[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 97 (Monday, July 24, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H6737-H6745]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   GRANTING CONSENT OF CONGRESS TO KANSAS AND MISSOURI METROPOLITAN 
                        CULTURE DISTRICT COMPACT

  Mr. HUTCHINSON. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass 
the bill (H.R. 4700) to grant the consent of the Congress to the Kansas 
and Missouri Metropolitan Culture District Compact.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 4700

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

     SECTION 1. CONSENT TO COMPACT.

       The Congress consents to the Kansas and Missouri 
     Metropolitan Culture District Compact entered into between 
     the State of Kansas and the State of Missouri. The compact 
     reads substantially as follows:

      ``KANSAS AND MISSOURI METROPOLITAN CULTURE DISTRICT COMPACT

                   ``ARTICLE I. AGREEMENT AND PLEDGE

       ``The states of Kansas and Missouri agree to and pledge, 
     each to the other, faithful cooperation in the future 
     planning and development of the metropolitan culture 
     district,

[[Page H6738]]

     holding in high trust for the benefit of this people and of 
     the nation, the special blessings and natural advantages 
     thereof.

                    ``ARTICLE II. POLICY AND PURPOSE

       ``The party states, desiring by common action to fully 
     utilize and improve their cultural facilities, coordinate the 
     services of their cultural organizations, enhance the 
     cultural activities of their citizens, and achieve solid 
     financial support for such cultural facilities, organizations 
     and activities, declare that it is the policy of each state 
     to realize such desires on a basis of cooperation with one 
     another, thereby serving the best interests of their 
     citizenry and effecting economies in capital expenditures and 
     operational costs. The purpose of this compact is to provide 
     for the creation of a metropolitan culture district as the 
     means to implementation of the policy herein declared with 
     the most beneficial and economical use of human and material 
     resources.

                       ``ARTICLE III. DEFINITIONS

       ``As used in this compact, unless the context clearly 
     requires otherwise:
       ``(a) `Metropolitan culture district' means a political 
     subdivision of the states of Kansas and Missouri which is 
     created under and pursuant to the provisions of this compact 
     and which is composed of the counties in the states of Kansas 
     and Missouri which act to create or to become a part of the 
     district in accordance with the provisions of Article IV.
       ``(b) `Commission' means the governing body of the 
     metropolitan culture district.
       ``(c) `Cultural activities' means sports or activities 
     which contribute to or enhance the aesthetic, artistic, 
     historical, intellectual or social development or 
     appreciation of members of the general public.
       ``(d) `Cultural organizations' means nonprofit and tax 
     exempt social, civic or community organizations and 
     associations which are dedicated to the development, 
     provision, operation, supervision, promotion or support of 
     cultural activities in which members of the general public 
     may engage or participate.
       ``(e) `Cultural facilities' means facilities operated or 
     used for sports or participation or engagement in cultural 
     activities by members of the general public.

                       ``ARTICLE IV. THE DISTRICT

       ``(a) The counties in Kansas and Missouri eligible to 
     create and initially compose the metropolitan culture 
     district shall be those counties which meet one or more of 
     the following criteria:
       ``(1) The county has a population in excess of 300,000, and 
     is adjacent to the state line;
       ``(2) The county contains a part of a city with a 
     population according to the most recent federal census of at 
     least 400,000; or
       ``(3) The county is contiguous to any county described in 
     provisions (1) or (2) of this subpart (a). The counties of 
     Johnson in Kansas and Jackson in Missouri shall be sine qua 
     non to the creation and initial composition of the district. 
     Additional counties in Kansas and Missouri shall be eligible 
     to become a part of the metropolitan culture district if such 
     counties are contiguous to any one or more of the counties 
     which compose the district and within 60 miles of the 
     counties that are required by this article to establish the 
     district;
       ``(b)(1) Whenever the governing body of any county which is 
     eligible to create or become a part of the metropolitan 
     culture district shall determine that creation of or 
     participation in the district is in the best interests of the 
     citizens of the county and that the levy of a tax to provide 
     on a cooperative basis with another county or other counties 
     for financial support of the district would be economically 
     practical and cost beneficial to the citizens of the county, 
     the governing body may adopt by majority vote a resolution 
     authorizing the same.
       ``(2) Wherever a petition, signed by not less than the 
     number of qualified electors of an eligible county equal to 
     5% of the number of ballots cast and counted at the last 
     preceding gubernatorial election held in the county and 
     requesting adoption of a resolution authorizing creation of 
     or participation in the metropolitan culture district and the 
     levy of a tax for the purpose of contributing to the 
     financial support of the district, is filed with the 
     governing body of the county, the governing body shall adopt 
     such a resolution.
       ``(3) Implementation of a resolution adopted under this 
     subpart (b) shall be conditioned upon approval of the 
     resolution by a majority of the qualified electors of the 
     county voting at an election conducted for such purpose.
       ``(c)(1) Upon adoption of a resolution pursuant to subpart 
     (b)(1) or subpart (b)(2), the governing body of the county 
     shall request, within 36 months after adoption of the 
     resolution, the county election officer to submit to the 
     qualified electors of the county the question of whether the 
     governing body shall be authorized to implement the 
     resolution. The resolution shall be printed on the ballot and 
     in the notice of election. The question shall be submitted to 
     the electors of the county at the primary or general election 
     next following the date of the request filed with the county 
     election officer. If a majority of the qualified electors are 
     opposed to implementation of the resolution authorizing 
     creation of, or participation in, the district and the levy 
     of a tax for financial support thereof, the same shall not be 
     implemented. The governing body of the county may review 
     procedures for authorization to create or become a part of 
     the district and to levy a tax for financial support thereof 
     at any time following rejection of the question.
       ``(2) The ballot for the proposition in any county shall be 
     in substantially the following form:
       ``Shall a retail sales tax of ____________ (insert amount, 
     not to exceed \1/4\ cent) be levied and collected in Kansas 
     and Missouri metropolitan culture district consisting of the 
     county(ies) of ____________ (insert name of counties) for the 
     support of cultural facilities and organizations within the 
     district?


                            YES           NO

     The governing body of the county may place additional 
     language on the ballot to describe the use or allocation of 
     the funds.
       ``(d)(1) The metropolitan culture district shall be created 
     when implementation of a resolution authorizing the creation 
     of the district and the levy of a tax for contribution to the 
     financial support thereof is approved by respective 
     majorities of the qualified electors of at least Johnson 
     County, Kansas, and Jackson County, Missouri.
       ``(2) When implementation of a resolution authorizing 
     participation in the metropolitan culture district and the 
     levy of a tax for contribution to the financial support 
     thereof is approved by a majority of the qualified electors 
     of any county eligible to become a part of the district, the 
     governing body of the county shall proceed with the 
     performance of all things necessary and incidental to 
     participation in the district.
       ``(3) Any question for the levy of a tax submitted after 
     July 1, 2000, may be submitted to the electors of the county 
     at the primary or general election next following the date of 
     the request filed with the county election officer; at a 
     special election called and held as otherwise provided by 
     law; at an election called and held on the first Tuesday 
     after the first Monday in February, except in Presidential 
     election years; at an election called and held on the first 
     Tuesday after the first Monday in March, June, August, or 
     November; or at an election called and held on the first 
     Tuesday in April, except that no question for a tax levy may 
     be submitted to the electors prior to January 1, 2002.
       ``(4) No question shall be submitted to the electors 
     authorizing the levy of a tax the proceeds of which will be 
     exclusively dedicated to sports or sports facilities.
       ``(e) Any of the counties composing the metropolitan 
     culture district may withdraw from the district by adoption 
     of a resolution and approval of the resolution by a majority 
     of the qualified electors of the county, all in the same 
     manner provided in this Article IV for creating or becoming a 
     part of the metropolitan culture district. The governing body 
     of a withdrawing county shall provide for the sending of 
     formal written notice of withdrawal from the district to the 
     governing body of the other county or each of the other 
     counties comprising the district. Actual withdrawal shall not 
     take effect until 90 days after notice has been sent. A 
     withdrawing county shall not be relieved from any obligation 
     which such county may have assumed or incurred by reason of 
     being a part of the district, including, but not limited to, 
     the retirement of any outstanding bonded indebtedness of the 
     district.

                      ``ARTICLE V. THE COMMISSION

       ``(a) The metropolitan culture district shall be governed 
     by the metropolitan culture commission which shall be a body 
     corporate and politic and which shall be composed of resident 
     electors of the states of Kansas and Missouri, respectively, 
     as follows:
       ``(1) A member of the governing body of each county which 
     is a part of the district, who shall be appointed by majority 
     vote of such governing body;
       ``(2) A member of the governing body of each city, with a 
     population according to the most recent federal census of at 
     least 50,000, located in whole or in part within each county 
     which is a part of the district, who shall be appointed by 
     majority vote of such governing body;
       ``(3) Two members of the governing body of a county with a 
     consolidated or unified county government and city of the 
     first class which is a part of the district, who shall be 
     appointed by majority vote of such governing body;
       ``(4) A member of the arts commission of Kansas or the 
     Kansas commission for the humanities, who shall be appointed 
     by the governor of Kansas; and
       ``(5) A member of the arts commission of Missouri or the 
     Missouri humanities council, who shall be appointed by the 
     governor of Missouri.

     To the extent possible, the gubernatorial appointees to the 
     commission shall be residents of the district. The term of 
     each commissioner initially appointed by a county governing 
     body shall expire concurrently with such commissioner's 
     tenure as a county officer or three years after the date of 
     appointment as a commissioner, whichever occurs sooner. The 
     term of each commissioner succeeding a commissioner initially 
     appointed by a county governing body shall expire 
     concurrently with such successor commissioner's tenure as a 
     county officer or four years after the date of appointment as 
     a commissioner, whichever occurs sooner. The term of each 
     commissioner initially appointed by a city governing body 
     shall expire concurrently with such commissioner's tenure as 
     a city officer or two years after the date of appointment as 
     a commissioner, whichever occurs sooner. The term of each 
     commissioner succeeding a commissioner

[[Page H6739]]

     initially appointed by a city governing body shall expire 
     concurrently with such successor commissioner's tenure as a 
     city officer or four years after the date of appointment as a 
     commissioner, whichever occurs sooner. The term of each 
     commissioner appointed by the governor of Kansas or the 
     governor of Missouri shall expire concurrently with the term 
     of the appointing governor, the commissioner's tenure as a 
     state officer, or four years after the date of appointment as 
     a commissioner of the district, whichever occurs sooner. Any 
     vacancy occurring in a commissioner position for reasons 
     other than expiration of terms of office shall be filled for 
     the unexpired term by appointment in the same manner that the 
     original appointment was made. Any commissioner may be 
     removed for cause by the appointing authority of the 
     commissioner.
       ``(b) The commission shall select annually, from its 
     membership, a chairperson, a vice chairperson, and a 
     treasurer. The treasurer shall be bonded in such amounts as 
     the commission may require.
       ``(c) The commission may appoint such officers, agents and 
     employees as it may require for the performance of its 
     duties, and shall determine the qualifications and duties and 
     fix the compensation of such officers, agents and employees.
       ``(d) The commission shall fix the time and place at which 
     its meetings shall be held. Meetings shall be held within the 
     district and shall be open to the public. Public notice shall 
     be given of all meetings.
       ``(e) A majority of the commissioners from each state shall 
     constitute, in the aggregate, a quorum for the transaction of 
     business. No action of the commission shall be binding unless 
     taken at a meeting at which at least a quorum is present, and 
     unless a majority of the commissioners from each state, 
     present at such meeting, shall vote in favor thereof. No 
     action of the commission taken at a meeting thereof shall be 
     binding unless the subject of such action is included in a 
     written agenda for such meeting, the agenda and notice of 
     meeting having been mailed to each commissioner by postage 
     paid first-class mail at least 14 calendar days prior to the 
     meeting.
       ``(f) The commissioners from each state shall be subject to 
     the provisions of the laws of the states of Kansas and 
     Missouri, respectively, which relate to conflicts of interest 
     of public officers and employees. If any commissioner has a 
     direct or indirect financial interest in any cultural 
     facility, organization or activity supported by the district 
     or commission or in any other business transaction of the 
     district or commission, the commissioner shall disclose such 
     interest in writing to the other commissioners and shall 
     abstain from voting on any matter relating to such facility, 
     organization or activity or to such business transaction.
       ``(g) If any action at law or equity, or other legal 
     proceeding, shall be brought against any commissioner for any 
     act or omission arising out of the performance of duties as a 
     commissioner, the commissioner shall be indemnified in whole 
     and held harmless by the commission for any judgment or 
     decree entered against the commissioner and, further, shall 
     be defended at the cost and expense of the commission in any 
     such proceeding.

           ``ARTICLE VI. POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION

       ``(a) The commission shall adopt a seal and suitable bylaws 
     governing its management and procedure.
       ``(b) The commission has the power to contract and to be 
     contracted with, and to sue and to be sued.
       ``(c) The commission may receive for any of its purposes 
     and functions any contributions or moneys appropriated by 
     counties or cities and may solicit and receive any and all 
     donations, and grants of money, equipment, supplies, 
     materials and services from any state or the United States or 
     any agency thereof, or from any institution, foundation, 
     organization, person, firm or corporation, and may utilize 
     and dispose of the same.
       ``(d) Upon receipt of recommendations from the advisory 
     committee provided in subsection (g), the commission may 
     provide donations, contributions and grants or other support, 
     financial or otherwise, or in aid of cultural organizations, 
     facilities or activities in counties which are part of the 
     district. In determining whether to provide any such support 
     the commission shall consider the following factors:
       ``(1) economic impact upon the district;
       ``(2) cultural benefit to citizens of the district and to 
     the general public;
       ``(3) contribution to the quality of life and popular image 
     of the district;
       ``(4) contribution to the geographical balance of cultural 
     facilities and activities within and outside the district;
       ``(5) the breadth of popular appeal within and outside the 
     district;
       ``(6) the needs of the community as identified in an 
     objective cultural needs assessment study of the metropolitan 
     area; and
       ``(7) any other factor deemed appropriate by the 
     commission.
       ``(e) The commission may own and acquire by gift, purchase, 
     lease or devise cultural facilities within the territory 
     of the district. The commission may plan, construct, 
     operate and maintain and contract for the operation and 
     maintenance of cultural facilities within the territory of 
     the district. The commission may sell, lease, or otherwise 
     dispose of cultural facilities within the territory of the 
     district.
       ``(f) At any time following five years from and after the 
     creation of the metropolitan cultural district as provided in 
     paragraph (1) of subsection (d) of article IV, the commission 
     may borrow moneys for the planning, construction, equipping, 
     operation, maintenance, repair, extension, expansion, or 
     improvement of any cultural facility and, in that regard, the 
     commission at such time may:
       ``(1) issue notes, bonds or other instruments in writing of 
     the commission in evidence of the sum or sums to be borrowed. 
     No notes, bonds or other instruments in writing shall be 
     issued pursuant to this subsection until the issuance of such 
     notes, bonds or instruments has been submitted to and 
     approved by a majority of the qualified electors of the 
     district voting at an election called and held thereon. Such 
     election shall be called and held in the manner provided by 
     law;
       ``(2) issue refunding notes, bonds or other instruments in 
     writing for the purpose of refunding, extending or unifying 
     the whole or any part of its outstanding indebtedness from 
     time to time whether evidenced by notes, bonds or other 
     instruments in writing. Such refunding notes, bonds or other 
     instruments in writing shall not exceed in amount the 
     principal of the outstanding indebtedness to be refunded and 
     the accrued interest thereon to the date of such refunding;
       ``(3) provide that all notes, bonds and other instruments 
     in writing issued hereunder shall or may be payable, both as 
     to principal and interest, from sales tax revenues authorized 
     under this compact and disbursed to the district by counties 
     comprising the district, admissions and other revenues 
     collected from the use of any cultural facility or facilities 
     constructed hereunder, or from any other resources of the 
     commission, and further may be secured by a mortgage or deed 
     of trust upon any property interest of the commission; and
       ``(4) prescribe the details of all notes, bonds or other 
     instruments in writing, and of the issuance and sale thereof. 
     The commission shall have the power to enter into covenants 
     with the holders of such notes, bonds or other instruments in 
     writing, not inconsistent with the powers granted herein, 
     without further legislative authority.
       ``(g) The commission shall appoint an advisory committee 
     composed of members of the general public consisting of an 
     equal number of persons from both the states of Kansas and 
     Missouri who have demonstrated interest, expertise, knowledge 
     or experience in cultural organizations or activities. The 
     advisory committee shall make recommendations annually to the 
     commission regarding donations, contributions and grants or 
     other support, financial or otherwise, for or in aid of 
     cultural organizations, facilities and activities in counties 
     which are part of the district.
       ``(h) The commission may provide for actual and necessary 
     expenses of commissioners and advisory committee members 
     incurred in the performance of their official duties.
       ``(i) The commission shall cause to be prepared annually a 
     report on the operations and transactions conducted by the 
     commission during the preceding year. The report shall be 
     submitted to the legislatures and governors of the compacting 
     states, to the governing bodies of the counties comprising 
     the district, and to the governing body of each city that 
     appoints a commissioner. The commission shall publish the 
     annual report in the official county newspaper of each of the 
     counties comprising the district.
       ``(j) The commission has the power to apply to the congress 
     of the United States for its consent and approval of the 
     compact. In the absence of the consent of congress and until 
     consent is secured, the compact is binding upon the states of 
     Kansas and Missouri in all respects permitted by law for the 
     two states, without the consent of congress, for the purposes 
     enumerated and in the manner provided in the compact.
       ``(k) The commission has the power to perform all other 
     necessary and incidental functions and duties and to exercise 
     all other necessary and appropriate powers not inconsistent 
     with the constitution or laws of the United States or of 
     either of the states of Kansas or Missouri to effectuate the 
     same.

                         ``ARTICLE VII. FINANCE

       ``(a) The moneys necessary to finance the operation of the 
     metropolitan culture district and the execution of the 
     powers, duties and responsibilities of the commission shall 
     be appropriated to the commission by the counties comprising 
     the district. The moneys to be appropriated to the commission 
     shall be raised by the governing bodies of the respective 
     counties by the levy of taxes as authorized by the 
     legislatures of the respective party states.
       ``(b) The commission shall not incur any indebtedness or 
     obligation of any kind; nor shall the commission pledge the 
     credit of either or any of the counties comprising the 
     district or either of the states party to this compact, 
     except as authorized in article VI. The budget of the 
     district shall be prepared, adopted and published as provided 
     by law for other political subdivisions of the party states. 
     No budget shall be adopted by the commission until it has 
     been submitted to and reviewed by the governing bodies of the 
     counties comprising the district and the governing body of 
     each city represented on the commission.
       ``(c) The commission shall keep accurate accounts of all 
     receipts and disbursements.

[[Page H6740]]

     The receipts and disbursements of the commission shall be 
     audited yearly by a certified or licensed public accountant 
     and the report of the audit shall be included in and become a 
     part of the annual report of the commission.
       ``(d) The accounts of the commission shall be open at any 
     reasonable time for inspection by duly authorized 
     representatives of the compacting states, the counties 
     comprising the district, the cities that appoint a 
     commissioner, and other persons authorized by the commission.

                    ``ARTICLE VIII. ENTRY INTO FORCE

       ``(a) This compact shall enter into force and become 
     effective and binding upon the states of Kansas and Missouri 
     when it has been entered into law by the legislatures of the 
     respective states.
       ``(b) Amendments to the compact shall become effective upon 
     enactment by the legislatures of the respective states.

                       ``ARTICLE IX. TERMINATION

       ``This compact shall continue in force and remain binding 
     upon a party state until its legislature shall have enacted a 
     statute repealing the same and providing for the sending of 
     formal written notice of enactment of such statute to the 
     legislature of the other party state. Upon enactment of such 
     a statute by the legislature of either party state, the 
     sending of notice thereof to the other party state, and 
     payment of any obligations which the metropolitan culture 
     district commission may have incurred prior to the effective 
     date of such statute, including, but not limited to, the 
     retirement of any outstanding bonded indebtedness of the 
     district, the agreement of the party states embodied in the 
     compact shall be deemed fully executed, the compact shall be 
     null and void and of no further force or effect, the 
     metropolitan culture district shall be dissolved, and the 
     metropolitan culture district commission shall be abolished.

               ``ARTICLE X. CONSTRUCTION AND SEVERABILITY

       ``The provisions of this compact shall be liberally 
     construed and shall be severable. If any phrase, clause, 
     sentence or provision of this compact is declared to be 
     contrary to the constitution of either of the party states or 
     of the United States or the applicability thereof to any 
     government, agency, person or circumstance is held invalid, 
     the validity of the remainder of this compact and the 
     applicability thereof to any government, agency, person or 
     circumstance shall not be affected thereby. If this compact 
     shall be held contrary to the constitution of either of the 
     states party thereto, the compact shall thereby be nullified 
     and voided and of no further force or effect.
       ``(a) The board of county commissioners of any county which 
     has been authorized by a majority of the electors of the 
     county to create or to become a part of the metropolitan 
     culture district and to levy and collect a tax for the 
     purpose of contributing to the financial support of the 
     district shall adopt a resolution imposing a countywide 
     retailers' sales tax and pledging the revenues received 
     therefrom for such purpose. The rate of such tax shall be 
     fixed in an amount of not more than .25%. Any county levying 
     a retailers' sales tax under authority of this section is 
     hereby prohibited from administering or collecting such tax 
     locally, but shall utilize the services of the state 
     department of revenue to administer, enforce and collect such 
     tax. The sales tax shall be administered, enforced and 
     collected in the same manner and by the same procedure as 
     other countywide retailers' sales taxes are levied and 
     collected and shall be in addition to any other sales tax 
     authorized by law. Upon receipt of a certified copy of a 
     resolution authorizing the levy of a countywide retailers' 
     sales tax pursuant to this section, the state director of 
     taxation shall cause such tax to be collected within and 
     outside the boundaries of such county at the same time and in 
     the same manner provided for the collection of the state 
     retailers' sales tax. All moneys collected by the director of 
     taxation under the provisions of this section shall be 
     credited to the metropolitan culture district retailers' 
     sales tax fund which fund is hereby established in the state 
     treasury. Any refund due on any countywide retailers' sales 
     tax collected pursuant to this section shall be paid out of 
     the sales tax refund fund and reimbursed by the director of 
     taxation from retailers' sales tax revenue collected pursuant 
     to this section. All countywide retailers' sales tax revenue 
     collected within any county pursuant to this section shall be 
     remitted at least quarterly by the state treasurer, on 
     instruction from the director of taxation, to the treasurer 
     of such county.
       ``(b) All revenue received by any county treasurer from a 
     countywide retailers' sales tax imposed pursuant to this 
     section shall be appropriated by the county to the 
     metropolitan culture district commission within 60 days of 
     receipt of the funds by the county for expenditure by the 
     commission pursuant to and in accordance with the provisions 
     of the Kansas and Missouri metropolitan culture district 
     compact. If any such revenue remains upon nullification and 
     voidance of the Kansas and Missouri metropolitan culture 
     district compact, the county treasurer shall deposit such 
     revenue to the credit of the general fund of the county.
       ``(c) Any countywide retailers' sales tax imposed pursuant 
     to this section shall expire upon the date of actual 
     withdrawal of the county from the metropolitan culture 
     district or at any time the Kansas and Missouri metropolitan 
     culture district compact becomes null and void and of no 
     further force or effect. If any moneys remain in the 
     metropolitan culture district retailers' sales tax fund upon 
     nullification and voidance of the Kansas and Missouri 
     metropolitan culture district compact, the state treasurer 
     shall transfer such moneys to the county and city retailers' 
     sales tax fund to be apportioned and remitted at the same 
     time and in the same manner as other countywide retailers' 
     sales tax revenues are apportioned and remitted.''.

     SEC. 2. RESERVATION OF RIGHTS.

       The Congress expressly deserves the right to alter, amend, 
     or repeal this Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Arkansas (Mr. Hutchinson) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hutchinson).
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Arkansas (Mr. Hutchinson) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hutchinson).


                             General Leave

  Mr. HUTCHINSON. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend 
their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 4700, the bill 
now under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Arkansas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. HUTCHINSON. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, on behalf of the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. 
Gekas), I would like to address this particular bill, H.R. 4700.
  This bill grants the consent of Congress to the Kansas and Missouri 
Metropolitan Culture District to facilitate cultural development in the 
greater Kansas City metropolitan area.
  The compact being considered is uniquely designed to encourage cross-
state cultural and intellectual development. Like the original Kansas 
and Missouri Metropolitan Culture Compact, approved by Congress in 
1994, the compact proposed by H.R. 4700 allows voters from both States 
to jointly support cultural activities benefiting the bistate region.
  While nearly identical to the culture compact approved by Congress in 
1994, the culture compact proposed by this bill expands the definition 
of cultural programs to cover sport activities and facilities. It also 
changes the composition of the culture commission to maintain balanced 
representation from both States.
  Finally, like its predecessor, the Congressional Budget Office has 
estimated that implementation of the compact would have no fiscal 
impact on the U.S. Treasury, and I will include the letter from the CBO 
for the Record.
  Passage of the 1994 Kansas and Missouri Culture Compact has brought 
cultural and aesthetic renewal to residents of the Kansas City 
metropolitan region, while obtaining a broad measure of bipartisanship 
in the member States and in the Congress. With our help, Kansas and 
Missouri will continue the cultural invigoration of the greater Kansas 
City area, and I urge support of the bill.
                                                    U.S. Congress,


                                  Congressional Budget Office,

                                     Washington, DC July 20, 2000.
     Hon. Henry J. Hyde,
     Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. House of 
         Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
     prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 4700, a bill to 
     grant the consent of the Congress to the Kansas and Missouri 
     Metropolitan Culture District Compact.
       If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
     pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Lanette J. 
     Keith.
           Sincerely,
                                                Barry B. Anderson,
                                             (For Dan L. Crippen).
       Enclosure.
     H.R. 4700.--A bill to grant the consent of the Congress to 
         the Kansas and Missouri Metropolitan Culture District 
         Compact
       H.R. 4700 would give Congressional consent to the Kansas 
     and Missouri Metropolitan Culture District Compact entered 
     into by Kansas and Missouri. A similar agreement was approved 
     by the Congress in 1994 but that agreement will end in 2001. 
     Enacting H.R. 4700 would enable certain counties in the two 
     states to continue to apply a local sales tax to fund 
     historical preservation activities within the district. 
     Enacting the resolution would result in no cost to the 
     federal

[[Page H6741]]

     government. Because enactment of H.R. 4700 would not affect 
     direct spending or receipts, pay-as-you-go procedures would 
     not apply. The bill contains no intergovernmental or private-
     sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform 
     Act and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal 
     governments.
       The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Lanette J. 
     Keith. This estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, 
     Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SCOTT. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the 
gentlewoman from Missouri (Ms. McCarthy), who has done so much work on 
this important issue affecting her district, be allowed to control the 
time on this side.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the gentlewoman from 
Missouri (Ms. McCarthy) is recognized for 20 minutes.
  There was no objection.
  Ms. McCARTHY of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as 
I may consume, and I thank the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott) very 
much for that gracious introduction. I would also like to thank the 
gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hutchinson), who so eloquently described 
this very positive and special bill.
  I would also like to take a moment, Madam Speaker, to thank the 
chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary, the gentleman from Illinois 
(Mr. Hyde); and the ranking member, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. 
Conyers); as well as the chairman of the Subcommittee on Commercial and 
Administrative Law, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Gekas); and 
the subcommittee ranking member, the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
Nadler), for expediting this very important effort for my community.
  Last Tuesday, the bill was heard in the subcommittee and marked up; 
last Wednesday in the full committee and marked up; and here we are on 
Monday, Madam Speaker, back to the floor for a vote by the full 
membership on consideration of the renewal of this important bistate 
compact.
  In the 1980s, when I served in the Missouri legislature in the House 
and chaired the Ways and Means Committee there, I and others of like 
mind, who realized that the uniqueness of Kansas City, with its State 
line dividing both a Kansas community and a Missouri community with 
common interests, might require some creative taxing mechanism in order 
to restore and to secure the very beautiful landmarks that we have 
there, both in culture, the arts, and also in our heritage, and yet not 
any one community could do it alone, so we created this bistate 
cultural compact that needed the approval by the people of greater 
Kansas City, which is, of course, home to 1.7 million supporters.
  We initially proposed this in the Kansas and Missouri legislatures, I 
happened to handle it in the Missouri House, and gained the approval of 
those two bodies in 1987, when we introduced it, and then again as we 
revised it. In 1994, when we finally agreed to it and passed it and it 
was signed into law by both governors, I came here as a State 
legislator to advocate for it before the Committee on the Judiciary and 
was very pleased for its passage in the House then.
  It is being renewed now because it needs to have some changes made to 
it. We sunset it, quite appropriately then, to make sure it would work 
successfully, and it has. Now we want to take it back to the community 
with the changes that the gentleman from Arkansas described in order 
for the voters to approve its continuance.
  The major success story of this effort, this rather unique effort, 
has been the restoration of our Union Station, a very important 
structure to both communities, located on the Missouri side. It is 
second in the Nation in size and history to Grand Central Station. It 
had fallen into great disrepair and deterioration, was looking for some 
current use, and this bistate cultural tax raised almost half the money 
needed to restore the building. It has been turned into a wonderful 
science center and museum and is a great gathering place for many, many 
cultural events in the community.
  It has been such a great bringing together of people on both sides of 
the State line, rallying around the importance of maintaining this 
important structure, that we want to go back now and let the commission 
discuss future use that might include comprehensive projects to support 
the arts for school-aged children and renovation or rehabilitation of 
arts facilities on both sides of the State line. Youth athletic 
facilities projects are desperately needed and seriously contemplated 
by the commission. And of course maintenance on existing athletic 
facilities will be included under new language in the compact.
  So I am very, very pleased today to be here in support of this 
effort, and I would like again to thank the members of the committee 
for their bipartisan effort in making this a priority and moving so 
expeditiously.
  Madam Speaker, I am providing for the Record some letters of support 
from individuals and organizations involved in this back home in Kansas 
and Missouri.

                                               Greater Kansas City


                                          Chamber of Commerce,

                                   Kansas City, MO, July 17, 2000.
     Hon. Karen McCarthy,
     Longworth House Office Building
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Representative McCarthy: The Greater Kansas City 
     Chamber of Commerce has been a strong supporter of the Kansas 
     and Missouri Metropolitan Culture District Compact since it 
     was first proposed more than 10 years ago by a civic task 
     force organized by Kansas City Consensus. From the very 
     beginning, the concept of a multijurisdiction tax for common 
     purposes in a bistate region like Greater Kansas City has had 
     great appeal.
       The Chamber was a principal player in the passage of the 
     bistate tax to restore Kansas City's Union Station and 
     establish Science City at the station. The success of that 
     project has naturally led to speculation about other regional 
     needs that might be met through this innovative approach.
       Consequently, The Chamber was a leader in the effort to 
     expand the eligible use of bistate tax revenues through 
     legislation in Kansas and Missouri to include sports and 
     sports facilities as well as the cultural arts.
       The Chamber continues to be an enthusiastic supporters of 
     the bistate tax concept and urges appropriate action by the 
     Congress to facilitate the further use of this creative 
     multijurisdictional initiative for regional purposes.
           Sincerely,
                                                    Peter S. Levi,
     President.
                                  ____

                                                       Kansas City


                                     Area Development Council,

                                   Kansas City, MO, July 17, 2000.
     Hon. Karen McCarthy,
     U.S. Representative,
     Kansas City, MO.
       Dear Congresswoman McCarthy: I'm writing to let you know 
     the support of the Kansas City Area Development Council 
     (KCADC) for HR 4700 granting congressional approval for the 
     bistate compact that would authorize the creation of the 
     Metropolitan Cultural District in the Kansas City area.
       KCADC, from its inception in 1976, has been a bistate 
     organization. As you know, we serve 15 counties in both 
     Kansas and Missouri. We approach business attraction and the 
     growth of the economy from a bistate perspective because our 
     community is truly one community that simply happens to be 
     joined by a state line. Nothing could be more important to us 
     than the approval of this legislation. The furtherance of 
     regional cooperation and funding key cultural assets assuming 
     voter approval is critical to the ongoing development of our 
     community. The fact that the legislation has received support 
     in the legislatures of both Kansas and Missouri and would 
     only be enacted upon a vote of the people, provides both 
     evidence of broad support and all necessary safeguards.
       We are appreciative of your leadership in this effort and 
     ask that you will do all that is possible to encourage the 
     approval of this legislation initially by the House Judiciary 
     Committee and then by the full House and Senate.
           Best regards,
                                               Robert J. Marcusse,
     President and CEO.
                                  ____



                                 Mid-America Regional Council,

                                   Kansas City, MO, July 17, 2000.
     Hon. Karen McCarthy,
     U.S. Representative,
     Kansas City, MO.
       Dear Congresswoman McCarthy: This letter is to convey the 
     support of the Mid-America Regional Council for HR 4700 to 
     grant congressional approval for the bistate compact 
     authorizing creation of the Metropolitan Culture District in 
     the Kansas City area.
       As the council of governments and metropolitan planning 
     group for Greater Kansas City, MARC has keen interest in 
     seeing the continuance of this important mechanism to allow 
     for voter-approved regional cooperation in funding key 
     cultural assets. MARC has played an active role in supporting 
     this initiative over the years, and we are eager to see this 
     tool continue to serve our regional community. The proposed 
     changes to the bistate compact enjoy broad public support and 
     have already been approved by the legislatures of both Kansas 
     and Missouri.

[[Page H6742]]

       We appreciate your leadership in ensuring continuation of 
     this issue so important to our metropolitan progress.
           Sincerely,
                                                    David A. Warm,
     Executive Director.
                                  ____

                                                     Overland Park


                                          Chamber of Commerce,

                                 Overland Park, KS, July 17, 2000.
     Hon. Henry J. Hyde,
     Chairman, Committee on Judiciary, House of Representatives, 
         Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: On behalf of the Overland Park Chamber 
     of Commerce and its 1,100 members, I want to thank you for 
     granting a timely hearing on HR 4700.
       The Overland Park business community wishes to declare its 
     support for the passage of HR 4700. Its passage will complete 
     a legislative process that provides increased flexibility and 
     expanded options for the Kansas City metropolitan area in 
     future bi-state efforts.
       Citizens and businesses in both Kansas and Missouri, with 
     the Union Station bi-state success, have demonstrated an 
     ability to reach consensus and support for important 
     projects. This bill, supported by both state legislatures, 
     enhances that unique relationship.
       We appreciate your support in addressing this important 
     community issue.
           Sincerely,
                                                   Mary Birch CCE,
     President.
                                  ____

                                                  January 4, 2000.
     To: Johnson County Commission.
     From: Johnson County Chambers Presidents Council, Linda 
         Leeper, Chairman.
     Re: Bi-State Efforts.
       As strong supporters of the bi-state initiative to renovate 
     Union Station and construct Science City, the chambers of 
     commerce in Johnson County wish to commend the voters of the 
     four counties, the Bi-State Commission, the Union Station 
     Assistance Corporation, the Union Station Project Council and 
     civic leaders for a job well done. This phenomenal project 
     will serve as an excellent first effort toward future 
     partnerships that identify, pursue and support other bi-state 
     efforts.
       At this time, the Johnson County Chambers Presidents 
     Council has discussed future bi-state efforts and would like 
     to convey the following concepts to be considered as 
     developments and ideas proceed.
       We believe:
       1. The current \1/8\ cent bi-state sales tax for Union 
     Station/Science City should sunset (end) as promised to the 
     voters.
       2. The bi-state tax should be used to enhance quality-of-
     life components that are not traditionally funded by 
     government, such as the arts, and to preserve major community 
     institutions.
       3. The bi-state tax cannot and should not be seen or used 
     as ``the'' solution for all the problems of the metro-plex.
       4. If there is a second bi-state effort, it should include 
     both the arts as was originally intended and consideration of 
     efforts in Kansas. Serious consideration should be given to 
     the renovation or construction of a building in Johnson 
     County for an arts venue.
       5. Also, consideration should be given to including sports 
     facilities as a beneficiary of the next bi-state effort. 
     There is no doubt that Kansas City's professional sports 
     teams are a significant economic development component for 
     the entire metropolitan area. The bi-state component, 
     however, similar to Union Station, should be only one part of 
     a larger multi-source funded effort.
                                  ____

                                          Labor-Management Council


                                       of Greater Kansas City,

                                   Kansas City, MO, July 17, 2000.
     U.S. Rep. Karen McCarthy,
     E. 9th St., Suite 9350,
     Kansas City, MO.
       Dear Rep. McCarthy: The Labor-Management Council of Greater 
     Kansas City urges support from the U.S. Congress for ``Bi-
     State II'' legislation. We supported passage of the revised 
     bi-state approach in both the Missouri and Kansas 
     legislatures, and we thank you for your support for the 
     successful first bi-state project as well as for this effort.
       As an organization comprised of more than 80 businesses, 
     unions, nonprofits and governments from throughout the Kansas 
     City area, the Labor-Management Council focuses on efforts 
     that enhance the entire metropolitan community. Bi-State II 
     will allow us the opportunity to explore and possibly 
     implement public improvement projects that benefit citizens 
     in both states.
       The Labor-Management Council requires a unanimous vote of 
     its Board of Directors to take a public issue position. Bi-
     State II's achievement of such unanimous support from our 
     diverse leadership demonstrates its strong appeal to labor 
     and to management, to Missourians and to Kansas, to Democrats 
     and to Republicans, to urban and to suburban residents.
       We are very pleased that Congress is appropriately 
     considering this legislation to help address our community's 
     needs that cross state, county and municipal lines. Passage 
     of Bi-State II by Congress would allow us to continue our 
     work to benefit the entire metropolitan community.
       Please feel free to share our position with your 
     colleagues, and to contact me with any questions.
           Sincerely,
                                                  Bob Jacobi, Jr.,
     Executive Director.
                                  ____



                                     Jackson County Executive,

                                   Kansas City, MO, July 17, 2000.
     Hon. Karen McCarthy,
     U.S. Representative,
     Kansas City, MO.
       Dear Congresswoman McCarthy: I am writing to express my 
     support for HR 4700, which would grant congressional approval 
     for the bi-state compact authorizing creation of the 
     Metropolitan Culture District in the Kansas City area.
       Jackson County is proud of its role in the development and 
     implementation of the successful initiative at Kansas City's 
     Liberty Memorial, and looks forward to the opportunity to 
     extend a bi-state solution into other long term capital needs 
     of the entire Kansas City metropolitan area.
       We appreciate your efforts in ensuring the continuation and 
     expansion of this cooperative effort among local governments 
     across our region.
           Sincerely,
                                              Katheryn J. Shields,
     County Executive.
                                  ____

                                                  State of Kansas,


                                       Office of the Governor,

                                                       Topeka, KS.

                       Communications Office Fax

     From: Don Brown, Communications Director.
       Governor Graves made the following comments shortly before 
     signing the Bi-State II legislation:
       ``I am extremely pleased with the success of our first Bi-
     State project. The Science City at Union Station, quite 
     frankly, would not exist as we know it today without the 
     funding from this arts and culture initiative. I am pleased 
     to be able to sign the Bi-State II legislation into Kansas 
     Law. This is just one step in the process, of course. I'm 
     confident the government leaders and voters in the respective 
     counties in and around Kansas City will make good choices as 
     they explore another phase of this cooperative effort.''
                                  ____


      Carnahan Signs Bill To Expand Metropolitan Culture District

       Gov. Mel Carnahan gave final approval today to a new law 
     that expands the Kansas and Missouri Metropolitan Culture 
     District to include sports facilities and events.
       Carnahan signed the legislation (Senate Bill 719) at Union 
     Station, which reopened last year after being restored 
     through the efforts of the Culture District--a four-county 
     area encompassing Kansas City.
       ``Bringing Union Station back to life is a testimony to the 
     tremendous success the Culture District has experienced,'' 
     Carnahan said. ``This legislation will allow the district to 
     build upon that success by including sports facilities and 
     events.''
       The new legislation will allow sporting events and sports 
     facilities to qualify as approved projects for the Culture 
     District. This will enable voters in the district to approve 
     funding for sports-related activities in addition to other 
     cultural facilities and events.
       The legislation also adds two members to the Culture 
     District Commission, the district's governing body. That 
     provision was necessary due to the consolidation of Kansas 
     City, Kan., and Wyandotte County governments. The additional 
     two members will ensure equal representation from Kansas and 
     Missouri on the commission.
       ``Many Kansas Citians from both sides of the state line are 
     proud of the accomplishments that have been achieved through 
     the bistate Culture District,'' Carnahan said. ``The work of 
     the district and its commission is proof that great things 
     can be done when the spirit of cooperation is a prominent 
     force.''
                                  ____


               [From the Kansas City Star, Nov. 8, 1999]

                      Donors Praise Union Station

                           (By Brian Burnes)

       Union Station's opening week continued Sunday as about 
     1,200 benefactors who had contributed $1,000 or more to the 
     renovation project gathered for an early look at the 
     landmark.
       The reviews were good.
       ``I think it's wonderful. It's fabulous,'' said Betty 
     Shouse of Kansas City as she stood in the old North Waiting 
     Room, now Festival Plaza.
       ``I'm in awe of the ceiling,'' said Carson Ross, a Missouri 
     state representative from Blue Springs, referring to the 
     restored and repainted ceiling in the Grand Hall.
       Shouse and Ross also offered praise for the bistate 
     cooperation that led to $118 million in taxpayer 
     contributions to the renovation from a one-eight-cent sales 
     tax passed in Jackson, Johnson, Clay and Plate counties in 
     1996.
       ``I'm so glad that we were able to have that kind of 
     cooperation among the various parts of Kansas City,'' Shouse 
     said.
       ``Being, able to bring both states together for this was 
     historic,'' Ross said. ``I tell people from other states 
     about this and they can't believe it.''
       As the late afternoon sun poured through the west windows, 
     most visitors could be seen looking up at the ceiling or at 
     the huge clock hanging from it.
       ``What's fun about this is that each person who comes 
     through feels that they had a piece of the project, so it's 
     exciting for them to see it all come together now,'' said 
     Bill Musgrave, a vice president of the Kansas City Museum, 
     which is developing Science City inside the station.

[[Page H6743]]

       Renovation officials said Sunday's crowd--much smaller than 
     the crowd of approximately 3,700 who jammed in Friday night--
     had its virtues.
       ``Friday night was elbow to elbow,'' said John Patrick 
     Burnett, a member of the project's Bistate Commission, which 
     oversaw the spending of taxpayer money. ``But this was very 
     nice today, and you could actually see some of the exhibits 
     of Science City.''
       Within Science City, benefactors mingled with some of the 
     approximately 25 ``interactors,'' or costumed performers who 
     will visit with Science City guests in front of some of the 
     approximately 50 ``environments.''
       Interspersed with the interactors were construction 
     workers, some of whom continued working on the Festival Plaza 
     fountain as the party went on around them. The stations 
     opening week continues Tuesday with a preview for volunteers 
     scheduled for 5 to 9 pm.
       The grand opening of Science City at Union Station is 
     scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday on the station's south plaza.
                                  ____


              [From Preservation, November/December 1999]

 Hope Rides on the $250 Million Makeover of Kansas City's Union Station

                            (By Steve Paul)

       Kansas City, MO.--Kansas citizens have been waiting decades 
     for life to return to the 1914 Union Station, once among the 
     nation's busiest monuments to rail travel. Now the wait is 
     over. Science City, a so-called edutainment complex appended 
     to the newly restored station, has its grand opening on Nov. 
     10.
       A private-public partnership partly funded by taxpayers in 
     two states spurred the ambitious project with a price tag of 
     $250 million, so there's an extraordinary amount of breath 
     holding. Can the enormous building again become the city's 
     premier gathering place? If revelers return to the station's 
     cavernous spaces this New Year's Eve, the turn of the 
     millennium may be less meaningful than the emotional 
     reconnection to a cherished monument the public didn't know 
     what to do with.
       Preservation purists are hoping Science City's 
     idiosyncrasies won't undermine the reception given to 
     restoration of the decayed station itself, second in size 
     only to Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan. Still, the 
     ultimate test of success will be whether tourist dollars can 
     underwrite local pride and any sense that such gathering 
     place is needed.
       Andy Scott, executive director of the Union Station 
     Assistance Corp., the building's private, nonprofit owner 
     since 1994, hopes the restoration will redefine downtown. 
     Ever optimistic, Scott is already envisioning more 
     redevelopment. A new pedestrian bridge, designed by Siah 
     Armajani, has been proposed to link the station with the 
     Crossroads district across the rail yards to the north. A 
     lively renaissance of art galleries, restaurants, and 
     residential lofts is under way in that neighborhood of 
     converted warehouses and industrial buildings.
       Scott's optimism also stems from the statute of the station 
     itself, designed by Chicago architect Jarvis Hunt in a 
     restrained Beaux-Arts style with well-proportioned columns, 
     windows, and entablature. With all the personal interaction 
     that took place within, Scott says, Union Station means a lot 
     to people in the metropolitan area of 1.7 million. ``This 
     building,'' he says, ``was built with such vision and care 
     and love of beauty and architecture that it can inspire 
     people.''
       Union Station was nearly comatose long before it closed 
     more than a decade ago. In the '80s it suffered a kick in the 
     architectural groin when an office building was crammed into 
     a corner of its T-shaped plan.
       That building remains, but the reflections in its mirror-
     glass reds and blues outlined by cream trim and gold-hued 
     plaster foliage. It also suspends a trio of respected 
     3,000-pound chandeliers from ornate rosettes.
       Science City, a project of the Kansas City Museum, will 
     occupy a new glass-topped annex abutting the station's former 
     North Waiting Room. Responding to focus groups who said they 
     wanted to have fun, the museum made something akin to an 
     amusement park involving science as adventure.
       ``It's not a museum, it's not a science center, it's not a 
     themes park, it's not theater,'' says Science City President 
     David A. Ucko. ``The phrase I've been using is `recreational 
     learning.' ''
       The station's North Waiting Room, more than 100 yards long, 
     serves as the entry to the multilevel maze of Science City. 
     Visitors will be deposited into a series of environments--a 
     hospital, a crime scene, a cave--with actors conducting 
     learning experiences.
       There will be a historical streetscape providing a memory 
     lane of pop culture: old televisions showing period programs 
     in an appliance-store window, for instance. A live stage will 
     present science and historical shows. A large-screen Iwerks 
     theater is being installed for science and nature films in 2-
     D and 3-D formats. And a planetarium will put a laser-show 
     spin on sky gazing lessons.
       Nighttime activities are crucial to the return of a 
     constant flow of people--and their dollars--to the station. 
     So the theaters will do double duty, showing Science City 
     films by day and general-interest, date-inducing movies by 
     night. The North Waiting Room, available for special events, 
     can accommodate as many as 1,200 diners. Several restaurants 
     are opening in and off the cavernous Grand Hall.
       For the multitudes who passed through there, Union Station 
     is something like a memory bank. Emotional departures and 
     returns were plentiful for several generations before 
     passenger-train traffic and the station itself began to began 
     to decline after World War II. ``In many ways,'' says Dave 
     Boutras of the Western Historical Manuscript Collection in 
     Kansas City, ``it is about the only public place that 
     represents the metro area.''
       The feeling of a shared history--and the vision of a shared 
     future--helped persuade taxpayers in Johnson County, Kan., an 
     affluent Kansas City suburb, to contribute to the project 
     through a one-eighth-cent bistate sales tax. They joined 
     voters in the three Missouri countries through which Kansas 
     City sprawls to pony up $118 million in tax money. The rest 
     of the construction funding came from more than $30 million 
     in federal grants and $100 million in private donations.
       Significant participation ($20 million) came from Hallmark 
     Cards, Inc., and the Hall Family Foundation. Hallmark's 
     headquarters and Crown Center, a complex with two hotels, 
     restaurants, a shopping mall, and an updated bus waiting 
     area, will be linked to the station by an elevated, glass-
     enclosed walkway.
       An important aspect of the redevelopment is Union Station's 
     revival as a transportation center. Local buses, tourist 
     trolleys, and planned commuter-rail line from Johnson County 
     will stop there, as will a light-rail line in Kansas City, if 
     it ever gets built. Amtrak service may return to the building 
     after its long exile on the bottom level of an underground 
     parking garage.
       Long a prominent symbol of inner-city deterioration and 
     dis-investment as it sat rotting, Union Station is ready to 
     be embraced with the pride and excitement it was born to 85 
     years ago.

                [From the New York Times, Nov. 12, 1999]

        In Kansas City, Few Trains, But New Life in the Station

                         (By Shirley Christian)

       Kansas City, MO, Nov. 14--It required new laws in two 
     states, sales-tax elections in five counties and an act of 
     Congress, as well as a major corporate giving campaign, but 
     Kansas City's monumental Union Station has finally been 
     restored to the grandeur it once enjoyed as a centerpiece of 
     the nation's passenger rail network.
       Even as construction crews raced to finish the $250 million 
     restoration and expansion of the station, the completed 
     portions opened to the public last week after a spate of 
     events toasting large donors and volunteers.
       Very few passenger trains pass through Kansas City now, so 
     the station's restored Grand Hall, with its 95-foot ceiling 
     and three 3,000-pound chandeliers, is to serve as a public 
     space, surrounded by new restaurants, shops and offices. The 
     station, second in size in this country only to Grand Central 
     Terminal in Manhattan, is envisioned as a vast indoor plaza, 
     a gathering place intended to help draw people back to the 
     center of the city.
       The station opened in 1914 with nearly one million square 
     feet of space. It has been expanded in this new incarnation 
     with a 300,000-square-foot wing on the west side to house 
     Science City, described by its creators as a place of 
     ``recreational learning.'' Science City is projected to draw 
     a million paying visitors a year.
       ``We are creating an educational attraction for all ages,'' 
     said David A. Ucko, president of Science City and the Kansas 
     City Museum, which will manage it. ``There will a high degree 
     of emotional engagement, and everything will be contextual, 
     nothing abstract. There will be a lot of humor. This won't be 
     a deadly serious place.''
       Those who planned, argued and campaigned for years to put 
     together the complicated financing package for Union Station 
     are so pleased with the results that even before the 
     reopening they were talking of returning to the voters and 
     asking them to extend the culture sales tax, which made the 
     restoration possible. The idea would be to use the tax to 
     finance a wider array of cultural offerings. Supporters said 
     the rebirth of the station, whose architectural features are 
     similar to those of Grand Central and Union Station in 
     Washington, has brought a new sense of metropolitan spirit on 
     both sides of the Missouri-Kansas line, a border across which 
     some of the vilest actions of the Civil War occurred.
       Civil leaders are daring to dream of what else might be 
     financed by extending the eighth-of-a-cent culture tax beyond 
     2002, when the station restoration will be paid off. 
     Possibilities include creation of a publicly financed arts 
     endowment, which could benefit museums like the Nelson-Atkins 
     Museum of Art, performance groups like the Lyric Opera and 
     the Kansas City Symphony, and smaller organizations.
       Other noncultural possibilities include up-dating the 
     stadiums in which the football Chiefs and baseball Royals 
     play and improving the very limited public transportation 
     system, which serves one of the most sprawled metropolitan 
     areas in the country.
       The new Arts Council of Metropolitan Kansas City was formed 
     partly to look at how a culture tax or other public money 
     might be sought for the arts.
       ``Kansas City is in the top quartile of cities for private 
     funding of the arts,'' said Jan Kreamer, president of the 
     Greater Kansas City Community Foundation and an organizer of 
     the arts council. ``But we are near the bottom of public 
     funding.''

[[Page H6744]]

       Two regional neighbors, Denver and St. Louis, have adopted 
     taxes for cultural purposes, she said. But she added that no 
     specific proposals would be formulated here until public 
     surveys on the issue are completed. Joan Israelite, president 
     of the Arts Council, said its creation was part of a great 
     expansion of arts and cultural activity. ``We're on the verge 
     of a cultural renaissance,'' she said.
       The financing of the area's cultural and other needs has 
     grown increasingly complicated as development has spread into 
     the five counties in Kansas and Missouri that make up the 
     metropolitan region, and into a second tier of surrounding 
     counties in both states as well. More than 100 municipal and 
     other governmental entities are involved, and the principal 
     city, Kansas City, Mo., has become a smaller piece of the 
     whole even though its population is growing slightly.
       Unlike most other metropolitan areas that reach across 
     state lines, this region's population of 1.7 million is 
     fairly evenly divided between the two states, as are business 
     and industry, and people here seem to view the state line as 
     the de facto heart of the city. Booming Johnson County, Kan., 
     with 20-some suburban cities, rivals Kansas City proper in 
     size and economic clout, Kansas City, Kan., much smaller and 
     poorer than Kansas City, Mo., or Johnson County, maintains a 
     strong industrial base.
       A century and a half ago civic leaders of the two Kansas 
     Cities laid out their principal arteries within walking 
     distance of the other state; Union Station was built just 
     blocks east of the state line.
       ``The fact is that we function as an economic city-state,'' 
     said Jack Holland, an investment banker who began working on 
     the bistate financing concept 15 years ago.
       He was part of a group called Kansas City Consensus, which 
     formed in the early 1980's to look at how Kansas City could 
     continue to pay for cultural and recreational offerings while 
     much of the core city's economic power was being lost to the 
     suburbs. From that group the idea of the bistate tax emerged 
     in 1985.
       The group recommended a sales tax instead of a property tax 
     because a sales tax could be applied uniformly throughout the 
     metropolitan area. By contrast, assessed valuation for a 
     similar piece of property might vary from country to 
     county and state to state.
       Supporters of the bistate tax said they found many examples 
     around the country of culture taxes and of metropolitan area 
     taxes that crossed county lines, but no examples of a tax 
     that crossed a state line.
       After passage of the enabling legislation in Kansas and 
     Missouri in 1993, representatives from each state decided 
     what projects to propose to voters. Although arts and other 
     culture groups had been the driving force behind passage of 
     the legislation, they had trouble agreeing on a package of 
     programs and institutions to support.
       In the end everybody could agree only on raising money to 
     restore Union Station. Its beauty, even in its abandoned and 
     unmaintained state, and the emotional attachment felt by 
     people across the area made the station ``the perfect 
     candidate for election,'' said Jack Craft, a lawyer who led 
     the culture-tax campaign in Missouri. ``It's handsome, and it 
     doesn't talk.''
       Next, advocates of the tax had to deal with the almost 
     legendary distrust that Kansans have of the politicians in 
     Kansas City, Mo. ``So a lot of safeguards were built into the 
     Union Station operating agreement,'' said State Rose, a 
     suburban newspaper publisher who ran the culture-tax campaign 
     in Kansas.
       A separate legal entity was created to own and operate the 
     station, and an agreement was drawn up that, if the 
     restoration project should fail at some point, ownership of 
     Union Station would pass not to the city of Kansas City, Mo., 
     but to he community foundation headed by headed by Ms. 
     Kreamer. Still nervous about the outcome of the voting, the 
     advocates of the tax mounted what Mr. Craft said was the most 
     expensive political campaign ever conducted in the Kansas 
     City region, costing slightly more than $1 million. Some 
     advertising and public relations concerns donated services.
       On Nov. 5, 1996, the culture tax went before the voters in 
     the five counties. It passed with more than 60 percent of the 
     vote in four, losing only in Wyandotte County, site of Kansas 
     City. Kan., the poorest county in the metropolitan area.
       The tax is raising $118 million of the cost of restoring 
     and expanding the station. An additional $100 million was 
     raised from private contributors; the rest is coming from 
     federal money.
       Forty million dollars of the estimated $250 million price 
     tag was set aside as an endowment whose income will pay part 
     of the operating costs for Science City and Union Station. 
     The rest of the $18 million operating budget is to come from 
     paying visitors to Science City and from leasing the office 
     and commercial space.
  Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise in support of H.R. 
4700, to grant the consent of the Congress to the Kansas and Missouri 
Metropolitan Culture District Compact. This bipartisan legislation 
would allow the metropolitan area of Kansas City, Kansas, and Wyandotte 
County to continue the progress of successful arts and cultural 
initiatives.
  Extending the present compact, which is set to expire in 2001, would 
include sports facilities in the cultural definition. It would also 
correct the inequity created by the consolidation of the governments of 
the City of Kansas City, Kansas and Wyandotte County, Kansas which gave 
Missouri and advantage of two votes over Kansas. Finally, the extension 
would give states the authority to continue local revenue stream of a 
.125% sales tax used to support cultural activities in the bi-state 
region.
  I commend Representative McCarthy from Missouri for her hard work and 
dedication to moving this legislation through the legislative process. 
This an excellent example of a bi-state, private-public, local-federal 
partnership which works well. The continuation of the compact will 
allow the metropolitan area to further this productive alignment for 
successful arts and cultural initiatives in the bi-state region and I 
strongly support the effort.
  Mr. GEKAS. Madam Speaker, H.R. 4700 grants the consent of Congress to 
the Kansas and Missouri Metropolitan Culture District to facilitate 
cultural development in the greater Kansas City metropolitan area. The 
Compact being considered is uniquely designed to encourage cross-state 
cultural and intellectual development. Like the original Kansas-
Missouri Metropolitan Culture Compact approved by Congress in 1994, the 
Compact proposed by H.R. 4700 allows voters from both states to jointly 
support cultural activities benefiting the bistate region.
  While nearly identical to the Culture Compact approved by Congress in 
1994, the Culture Compact proposed by H.R. 4700 expands the definition 
of cultural programs to cover sport activities and facilities. It also 
changes the composition of the Culture Commission to maintain balanced 
representation from both states. Finally, like its predecessor, the 
Congressional Budget Office has estimated that implementation of the 
Compact would have no fiscal impact on the U.S. Treasury.
  Passage of the 1994 Kansas and Missouri Culture Compact has brought 
cultural and aesthetic renewal to residents of the Kansas City 
metropolitan region while obtaining a broad measure of bipartisanship 
in the member states and in the Congress. With our help, Kansas and 
Missouri will continue the cultural invigoration of the greater Kansas 
City area and I urge your support of the bill.
  Mr. MOORE. Madam Speaker, I rise to share my support for H.R. 4700, 
which would grant the consent of Congress to the Kansas and Missouri 
Metropolitan Cultural District Compact. I like to start by thanking my 
friend and colleague, Congresswoman Karen McCarthy, for her leadership 
on this issue. Her tireless work for the Fifth District of Missouri and 
the people of the Kansas City metropolitan area should be commended.
  Over the past four years, we have enjoyed the successes of the 
original bi-state compact that was passed by Congress in 1994, that 
continues to receive tremendous support from individuals and 
organizations on both sides of the state line. This agreement is 
essential to a unique city with a state line running through the middle 
of town. Many residents work on one side of state line and reside on 
the other. The economy and culture of the region are vitally important 
to all residents of the Kansas City metropolitan area.
  This compact made possible the restoration of Union Station and the 
completion of Science City, now one of the Kansas City metropolitan 
area's most important cultural and education facilities. Union Station 
is a remarkable example of what can be accomplished when federal, 
state, and local governments work with private and public contributors 
to improve our communities.
  As the existing compact is scheduled to conclude at the end of 2001, 
it is our responsibility to see to it that a new compact is approved to 
continue this successful venture. Furthermore, it is important to take 
this opportunity to correct the advantage of two votes that Missouri 
currently holds on the Bi-State Board, due to the consolidation of the 
governments of the Kansas City, Kansas, and Wyandotte County, Kansas, 
into the new Unified Government. This inequity should be resolved to 
preserve the balance and harmony of the Compact.
  As we move into the twenty-first century, it is even more important 
to take steps to preserve our common history and strengthen our great 
community. The Bi-State Compact will enable us to take on cultural 
initiatives, improve education, develop transportation proposals, and 
improve the lives of those in the Kansas City metropolitan area.
  I support this legislation, which I have cosponsored, because I 
believe the residents of the metropolitan area should be able to decide 
for themselves if they want to participate in this project. I can think 
of no better way to decide the issue than to give the authority 
directly to voters on both sides of the state line.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
  Mr. DREIER. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise in support of H.R. 
4700, which gives Congressional approval to the Kansas and Missouri 
Metropolitan Cultural District Compact.

[[Page H6745]]

  One of the hallmarks of this Republican Congress has been its 
commitment to empowering state and local governments to address local 
and regional challenges. This legislation is a great example of that 
commitment. H.R. 4700 imposes no federal mandates on the states of 
Kansas and Missouri, or on the local governments which have endorsed 
the compact. It does not call for the use of federal dollars. It does 
not require that the Compact be extended into the future. Instead, it 
simply gives the necessary Congressional approval to the Kansas and 
Missouri Metropolitan Cultural District Compact.
  The Compact is a unique effort to provide a secure source of local 
funding for metropolitan cooperation across state lines to restore 
historic structures and cultural facilities. Since it was established a 
few years ago, local leaders have worked through the Compact to restore 
Kansas City's Union State, one of the Midwest's important historic 
landmarks. It has also led to the addition of the Kansas City Museum's 
Science City Project. When the Compact was initially created in 1994, 
sanctioning legislation sped through both the House and Senate by voice 
votes in just a few months.
  As other advocates of H.R. 4700 have noted, the breadth of support 
for the Compact is overwhelming. It is supported by the legislatures of 
both Kansas and Missouri, the Governors of both states, and by both 
Republican and Democratic elected officials. I commend the gentlelady 
from Kansas City for bringing this measure forward, and I encourage all 
my colleagues to join me in voting for it.
  Ms. McCARTHY of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests 
for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Gekas) is recognized to control the time of the 
gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hutchinson).
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GEKAS. Madam 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 Arkansas (Mr. Hutchinson) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4700.
  The question was taken.
  Mr. GEKAS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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