Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Act would allow the Secretary of the Interior to grant the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation up to $50 million in total to establish the library in Medora, North Dakota. The money must first be provided in appropriations Acts. Before a grant can be made, the Foundation must certify receipt of at least $100 million in library funds contributed by North Dakota or raised from non-federal sources since the Foundation was established. Federal grant money cannot pay for library operation or maintenance.
Who Benefits and How
The Foundation gains a potential source of establishment funding and access to no-charge loans of museum objects from agencies under Interior, including the National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Public visitors and researchers could benefit from preserved materials and interpretive and educational services about Theodore Roosevelt. The artifact provision particularly contemplates objects not on public display, but transfers are loans subject to preservation and exhibition terms, not gifts of federal ownership. North Dakota is an eligible source of the required funding, not a State ordered by this bill to contribute a new amount.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Interior would administer any grants and artifact-loan agreements. The Foundation must meet the receipt-certification threshold, keep federal grants out of maintenance and operations, and comply with loan preservation and exhibition terms. Federal taxpayers would finance grants only if Congress appropriates money, and the lending agencies would manage collections and loan arrangements. The Secretary may enter artifact-loan agreements within the stated 180-day post-enactment period; the text is permissive, not an obligation to lend every requested object. Federal entities may not participate in library operation unless requested by its non-federal operator and consistent with applicable law.
Key Provisions
- Authorizes Interior grants totaling no more than $50 million, contingent on advance appropriations and certification of at least $100 million in qualifying State or other non-federal library funds.
- Prohibits use of those grants for library maintenance or operation and provides that no increase in the relevant congressional section 302(b) budget suballocation is required.
- Authorizes no-charge artifact-loan agreements with Interior agencies within 180 days, subject to preservation and exhibition conditions set by the Secretary.
- Restricts federal involvement in operation to participation requested by the non-federal operator under applicable law.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Authorize up to $50 million in conditional establishment grants and no-charge artifact loans for the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library while preserving non-federal operation.
Key Policy Areas
Museums and public history, Federal cultural assistance
Primary Purpose
Authorize up to $50 million in conditional establishment grants and no-charge artifact loans for the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library while preserving non-federal operation.
Policy Domains
Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Act
Identified Gains
- Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation
- Library visitors
- Presidential history researchers
Identified Costs
- Department of the Interior
- National Park Service
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- Federal taxpayers
- Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
Passed SenateOrdered to be Reported by Unanimous Consent.
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
Subcommittee on Federal Lands Discharged
Subcommittee Hearings Held
Referred to the Subcommittee on Federal Lands.
Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources
Held at the desk.
Received in the House.
Message on Senate action sent to the House.
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Department of the Interior, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "library"
- → Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora, North Dakota
- "secretary"
- → Secretary of the Interior
- "foundation"
- → Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation
- "lending_agencies"
- → Federal agencies under Interior, including the National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Note: {'description': 'The preferred Senate-engrossed and House-referred substantive texts are identical. The stored is-to-rfh transition adds the budget-suballocation savings clause and removes Museum Artifacts from the short title. Artifact loans are loans of objects, not loan guarantees or ownership transfers; authorized grants are not appropriated funds.'}
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
The Foundation must certify at least $100 million received from North Dakota contributions or other qualifying non-federal fundraising from its establishment through certification; this is a receipt threshold, not an automatic new State payment.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology