Commemorative Works Act

Commemorative Works Act of 1986
99th United States Congress
Citation	PL 99-652; 40 United States Code 89, Sections 8901 to 8909
Enacted by	Congress
Date enacted	October 16, 1986
Date signed	November 14, 1986
Legislative history
Bill	H.R. 4378; S. 2522
Bill published on	May 5, 1986
Introduced by	Mo Udall
Committee report	H.Rept. No. 99-574 (Interior and Insular Affairs) S.Rept. No. 99-421 (Energy and Natural Resources)
Summary
To provide standards for placement of commemorative works on certain Federal lands in the District of Columbia and its environs, and for other purposes

The Commemorative Works Act of 1986 (Public Law 99-652; 40 U.S. Code Chapter 89) is a United States federal law which bars the construction of commemorative works on the National Mall and 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 (Public Law 108-126).

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 problems. 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.