noncommemorative commissions, generally includes certain features, including the commission's establishment, findings that summarize the commemorative subject's history and importance, a membership and appointment structure, duties and powers, a termination date for the commission, and a funding provision.

A variety of options are available for each of these organizational features, and legislators can tailor the composition, organization, and working arrangements of a commission, based on the particular goals of Congress. As a result, the organizational structure and powers of individual commissions are often unique.

Establishment and Mandate

Commission legislation includes a section that establishes the entity. For example, the Dwight David Eisenhower Centennial Commission establishment clauses stated "There is established the Dwight David Eisenhower Centennial Commission."⁶

Findings

Commemorative commission legislation often includes a section of findings. Typically, these include facts about the people, places, events, or institutions being honored or studied. For example, the legislation to authorize the Centennial of Flight Commemorative Commission stated

Membership and Appointment

Commemorative commission statutes contain a variety of membership and appointment structures. Similar to general congressional advisory commission statutes, the legislation may require that commission membership contain specifically designated Members of Congress, typically Members in chamber or committee leadership positions. In other cases, selected congressional leaders appoint commission members, who may or may not be Members of Congress. A third common statutory scheme is to have selected congressional leaders recommend members, who may or may not be Members of Congress, for appointment to a commission. These leaders are often required to act either in parallel or jointly, and the recommendation may be made either to other congressional leaders, such as the Speaker of the House and President pro tempore of the Senate, or to the President.⁸ For example, the Ronald Reagan Centennial Commission had 11 voting members appointed by the President and Members of Congress and one ex officio member. Appointments were required to be made within 90 days and members were appointed for the life of the commission. The Reagan Centennial Commission's statute stated

In some cases, appointment authority might be statutorily limited. For example, statutory language may require the appointment of Members of Congress, as occurred in the Reagan Centennial Commission, or the selection of individuals who are specifically qualified by virtue of their education, knowledge, training, experience, expertise, distinguished service, or recognized eminence in a particular field or fields. For example, the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission statute stated

Appointment limitations might restrict the number of available candidates and make finding suitable appointments potentially more difficult. Limitations, however, also allow Congress to influence the nomination process in instances when the President or another noncongressional official has appointment authority.

Most commemorative commission statutes also specify that commission members are not compensated, except to reimburse members for expenses directly related to their service, such as travel costs.¹¹

Commission Duties

The duties of commemorative commissions are numerous and varied. Commonly, the authorization language provides general guidance to the commission on its duties and activities. For example, the Women's Progress Commemorative Commission statute stated

In some instances, the enacted legislation tasked the commission with carrying out commemorative events. For example, the Dwight David Eisenhower Centennial Commission statute said

Commission Powers

Most commemorative commission statutes specify certain powers and authorities.¹⁴ These can include an authorization to hold hearings and other public meetings, obtain official data and information from federal agencies, utilize the U.S. mail, and secure administrative support services. For example, the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission statute stated

In addition, Congress often grants commemorative commissions the ability to accept gifts and donations. Without such an authorization, commissions would likely not be able to accept donations of money, personal services, or other in-kind gifts.¹⁶ For example, the Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary Commission statute stated

Staff

Commemorative commissions are usually authorized to hire staff. The number of staff members is not generally specified, however, which allows the commission flexibility in judging its own staffing requirements. Typically, the statute will specify maximum rates of pay, but the commission is often allowed to set specific pay rates within the confines of any guidelines. For example, the Thomas Jefferson Commemorative Commission statute stated

Many commemorative commissions are also authorized to accept voluntary services. The Thomas Jefferson Commemorative Commission's statute specifically stated

Relationships with Other Entities

To fulfill their duties, most commemorative commissions serve as the federal coordination body for a federal recognition of a person, group, or event. In this role, the commission often works closely with nonfederal entities, including private groups, and state and local governments. Because of these cooperative efforts, federally created commissions are often only a portion of any commemoration, and federal funds appropriated to a commemorative commission are generally only a portion of the total funding ultimately expended for commemorative activities and events.

For example, the Brown v. Board of Education 50^th Anniversary Commission statute stated

Termination

Commemorative commission statutes usually include a termination provision. Termination dates are generally linked to either a fixed period of time after the establishment of the commission, the selection of members, or the date of submission of the commission's final report. Alternatively, some commissions are given fixed calendar termination dates. For example, the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission statute provided a termination timeline after the commission issued its final report, while the Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution had a fixed calendar termination date. Those statutes stated

Consideration of Legislation in Congress

Once a commemorative commission bill is introduced, it is typically referred to a House or Senate committee based on the relationship of the bill's subject matter to the jurisdictional statements of House and Senate committees defined in House Rule X and Senate Rule XXV. For example, the House version of the Route 66 Centennial Commission Act (H.R. 66, 116^th Congress)²³ was referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure based on that committee's jurisdiction over subjects involving transportation, transportation infrastructure, and "roads and the safety thereof."²⁴ The Senate version (S. 1014, 116^th Congress)²⁵ was referred to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, which exercises jurisdiction over the "construction and maintenance of highways" (clause 1(h) of Senate Rule XXV).²⁶ Commemorative commissions that address other policy areas would likely be referred to the appropriate committee of jurisdiction, depending on the topic addressed. Neither the House nor Senate rules provide any restrictions specifically concerning consideration of commission legislation.

Funding

Historically, commemorative commissions have been funded in two ways: through appropriations or through the commission's solicitation of nonfederal money. At times, commissions are authorized both for appropriations and to receive and use donations. Some commemorative commissions are not provided with explicit authorization to solicit funds or accept donations. Commissions without the statutory authority to solicit funds or accept donations are generally prohibited from engaging in those activities.²⁷

Authorized Funding Levels

Since the 96^th Congress, authorized commemorative commission statutes have varied widely in their funding provisions and the amount of funding authorized. Table 2 lists the authorizing language and the funding amounts authorized by each of the acts. Of the 22 commissions,

• five were authorized specific funding levels for each fiscal year;
• two were authorized a lump-sum appropriation, which remained available to be expended over specified fiscal years;
• four were not authorized specific levels of funding. Instead, the acts' language authorized "such sums as necessary" for an unspecified number of fiscal years;
• one authorized a specific level of funding for the first fiscal year, and such sums as necessary for an unspecified number of subsequent fiscal years;
• one was not specifically authorized any appropriation;
• seven were specifically barred from using federal funds; and
• two could only make expenditures from donated funds.

Appropriation of Authorized Funds

In general, commissions are funded directly by specific appropriations or through general agency appropriations. For example, the Commission on the Bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution received funding in both regular annual and supplemental appropriations acts,²⁸ and the Women's Progress Commemoration Commission was funded through National Park Service (NPS) and Department of the Interior (DOI) appropriations.²⁹

It is also possible for the funding structure to change during the life of a commission. For example, from FY1999 through FY2001, the Centennial of Flight Commemorative Commission was funded through a specific line-item in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) operations appropriations. In subsequent years, the commission was funded through general agency appropriations.³⁰

Several of the commemorative commissions received agency appropriations under the NPS through the DOI. These appropriations have not appeared as specific appropriation act line-items. Instead, they were budgeted within agency appropriations under headings such as "Operations of the National Park System" or "National Recreation and Preservation." For example, the Jamestown 400^th Commemoration Commission was funded in FY2005 under the "National Recreation and Preservation" heading of the NPS appropriations, as part of a larger appropriation for related activities for the Jamestown 2007 celebration.³¹

Nonfederal Funding

Donations

In some cases, while the operational expenses of the commission itself were funded through the appropriation of federal funds, the legislation also authorized the commemorative commissions to accept donations, including donations of money, property, personal services, memorabilia, or volunteer labor.

For example, the Commission on the Eleanor Roosevelt Centennial was authorized to "accept donations of money, supplies, and services to carry out its responsibilities."³² Similarly, the James Madison Commemorative Commission's statute provided that the commission could

accept donations of money, personal services, and property, both real and personal, including books, manuscripts, miscellaneous printed matter, memorabilia, relics, and other material related to James Madison.³³

In some cases, the authorizing language placed specific limitations on donations. For example, the Christopher Columbus Quincentenary Commission could

accept donations of money, property, or personal services, except that the Commission may not accept donations (1) the aggregate value of which exceeds $25,000, in the case of an individual; or (2) the aggregate value of which exceeds $50,000 in the case of donations from a foreign government, a corporation, a partnership, or any other person.³⁴

In at least one case, the authorizing language specified that only donated funds could be used to pay for commission expenses. For example, the 400 Years of African-American History Commission statute specified that "all expenditures of the Commission shall be solely made from donated funds."³⁵

Donation Acceptance

For a majority of commemorative commissions, the commission's statute does not mention the word "fundraise." Instead, statutes commonly provide the commission with the authority to accept donations. For example, the Jamestown 400^th Commemoration Commission was authorized to "accept donations and make dispersions of money, personal services, and real and personal property related to Jamestown and of the significance of Jamestown in the history of the United States."³⁶ Examples of other commissions with similar language include the following:

• Eisenhower Memorial Commission:

(b) Donations. – (1) The Commission may accept, use, and dispose of gifts or donations of money, property, or personal services.³⁷

• Bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution:

(h)(1) The Commission is authorized to accept, use solicit, and dispose of donations of money, property, or personal services.

(2) The Commission shall prescribe regulations under which the Commission may accept donations of money, property, or personal services.³⁸

• Women's Progress Commemoration Commission:

(b) Donations.—The Commission may accept donations from non-Federal sources to defray the costs of the operations of the Commission.³⁹

• Commission on the Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade:

(c) Powers of the Commission. –The Commission may—(1) accept donations and gift items related to the transatlantic slave trade, the institution of slavery, and the significance of slavery to the history of the United States.⁴⁰

• Brown v. Board of Education 50^th Anniversary Commission:

(b) Gifts and Donations.—(1) Authority to accept.—The Commission may accept and use gifts or donations of money, property, or personal services.⁴¹

In addition, some commissions, such as the Centennial of Flight Commission, are provided with the authority to accept only nonmonetary donations. In that instance, the statutory language stated

Donations.—The Commission may accept donations of personal services and historic materials relating to the implementation of its responsibilities under the provisions of this Act.⁴²

Fundraising

None of the 22 commemorative commission statutes discussed in this report contain specific language that authorizes fundraising.⁴³ Commissions, however, could be provided with authority to fundraise. To provide statutory fundraising authority, a commemorative commission could be required to develop a fundraising plan in a similar fashion to language that required such a plan from a noncommemorative commission—the National Museum of African American History and Culture Plan for Action Presidential Commission. That statute stated

Fundraising Plan.—The Commission shall develop a fundraising plan for supporting the creation and maintenance of the Museum through contributions by the American people, and a separate plan on fundraising by the African American community.⁴⁴

Estimating Costs

Commission costs can vary widely. Overall expenses for any individual commission are dependent on a variety of factors, the most important of which are the number of paid staff and duration of the commission. Many commissions have few or no full-time staff; others employ large numbers. Additionally, some commissions provide compensation to members; others only reimburse members for travel expenses. Many commissions finish their work and terminate within a year of creation; in other cases, work may not be completed for several years.

Secondary factors that can affect commission costs include the number of commissioners, how often the commission meets or holds hearings, and the number and size of publications the commission produces. Although congressional commissions are primarily funded through congressional appropriations, many commissions are statutorily authorized to accept donations of money and volunteer labor, which may offset costs.

For more information on commission funding and costs, see CRS Report R45826, Congressional Commissions: Funding and Expenditures, coordinated by Jacob R. Straus.