[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 98 (Friday, June 28, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7340-S7341]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 NATIONAL CHILDREN'S ISLAND ACT OF 1995

  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar Order No. 469, H.R. 
1508.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 1508) to require the transfer of title to the 
     District of Columbia of certain real property in Anacostia 
     Park to facilitate the construction of National Children's 
     Island, a cultural, educational, and family-oriented park.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the immediate 
consideration of the bill?
  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, there are several letters that I would 
like to submit for the Record as the Senate considers H.R. 1508, the 
National Children's Island Act. The letters are addressed to me as 
chairman of the Governmental Affairs Committee and express support of 
both former and current elected officials in the District of Columbia 
for this bill.
  I ask unanimous consent to print in the Record the following letters:
  There being no objection, the letters were ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                    Congress of the United States,


                                     House of Representatives,

                                   Washington, DC, April 17, 1996.
     Sen. Ted Stevens,
     Senate Hart Building,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Stevens: The National Children's Island Act 
     of 1995, passed the House on October 30, 1995 by a unanimous 
     voice vote, and I understand that the bill will come before 
     your Senate Government Affairs Committee tomorrow. I urge 
     passage of the bill, which was overwhelmingly passed by the 
     D.C. City Council and has the support of the city 
     administration.
       H.R. 1508 calls for the transfer of ownership of Heritage 
     and portions of Kingman Island, located within the Anacostia 
     River, from the National Park Service to the District of 
     Columbia for the purposes of creating a cultural, educational 
     and family oriented-park.
       The National Children's Island project will transform a 
     wasteland area into an educational park featuring pavilions 
     designed to expand awareness in such areas as communications 
     and computers, medicine, science and the environment. It will 
     offer area youth a badly needed recreational facility. 
     Furthermore, a share of the park's revenues have been 
     earmarked to provide educational opportunities through grants 
     and scholarships for our neighborhood children.
       When the House of Representatives first considered this 
     legislation, I met on several occasions with residents who 
     were supporters and opponents of the bill, and all have 
     contributed to its final version. Over the course of several 
     months and countless meetings, several valid concerns were 
     raised and addressed in the Chairman's Mark at my request:
       A provision specifying that the District of Columbia's 
     review of the project must be in full compliance with all 
     provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969;
       A requirement that the National Capital Planning Commission 
     review and approve the project;
       A prohibition against public parking on the Islands;
       A provision requiring National Children's Island to comply 
     with previously agreed upon design parameters. Specifically, 
     buildings cannot exceed fifty feet in height, and no more 
     than five acres can be under roof and no more than 23% of the 
     surface can be paved; and
       A requirement that National Children's Island establish an 
     escrow fund to restore the lands in the event they are 
     returned to the National Park Service. Specifically, they 
     must remove any buildings and landscape the area.
        National Children's Island will offer the District of 
     Columbia significant economic opportunities at a time when, 
     as you know, the city is in dire financial condition. For 
     example, over 1,700 new, full and part-time jobs and an 
     estimated $8.9 million in annual sales tax revenues will 
     result. In light of the District's current state of financial 
     crisis, the City Council and he city administrators have 
     strongly supported the project, and I believe that on a home 
     rule basis, it should proceed.
       Thank you for your consideration.
           Sincerely,
     Eleanor Holmes Norton.
                                                                    ____

                                             Walter E. Washington,


                                              Attorney at Law,

                                     Washington, DC, May 30, 1996.
     Hon. Ted Stevens,
     Chairman, Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, Washington, 
         DC.
       Dear Senator Stevens: During my term as the first elected 
     mayor of the District of Columbia, it was my pleasure to 
     organize the City's Bicentennial Commission to help the 
     United States' 200th birthdate during that year-long national 
     celebration. One of the projects that the citizens on that 
     commission strongly recommended was the National Children's 
     Island project. prior to the citizens of the District 
     supporting this project, the National Park Service had been 
     trying to develop these islands as a part of its overall plan 
     for the development of the Anacostia River basin for ten 
     years.
       When I heard that your committee was about to take up H.R. 
     1508, the National Children's Island Act of 1995, I was 
     overjoyed as it has been a long hard struggle for a very 
     worthy project to take so long to become a reality. I want to 
     convey my strongest support for H.R. 1508, and urge your 
     committee to move this legislation through the Senate as 
     early as is practical.
       As an elected official, you must know how frustrating it 
     can be to devote your time and energy to worthwhile projects 
     that never see the light of day. I held a ground breaking 
     ceremony and started initial construction and sought major 
     financing for this project in 1976 and since that time the 
     project has for the most part been tied up in red tape. I 
     would very much like to be able to attend the opening of the 
     project, which I am assured, only needs this legislation to 
     speed into the planning, design and construction process. 
     This can only happen with your help.
       This project means a great deal to our citizens, as well as 
     to the District's economic base. Please help us get rid of a 
     dump site and help us create an environmentally safe, 
     attractive, fun-filled learning place for our children and 
     their families.
           Sincerely,
     Walter E. Washington.
                                                                    ____



                                     The District of Columbia,

                                    Washington, DC, June 18, 1996.
     Hon. Ted Stevens,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Stevens: I am writing to emphasize the 
     District of Columbia's support for H.R. 1508, the National 
     Children's Island Act of 1995.
       I strongly urge passage of this legislation exactly as it 
     is written. The current language of the bill is a result of 
     months and even years of discussion, compromise and fine-
     tuning, with input from various sectors: the National Park 
     Service, the National Capital Planning Commission, 
     environmentalists, community advocates, the District 
     government and residents of the neighborhoods bordering the 
     Children's Island project. All of these entities have had an 
     opportunity to

[[Page S7341]]

     weigh in, and I strongly believe that H.R. 1508 represents 
     the absolute best compromise language possible. H.R. 1508, 
     exactly as it is written, protects the environment and the 
     interests of the community. It also provides the District of 
     Columbia with the ability to efficiently take this project to 
     completion.
       National Children's Island (NCI), is not a new concept. In 
     fact, the District has worked for more than 20 years with the 
     National Children's Island Inc., a local non-profit 
     organization, to move this project forward. Unfortunately, 
     the National Children's Island project has been paralyzed by 
     overlapping layers of Federal and District government laws, 
     rules and regulations. H.R. 1508 is designed to eliminate 
     this bureaucratic gridlock and simplify a process that has 
     become extremely cumbersome and has taken far too long to 
     complete.
       The thrust of H.R. 1508 is to make the National Children's 
     Island project, a home-rule, District project by transferring 
     legal title of Heritage Island and a portion of Kingman 
     Island to the District and by subjecting Children's Island to 
     the laws and regulations of the District. In addition, a 
     variety of other protective provisions designed to ensure 
     that this project moves forward in a responsible manner are 
     included in the bill. Some of these protections include:
       A provision calling for title to the Islands to revert back 
     to the Federal government in the event the Islands are 
     converted to a use other than as specified. (page 6, lines 
     13-17).
       Subjecting the National Children's Island, Inc., to the 
     ``Children's Island Development Plan Act of 1993,'' D.C. Act 
     10-110, which requires that the National Children's Island 
     project be subject to the review and approval of the District 
     Council. (page 2, lines 20-22 and page 8, lines 17-18).
       Calling for final design plans for National Children's 
     Island to be approved by the National Capital Planning 
     Commission, (NCPC), and to be in full compliance with the 
     National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, (NEPA), before 
     construction can commence. (page 8, lines 12-21).
       I would like to point out that the National Children's 
     Island project enjoys the overwhelming support of the Council 
     of the District of Columbia, and more than 70 community 
     organizations have sent letters in support of the project. 
     The project is also in full compliance with the District of 
     Columbia's Comprehensive Plan. Specifically, DCMR Title 10, 
     Section 1735(h) guides the District to avoid commercial 
     development that would adversely affect the neighborhoods 
     adjacent to Kingman Island (Children's Island) and explicitly 
     dictates that the parcels be used for community and city-wide 
     recreation. In fact, the public planning process has advised 
     this project from the beginning, and will continue as a key 
     requirement of the Master Planning process.
       For all of these reasons, I therefore ask you to support 
     H.R. 1508 in its present form and support the District's 
     effort to bring a worthwhile, viable project to our beloved 
     District of Columbia and to our children.
           Sincerely yours,
                                                Marion Barry, Jr.,
     Mayor.
                                                                    ____



                          Council of the District of Columbia,

                                    Washington, DC, June 18, 1996.
     Hon. Ted Stevens, Chairman,
     Hon. John Glenn, Ranking Member,
     Senate Governmental Affairs Committee,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Stevens and Senator Glenn: I am writing to 
     request your support for H.R. 1508, the National Children's 
     Island Act of 1995, which was introduced by Congresswoman 
     Eleanor Holmes Norton and approved by the House of 
     Representatives, and which is currently pending in the Senate 
     Governmental Affairs Committee. This legislation, which 
     provides for the transfer of the ownership of Heritage Island 
     and a portion of Kingman Island (``Children's Island'') 
     located on the Anacostia River from the National Park Service 
     to the District of Columbia, will facilitate an 
     environmentally sensitive development of Children's Island 
     which will provide significant recreational, educational and 
     economic benefits for the District of Columbia.
       A transfer of jurisdiction over this property was 
     previously approved by the Council of the District of 
     Columbia on July 13, 1993, and by the National Capital 
     Planning Commission (``NCPC'') on January 7, 1993. The NCPC 
     found that the proposed use of Children's Island--as a 
     family-oriented recreational and educational park on 32 acres 
     and a free children's playground on 13.5 acres--would serve 
     to enhance the recreational potential of both the parkland 
     and the river, and that the proposed use is consistent with 
     both the Comprehensive Plan for the National Capital and the 
     previously approved concept plans for this portion of the 
     Anacostia park system.
       Although I was not on the Council at the time, the 
     Children's Island Development Plan Act of 1993 (D.C. Law 10-
     57, effective November 20, 1993) was unanimously approved by 
     the Council three years ago. Enclosed for your information is 
     a copy of the law, along with the accompanying Report by the 
     Council's Committee of the Whole (``Report''), which stated:
       The Children's Island project envisions a development which 
     will transform an inaccessible, man-made, trash-filled 
     property with little redeeming value into an expertly 
     designed and beautifully landscaped park which has 
     recreational, educational and cultural activities and 
     exhibits for residents and tourists of all ages.
       The Report also estimated that the Children's Island 
     project would generate approximately 1,700 permanent part-
     time and full-time jobs and millions of dollars in 
     desperately needed new tax revenues to the District.
       As you may know, D.C. Law 10-57 requires that, in addition 
     to all other requirements for approvals, permits and 
     procedures which are necessary to allow the development of 
     Children's Island, a development plan for Children's Island 
     must be prepared and submitted to the D.C. Council for review 
     and approval. The law requires this development plan to 
     include, among other information, an environmental impact 
     statement (``EIS'') which would identify all measures 
     necessary to mitigate or eliminate any adverse impacts from 
     the proposed development. The EIS process will ensure that 
     the Children's Island development proposal will be subject to 
     full community and governmental participation in a 
     comprehensive assessment of its impacts.
       In summary, I urge your favorable consideration of 
     legislation to facilitate the development of Children's 
     Island as a recreational and educational park that will be 
     accessible to and enjoyed by millions of area residents and 
     visitors to our nation's capital each year. The project 
     offers the opportunity to provide the public with an amenity 
     in the eastern part of the District that would be similar in 
     landscaping, density and cultural value as that provided by 
     the National Zoo in the western part of our city. Moreover, 
     the Children's Island project--like the proposed arena, 
     convention center and municipal parking projects in the 
     District each of which has required Congressional legislation 
     to move forward--is an important component in the ongoing 
     effort to revitalize the District's traditional position as 
     the economic and cultural heart of this region.
           Sincerely,
                                                  David A. Clarke,
                                                         Chairman.
  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the bill be 
deemed read the third time, passed, the motion to reconsider be laid 
upon the table, and that any statements relating to the bill be placed 
at the appropriate place in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (H.R. 1508) was deemed read for the third time and passed.

                          ____________________