,i  #aacth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #djee  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,february #aa1 #bjad 
,ms4 ,norton introduced the following   
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on ,oversight and ,government
 ,reform  ,a ,,bill  ,to establish the  
,frederick ,douglass ,bicentennial      
,commission4  #a4 ,short title ,this    
,act may be cited as the ,frederick     
,douglass ,bicentennial ,commission     
,act4  #b4 ,findings ,congress makes the
 following findings3  7#a7 ,born into   
slavery on the ,eastern ,shore of       
,maryland in #ahah and given the name   
,frederick ,augustus ,washington ,bailey
 after his mother ,harriet ,bailey1     
,frederick ,douglass has been called the
 father of the civil rights movement4   
7#b7 ,douglass rose through             
determination1 brilliance1 and eloquence
 to shape the ,american ,nation4 ,he was
 an abolitionist1 human rights and      
women's rights activist1 orator1 author1
 journalist1 publisher1 and social      

reformer4  7#c7 ,taught basic reading   
skills by his mistress until she was    
forced to stop1 ,douglass continued to  
teach himself to read and write and     
taught other slaves to read despite     
risks including death4  7#d7 ,during the
 course of his remarkable life          
,frederick ,douglass escaped from       
slavery1 became internationally renowned
 for his eloquence in the cause of      
liberty1 and went on to serve the       
national government in several official 
capacities4  7#e7 ,forced to leave the  
country to avoid arrest as an escaped   
slave1 he returned to become a staunch  
advocate of the ,union cause and helped 
recruit ,african-,american troops for   
the ,union ,army1 including two of his  
sons1 ,charles and ,lewis ,douglass4    
,his personal relationship with ,abraham
 ,lincoln helped persuade the ,president
 to make emancipation a cause of the    
,civil ,war4  7#f7 ,with the abolition  
of slavery at the close of the ,civil   
,war1 ,douglass then turned his         

attention to the full integration of    
,african-,americans into the political  
and economic life of the ,united        
,states4 ,committed to freedom1         
,douglass dedicated his life to         
achieving justice for all ,americans1 in
 particular ,african-,americans1 women1 
and minority groups4 ,he envisioned     
,america as an inclusive ,nation        
strengthened by diversity and free of   
discrimination4  7#g7 ,douglass served  
as an advisor to ,presidents4 ,abraham  
,lincoln referred to him as the most    
meritorious man of the nineteenth       
century4 ,douglass was appointed to     
several offices4 ,he served as the      
,united ,states ,marshal of the         
,district of ,columbia under ,rutherford
 ,b4 ,hayes' administration2 ,president 
,james ,garfield appointed ,douglass the
 ,district of ,columbia ,recorder of    
,deeds4 ,in #ahhi1 ,president ,benjamin 
,harrison appointed ,frederick ,douglass
 to be the ,united ,states minister to  
,haiti4 ,he was also appointed by       

,president ,grant to serve as ,assistant
 ,secretary of the ,commission of       
,inquiry to ,santo ,domingo4  7#h7      
,douglass lived in the ,district of     
,columbia for #bc of his #eg years as a 
free man1 and in recognition of his     
leadership and continuous fight for     
justice and freedom1 his home1 ,cedar   
,hill1 was established as a ,national   
,historic ,site in ,anacostia1 in       
,southeast ,washington1 ,,dc4  7#i7     
,frederick ,douglass was deeply         
committed to obtaining equal            
congressional voting and self-government
 rights for ,district of ,columbia      
residents and his statue in the ,united 
,states ,capitol is a gift from the     
almost #fej1jjj ,american citizens of   
the ,district of ,columbia4  7#aj7 ,all 
,americans could benefit from studying  
the life of ,frederick ,douglass1 for   
,douglass dedicated his own life to     
ensuring freedom and equality for future
 generations of ,americans4 ,this       
,nation should ensure that his tireless 

struggle1 transformative words1 and     
inclusive vision of humanity continue to
 inspire and sustain us4  7#aa7 ,the    
year #bjah marks the bicentennial       
anniversary of the birth of ,frederick  
,douglass1 and a commission should be   
established to study and recommend to   
,congress activities that are fitting   
and proper to celebrate that anniversary
 in a manner that appropriately honors  
,frederick ,douglass4  #c4              
,establishment ,there is established a  
commission to be known as the ,frederick
 ,douglass ,bicentennial ,commission    
7referred to in this ,act as the        
,commission74  #d4 ,duties ,the         
,commission shall have the following    
duties3  7#a7 ,to study activities that 
may be carried out by the ,federal      
,government to determine whether the    
activities are fitting and proper to    
honor ,frederick ,douglass on the       
occasion of the bicentennial anniversary
 of ,douglass' birth1 including--  7,a7 
the issuance of a ,frederick ,douglass  

bicentennial postage stamp2  7,b7 the   
convening of a joint meeting or joint   
session of ,congress for ceremonies and 
activities relating to ,frederick       
,douglass2  7,c7 a rededication of the  
,frederick ,douglass ,national ,historic
 ,site1 or other activity with respect  
to the ,site2 and  7,d7 the acquisition 
and preservation of artifacts associated
 with ,frederick ,douglass4  7#b7 ,to   
recommend to ,congress the activities   
that the ,commission considers most     
fitting and proper to honor ,frederick  
,douglass on such occasion1 and the     
entity or entities in the ,federal      
,government that the ,commission        
considers most appropriate to carry out 
such activities4  #e4 ,membership  7a7  
,number and appointment ,the ,commission
 shall be composed of #af members       
appointed as follows3  7#a7 ,two        
members1 each of whom shall be a        
qualified citizen described in          
subsection 7b71 appointed by the        
,president4  7#b7 ,one member1 who shall

 be a qualified citizen described in    
subsection 7b71 appointed by the        
,president on the recommendation of the 
,governor of ,maryland4  7#c7 ,one      
member1 who shall be a qualified citizen
 described in subsection 7b71 appointed 
by the ,president on the recommendation 
of the ,governor of ,massachusetts4     
7#d7 ,one member1 who shall be a        
qualified citizen described in          
subsection 7b71 appointed by the        
,president on the recommendation of the 
,governor of ,new ,york4  7#e7 ,one     
member1 who shall be a qualified citizen
 described in subsection 7b71 appointed 
by the ,president on the recommendation 
of the ,mayor of the ,district of       
,columbia4  7#f7 ,three members1 at     
least one of whom shall be a ,member of 
the ,house of ,representatives1         
appointed by the ,speaker of the ,house 
of ,representatives4  7#g7 ,three       
members1 at least one of whom shall be a
 ,senator1 appointed by the majority    
leader of the ,senate4  7#h7 ,two       

members1 at least one of whom shall be a
 ,member of the ,house of               
,representatives1 appointed by the      
minority leader of the ,house of        
,representatives4  7#i7 ,two members1 at
 least one of whom shall be a ,senator1 
appointed by the minority leader of the 
,senate4  7b7 ,qualified citizen ,a     
qualified citizen described in this     
subsection is a private citizen of the  
,united ,states with--  7#a7 a          
demonstrated dedication to educating    
others about the importance of          
historical figures and events2 and  7#b7
 substantial knowledge and appreciation 
of ,frederick ,douglass4  7c7 ,time of  
appointment ,each initial appointment of
 a member of the ,commission shall be   
made before the expiration of the       
#abj-;day period beginning on the date  
of the enactment of this ,act4  7d7     
,continuation of membership ,if a member
 of the ,commission was appointed to the
 ,commission as a ,member of ,congress1 
and ceases to be a ,member of ,congress1

 that member may continue to serve on   
the ,commission for not longer than the 
#cj-;day period beginning on the date   
that member ceases to be a ,member of   
,congress4  7e7 ,terms ,each member     
shall be appointed for the life of the  
,commission4  7f7 ,vacancies ,a vacancy 
in the ,commission shall not affect the 
powers of the ,commission but shall be  
filled in the manner in which the       
original appointment was made4  7g7     
,basic pay ,members shall serve on the  
,commission without pay4  7h7 ,travel   
expenses ,each member shall receive     
travel expenses1 including per diem in  
lieu of subsistence1 in accordance with 
sections #egjb and #egjc of title #e1   
,united ,states ,code4  7i7 ,quorum ,six
 members of the ,commission shall       
constitute a quorum but a lesser number 
may hold hearings4  7j7 ,chair ,the     
,commission shall select a ,chair from  
among the members of the ,commission4   
7k7 ,meetings ,the ,commission shall    
meet at the call of the ,chair4         

,periodically1 the ,commission shall    
hold a meeting in ,rochester1 ,new      
,york4  #f4 ,director and staff  7a7    
,director ,the ,commission may appoint  
and fix the pay of a ,director and such 
additional personnel as the ,commission 
considers to be appropriate4  7b7       
,applicability of certain civil service 
laws  7#a7 ,director ,the ,director of  
the ,commission may be appointed without
 regard to the provisions of title #e1  
,united ,states ,code1 governing        
appointments in the competitive service1
 and may be paid without regard to the  
provisions of chapter #ea and subchapter
 ,,iii of chapter #ec of that title     
relating to classification and ,general 
,schedule pay rates4  7#b7 ,staff ,the  
staff of the ,commission shall be       
appointed subject to the provisions of  
title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1        
governing appointments in the           
competitive service1 and shall be paid  
in accordance with the provisions of    
chapter #ea and subchapter ,,iii of     

chapter #ec of that title relating to   
classification and ,general ,schedule   
pay rates4  7c7 ,donations ,the         
,commission may accept donations of     
supplies1 money1 and services to carry  
out its responsibilities4  #g4 ,powers  
7a7 ,hearings and sessions ,the         
,commission may1 for the purpose of     
carrying out this ,act1 hold such       
hearings1 sit and act at such times and 
places1 take such testimony1 and receive
 such evidence as the ,commission       
considers to be appropriate4  7b7       
,powers of members and agents ,any      
member or agent of the ,commission may1 
if authorized by the ,commission1 take  
any action that the ,commission is      
authorized to take by this ,act4  7c7   
,obtaining official data ,the           
,commission may secure directly from any
 department or agency of the ,united    
,states information necessary to enable 
the ,commission to carry out this ,act4 
,upon request of the ,chair of the      
,commission1 the head of that department

 or agency shall furnish that           
information to the ,commission4  7d7    
,mails ,the ,commission may use the     
,united ,states mails in the same manner
 and under the same conditions as other 
departments and agencies of the ,united 
,states4  7e7 ,administrative support   
services ,upon the request of the       
,commission1 the ,administrator of      
,general ,services shall provide to the 
,commission1 on a reimbursable basis1   
the administrative support services     
necessary for the ,commission to carry  
out its responsibilities under this     
,act4  #h4 ,reports  7a7 ,interim       
reports ,the ,commission may submit to  
,congress such interim reports as the   
,commission considers to be appropriate4
  7b7 ,final report ,the ,commission    
shall submit a final report to ,congress
 not later than the expiration of the   
#c-year period beginning on the date of 
the formation of the ,commission or     
,december #a1 #bjag1 whichever is       
sooner4 ,the final report shall         

contain--  7#a7 a detailed statement of 
the findings and conclusions of the     
,commission2  7#b7 the recommendations  
of the ,commission2 and  7#c7 any other 
information that the ,commission        
considers to be appropriate4  #i4       
,termination ,the ,commission shall     
terminate #abj days after submitting the
 final report of the ,commission        
pursuant to section #h4  #aj4           
,authorization of appropriations ,there 
are authorized to be appropriated such  
sums as may be necessary to carry out   
this ,act4