§ 98. National Coast Guard Museum

(a) Establishment.— The Commandant may establish a National Coast Guard Museum, on lands which will be federally owned and administered by the Coast Guard, and are located in New London, Connecticut, at, or in close proximity to, the Coast Guard Academy.

(b) Limitation on Expenditures.—

(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the Secretary shall not expend any appropriated Federal funds for the engineering, design, or construction of any museum established under this section.

(2) The Secretary shall fund the operation and maintenance of the National Coast Guard Museum with nonappropriated and non-Federal funds to the maximum extent practicable. The priority use of Federal operation and maintenance funds should be to preserve and protect historic Coast Guard artifacts.

(c) Funding Plan.— Before the date on which the Commandant establishes a museum under subsection (a), the Commandant shall provide to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives a plan for constructing, operating, and maintaining such a museum, including—

(1) estimated planning, engineering, design, construction, operation, and maintenance costs;

(2) the extent to which appropriated, nonappropriated, and non-Federal funds will be used for such purposes, including the extent to which there is any shortfall in funding for engineering, design, or construction; and

(3) a certification by the Inspector General of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating that the estimates provided pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) are reasonable and realistic.

(d) Authority.— The Commandant may not establish a Coast Guard museum except as set forth in this section.

(Added Pub. L. 108–293, title II, § 213(a), Aug. 9, 2004, 118 Stat. 1037.)