36 U.S.C. § 2113 — World War II memorial in the District of Columbia

(a) Solicitation and Acceptance of Contributions.—

(1) Consistent with its authority under section 2103(e) of this title, the American Battle Monuments Commission must solicit and accept contributions for the World War II memorial.

(2) In this section, “World War II memorial” means the memorial authorized by Public Law 103–32 (40 U.S.C. 8903 note) to be established by the Commission on Federal land in the District of Columbia or nearby areas. The memorial honors members of the Armed Forces who served in World War II and commemorates the participation of the United States in that war.

(b) Creation of Memorial Fund.—

(1) A fund for the World War II memorial is created in the Treasury. The fund consists of:

(A) amounts deposited, and interest and proceeds credited, under paragraph (2);

(B) obligations obtained under paragraph (3);

(C) surcharges paid to the Commission for the World War II memorial under the World War II 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coins Act (31 U.S.C. 5112 note);

(D) amounts borrowed under subsection (d); and

(E) funds the Commission receives under section 2114 of this title in exchange for the use of, or the right to use, any mark, copyright, or patent.

(2) The Chairman of the Commission must deposit in the fund the contributions accepted under subsection (a). The Secretary of the Treasury must credit to the fund the interest on obligations held in the fund and the proceeds from selling or redeeming those obligations.

(3) The Secretary of the Treasury must invest any part of the fund that the Chairman determines is not needed for current expenses. Each investment must be an interest-bearing obligation of the United States or an obligation whose principal and interest are guaranteed by the United States. The Chairman must determine that the obligation has a maturity suitable for the fund.

(c) Use of Fund.—

The fund is available to the Commission:

(1) to pay the expenses of establishing the World War II memorial, including the maintenance and preservation amount provided for in section 8906(b) of title 40;

(2) to pay other expenses involving the World War II memorial, except routine maintenance, that the Commission considers warranted; and

(3) to secure, obtain, register, enforce, protect, and license any mark, copyright, or patent that is owned by, assigned to, or licensed to the Commission under section 2114 of this title, when doing so helps or makes it easier to construct the World War II memorial.

(d) Special Borrowing Authority.—

(1) To ensure that groundbreaking, construction, and dedication of the World War II memorial occur on time, the Commission may borrow money from the Treasury of the United States in amounts it considers necessary, up to a total of $65,000,000. The borrowed amounts must bear interest at a rate set by the Secretary of the Treasury. In setting the rate, the Secretary must consider the average market yield during the month before the month when the Commission’s obligations are issued on outstanding marketable United States obligations with comparable maturities. With the Secretary’s approval, the interest payments on the obligations may be deferred. Any deferred interest payment also bears interest.

(2) The Commission and the Secretary may agree on the maturities, terms, and conditions of the Commission’s borrowing under paragraph (1). However, the maturities may not be longer than 20 years. The borrowings may be made redeemable at the Commission’s option before maturity.

(3) The Commission’s obligations must be issued in amounts and at prices approved by the Secretary. The Commission’s authority to issue obligations under this subsection remains available without a fiscal-year limit. The Secretary of the Treasury must purchase any Commission obligations issued under this subsection. For that purpose, the Secretary may use, as a public-debt transaction of the United States, proceeds from selling securities issued under chapter 31 of title 31. The purposes for which securities may be issued under that chapter are expanded to include purchases of the Commission’s obligations under this subsection.

(4) The Commission must repay the interest and principal on money borrowed under paragraph (1) from amounts in the fund. The Commission may not use money appropriated for any other Commission activities for that repayment.

(e) Treatment of Borrowing Authority.—

When deciding whether the Commission has enough money to complete construction of the World War II memorial, as required by section 8906 of title 40, the Secretary of the Interior must count the money the Commission may borrow from the Treasury under subsection (d) as money available to complete construction, whether or not the Commission has actually used that borrowing authority.

(f) Voluntary Services.—

(1) Despite section 1342 of title 31, the Commission may accept voluntary services from any person to support its fundraising activities relating to the World War II memorial.

(2) A person providing voluntary services under this subsection is treated as a Federal employee for chapter 81 of title 5, which concerns compensation for work-related injuries, and chapter 171 of title 28, which concerns tort claims. A volunteer who is not otherwise employed by the United States is not treated as a Federal employee for any other purpose merely because of providing these services. However, a volunteer who is given responsibility for handling funds or carrying out a Federal function is subject to the conflict-of-interest laws in chapter 11 of title 18 and the administrative standards of conduct in part 2635 of title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(3) The Commission may provide reimbursement for incidental expenses incurred by a person providing voluntary services under this subsection. The Commission must decide which expenses qualify for reimbursement under this paragraph.

(4) Nothing in this subsection requires a Federal employee to work without compensation or allows volunteer services to displace or replace a Federal employee.

(g) Treatment of Certain Contracts.—

A contract the Commission enters into to design or construct the World War II memorial is not a “funding agreement” as that term is defined in section 201 of title 35. This section does not define the quoted term “funding agreement.”

(h) Extension of Authority To Establish Memorial.—

Despite section 8903(e) of title 40, the authority to construct the World War II memorial provided by Public Law 103–32 (40 U.S.C. 8903 note) expired on December 31, 2005.