[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 39 (Monday, April 3, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H1639-H1640]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 AUTHORIZING USE OF CAPITOL GROUNDS FOR 200TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION OF 
                          LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to 
the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 279), as amended, authorizing 
the use of the Capitol Grounds for the 200th birthday celebration of 
the Library of Congress, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 279

       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), 

     SECTION 1. AUTHORIZATION OF EVENT TO CELEBRATE THE 200TH 
                   BIRTHDAY OF THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.

       The Library of Congress (in this resolution referred to as 
     the ``sponsor'') shall be permitted to sponsor a public 
     event, the 200th birthday celebration of the Library of 
     Congress (in this resolution referred to as the ``event''), 
     on the Capitol Grounds on April 24, 2000, or on such other 
     date as the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the 
     Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate may 
     jointly designate.

     SEC. 2. TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

       (a) In General.--The event shall be free of admission 
     charge to the public and arranged not to interfere with the 
     needs of Congress, under conditions to be prescribed by the 
     Architect of the Capitol and the Capitol Police Board.
       (b) Expenses and Liabilities.--The sponsor shall assume 
     full responsibility for all expenses and liabilities incident 
     to all activities associated with the event.

     SEC. 3. STRUCTURES AND EQUIPMENT.

       (a) Structures and Equipment.--Subject to the approval of 
     the Architect of the Capitol, the sponsor may erect upon the 
     Capitol Grounds such stage, sound amplification devices, and 
     other related structures and equipment as may be required for 
     the event.
       (b) Additional Arrangements.--The Architect of the Capitol 
     and the Capitol Police Board are authorized to make any such 
     additional arrangements as may be required to carry out the 
     event, except that no arrangements may be made to limit 
     access to any public road on the Capitol Grounds.

     SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT OF RESTRICTIONS.

       The Capitol Police Board shall provide for enforcement of 
     the restrictions contained in section 4 of the Act of July 
     31, 1946 (40 U.S.C. 193d; 60 Stat. 718), concerning sales, 
     advertisements, displays, and solicitations on the Capitol 
     Grounds, as well as other restrictions applicable to the 
     Capitol Grounds, with respect to the event.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Ohio (Mr. LaTourette) and the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette).
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 279 authorizes the use of the Capitol 
grounds for the 200th birthday celebration of the Library of Congress 
on April 24, 2000, or on such date as the Speaker of the House of 
Representatives and the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration 
jointly designate.
  The resolution authorizes the Architect of the Capitol, the Capitol 
Police Board, and the Library of Congress, which is the sponsor of the 
event, to negotiate the necessary arrangements for carrying out the 
events in complete compliance with the rules and regulations governing 
use of the Capitol grounds.
  The events will be free of charge and open to the public. April 24 is 
the 200th

[[Page H1640]]

anniversary when President John Adams signed into law an act 
establishing the Library of Congress, and appropriating the huge sum of 
$5,000 for the purchase of the books. The celebration will include a 
free concert on the Capitol grounds, and other events inside the 
Library.
  Mr. Speaker, I support this measure, I urge my colleagues to do the 
same, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, it is a genuine pleasure for me to rise in support of 
House Concurrent Resolution 279.
  As my colleague, the gentleman from Ohio, mentioned, it authorizes 
the use of the Capitol Plaza on April 24 for events commemorating the 
bicentennial of the Library of Congress.
  This institution is America's national library, the oldest Federal 
cultural institution. It is the largest collection of information in 
the history of the world. We are hopeful that this event will highlight 
the important role that this library and all libraries play in our 
democratic society.
  As the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette) mentioned, the Library of 
Congress started with the magnificent sum of $5,000 authorized under 
the act, signed into law by President John Adams. But by 1812, the 
collection had grown to a phenomenal 3,076 books. However, during the 
war of 1812, the library, along with other prominent Washington 
buildings, was burned and the collection was lost.
  In 1850, Thomas Jefferson, who then had the largest personal library 
in America, sold his personal collection to the library for a modest 
sum, a few thousand more than that. It was very important not only 
because it helped restart the Library of Congress, but it changed the 
nature of the collection. Prior to that, the Library of Congress was 
very narrowly focused in terms of legal and historical topics, but 
because Thomas Jefferson was truly a renaissance man and had a wide 
sweep of volumes in a number of different languages that he had 
collected in his travels and service to our country, it included 
material on literature, and the nature of the library thus was 
fundamentally changed.
  I am proud to say that due to the diligence of our outstanding staff 
and a little bit of luck, many of the original Jefferson volumes are 
still present, available in the rare book room for viewing. I am proud 
to say that it was a lot of fun just a week ago to view them once 
again.
  Today's collection contains 119 million other items, books, 
photographs, maps, music, movies, manuscripts, microfilm, all viewed as 
the world's premier collection of knowledge. Of course, it is housed in 
the flagship building, I think the most magnificent in our Nation's 
capital, the Jefferson Building, which we recently celebrated its 
centennial in 1997 and its painstaking and loving restoration.
  We are here today to celebrate the potential on April 24 for a long 
series of events which shall include the unveiling of commemorative 
coins and stamps, the opening of a major exhibit on Thomas Jefferson, 
and a national birthday party consisting of free musical performances 
open to the public.
  I support this resolution, and I urge my colleagues, in joining me, 
to celebrate it in renewing our commitment to this important 
institution.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of House 
Concurrent Resolution 279 to authorize the use of the Capitol Grounds 
for the 200th birthday celebration of the Library of Congress.
  This public event will be held on April 24. The daylong celebration 
will include musical performances and the opening of a major Library of 
Congress exhibition on Thomas Jefferson.
  As with all events held on the Capitol Grounds this event will be 
free and open to the public. The Architect of the Capitol and the 
Capitol Police Board will determine the conditions under which the 
event will be held.
  On April 24, 2000, the Library of Congress celebrates its 
bicentennial commemoration. The Library was established as the 
fledgling legislature of the new Republic prepared to move from 
Philadelphia to the new capital city of Washington. On April 24, 1800, 
President John Adams signed into law an act that appropriated $5,000 to 
purchase ``such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress.'' 
The first books, ordered from London, arrived in 1801 and were stored 
in the U.S. Capitol, the Library's first home. The collection consisted 
of 740 volumes and three maps.
  A year later, President Thomas Jefferson signed the first law 
defining the role and functions of the new institution. This measure 
created the post of the Librarian of Congress and gave Congress, 
through a Joint Committee on the Library, the authority to establish 
the Library's budget and its rules and regulations. From the beginning, 
however, the institution was more than just a legislative library. The 
1802 act permitted the President and Vice President to borrow books; a 
privilege that, in the next three decades, was extended to most 
government agencies and the judiciary.
  President Jefferson, a man who stated he could not live without 
books, was a key architect to the Library that we know today. Jefferson 
took a keen interest in the Library and its collection while he was 
President of the United States from 1801-1809. Throughout his 
presidency, Jefferson personally recommended books for the Library and 
he appointed its first two Librarians.
  In 1814, the British army invaded the city of Washington and burned 
the Capitol, including the 3,000-volume Library of Congress. In 
response, Jefferson, then retired at Monticello, sold his personal 
library, the largest and finest in the country, to Congress to 
``recommence'' its library. The 6,487-volume library that Jefferson 
sold to Congress, not only included twice as many books as the 
destroyed Library, it expanded the scope of the Library far beyond the 
bounds of a legislative library devoted primarily to legal, economic, 
or historical works. The ``new'' Library contained books on 
architecture, the arts, science, literature, and geography. It 
contained books in French, Spanish, German, Latin, Greek, and one 
three-volume statistical work in Russian. Anticipating the argument 
that his collection might be too comprehensive, Jefferson argued that: 
``There is, in fact, no subject to which a Member of Congress may not 
have occasion to refer.'' As today's Librarian of Congress, Dr. James 
Billington, recently pointed out: ``That statement has guided the 
collecting policies of the Library of Congress to this day and is one 
of the main reasons why the institution's collections have a breadth 
and depth unmatched by any other repository.''
  Today's Library contains nearly 119 million books, maps, manuscripts, 
photographs, sound recording, and motion pictures. It has more than 18 
million books, 30,000 newspapers, 4.5 million maps, and 12 million 
photographs on its 530 miles of bookshelves. The Library collects 
materials in more than 460 languages and has acquisition offices 
throughout the world, from Rio de Janeiro to New Delhi.
  There have been 13 Librarians of Congress since its inception, and 
each Librarian has faced unique challenges. Throughout the 1990's and 
into the new century, the challenge is adapting the Library to the 
digital age. As it has throughout its history, the Library leads the 
way. The Library has enhanced public access to the Library through the 
National Digital Library. The Library's THOMAS system of legislative 
information serves Congress and the public each day.
  We join Dr. Billington in acknowledging how libraries have influenced 
our lives, and we celebrate with him one of America's true national 
treasures, the Library of Congress.
  I urge all Members to support adoption of this resolution.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and 
I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, I 
yield back the balance of my time, and I urge the passage of the 
concurrent resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 279, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof), the rules were suspended and the concurrent resolution, as 
amended, was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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