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HR 3320 RFSS

110th CONGRESS Calendar No. 739

1st 110th CONGRESS

2d Session

H. R. 3320

[Report No. 110-336]

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

November 15, 2007

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

May 19, 2008

Reported by Mr. BIDEN, with an amendment

[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic]

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AN ACT

To provide assistance for the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, Poland.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Support for the Museum of the History of Polish Jews Act of 2007'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following:

(1) Current and future generations benefit greatly by visible reminders and documentation of the historical and cultural roots of their society.

(2) It is in the national interest of the United States to encourage the preservation and protection of artifacts associated with the heritage of United States citizens who trace their forbearers to other countries and to encourage the collection and dissemination of knowledge about that heritage.

(3) According to the 2000 United States Census, nearly 9,000,000 Americans are of Polish ancestry.

(4) At the beginning of World War II, Poland had the largest Jewish population in Europe.

(5) In 1996, Yeshayahu Weinberg, a founding director of Tel Aviv's Diaspora Museum and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, created an international team of experts with the goal of establishing a Museum of the History of Polish Jews.

(6) The Museum of the History of Polish Jews will preserve and present the history of the Jewish people in Poland and the wealth of their culture spanning a period of 1,000 years.

(7) In 1997, the City of Warsaw donated a parcel of land, opposite the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Memorial, for the explicit use for the Museum of the History of Polish Jews.

(8) In 2005, the Government of Poland and the City of Warsaw agreed to provide 40,000,000 Polish zlotys for the construction of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews.

(9) In 2005, an international architectural competition selected a Finnish firm to design the building for the Museum of the History of Polish Jews.

(10) In 2006, the building for the Museum of the History of Polish Jews moved into the last phase of project design.

SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE FOR THE MUSEUM OF THE HISTORY OF POLISH JEWS.

(a) In General- Assistance provided by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the DepartmentAuthority- The Secretary of State shall be made availableis authorized to assistprovide not more than $5,000,000 in assistance, on such terms and conditions as the development ofSecretary may specify, to fund the establishment of, and maintain the permanent collection of, the Museum of the History of Polish Jews.

(b) Authorization for Assistance- To carry out the purposes ofExpiration- The authority under subsection (a), the Secretary of State is authorized to provide $5,000,000, which shall remain available until expended, toexpire on October 1, 2010.

Calendar No. 739

110th CONGRESS

2d Session

H. R. 3320

[Report No. 110-336]

AN ACT

To provide assistance for the Museum forof the History of Polish Jews. in Warsaw, Poland.

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Passed the House of Representatives November 14, 2007. May 19, 2008

Attest: Reported with an amendment