[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 121 (Tuesday, October 3, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H8711-H8713]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




HISTORICALLY WOMEN'S PUBLIC COLLEGES OR UNIVERSITIES HISTORIC BUILDING 
                    RESTORATION AND PRESERVATION ACT

  Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 4503) to provide for the preservation and restoration of 
historic buildings at historically women's public colleges or 
universities, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 4503

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

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Historically Women's Public 
     Colleges or Universities Historic Building Restoration and 
     Preservation Act''.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Historically women's public college or university.--The 
     term ``historically women's public college or university'' 
     means a public institution of higher education created in the 
     United States between 1836 and 1908 to provide industrial 
     education for women, including the institutions listed in 
     clauses (i) though (viii) of section 3(d)(2)(A).
       (2) Historic building or structure.--The term ``historic 
     building or structure'' means a building or structure listed 
     (or eligible to be listed) on the National Register of 
     Historic Places, designated as a National Historic Landmark, 
     or located within a designated historic district.
       (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of the Interior.

     SEC. 3. PRESERVATION AND RESTORATION GRANTS FOR HISTORIC 
                   BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES AT HISTORICALLY 
                   WOMEN'S PUBLIC COLLEGES OR UNIVERSITIES.

       (a) Authority To Make Grants.--
       (1) In general.--From amounts made available under 
     paragraph (2), the Secretary shall award grants in accordance 
     with this section to historically women's public colleges or 
     universities for the preservation and restoration of historic 
     buildings and structures on their campuses.
       (2) Source of funding.--Grants under paragraph (1) shall be 
     awarded from amounts appropriated to carry out the National 
     Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.) for fiscal 
     years 2001 through 2005.
       (b) Grant Conditions.--Grants made under subsection (a) 
     shall be subject to the condition that the grantee agree, for 
     the period of time specified by the Secretary, that--
       (1) no alteration will be made in the property with respect 
     to which the grant is made without the concurrence of the 
     Secretary; and
       (2) reasonable public access to the property for which the 
     grant is made will be permitted by the grantee for 
     interpretive and educational purposes.
       (c) Matching Requirement for Buildings and Structures 
     Listed on the National Register of Historic Places.--
       (1) In general.--Except as provided by paragraph (2), the 
     Secretary may obligate funds made available under this 
     section for a grant with respect to a building or structure 
     listed on the National Register of Historic Places, 
     designated as a National Historic Landmark, or located within 
     a designated historic district, only if the grantee agrees to 
     provide for activities under the grant, from funds derived 
     from non-Federal sources, an amount equal to 50 percent of 
     the costs of the program to be funded under the grant with 
     the Secretary providing 50 percent of such costs under the 
     grant.
       (2) In-kind contributions.--In addition to cash outlays and 
     payments, in-kind contributions of property or personnel 
     services by non-Federal interests may be used for the non-
     Federal share of costs required by paragraph (1).
       (d) Funding Provisions.--
       (1) Amounts to be made available.--Not more than 
     $16,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2001 through 2005 
     may be made available under this section.

[[Page H8712]]

       (2) Allocations for fiscal year 2001.--
       (A) In general.--Of the amounts made available under this 
     section for fiscal year 2001, there shall be available only 
     for grants under subsection (a) $2,000,000 for each of the 
     following:
       (i) Mississippi University for Women in Colombus, 
     Mississippi.
       (ii) Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville, 
     Georgia.
       (iii) University of North Carolina in Greensboro, North 
     Carolina.
       (iv) Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
       (v) University of Montevallo in Montevallo, Alabama.
       (vi) Texas Woman's University in Denton, Texas.
       (vii) University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma in 
     Chickasha, Oklahoma.
       (viii) Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia.
       (B) Less than $16,000,000 available.--If less than 
     $16,000,000 is made available under this section for fiscal 
     year 2001, then the amount made available to each of the 
     institutions listed in subparagraph (A) shall be reduced by 
     the same amount.
       (3) Allocations for fiscal years 2002-2005.--Any funds 
     which are made available during fiscal years 2002 through 
     2005 under subsection (a)(2) shall be distributed by the 
     Secretary in accordance with the provisions of subparagraphs 
     (A) and (B) of paragraph (2) to those grantees named in 
     paragraph (2)(A) which remain eligible and desire to 
     participate, on a uniform basis, in such fiscal years.
       (e) Regulations.--The Secretary shall promulgate such 
     regulations as are necessary to carry out this Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Utah (Mr. Hansen) and the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. 
Faleomavaega) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen).
  Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4503, introduced by the gentleman from Mississippi 
(Mr. Pickering), authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to provide 
restoration and preservation grants for historic buildings and 
structures at seven historically women's public colleges or 
universities.
  The gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Pickering) is to be commended for 
his hard work on this bill, which serves an important part of 
preserving our cultural history.
  H.R. 4503 directs the Secretary to award $14 million annually from 
fiscal year 2001 to 2005 to the seven academic institutions. These 
institutions are located in seven separate States, mainly in the 
Southeastern United States.
  Despite their continued use, many of the structures located on these 
campuses are facing destruction or closure because preservation funds 
are not available. H.R. 4503 would enable these buildings to be 
preserved and maintained. Funds would be awarded from the National 
Historic Preservation Fund, subject to a 50 percent matching 
requirement from non-Federal sources. The bill also assures that the 
in-kind contributions will count toward the non-Federal share of the 
match.
  Mr. Speaker, I have an additional amendment I would like to add. It 
has come to my attention that there is an older women's academic 
institution in Georgia than the ones identified in this bill.
  In this light, the amendment adds Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia, 
to the schools eligible for the grants, and adds $2 million to the 
authorized grant accounts.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4503, as amended.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  (Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA asked and was given permission to revise and extend 
his remarks.)
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I want to again commend the gentleman 
from Mississippi (Mr. Pickering) for introducing this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I will not oppose this piece of legislation. I too, 
however, would like to share with my colleagues some observations and 
concerns concerning the provisions of this bill.
  As introduced, H.R. 4503 earmarks up to $70 million over 5 years from 
the Historic Preservation Fund for grants to seven public colleges and 
universities, most located in the Southeastern region, and that were 
originally founded to serve women.
  The grantees will be required to provide a 50 percent match, and the 
funds could be used to restore historic buildings and structures. The 
schools would divide the money equally.
  Apparently we are actually amending the bill before us today to add 
another school, this one located in the State of Georgia. This raises 
the small number of schools which would benefit from this legislation 
to eight schools, and raises the cost of the bill to $80 million over 5 
years.
  Mr. Speaker, we fully support historic preservation in general, and 
could even agree with the specific goal of this legislation to aid 
historically women's colleges, universities, in preserving historic 
structures on their campuses.
  However, we have serious concerns regarding the approach taken on 
this bill. Under current law, the Secretary of the Interior is 
authorized to make grants from the Historic Preservation Fund based on 
statutory criteria to States or local governments to preserve the 
precise sites or buildings that would receive funding under this 
legislation.
  Since these sites are eligible under current law, the effect of this 
bill is to single out eight of these specific schools, all located in a 
particular part of our Nation, and move them up to the front of the 
line by fencing off $16 million a year that must bypass the Secretary 
of the Interior and go directly to these schools.
  The bill sets out no criteria for why these schools needed these 
funds, and makes no distinction between the schools themselves.
  Furthermore, Mr. Speaker, while we are considering legislation to 
earmark $16 million for these schools from the Historic Preservation 
Fund, the conference report in the FY 2001 Interior appropriations bill 
just adopted on this floor contained just $79 million total for 
historic preservation.

                              {time}  1945

  If this funding level were to become law, these eight schools would 
receive more than 20 percent of all historic preservation funds 
nationwide.
  Mr. Speaker, this legislation includes no standards, which explains 
how these eight schools were selected. There are currently 78 women's 
colleges and universities in the United States today. Why are these 
eight deserving of this funding and the other 70 are not? We are told 
that these schools are selected because they represent a unique subset 
of women's colleges and universities in America. However, the last 
minute addition of yet another school to the bill raises serious 
questions about the selection process included in the provisions of 
this bill.
  If historic sites on these campuses are deserving of historic 
preservation funding, the relevant State or locality should apply for 
such funding under the current system. The kind of earmarks contained 
in this legislation, Mr. Speaker, I honestly believe undermines our 
historic preservation efforts and work to benefit a small group of 
schools unfairly.
  Again, Mr. Speaker, I remind my colleagues there are currently 78 
women's colleges and universities in our Nation today. Yet we are 
providing special funding for only eight of these colleges and 
universities.
  So, Mr. Speaker, let us proceed to pass the bill. But let us hope 
that, in the future, this legislation or this kind of proposed program 
will not come back to haunt us.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I am happy to yield such time as he may 
consume to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Pickering), the author 
of this legislation.
  Mr. PICKERING. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to be on the floor this 
evening in support of my bill, H.R. 4503, the Historically Women's 
Public Colleges or Universities Historic Building Restoration and 
Preservation Act.
  I want to commend the gentleman from Utah (Chairman Hansen) for his 
commitment to women and minorities education and thank him for his work 
to see that this important authorization reaches the floor. I also 
thank the gentleman from Alaska (Chairman Young) for his similar 
commitment and work.
  I would also like to address some of the concerns raised by the 
gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega), our friend on the 
other side, and talk about why this is so important as we go into the 
21st century that we look to the institutions who educated and trained 
the

[[Page H8713]]

women, beginning in my home State of Mississippi in 1884.
  If we look at the subset of the universities that we picked out, why 
should they receive priority? They are the oldest public women's 
colleges in the country. We may talk about the 78 other women's 
colleges, but these are the oldest of the women's colleges in the 
country. They happen to reside in my region. But if we are looking at 
historic preservation, it seems to me that we look at the oldest first, 
and that should receive the priority.
  If we are looking at continuing their mission into the 21st century, 
Mississippi University for Women has a great legacy, not only going 
back into the late 1800s, the 1900s; but today, in 2000, they received 
U.S. News and World Report's ranking of the best in the South as a 
liberal arts college. They are educating, not only women today and 
minorities, but also male students.
  If we are to continue the rich history and the legacy of what they 
have done over their history over their time and to continue the 
mission into the 21st century, then the buildings that house their 
students where the teachers train the students of tomorrow, we must 
preserve those buildings that house the places where we are now 
providing the education for women and minorities across the South.
  I introduced H.R. 4503 to advance what I think is the most important 
priority for funding in this Congress, and that is education. The 
bipartisan cosponsorship and support for this effort affirms the 
principle that if we are to continue to progress as a society, if we 
are to continue to lead the world in science, medicine, law and many 
other fields, we must educate all Americans.
  The historically women's public institutions, which are the subject 
of this bill, were founded in the United States between 1836 and 1908. 
This was a time when women, particularly poor women, were unable to 
attain a higher education in public schools; the opportunity simply did 
not exist.
  In recognition of this injustice and unfair circumstance for women, 
there was introduced into the United States Senate a resolution in the 
late 1800s which sought the establishment and endowment of schools of 
science and technics for the education of females in appropriate 
branches of science and the useful arts, upon a plan similar in its 
principles to that upon which agricultural and mechanical colleges have 
been aided by the United States. This need expressed in this 
resolution, introduced over 100 years ago, continues today.
  As I mentioned earlier, in my home State of Mississippi the State 
legislature worked and established the Mississippi Industrial Institute 
and College of Girls to provide for women, particularly those without 
the means, a public education which would empower them to lift 
themselves out of their circumstance. Over 100 years later, I know that 
the W, and the other colleges prioritized in this bill, continue to be 
crucial educational institutions for women, minorities, and all 
students.
  With buildings in some of these colleges and universities well over 
150 years old still in use, their disrepair now endangers their ability 
to continue their critical role in educating women and minorities. Due 
to advanced age of these buildings, the upkeep costs are more than most 
budgets can allow. Since most of these universities were built in the 
early 1900s, most of today's basic needs are not provided for in their 
facilities.
  This Congress can and should reaffirm its commitment to the education 
of women, the underprivileged, and minorities. Education cannot take 
place without adequate facilities. We must, therefore, contribute to 
the rehabilitation of these facilities. Funding for restoration of 
these historic buildings, much as we did for the historically black 
colleges across our region, is and should be a sound investment.
  I want to thank again the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen), the 
subcommittee chairman, and all those who have cosponsored this 
legislation. It is the place where my mother received her education and 
where many of the women who were trained and educated in my home State 
who then became leaders and teachers and those who have raised the next 
generations of leaders have received their education. It is a special 
place for my family and for me, and I want to thank all those who have 
made this authorization possible.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from 
Mississippi (Mr. Pickering) for his excellent presentation in defense 
of the provisions of the bill that he has introduced.
  Mr. MASCARA. Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the bill and to show 
appreciation for the contributions of these seven institutions. I would 
also like to mention the educational contributions of a coed liberal 
arts institution in my district, Washington and Jefferson College, 
which was founded in 1781 and has the historical McIlvaine building 
which was the site of the Washington Women's Seminary from 1897 to 
1939. This fine building is currently under renovation and is 
recognized in Western Pennsylvania for its gracious federal 
architecture designed by three women and eventually absorbed on to the 
Washington and Jefferson campus which became coeducational in 1970.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I do not have any further speakers, so 
I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Ose). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen) that the House suspend 
the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4503, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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