Changing the Agency in Charge of Approving the Site and Design of the National Liberty Memorial (H.R. 1949)

What is H.R. 1949?

(Updated January 31, 2017)

This bill would revise the site and design approval process for submissions for the construction of the National Liberty Memorial to make the Dept. of Agriculture responsible for the process. Currently, the Dept. of the Interior and the General Services Administration (GSA) are in charge of the process.

The National Liberty Memorial will be dedicated to honor slaves and free blacks who served as soldiers and sailors, or provided assistance as civilians during the American Revolution.

Argument in favor

The Dept. of Agriculture can do a better job of planning the National Liberty Memorial because the it will be built next to their building on the National Mall.

Argument opposed

It seems unnecessary to have transfer responsibility for planning the National Liberty Memorial, the Dept. of the Interior and GSA are perfectly capable of doing their job.

Impact

Employees of federal agencies tasked with working on the National Liberty Memorial, the GSA, the Dept. of the Interior, and the Dept. of Agriculture.

Cost of H.R. 1949

The CBO estimates that this legislation would not have a significant impact on the federal budget.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Between July 2013 and September 2014, the list of 43 potential sites for the National Liberty Memorial was narrowed down to the file site for the memorial, which will be on the National Mall next to the Dept. of Agriculture.

Media:

• CBO Cost Estimate
• National Liberty Memorial (Context)

Summary by Eric Revell
(Photo Credit: Flickr user Kyle Rush)