,i  #aaith ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #hgda  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,may #ab1 #bjbf,mr4  
,boyle of ,pennsylvania introduced the  
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on ,oversight and        
,government ,reform  ,a ,,bill  ,to     
establish the ,philadelphia ,campaign   
,two ,hundred and ,fiftieth             
,commemoration ,commission4  #a4 ,short 
title ,this ,act may be cited as the    
,philadelphia ,campaign ,two ,hundred   
and ,fiftieth ,commemoration ,commission
 ,act4  #b4 ,findings2 sense of congress
  7a7 ,findings ,the ,congress finds as 
follows3  7#a7 ,the ,philadelphia       
,campaign of #aggg-aggh1 involving      
events in ,pennsylvania1 ,new ,jersey1  
,maryland and ,delaware1 was among the  
most significant set of events in the   
,american ,revolution4 ,it convinced    
,france to ally with the ,american cause
 and resulted in the development of the 
continental army into a professionally  
disciplined force4  7#b7 ,along with the

 ,american victory at the nearby battle 
of ,saratoga1 which occurred            
concurrently1 the continental army's    
ability to fight throughout the         
,philadelphia campaign1 helped convince 
,france that the ,american side could   
win the war4 ,the ,french officially    
entered the war as ,american allies in  
,february #aggh4  7#c7 ,following the   
,french entry into the war1 the ,british
 retreated from ,philadelphia in ,june  
#aggh to avoid a potential confrontation
 with the ,french navy4 ,the continental
 army was then able to follow and       
engaged ,british forces at the ,battle  
of ,monmouth4  7#d7 ,the ,philadelphia  
campaign included tactical losses for   
the ,american side1 most notably        
,america's first ,september #aath at the
 ,battle of ,brandywine1 but the        
survival of the ,american force was a   
testament to ,general ,washington's     
strategy and the subsequent winter      
encampment at ,valley ,forge allowed the
 army to be trained by ,barron ,von     

,steuben1 transforming it into a more   
professional and disciplined fighting   
force4 ,simultaneously the ,philadelphia
 campaign highlighted weaknesses and    
missteps by ,british commanders1        
particularly ,general ,william ,howe1   
and contributed to the understanding    
that the ,british military could be     
defeated4  7#e7 ,the people of the      
,united ,states can benefit from gaining
 a deeper understanding and appreciation
 of the ,philadelphia ,campaign and the 
entire early period of the ,american war
 for independence4  7b7 ,sense of       
,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress 
that the #bejth anniversary of the      
,philadelphia ,campaign should be       
officially recognized4  #c4             
,philadelphia ,campaign ,two ,hundred   
and ,fiftieth ,commemoration ,commission
  7a7 ,establishment ,there is          
established a commission to be known as 
the ,philadelphia ,campaign ,two        
,hundred and ,fiftieth ,commemoration   
,commission 7referred to in this ,act as

 the ,commission74  7b7 ,duties  7#a7   
,report ,the ,commission shall submit to
 ,congress a report on activities that  
the ,commission recommends be carried   
out by the ,federal ,government to      
observe the #bejth anniversary of the   
,philadelphia ,campaign that--  7,a7    
identifies any such activities that the 
,commission considers most fitting and  
proper to commemorate such anniversary2 
and  7,b7 includes any legislative      
proposals1 including any proposals for  
appropriations1 related to such         
activities4  7#b7 ,recommendations ,in  
recommending activities under the report
 required by paragraph 7#a71 the        
,commission shall consider whether to   
recommend that the ,federal             
,government-- 7,a7 acquire and preserve 
artifacts associated with the           
,philadelphia ,campaign2 or  7,b7       
sponsor-- 7i7 a publicly available      
interactive digital resource the        
,philadelphia ,campaign that including  
scholarly work concerning the           

,philadelphia ,campaign2  7ii7          
conferences1 exhibitions1 or other      
public meetings concerning the          
,philadelphia ,campaign2 or  7iii7      
nationally accessible educational       
resources concerning the ,philadelphia  
,campaign4  7#c7 ,advisory committee ,in
 preparing the report under subsection  
7a71 the ,commission shall consult with 
representatives of historical and       
cultural institutions able to contribute
 the mission of the ,commission1        
including the following3 7,a7 ,maryland 
,center for ,history and ,culture4  7,b7
 ,historical ,society of ,pennsylvania4 
7,c7 ,salem ,county ,historical         
,society4  7,d7 ,chester ,county        
,historical ,society4  7,e7 ,brandywine 
,conservancy4  7,f7 ,delaware           
,historical ,society4  7#d7             
,coordination ,the ,commission--  7,a7  
shall seek to encourage coordination    
among ,state1 local1 international and  
private sector entities with initiatives
 to commemorate the #bejth anniversary  

of the ,philadelphia ,campaign2 and     
7,b7 acting through the ,chief          
,executive ,officer of the ,museum of   
the ,american ,revolution in            
,philadelphia1 ,pennsylvania1 establish 
a voluntary registry of such            
initiatives4  7c7 ,membership  7#a7     
,appointment  7,a7 ,in general ,the     
,commission shall be composed of #ad    
voting members as follows3 7i7 ,the     
,librarian of ,congress4  7ii7 ,the     
,chief ,operating ,officer of the       
,museum of the ,american ,revolution in 
,philadelphia1 ,pennsylvania4  7iii7    
,twelve qualified citizens1 appointed as
 follows3  7,i7 ,two members appointed  
by the ,president4  7,,ii7 ,two members1
 at least one of whom shall be a        
,senator1 appointed by the majority     
leader of the ,senate4  7,,iii7 ,two    
members appointed by the ,president on  
the recommendation of the ,governor of  
the ,commonwealth of ,pennsylvania4     
7,,iv7 ,two members1 at least one of    
whom shall be a ,senator1 appointed by  

the minority leader of the ,senate4     
7,v7 ,two 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,,vi7 ,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,b7 ,time 
of appointment ,each initial appointment
 of a member of the ,commission shall be
 made before the expiration of the      
#fj-;day period beginning on the date of
 the enactment of this ,act4  7,c7      
,continuation of membership ,if a member
 of the ,commission was appointed to the
 ,commission as a ,member of the        
,congress1 and ceases to be a ,member of
 the ,congress1 that member may continue
 to serve on the ,commission for not    
longer than the #cj-;day period         
beginning on the date on which that     
member ceases to be a ,member of the    
,congress4  7,d7 ,qualified citizen ,in 

this subsection1 the term qualified     
citizen means a citizen of the ,united  
,states with-- 7i7 a substantial        
knowledge and appreciation of the       
history of the ,american war for        
independence2 and  7ii7 a commitment to 
educating people of the ,united ,states 
about the historical importance of the  
,philadelphia ,campaign and the early   
years of the ,american ,revolution4     
7#b7 ,organization  7,a7 ,honorary      
members ,the ,president--  7i7 shall    
serve as an honorary1 nonvoting member  
of the ,commission2 and  7ii7 may invite
 the ,president of ,france and the      
,prime ,minister of the ,united ,kingdom
 to serve as honorary1 nonvoting members
 of the ,commission4  7,b7              
,administrative support ,the ,commission
 shall seek to enter into an arrangement
 with the ,museum of the ,american      
,revolution in ,philadelphia1           
,pennsylvania1 for the ,museum to       
provide to the ,commission any          
administrative support as may be        

determined necessary1 including by      
providing administrative offices for the
 ,commission at the ,museum4  7#c7      
,chair ,the ,commission shall select a  
voting member of the ,commission to     
serve as the ,chair the ,commission4    
7#d7 ,terms ,each member shall be       
appointed for the life of the           
,commission1 except that a member shall 
be removed from the ,commission for     
malfeasance or dereliction of duty1 as  
determined by a majority vote of the    
other members of the ,commission4  7#e7 
,vacancies ,a vacancy in the ,commission
 shall not affect the powers of the     
,commission and shall be filled in the  
manner in which the original appointment
 was made4  7#f7 ,basic pay ,members    
shall serve on the ,commission without  
pay4  7#g7 ,travel expenses ,each voting
 member shall receive travel expenses1  
including per diem in lieu of           
subsistence1 in accordance with         
applicable provisions under subchapter  
,i of chapter #eg of title #e1 ,united  

,states ,code4  7#h7 ,quorum ,five      
voting members of the ,commission shall 
constitute a quorum1 but a lesser number
 may hold hearings4  7#i7 ,meetings ,the
 ,commission shall meet at the call of  
the ,chair4  #d4 ,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 appropriate4  7b7 
,powers of members and agents ,any      
voting 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 ,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  7d7   
,administrative support services ,upon  
the request of the ,commission1 the     
,administrator of ,general ,services    

shall provide to the ,commission1 on a  
reimbursable basis1 any administrative  
support services necessary for the      
,commission to carry out its            
responsibilities under this ,act4  7e7  
,procurement ,the ,commission may enter 
into contracts for supplies1 services1  
and facilities to carry out the duties  
of the ,commission under this ,act4  7f7
 ,donations ,the ,commission may accept 
and use donations of--  7#a7 money2 and 
7#b7 personal services4  #e4 ,director  
and staff  7a7 ,appointment ,the        
,commission may appoint a ,director and 
such additional personnel as the        
,commission considers to be appropriate4
  7b7 ,applicability of certain civil   
service laws ,the ,director and staff 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 such title relating to   
classification and ,general ,schedule   
pay rates4  #f4 ,reports  7a7 ,interim  
reports ,the ,commission shall submit to
 ,congress interim reports on the       
activities of the ,commission on the    
dates that are #f months and #a year    
after the date of the enactment of this 
,act4  7b7 ,final report ,not later than
 ,september #cj1 #bjbh1 the ,commission 
shall submit a final report to ,congress
 that contains--  7#a7 a detailed       
statement of all activities carried out 
by the ,commission preceding the        
submission of the report2 and  7#b7 any 
other information that the ,commission  
considers to be appropriate4  #g4       
,termination ,the ,commission shall     
terminate #abj days after the final     
report is submitted to ,congress        
pursuant to section #f7;b74  #h4        
,authorization of appropriations ,there 
are authorized to be appropriated to the
 ,commission1 #b1ejj1jjj for fiscal year
 #bjbg and #b1ejj1jjj for fiscal year   

#bjbh to carry out this ,act1 to remain 
available until expended4