S.Amdt. 4615

SA 4615. Mr. GRAHAM submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill S. 2943, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2017 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of subtitle E of title XXVIII, add the
following:

SEC. 2853. CONGRESSIONAL DESIGNATION OF THE NATIONAL MEDAL OF
HONOR MUSEUM.

(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The Medal of Honor Museum will be the only museum in
the United States that exists for the exclusive purpose of
interpreting the story of the Medal of Honor and all of its
recipients.
(2) The Medal of Honor Museum will be the only museum to
educate a diverse group of audiences through its collection
of artifacts, photographs, letters, documents, and first-hand
personal accounts of Medal of Honor recipients and the wars
they fought in during United States conflicts since the Civil
War.
(3) The Medal of Honor Museum mission is--
(A) to preserve and present the extraordinary stories of
individuals who reached the highest levels of recognition,
``above and beyond the call of duty,'' in service to the
Nation;
(B) to inspire current and future generations about the
ideals of the Medal of Honor six columns of character--
Courage, Commitment, Integrity, Citizenship, Sacrifice, and
Patriotism;
(C) to help visitors understand the meaning and price of
freedom and what it means to put service above self; and
(D) to serve as an education center that, through various
programs, reaches out across the country to further the Medal
of Honor's ideals among all Americans, especially our
Nation's youth.
(4) The Medal of Honor was established by an Act of
Congress in 1861 and is awarded in its name. The Medal of
Honor is the highest award for valor in action against an
enemy force which can be bestowed upon an individual serving
in the Armed Forces of the United States and is generally
presented to its recipient by the President in the name of
Congress.
(5) The total number of Medal of Honor recipients from the
Civil War through the current War on Terrorism is 3,495 (19
individuals are double recipients). Since World War II, the
vast majority of recipients from WWII, the Korean War, and
Vietnam have been awarded posthumously.
(6) As of May 3, 2016, there are only 76 living Medal of
Honor recipients, whose average age is 77, creating an urgent
need to preserve the stories, artifacts, and heroic
achievements of these individuals.
(7) The United States has a need to preserve forever the
stories, knowledge, and history of the 3,495 recipients of
the Medal of Honor to portray that history and the courage,
commitment, integrity, citizenship, sacrifice, and patriotism
of the recipients to citizens, visitors, and school children
for centuries to come.
(8) Therefore, it is appropriate to designate The Medal of
Honor Museum as ``National Medal of Honor Museum''.
(b) Designation of the National Medal of Honor Museum.--The
Medal of Honor Museum is hereby designated as ``The National
Medal of Honor Museum''.
(c) Funding.--The amount authorized to be appropriated
under section 2403 for military construction, land
acquisition, and military family housing functions of the
Department of Defense (other than the military departments),
as specified in the finding table in section 4601, is
increased by $10,000,000, with the amount of such increase to
be allocated for planning and construction of the National
Medal of Honor Museum.
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