[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 129 (Wednesday, September 18, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H10548-H10550]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM DULLES CENTER

  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
Senate bill (S. 1995) to authorize construction of the Smithsonian 
Institution National Air and Space Museum Dulles Center at Washington 
Dulles International Airport, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                S. 1995

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. CONSTRUCTION OF MUSEUM CENTER.

       The Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution is 
     authorized to construct the Smithsonian Institution National 
     Air and Space Museum Dulles Center at Washington Dulles 
     International Airport.

     SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS.

       No appropriated funds may be used to pay any expense of the 
     construction authorized by section 1.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania [Mr. Shuster] and the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Traficant] 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Shuster].
  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, this legislation authorizes the construction of the 
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum extension at Dulles Airport. 
To date, $8 million had been authorized in appropriations for planning 
and design of this project. The construction of this facility will 
allow airplane, spacecraft, and aviation-related equipment currently 
stored outdoors to be safely housed in structures which meet museum 
standards, as well as create a restoration facility capable of handling 
the largest artifacts in the collection.
  Mr. Speaker, these include such aircraft as the B-29 Enola Gay, the 
space shuttle Enterprise, and the SR-71 Blackbird. A request for $5 
million is included in the fiscally year 1997 budget to continue 
funding through the design development phase and begin the construction 
documents phase.
  The final $2 million authorized will be requested in fiscal year 1998 
to complete the construction documents for the building.
  Mr. Speaker, it is important to emphasize that no Federal funds will 
be made available for the construction

[[Page H10549]]

phase of the project. The Smithsonian Institution will be responsible 
for privately raising funds to pay for the construction. Also, the 
Commonwealth of Virginia has pledged to provide infrastructure support, 
which includes a $3 million interest-free loan, a $6 million 
construction appropriation, and authority for a $100 million bond 
issue.
  It is a good bill, Mr. Speaker, and I urge its adoption.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to 
the gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. Oberstar], our ranking Democrat 
member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a really exciting initiative, the National Air 
and Space Museum to be developed at Dulles Airport. It is under the 
leadership of a truly great leader in aviation, former Adm. Don Engen, 
former administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration and former 
Member of the National Transportation Safety Board.
  He is in charge of the fund-raising and of the organization and 
development of this project and has already launched a very significant 
nationwide effort, working very hard to raise the private sector funds 
which, as the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Shuster] indicated, will 
be entirely constructed with private sector funds.
  It is going to be a true monument to aviation, to aviation 
technology, and I am very pleased that the committee has moved this 
legislation to make the extension facility possible. It is really an 
extension of the Smithsonian, but at a place that makes sense: Out at 
one of the Nation's premier airports, and an international airport; one 
of advanced design at that, where we can put on display this leadership 
that the United States has demonstrated throughout decades in the field 
of aviation.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge the passage of this legislation.
  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, no Federal funds will be used for the construction of 
this project. In addition, the State of Virginia will be contributing 
to infrastructure construction and access roads. Finally, the board of 
regents of the Smithsonian have committed to an aggressive fund-raising 
program for the remainder of these necessary funds, and would make the 
University of Nebraska football program look meager in its wake.
  Mr. Speaker, we have no other requests for time. We support this 
legislation. We commend the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Shuster] 
here at the end of our session for all the fine work he has done, and 
the gentleman from Maryland [Mr. Gilchrest] and staff as well.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure today to rise in support of 
legislation to authorize the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian 
Institution to construct the National Air and Space Museum extension at 
Washington Dulles International Airport, and I want to thank all those 
members and individuals who have been so helpful in moving this 
legislation to the House floor. I especially want to thank Chairman 
Shuster of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for 
his help.
  S. 1995, introduced in the Senate by my Virginia colleague Senator 
John Warner, authorizes the Smithsonian to build a much-needed 
extension of the Air and Space Museum. The existing Air and Space 
Museum on the Mall is simply too small and inadequate to meet existing 
needs. Currently there is no storage space for large artifacts, making 
the safe preservation of these large artifacts quite impracticable. 
Furthermore, due to current space limitations at the Mall museum, only 
about 20 percent of the Nation's air and space collection is on public 
display.
  Clearly, the extension of the Air and Space Museum at Washington 
Dulles International Airport will help to correct this problem. It will 
allow the Smithsonian to place on display historic and magnificent 
artifacts such as the Enola Gay, the SR-7 Blackbird spy plane, the 
space shuttle Enterprise, and many others. These planes and spaceships 
currently sit in warehouses away from public view and are improperly 
maintained because there is no room for these large artifacts at the 
Mall museum. This deprives the public of the opportunity to experience 
some of the most fascinating testaments to our Nation's creative genius 
in civil, military, and space flight.
  The Air and Space extension will provide the space and facilities 
needed to display these artifacts and allow them to be enjoyed by 
people from all around the world. The Air and Space Museum is the most 
popular of the Smithsonian's museums and the extension is expected to 
draw over 3 million visitors per year.
  In 1993 the Smithsonian Institution was first authorized to plan and 
design an Air and Space Museum extension at Washington Dulles 
International Airport and I was pleased to support this effort. In 
fiscal year 1996, Congress and the Commonwealth of Virginia in 
partnership provided funding for planning and design work on the 
extension. It is important to note that Congress has made it clear that 
no Federal funds are to be made available for the construction portion 
of the project. Instead, the Smithsonian Institution is responsible for 
raising private funds for the construction of the extension.
  S. 1995 furthers the efforts already underway by authorizing the 
Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution to construct the museum 
extension while also making clear that no appropriated funds are to be 
used to pay any expense of the construction of this facility. Retired 
Adm. Donald Engen is the new director of the Air and Space Museum and I 
am pleased that the museum is headed by such an enthusiastic and able 
director. Admiral Engen has stated that his No. 1 priority is to wage a 
national campaign to raise adequate funding for construction and this 
goal will be accomplished more effectively once Congress has clearly 
authorized this construction.
  Mr. Speaker, the museum extension will significantly increase the 
amount of our air and space collection on public display, provide safe 
and climate-controlled storage facilities, and establish a restoration 
facility capable of handling the largest artifacts in the collection in 
full view of visitors. All of this will be accomplished with no Federal 
funds being used for the construction of the extension. I urge passage 
of S. 1995 and yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GILCHREST. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 1995, a bill to 
authorize construction of the Smithsonian Institution National Air and 
Space Museum Dulles Center at Washington Dulles International Airport.
  This bill authorizes the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian 
Institution to construct an extension to the Air and Space Museum 
currently located on the Washington Mall, on a 185 acre site in the 
Dulles Airport complex in Virginia.
  The new facility will permit airplanes, spacecraft, and aviation 
related artifacts currently stored outdoors to be housed in structures 
built to museum standards; and provide improved facilities to house the 
aviation artifacts which are currently stored at the outdated Paul E. 
Garber facility in Suitland, MD. In addition, the extension will 
provide a restoration facility capable of handling the largest 
artifacts in the collection, such as the space shuttle Enterprise and 
the historic Enola Gay B-29 bomber, for public viewing.
  The measure ensures that no appropriated funds will be used to pay 
any expense of the construction. The Smithsonian Institution is 
responsible for privately raising funds for the project and the 
Commonwealth of Virginia has pledged to provide infrastructure support 
in the amount of $40 million, a $3 million interest free loan, a $6 
million construction appropriation, and authority for a $100 million 
bond issue.
  The bill has bipartisan support and I wish to thank my colleagues on 
both sides of the aisle for their assistance in bringing this measure 
to the floor.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
  Mr. DAVIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 1995 which authorizes 
construction of the Smithsonian Institute's Air and Space Museum 
Extension at Washington Dulles International Airport.
  Since 1983 the Smithsonian has been looking to build an Air and Space 
extension large enough to properly display many aviation artifacts that 
there is no room for at the museum on the Mall. Few people realize that 
only 20 percent of the museum's collection is on display at the Air and 
Space Museum. Right now, the Space Shuttle Enterprise, a B-17 Flying 
Fortress, and an SR-71 Blackbird among others, are collecting dust in 
hangers at Dulles Airport, because there is no room at the Air and 
Space Museum. Only the nose section of the Enola Gay could be displayed 
at the Smithsonian's commemoration of the dropping of the atomic bomb, 
because the museum does not have room to display the entire refurbished 
aircraft. There are a number of historically important aircraft, such 
as a Lockeed Constellation, sitting outside exposed to the weather, 
because there is no space to store or display them. This new extension 
will accommodate these historic air and spacecraft.

[[Page H10550]]

  S. 1995 authorizes the board of regents of the Smithsonian 
Institution to construct a museum extension at Dulles Airport. This 
legislation makes it clear that no Federal funds will be appropriated 
to pay for any expense associated with construction of this facility. 
The Air and Space Museum has already begun the process of raising 
private funds for construction, and I understand that new Air and Space 
Museum Director Donald Engen has set raising funds to build the 
extension as a top priority. The Commonwealth of Virginia also stands 
firmly behind its commitment to bringing this national educational 
facility to reality with a $3 million interest free loan, a $6 million 
design and construction grant, and authority for up to $100 million in 
bonds.
  It has been 13 years since the Air and Space Museum Extension was 
proposed, in that time the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum has 
become the most visited museum in the world. This bill is 
noncontroversial. It requires no expenditure of Federal funds, in fact, 
the bill explicitly states that no Federal funds will be used. It 
passed the Senate by voice vote. Lets pass this bill and get on with 
expanding this enormously popular museum that celebrates America's love 
of aviation.
  In closing, I want to thank Chairman Gilchrest for his tremendous 
efforts in bringing this legislation to the floor so quickly.
  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Shuster] that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the Senate bill, S. 1995.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the Senate bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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