# What This Bill Does

This bill creates a temporary commission to study whether the United States should build a National Museum of Irish American History in Washington, DC. Think of it as a planning committee that will investigate the idea and report back to Congress with recommendations about whether and how to move forward.

The commission will have 23 members appointed by the President and congressional leaders. These members should be people with expertise in museums, fundraising, Irish-American history and culture, or experience running cultural institutions. The commission's main job is to figure out the practical details: Where should the museum go? How much would it cost to build and run? Should it be part of the Smithsonian Institution or independent? How would they raise money to keep it operating forever without relying on taxpayer funding? They'll also look at how a new national museum might affect existing Irish-American museums around the country.

The commission has about two years to complete its work and submit detailed reports and recommendations to Congress. They'll also develop a fundraising plan and get an independent review to make sure their funding strategy would actually work. After they submit their final recommendations, the commission automatically shuts down 30 days later. Congress will then decide whether to actually build the museum based on what the commission recommends. The bill authorizes spending about $2.1 million in the first year and $1.1 million in the second year to pay for the commission's work, but this doesn't commit any money to actually building a museum—it only funds the study itself.