TheAdams Memorial is a proposedUnited States presidential memorial on theNational Mall to honorFounding Father and secondPresidentJohn Adams and his legacy. TheU.S. Congress has created the Adams Memorial Commission to oversee the planning and construction of the Memorial. CommissionerJackie Gingrich Cushman serves as the Chairman of the Adams Memorial Commission.
On November 5, 2001, theUnited States Congress enacted a bill for the establishment of a "commemorative work...to honor former President John Adams and his legacy."[1] The Memorial is to honor both John Adams and the other members of the Adams Family renowned for public service: his wife and prolific writerAbigail Adams; their son, the sixth U.S. PresidentJohn Quincy Adams; his wifeLouisa Catherine Adams; their son,American Civil War diplomat, politician, and editorCharles Francis Adams, Sr.; and Charles' two sons, noted historian and autobiographerHenry Adams and academicianBrooks Adams.[1]
Congress authorized the Adams Memorial Foundation to be the sponsor responsible for the planning and construction of the Memorial.[1] The Foundation was given permission to raise private funds to construct the Adams Memorial on federal land inWashington, D.C. Once established, the Memorial was to be turned over to the federal government. On December 2, 2002, Congress amended this legislation to permit the Adams Memorial to be constructed within Area 1, the central core of the District of Columbia centered on theNational Mall.[2]
TheCommemorative Works Clarification and Revision Act of 2003 (CWCRA) gave the Adams Memorial Foundation seven years to raise funds and begin construction.[3] With construction not yet begun, Congress passed legislation on October 30, 2009, extending the deadline to September 30, 2010.[4] On May 24, 2010, Congress again extended the deadline to December 2, 2013.[5]
Authorization for the Adams Memorial expired on December 2, 2013, without construction having begun. At a 2014 Senate hearing before the Subcommittee on National Parks, the Adams Memorial Foundation was praised for having worked diligently on the Memorial.[6] Congress again reauthorized the Memorial on Dec. 19, 2014, extending the deadline to December 2, 2020.[7] With construction still not begun, in March 2019 Congress established the Adams Memorial Commission to oversee the planning and construction of the Memorial.[8]
The Adams Memorial Commission is a Congressional Commission which consists of 4 members of the House of Representatives, 4 Senators, and 4 civilians appointed by the President of the United States. The Memorial Commission is responsible for site selection, design, permitting, and construction of the Memorial.[8]
In the fall of 2020, President Trump made two of four presidential appointments,Timothy Harleth andJackie Gingrich Cushman, daughter of former U.S. House SpeakerNewt Gingrich.[9][10] In March 2023, President Biden made the remaining two presidential appointments,Major General Peter Cooke and Richard Houghton.[11]
In December 2023, Speaker Mike Johnson appointed four members of the House of Representatives to serve on the commission: Rep.Morgan Griffith of Virginia, Rep.John Moolenaar of Michigan, Rep.Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts, and Rep.Gerry Connolly of Virginia.[12]
The four Senatorial members of the commission are yet to be appointed.
Since the appointment of a majority of its members, the commission has met several times. At its first meeting in January 2024, Commissioner Cushman was made chairman, and Commissioner Cooke was made Vice Chairman. The commission has since re-created the Adams Memorial Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation established to raise private funds and awareness for the Memorial. Commissioner Cushman serves as President of the Adams Memorial Foundation.[13]
Pursuant to its authorizing statute,[8] the commission is to produce an end-of-year report before the close of 2024.[needs update]
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