§ 2572 — Documents, Historical Artifacts, And Condemned Or Obsolete Combat Materiel: Loan, Gift, Or Exchange

(a) The Secretary concerned may lend or give items described in subsection (c) that are not needed by the military department concerned (or by the Coast Guard, in the case of the Secretary of Homeland Security), to any of the following: (1) A municipal corporation, county, or other political subdivision of a State. (2) A servicemen’s monument association. (3) A museum, historical society, or historical institution of a State or a foreign nation or a nonprofit military aviation heritage foundation or association incorporated in a State. (4) An incorporated museum or memorial that is operated and maintained for educational purposes only and the charter of which denies it the right to operate for profit. (5) A post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States or of the American Legion or a unit of any other recognized war veterans’ association. (6) A local or national unit of any war veterans’ association of a foreign nation which is recognized by the national government of that nation (or by the government of one of the principal political subdivisions of that nation). (7) A post of the Sons of Veterans Reserve. (1) Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary concerned may exchange items described in subsection (c) that are not needed by the armed forces for any of the following items or services if such items or services directly benefit the historical collection of the armed forces: (A) Similar items held by any individual, organization, institution, agency, or nation. (B) Conservation supplies, equipment, facilities, or systems. (C) Search, salvage, or transportation services. (D) Restoration, conservation, or preservation services. (E) Educational programs. (2) The Secretary concerned may not make an exchange under paragraph (1) unless the monetary value of property transferred, or services provided, to the United States under the exchange is not less than the value of the property transferred by the United States. The Secretary concerned may waive the limitation in the preceding sentence in the case of an exchange of property for property in any case in which the Secretary determines that the item to be received by the United States in the exchange will significantly enhance the historical collection of the property administered by the Secretary. (c) This section applies to the following types of property held by a military department or the Coast Guard: books, manuscripts, works of art, historical artifacts, drawings, plans, models, and condemned or obsolete combat materiel. (1) A loan or gift made under this section shall be subject to regulations prescribed by the Secretary concerned and to regulations under section 121 of title 40. The Secretary concerned shall ensure that an item authorized to be donated under this section is demilitarized in the interest of public safety, as determined necessary by the Secretary or the Secretary’s delegee. (A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the United States may not incur any expense in connection with a loan or gift under subsection (a), including any expense associated with demilitarizing an item under paragraph (1), for which the recipient of the item shall be responsible. (B) The Secretary concerned may, without cost to the recipient, demilitarize, prepare, and transport in the continental United States for donation to a recognized war veterans’ association an item authorized to be donated under this section if the Secretary determines the demilitarization, preparation, and transportation can be accomplished as a training mission without additional budgetary requirements for the unit involved. (1) Except as provided in paragraph (3), and notwithstanding this section or any other provision of law, the President may not transfer a veterans memorial object to a foreign country or an entity controlled by a foreign government, or otherwise transfer or convey such an object to any person or entity for purposes of the ultimate transfer or conveyance of the object to a foreign country or entity controlled by a foreign government. (2) In this subsection: (A) The term “entity controlled by a foreign government” has the meaning given that term in section 4874(c)(1) of this title. (B) The term “veterans memorial object” means any object, including a physical structure or portion thereof, that— (i) is located at a cemetery of the National Cemetery System, war memorial, or military installation in the United States; (ii) is dedicated to, or otherwise memorializes, the death in combat or combat-related duties of members of the armed forces; and (iii) was brought to the United States from abroad before 1907 as a memorial of combat abroad. (3) The prohibition imposed by paragraph (1) does not apply to a transfer of a veterans memorial object if— (A) the transfer of that veterans memorial object is specifically authorized by law; or (B) the transfer is made after September 30, 2022.