[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 44 (Monday, April 10, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H1963-H1965]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  AUTHORIZING USE OF CAPITOL GROUNDS FOR GREATER WASHINGTON SOAP BOX 
                                 DERBY

  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to 
the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 277) authorizing the use of the 
Capitol grounds for the Greater Washington Soap Box Derby, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 277

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

     SECTION 1. AUTHORIZATION OF SOAP BOX DERBY RACES ON CAPITOL 
                   GROUNDS.

       The Greater Washington Soap Box Derby Association (in this 
     resolution referred to as the ``Association'') shall be 
     permitted to sponsor a public event, soap box derby races, on 
     the Capitol Grounds on June 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. CONDITIONS.

       The event to be carried out under this resolution 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; except that the Association shall assume full 
     responsibility for all expenses and liabilities incident to 
     all activities associated with the event.

     SEC. 3. STRUCTURES AND EQUIPMENT.

       For the purposes of this resolution, the Association is 
     authorized to erect upon the Capitol Grounds, subject to the 
     approval of the Architect of the Capitol, such stage, sound 
     amplification devices, and other related structures and 
     equipment as may be required for the event to be carried out 
     under this resolution.

     SEC. 4. ADDITIONAL ARRANGEMENTS.

       The Architect of the Capitol and the Capitol Police Board 
     are authorized to make any such additional arrangements that 
     may be required to carry out the event under this resolution.

     SEC. 5. 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, 
     displays, and solicitations on the Capitol Grounds, as well 
     as other restrictions applicable to the Capitol Grounds, with 
     respect to the event to be carried out under this resolution.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Ohio (Mr. LaTourette) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Traficant) 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 Concurrent Resolution 277, as amended, authorizes 
the use of the Capitol Grounds for the Greater Washington Soap Box 
Derby qualifying races to be held on June 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 also 
authorizes the Architect of the Capitol, the Capitol Police Board, and 
the Greater Washington Soap Box Derby Association, which is the sponsor 
of the event, to negotiate the necessary arrangements for carrying out 
the event in complete compliance with the rules and regulations 
governing the use of the Capitol Grounds.

                              {time}  1415

  The event is open to the public and free of charge, and the sponsor 
will assume responsibility for all experiences and liabilities related 
to the event. In addition, sales, advertisements, and solicitations are 
explicitly prohibited on the Capitol Grounds in this event.
  The races are going to take place on Constitution Avenue between 
Delaware Avenue and Third Street, N.W. The participants are residents 
of the Washington Metropolitan area and range in age from 9 to 16. This 
event is currently one of the largest races in the country, and the 
winners of these races will represent the Washington metropolitan area 
in the national finals to be held in Akron, Ohio.
  I support this resolution. I urge my colleagues' support.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. 
Morella), as well as the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Wynn), the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Davis), the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. 
Moran), and the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton), 
and certainly the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the sponsor, for 
working together. Certainly there is some bipartisanship on this 
committee for sure.
  But I want to take a couple minutes to filibuster, hopefully, so that 
the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), who would like to speak, might 
make it here. But if he does not, then he can speak on the next one.
  So taking that minute, I would like to thank Mr. Rick Barnett and Ms. 
Susan Brita of the staff. They probably do more work in the Congress 
than any other committee. This little subcommittee passes more 
legislation

[[Page H1964]]

than anybody. They laugh when I say that, but there is an awful lot of 
work attached to it.
  But I would like to talk about the efforts of the gentleman from 
Maryland (Mr. Hoyer). For years, he has taken this upon himself to make 
sure that that soap box derby is conducted, and he does it with a 
passion. As my colleagues can see, the gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. 
Morella), she was right there, and there are other Members probably who 
want to speak on it, too.
  But I want to just say that the heavy hitter has come in, and I want 
to personally pay him that respect, because he has made it a personal 
issue. Everybody joins together with him.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to 
the gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. Morella).
  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Ohio for 
yielding me this time.
  Mr. Speaker, I wholeheartedly support this resolution. I am delighted 
to join the sponsors of this resolution, the gentleman from Maryland 
(Mr. Hoyer), the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Wynn), the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Moran), the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Davis), and the 
gentlewoman from the District of Colombia (Ms. Norton), in supporting 
House Concurrent Resolution 277; and that, as we have heard, allows for 
participants in the Greater Washington Soap Box Derby to use the 
Capitol grounds and race along Constitution Avenue on June 24.
  For the past 8 years, I have cosponsored this resolution, and it has 
gotten the almost unanimous support of this House, along with the rest 
of the Greater Washington Metropolitan Delegation, to promote this 
annual community service, which is now in its 63rd year of running.
  From 1992 to 1999, the Greater Washington Soap Box Derby has been 
considered one of the largest races in the Nation, averaging over 40 
contestants each year.
  This year, the first Greater Washington Soap Box Derby of the new 
millennium expects to top previous enrollment numbers with 50 cars. 
Participants in the derby, ranging from ages from 9 to 16, live in 
communities in the great State of Maryland, the District of Columbia, 
and Virginia. The winners of the local events in June will have the 
honor of representing the Washington metropolitan area at the National 
Derby Race in Akron, Ohio on July 22.
  The derby truly is a community event, with scores of children, 
parents, and volunteers working tirelessly to construct and operate the 
soap boxes. The region's youth have the opportunity to learn the 
lessons of teamwork, competition, and sportsman and sportswomanship, as 
well as the physics and mechanics that are involved in building an 
aerodynamically-shaped soap box car.
  I also want to applaud one of my constituents, George Weissgerber of 
Rockville, Maryland, for his work this year as the derby director. I 
invite the Members of the House to, not only support this resolution 
today, but also to attend the Greater Washington Soap Box Derby on June 
24.
  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, let me say this before I introduce my only speaker, from 
what I understand, there are many volunteers involved in this derby 
that give of their time, and time is money. I think the entire 
delegation has worked to really bring in those types of volunteers. I 
think that is where they deserve a lot of credit.
  I thank the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) for his efforts for 
all of the young people who are involved in this.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he consume to the gentleman from 
Maryland (Mr. Hoyer).
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, timing is important, and I had the 
opportunity to come into the room just as the distinguished gentleman 
from Ohio (Mr. Traficant) was talking about my efforts on this matter.
  But I would like to mention as well one additional person who sits to 
the chairman's right, or to the ranking member's right, chairman-in-
exile, as I call him, Susan Brita, who has been an extraordinary asset 
to the House and, frankly, to the committee, the full Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure, for an awful lot of years.
  She probably knows as much about these matters, about construction 
matters and the General Services Administration and so many other 
matters related to our infrastructure as any staffer on this Hill. I 
want to thank her for all the efforts she has made. I thank the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Traficant), the ranking member, too, for 
working very closely with her so he does not make mistakes. It is 
always a good judgment that all of us make to have good staff.
  Also, I want to thank the chairman, who is not in exile, but who is 
on the job, for his efforts and my colleague from Montgomery County, 
Mrs. Morella, for rising in support of this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, we have obviously, as the House of Representatives, 
responsibility for this hallowed Hill, this center of democracy in the 
world. It is, I think, extraordinarily appropriate that, for the last 
few number of years, we have made available a part of this Hill over 
which we have authority for an enterprise that has literally taught 
thousands and thousands of young people, entrepreneurial spirit, 
competitive spirit, family working together, because, although those 
young people are responsible for building their carts, they do get some 
advice from and counsel from dad and mom and brothers and sisters from 
time to time, I know.
  But this is truly an American enterprise. The Soap Box Derby is 
something that I think all of us have known about for almost all of our 
lives. It is an enterprise that takes the contributions of American 
business, of American volunteers, and certainly of the young people and 
their families.
  This will be the 63rd running of the greater Washington Soap Box 
Derby, and it will take place as my colleagues have heard, Mr. Speaker, 
on June 24 of this year.
  This resolution authorizes the Architect of the Capitol, as is 
necessary, as I have said, as well as the Capitol Police Board and the 
Greater Washington Soap Box Derby Association to negotiate the 
necessary arrangements for carrying out the running.
  That obviously will not be, I think, a difficult job, although the 
concerns of the Capitol Police and the Architect must be met and, in 
fact, are met. In the past, the full House has supported this 
resolution, of course, unanimously.
  But I do want to thank all of those in the Washington metropolitan 
area. This is not a partisan issue, obviously. The gentlewoman from 
Maryland (Mrs. Morella) who has spoken, the gentleman from Maryland 
(Mr. Wynn), the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Moran), the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Davis), the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia 
(Ms. Norton), the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf), and others spoke 
supporting this resolution.
  From 1992 to 1999, the greater Washington Soap Box Derby welcomed 
over 40 contestants per year which made the Washington, D.C. race one 
of the largest in the country. Participants, as my colleagues have been 
told, I am sure, range from approximately 9 years of age to 16 years of 
age and come from communities in Maryland, the District of Columbia, 
and Virginia.
  The winners of this local event will represent the Washington 
metropolitan area in the national race which will be held, as it has 
been through history, in Akron, Ohio on July 22 of this year.
  The derby provides our young people with an opportunity to gain 
valuable skills, not only in those that I mentioned, but in practical 
skills of engineering, aerodynamics, and other skills necessary to make 
that go-cart go faster than any other go-cart down that hill. Of course 
this is a beautiful Hill, Capitol Hill, to use as they go down on the 
west side of our Capitol.
  Furthermore, the derby promotes teamwork, a sense of accomplishment, 
sportsmanship, leadership, and responsibilities. These are attributes 
that we should encourage our young people to carry into adulthood. That 
is why this enterprise, like so many others, is critically important.
  I, Mr. Speaker, like so many in this Chamber, have the opportunity to 
be

[[Page H1965]]

very much involved in the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. They have a 
national charter from this Congress, and they report to us annually.
  Like the Boys and Girls Club, this enterprise gives young people a 
positive focus and positive way to participate in directing their 
energy in ways that will result in benefits to themselves and to our 
community.
  Mr. Speaker, I am more than honored to have been involved in this 
effort and thank all of the corporate sponsors, all of the volunteers, 
all of the parents, and, yes, certainly all of the young people who 
participate in this event. It is right that we give them the 
opportunity to do so on this historic Hill. I rise in strong support of 
the resolution.
  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the efforts of the gentleman from Maryland 
(Mr. Hoyer) and the entire delegation. I urge an ``aye'' vote.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, as the great chairman of our committee says, there is no 
such thing as a Republican soap box and no such thing as a Democratic 
derby. I urge passage of the resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Nethercutt). 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. 277, 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.

                          ____________________