# Plain Language Summary: Jean Monnet Commemorative Work Bill

France wants to build a memorial in Washington, DC to honor Jean Monnet, a French diplomat who played a major role in creating the European Union and promoting peace in Europe after World War II. This bill gives France permission to do that. The memorial would be placed somewhere in the DC area, likely near Rock Creek Park since Monnet lived nearby and loved walking there—he apparently said those walks helped him think through his ideas for bringing Europe together.

The bill is essentially a permission slip. It says France's Embassy in Washington can go ahead with this project, but with one important catch: France has to pay for everything themselves. The U.S. government won't spend any taxpayer money on it. France will need to raise all the funds, handle all the construction costs, and cover the ongoing maintenance. If they somehow raise more money than they need, any leftover funds go to the National Park Foundation to help maintain other memorials.

The bill also requires that whatever memorial France builds has to follow the standard rules that apply to all commemorative works in DC. These are basically guidelines about where things can go, what they should look like, and how they're maintained. The whole project has to be approved by the Secretary of the Interior, and France has a set timeframe to complete it—if they don't build it within that window, the authorization expires and they'd need to start over. For Americans, this means a new monument honoring European history will appear in DC, but it won't cost U.S. taxpayers anything.

To authorize the Government of France to establish a commemorative work in the District of Columbia and its environs to honor the extraordinary contributions of Jean Monnet to restoring peace between European nations and establishing the European Union, and for other purposes.

Keating, William R.

This bill authorizes the Embassy of France in the District of Columbia to establish a commemorative work on federal land in the District to honor the contributions of Jean Monnet in restoring peace between European nations and establishing the European Union. The embassy shall be responsible for the acceptance of contributions for, and the payment of the expenses of, the establishment of the commemorative work. Federal funds may not be used to pay any expense for the establishment of the commemorative work. The commemorative work shall be established in accordance with the Commemorative Works Act.