[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 33 (Wednesday, March 3, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E323]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E323]]



 INTRODUCTION OF THE JACOB JOSEPH CHESTNUT-JOHN MICHAEL GIBSON CAPITOL 
                       VISITOR CENTER ACT OF 1999

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 3, 1999

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I am re-introducing the Jacob Joseph 
Chestnut-John Michael Gibson United States Capitol Visitor Center Act 
of 1999 (Chestnut-Gibson Act), which I originally introduced shortly 
after the deaths of Capitol Police officers Jacob Joseph Chestnut and 
John Michael Gibson. My bill authorizes the Architect of the Capitol 
``to plan, construct, equip, administer, and maintain a Capitol Visitor 
Center under the East Plaza of the Capitol'' grounds.
  The primary purpose of the bill is to increase public safety and 
security. According to the Capitol Police and the U.S. Capitol Police 
Board, a visitor center would provide significant distance between the 
Capitol and visitors, and for a host of reasons they have documented, 
would make the Capitol more secure. No one knows whether Officer 
Chestnut or Special Agent Gibson or, for that matter, any other officer 
or individual would have been spared had a visitor center been in place 
last July. What we do know is that our nineteenth century Capitol was 
not built with anything like today's security hazards in mind.
  I have also been a strong supporter of a Capitol Visitor Center since 
coming to Congress in 1991, not only for security reasons but also 
because the existing conditions here do not ensure the health, 
convenience, and cordiality that our constituents are entitled to. 
Members are often forced to address constituents seated on stone steps 
outdoors. In the blistering heat and merciless cold of Washington, 
visitors wait in line outdoors to tour the Capitol. Last summer, the 
hottest on record in the United States, saw tourists faint while 
waiting in line and then rushed inside to be treated by our physicians. 
Even if the Capitol had not incurred a terrible tragedy, we would be in 
need of a more civil way to welcome the people we represent.
  Although the Congress did not pass this bill in the last Congress, it 
recognized the urgency of building a Capitol Visitor Center by 
providing $100 million for its construction in the Omnibus 
Appropriations bill. However, the appropriation does not contain any 
guidelines for the Architect of the Capitol to follow in administering 
the project. My bill would require the Architect to work within the 
framework of recommendations issued in 1995, to identify alternatives 
for construction to achieve cost savings, and to submit a report 
containing the plans and designs within 120 days of passage of my 
legislation. This procedure would ensure that the Capitol Visitor 
Center is undertaken expeditiously and cost-effectively.
  I feel a special obligation in introducing this bill because the 
residents of the District have a special relationship with the Capitol 
Police. In 1992, when there was a large spike in crime in the District, 
Congress passed the United States Capitol Police Jurisdiction Act, a 
bill I introduced authorizing the Capitol Police to patrol parts of the 
Capitol Hill residential community closest to the Capitol. Capitol 
Police officers were not only willing; they were enthusiastic to use 
their excellent training and professionalism for the benefit of 
residents and the many tourists and visitors whose safety might be 
compromised by having to travel through high-crime areas in order to 
get to the Capitol.
  Our foremost obligation is to protect all who visit or work here and 
to spare no legitimate consideration in protecting the United States 
Capitol. The Capitol is a temple of democracy and is the most important 
symbol of the open society in which we live. It is even more so than 
the White House, in part because the President's workplace is also a 
residence and cannot be entirely open. The Capitol symbolizes our free 
and open society not only because it is accessible but also because of 
what transpires here. It is here that the people come to petition their 
government, to lobby and to persuade us, and ultimately to discharge us 
if we stray too far from their democratic demands. Thus, we neither 
have nor would we want the option to make the Capitol more difficult to 
access. After last summer's tragedy, we have an obligation to 
demonstrate that security is not inconsistent with democracy.

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