The Commemorative Works Act of 1986 (; ) (CWA) is a United States federal law which bars the construction of commemorative works near the National Mall and on federal land in the National Capital Area unless they are approved by the National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission (NCMAC). The law also establishes criteria a memorial must meet in order to be approved the NCMAC, and establishes a seven-year deadline by which construction must begin or the memorial loses its congressional authorization. As of April 2014, the law has been amended five times, most notably by the Commemorative Works Clarification and Revision Act of 2003.
Commemorative Works Act of 1986
Legislative history By 1986, there were 110 national monuments, memorials, and statues in Washington, D.C., and its immediate environs. The pressure to build more memorials on the National Mall was extremely heavy, with roughly 15 new proposals being introduced in each session of Congress. Approximately 25 additional memorials had been seriously proposed but lacked a congressional sponsor to introduced authorizing legislation in Congress. The sheer number of memorials being proposed was not the only problem. The memorials were increasingly large, and often included extensive exhibits that threatened to turn memorials into miniature museums.
On March 11, 1986, Representative Mo Udall (D-Arizona) introduced H.R. 4378, the Commemorative Works Act of 1986, in the United States House of Representatives. The bill was favorably reported by the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs on April 23, and passed the House by voice vote on May 5. A companion bill, S. 2522, was introduced in the United States Senate by Senator Malcolm Wallop (R-Wyoming) on June 5. The bill was assigned to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, which favorably reported the bill with amendments on August 15. The bill passed the Senate, with additional amendments, by voice vote on September 10. The House made additional amendments of its own, and concurred with the Senate bill by voice vote on September 29. The Senate concurred with the House-amended bill by voice vote on October 16. President Ronald Reagan signed the bill into law on November 14, 1986.
The Commemorative Works Act established "significant procedural roadblocks" to the creation of new memorials.
Provisions Section 2(c) of the Commemorative Works Act of 1986 defines a "commemorative work" as a garden, memorial, memorial grove, monument, sculpture, statue, or other structure or landscape feature designed to perpetuate the memory of a person, group, or event.Commemorative Works Act, Public Law 99-652 (November 14, 1986), Section 2(c).
Section 2(e) established specific zones within the National Capital Region to which various rules established by the Act would apply. Working with the General Services Administration and the National Park Service, Congress had on May 1, 1986, created a map (number 869/86501) of these areas, which it named Area I and Area II. Area I roughly encompassed a zone extending from the White House to the United States Capitol; from the Capitol along Maryland Avenue SW to and along the 14th Street Bridge; the Virginia shore of the Potomac River from the 14th Street Bridge to Columbia Island; Columbia Island; the National Park Service land fronting Arlington National Cemetery (excluding Memorial Drive) north to Key Bridge; Key Bridge due east across the Potomac River to Rock Creek; Rock Creek north to 26th Street NW and L Street NW; south on 26th Street NW to I Street NW; roughly west from the intersection of I and 26th Streets NW to the National Park Service land on the D.C. shore of the Potomac River; south along the Potomac River to West Potomac Park (including the grounds of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts); east along the National Mall to the Ellipse; and north to the White House. Area II consisted of those parts of the National Capital Area outside Area I.Commemorative Works Act, Public Law 99-652 (November 14, 1986), Section 2(e).
Section 3(a) of the Act barred establishment of a memorial anywhere within Area I or Area II without specific authorization by Congress.Commemorative Works Act, Public Law 99-652 (November 14, 1986), Section 3(a).
Section 4(a) of the Act formally established the National Capital Memorial Advisory Committee (NCMAC). This committee had been informally established earlier by the United States Department of the Interior. The Act charged NCMAC with administering the Commemorative Works Act, and specified the membership of the committee. These were:Commemorative Works Act, Public Law 99-652 (November 14, 1986), Section 4(a). Director of the National Park Service (who was also designated the committee's chair) Architect of the Capitol Chair of the American Battle Monuments Commission Chair of the United States Commission of Fine Arts Chair of the National Capital Planning Commission Mayor of the District of Columbia Commissioner of the Public Building Service of the General Services Administration United States Secretary of Defense Section 7(a)(1) required memorials to be submitted to NCMAC for siting approval. Section 7(a)(1) required memorials to be submitted to the Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission for both site and design approval.Commemorative Works Act, Public Law 99-652 (November 14, 1986), Section 7(a).
Section 6(a) of the Commemorative Works Act established the criteria a commemorative work had to meet to be erected in Area I. Either the United States Secretary of the Interior or the Administrator of the General Services Administration could approve a memorial within Area I if and only if the person, group, or event to be commemorated was of "preeminent historical and lasting significance to the Nation."Commemorative Works Act, Public Law 99-652 (November 14, 1986), Section 6(a). This determination could be made only after consulting with NCMAC. Even so, the affirmative determination had to be approved by Congress within 150 days, or it was considered disapproved.
Section 6(b) of the Commemorative Works Act established the criteria a commemorative work had to meet to be erected in Area II. Section 6(b)(1) governed military commemorative works. It barred memorials for "lesser" conflicts and those commemorating only a unit of the armed forces of the United States. An individual or the last surviving member of a group to be commemorated had to have died at least 25 years ago for a memorial to be erected. Other commemorative works—those not commemorating a war, branch of the armed forces, individual, or group—were permissible in Area II only if they were "a subject of lasting historical significance."Commemorative Works Act, Public Law 99-652 (November 14, 1986), Section 6(b).
Section 8(a) barred the District of Columbia or Department of the Interior from issuing a construction permit for a commemorative work unless its site and design had been approved by the secretary or administrator, the Commission of Fine Arts, and the National Capital Planning Commission; unless the memorial planners could prove they had consulted knowledgeable individuals regarding historic preservation and "structural soundness and durability" about the memorial design; the memorial's builder had design and construction contracts signed; and the memorial's builder had sufficient funds in hand to complete construction.Commemorative Works Act, Public Law 99-652 (November 14, 1986), Section 8(a).
Section 8(b) also required memorial builders to collect an amount equal to 10 percent of the total cost of construction. This amount was to be turned over to the United States Treasury, which would hold them in trust as a perpetual operations and maintenance fund for the memorial.Commemorative Works Act, Public Law 99-652 (November 14, 1986), Section 8(b).
Section 10(b) provided that the authorization for a memorial would expire at the end of five years, unless a construction permit had been issued by the Department of the Interior or the General Services Administration or Congress had expressly enacted legislation authorizing an extension of the deadline.Commemorative Works Act, Public Law 99-652 (November 14, 1986), Section 10(b). Section 10(e) exempted any memorial authorized before the 99th Congress from the five-year deadline.Commemorative Works Act, Public Law 99-652 (November 14, 1986), Section 10(e).
Section 10(c) of the Act required that title to completed commemorative works be transferred to the Department of the Interior or the General Services Administration upon completion.Commemorative Works Act, Public Law 99-652 (November 14, 1986), Section 10(c).
1991 amendments The 102nd Congress amended the Commemorative Works Act for the first time. Representative Bill Clay (D-Missouri) introduced H.R. 3169 on August 1, 1991. It was referred to the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, which approved an amended bill on October 21. The House approved the bill by voice vote the same day. The bill was passed to the Senate, and referred to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. It was reported favorably on November 12, and approved by the Senate in a voice vote on November 27. President George H. W. Bush signed it into law on December 11, 1991 ().
Public Law 102-216 lengthened the term of memorial authorization to seven years from five years.An Act to lengthen from five to seven years the expiration period applicable to legislative authority relating to construction of commemorative works on Federal land in the District of Columbia and its environs, Public Law 102-216 (December 11, 1991).
1994 amendments In 1994, Congress enacted amendments to the Commemorative Works Act ().
On August 6, 1993, Representative Nancy Johnson (R-Connecticut) introduced H.R. 2947. It was referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources and reported favorably on November 20, 1993. It passed the House on a voice vote on November 23. On October 15, 1993, Senator John Warner (R-Virginia) introduced companion legislation (S. 1552) in the Senate. It was referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, which favorably reported it on April 5, 1994. It passed the Senate on a voice vote on April 12. The House voted 378-to-0 to accept the amendment Senate bill on August 16, 1994. President Bill Clinton signed the bill into law on August 26.
Several memorials were close to losing their congressional authorization in 1994. The backers of these memorials convinced Congress that they were close to raising enough funds to build their commemorative works and obtain final design approval. In Section 1 of the amendments, Congress extended the authorization for the Black Revolutionary War Patriots Memorial, National Peace Garden, and Women in Military Service for America Memorial from seven years to 10 years.To amend the Commemorative Works Act, and for other purposes, Public Law 103-321 (August 26, 1994), Section 1.
Section 2(a) of the amendment made minor revisions to the commemorative works encompassed by the CWA. Commemorative works now included plaques and inscriptions, and memorial sponsors had to be either a public agency or a nonprofit organization as defined by the Internal Revenue Code.To amend the Commemorative Works Act, and for other purposes, Public Law 103-321 (August 26, 1994), Section 2(a).
Section 2(b)(2) added the requirement that a major conflict occur at least 10 years ago in order to be authorized in Area I.To amend the Commemorative Works Act, and for other purposes, Public Law 103-321 (August 26, 1994), Section 2(b)(2).