The House is scheduled to consider H.R. 3689 on Tuesday, October 13, 2009, under suspension of the rules, requiring a two-thirds majority vote for passage. H.R. 3689 was introduced on October 1, 2009, by Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV) and referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, which took no official action.
H.R. 3689 would extend the authority of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc. to create a Vietnam Veterans Memorial visitor center in Washington D.C. Under current law, the authority is set to expire at the end on November 17, 2010. H.R. 3689 would extend the authority through November 17, 2014.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc. was authorized as a non-profit organization by Congress in 1980 to help build and preserve the Vietnam Memorial. The Memorial, which has since come to be known as the Vietnam Wall, was dedicated in 1982, and the Memorial Fund has overseen its preservation since. In 2003, President Bush signed legislation which authorized the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc. to establish an underground visitor's center at the Vietnam Memorial site. To date, the Memorial Fund has not been able to raise the revenue to build the new visitor's center, but still plans on completing the project. The authority for the Memorial Fund to construct the visitor's center will otherwise expire on November 17, 2010.
A CBO, score for H.R. 3689 was not yet available at press time.
