[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 110 (Wednesday, September 4, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H6005-H6009]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         JOHN F. KENNEDY CENTER PLAZA AUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2002

  Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 5012) to amend the John F. Kennedy Center Act to authorize 
the Secretary of Transportation to carry out a project for construction 
of a plaza adjacent to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing 
Arts, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 5012

       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 ``John F. Kennedy Center Plaza 
     Authorization Act of 2002''.

     SEC. 2. JOHN F. KENNEDY CENTER PLAZA.

       The John F. Kennedy Center Act (20 U.S.C. 76h et seq.) is 
     amended--
       (1) by redesignating sections 12 and 13 as sections 13 and 
     14, respectively; and
       (2) by inserting after section 11 the following:

     ``SEC. 12. JOHN F. KENNEDY CENTER PLAZA.

       ``(a) Definitions.--In this section, the following 
     definitions apply:
       ``(1) Air rights.--The term `air rights' means real 
     property interests conveyed by deed, lease, or permit for the 
     use of space between streets and alleys within the boundaries 
     of the Project.
       ``(2) Center.--The term `Center' means the John F. Kennedy 
     Center for the Performing Arts.
       ``(3) Green spaces.--The term `green spaces' means areas 
     within the boundaries of the Project or affected by the 
     Project that are covered by grass, trees, or other 
     vegetation.
       ``(4) Plaza.--The term `Plaza' means improvements to the 
     area surrounding the John F. Kennedy Center building carried 
     out under the Project and comprised of transportation 
     elements (including roadways, sidewalks, and bicycle lanes) 
     and non-transportation elements (including landscaping, green 
     space, open public space, water, sewer, and utility 
     connections).
       ``(5) Project.--The term `Project' means the Plaza project, 
     as described in the TEA-21 report, providing for construction 
     of a Plaza adjacent to the Center and for improved bicycle, 
     pedestrian, and vehicular access to and around the Center. 
     The term includes planning, design, engineering, and 
     construction of the Plaza, buildings to be constructed on the 
     Plaza, and related transportation improvements and may 
     include any other elements of the Project identified in the 
     TEA-21 report.
       ``(6) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary 
     of Transportation.
       ``(7) TEA-21 report.--The term `TEA-21 report' means the 
     report of the Secretary submitted to Congress under section 
     1214 of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century 
     (20 U.S.C. 76j note; 112 Stat. 204).
       ``(b) Responsibilities of the Secretary.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall be responsible for 
     the Project and may undertake such activities as may be 
     necessary to construct the Project, other than buildings to 
     be constructed on the Plaza, substantially as described in 
     the TEA-21 report.
       ``(2) Planning, design, engineering, and construction.--The 
     Secretary shall be responsible for the planning, design, 
     engineering, and construction of the Project, other than 
     buildings to be constructed on the Plaza.
       ``(3) Agreements with the board and other agencies.--The 
     Secretary shall enter into memoranda of agreement with the 
     Board and any appropriate Federal or other governmental 
     agency to facilitate the planning, design, engineering, and 
     construction of the Project.
       ``(4) Consultation with the board.--The Secretary shall 
     consult with the Board to maximize efficiencies in planning 
     and executing the Project, including the construction of any 
     buildings on the Plaza.
       ``(5) Contracts.--Subject to the approval of the Board, the 
     Secretary may enter into contracts on behalf of the Center 
     related to the planning, design, engineering, and 
     construction of the Project.
       ``(c) Responsibilities of the Board.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Board may undertake such activities 
     as may be necessary to construct buildings on the Plaza for 
     the Project.
       ``(2) Receipt of transfers of air rights.--The Board may 
     receive from the District of Columbia such transfers of air 
     rights as may be necessary for the planning, design, 
     engineering, and construction of the Project.
       ``(3) Construction of buildings.--The Board may construct, 
     with non-appropriated funds, buildings on the Plaza for the 
     Project and shall be responsible for the planning, design, 
     engineering, and construction of the buildings.
       ``(4) Acknowledgment of contributions.--
       ``(A) In general.--The Board may acknowledge private 
     contributions used in the construction of buildings on the 
     Plaza for the Project in the interior of the buildings, but 
     may not acknowledge private contributions on the exterior of 
     the buildings.
       ``(B) Applicability of other requirements.--Any 
     acknowledgment of private contributions under this paragraph 
     shall be consistent with the requirements of section 4(b).
       ``(d) Responsibilities of the District of Columbia.--
       ``(1) Modification of highway system.--Notwithstanding any 
     State or local law, the Mayor of the District of Columbia, in 
     consultation with the National Capital Planning Commission 
     and the Secretary, shall have exclusive authority to amend or 
     modify the permanent system of highways of the District of 
     Columbia as may be necessary to meet the requirements and 
     needs of the Project.
       ``(2) Conveyances.--
       ``(A) Authority.--Notwithstanding any State or local law, 
     the Mayor of the District of Columbia shall have exclusive 
     authority to convey or dispose of any interests in real 
     estate (including air rights or air space as that term is 
     defined by District of Columbia law) owned or controlled by 
     the District of Columbia, as may be necessary to meet the 
     requirements and needs of the Project.
       ``(B) Conveyance to the board.--Not later than 90 days 
     following the date of receipt of notification from the 
     Secretary of the requirements and needs of the Project, the 
     Mayor of the District of Columbia shall convey or dispose of 
     to the Board without compensation interests in real estate 
     described in subparagraph (A).
       ``(3) Agreements with the board.--The Mayor of the District 
     of Columbia shall have the authority to enter into memoranda 
     of agreement with the Board and any Federal or other 
     governmental agency to facilitate the planning, design, 
     engineering, and construction of the Project.
       ``(e) Ownership.--
       ``(1) Roadways and sidewalks.--Upon completion of the 
     Project, responsibility for maintenance and oversight of 
     roadways and sidewalks modified or improved for the Project 
     shall remain with the owner of the affected roadways and 
     sidewalks.
       ``(2) Maintenance of green spaces.--Subject to paragraph 
     (3), upon completion of the Project, responsibility for 
     maintenance and oversight of any green spaces modified or 
     improved for the Project shall remain with the owner of the 
     affected green spaces.
       ``(3) Buildings and green spaces on the plaza.--Upon 
     completion of the Project, the Board  shall own, operate, and 
     maintain the buildings and green spaces established on the 
     Plaza for the Project.
       ``(f) National Highway Boundaries.--
       ``(1) Realignment of boundaries.--The Secretary may realign 
     national highways related to proposed changes to the Northern 
     and Southern Interchanges and the E Street Approach 
     recommended in the TEA-21 report in order to facilitate the 
     flow of traffic in the vicinity of the Center.
       ``(2) Access to center from i-66.--The Secretary may 
     improve direct access and egress between Interstate Route 66 
     and the Center, including its garages.''.

[[Page H6006]]

     SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       Section 13 of John F. Kennedy Center Act (as redesignated 
     by section 2 of this Act) is amended--
       (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (d); and
       (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following:
       ``(c) John F. Kennedy Center Plaza.--There is authorized to 
     be appropriated to the Secretary of Transportation for 
     capital costs incurred in the planning, design, engineering, 
     and construction of the project authorized by section 12 
     (including roadway improvements related to the North and 
     South Interchanges and construction of the John F. Kennedy 
     Center Plaza, but not including construction of any buildings 
     on the plaza) a total of $400,000,000 for fiscal years 2003 
     through 2010. Such sums shall remain available until 
     expended.''.

     SEC. 4. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

       (a) Selection of Contractors.--Section 4(a)(2)(D) of the 
     John F. Kennedy Center Act (20 U.S.C 76j(a)(2)(D)) is amended 
     to read as follows:
       ``(D) Selection of contractors.--In carrying out the duties 
     of the Board under this Act, the Board may negotiate any 
     contract--
       ``(i) for planning, design, engineering, or construction of 
     buildings to be erected on the John F. Kennedy Center Plaza 
     under section 12 and for landscaping and other improvements 
     to the Plaza; or
       ``(ii) for an environmental system for, a protection system 
     for, or a repair to, maintenance of, or restoration of the 
     John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts,
     with selected contractors and award the contract on the basis 
     of contractor qualifications as well as price.''.
       (b) Definitions.--Section 14 of the John F. Kennedy Center 
     Act (as redesignated by section 2 of this Act) is amended by 
     adding at the end the following: ``Upon completion of the 
     project for establishment of the John F. Kennedy Center Plaza 
     authorized by section 12, the Board, in consultation with the 
     Secretary of Transportation, shall amend the map that is on 
     file and available for public inspection under the preceding 
     sentence.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
West Virginia (Mrs. Capito) and the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. 
Oberstar) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from West Virginia (Mrs. 
Capito).
  Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the Kennedy Center suffers from being isolated from the 
rest of Washington, D.C.'s monumental core, and from limited, 
confusing, and potentially unsafe points of entry. High levels of 
congestion on the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway confound vehicular 
traffic and various bridge ramps near performance times. Nearly 200,000 
vehicles a day use the complex of roadways and ramps adjacent to the 
center each day, and there are high accident rates at the foot of the 
Roosevelt Bridge and the intersection of Virginia Avenue, 27th Street, 
and the parkway.
  H.R. 5012 authorizes the Secretary of the Department of 
Transportation, in conjunction with the John F. Kennedy Center for the 
Performing Arts and the District of Columbia, to make pedestrian and 
vehicular access improvements around the Kennedy Center.
  In 1998, when the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
passed TEA-21, it authorized the Secretary of Transportation to 
undertake a comprehensive study of ways to improve the flow of traffic 
and access to the Kennedy Center. In 2000, the Department of 
Transportation issued the Kennedy Center access study, which identified 
five phases to improving access to the Kennedy Center. In that same 
year, funding was made available for DOT to proceed with preliminary 
project planning, environmental reviews, and design approvals.
  The John F. Kennedy Center Plaza Authorization Act of 2002 builds 
upon these earlier efforts and authorizes the Secretary of 
Transportation to enact many of the improvements recommended by the 
access study, including the outcomes of a pedestrian plaza over the 
Potomac Freeway and improving access between I-66, the Rock Creek 
Parkway, E Street Northwest, 25th Street Northwest, and the Kennedy 
Center.
  The new plaza will be connected to the local street grid by E and 
25th Streets Northwest, and will create approximately eight acres of 
new land directly east of the Kennedy Center.
  H.R. 5012 authorizes and directs the Mayor of the District of 
Columbia to transfer the air rights and airspace necessary to complete 
the project as determined by DOT. This has the support of the Mayor, 
and the subcommittee received testimony from the District to that 
effect at a hearing held on June 13, 2002.
  Based on DOT testimony, the bill authorizes a total of $400 million 
to undertake the recommended improvements. In addition, H.R. 5012 
authorizes the Kennedy Center to construct buildings on the newly 
created plaza with nonappropriated funds. The newly constructed 
buildings will provide needed space for educational, rehearsal, 
performance, and administrative functions, and become a part of the 
living memorial to President Kennedy. Any private donations for the 
buildings will be acknowledged in a manner consistent with existing 
law.
  The subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and 
Emergency Management held a hearing on this important project in June, 
and the project received the enthusiastic support of the Department of 
Transportation, the government of the District of Columbia, and the 
Kennedy Center. I support this legislation and encourage my colleagues 
to do the same.
  Mr. Speaker, I include for the Record the following material 
regarding the project:

                                                    U.S. Congress,


                                  Congressional Budget Office,

                                    Washington, DC, July 30, 2002.
     Hon. Don Young,
     Chairman, Committee on Transportation, and Infrastructure,
     House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
     prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 5012, the John 
     F. Kennedy Center Plaza Authorization Act of 2002.
       If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
     pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contacts are Rachel 
     Milberg (for federal costs), who can be reached at 226-2860, 
     and Greg Waring (for the state and local impact), who can be 
     reached at 225-3220.
           Sincerely,
                                                Barry B. Anderson,
                                   (For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
       Enclosure.


               congressional budget office cost estimate

     H.R. 5012--John F. Kennedy Center Plaza Authorization Act of 
         2002
       Summary: H.R. 5012 would authorize the appropriation of 
     $400 million to the Department of Transportation (DOT) to 
     plan and construct a new plaza in front of the John F. 
     Kennedy Center, and to improve access to the Center for both 
     pedestrians and vehicles.
       Assuming appropriation of the authorized amount, CBO 
     estimate that implementing H.R. 5012 would cost about $135 
     million over the 2003-2007 period and another $265 million 
     after 2007. Enacting H.R. 5012 would not affect direct 
     spending or receipts; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures 
     would not apply.
       H.R. 5012 contains intergovernmental mandates as defined in 
     the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA), but CBO estimates 
     that the costs would be significantly below the threshold 
     established in that act ($58 million in 2002, adjusted 
     annually for inflation). The bill contains no private-sector 
     mandates as defined in UMRA.
       Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimate 
     budgetary impact of H.R. 5012 is shown in the following 
     table. The costs of this legislation fall within budget 
     function 400 (transportation).

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                      By fiscal year, in millions of
                                                 dollars--
                                 ---------------------------------------
                                   2003    2004    2005    2006    2007
------------------------------------------------------------------------
              CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION
 
Estimated Authorization Level         10      10      20      50     100
 \1\............................
Estimated Outlays...............       3       7      10      40      75
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ H.R. 5012 would authorize the appropriation of $400 million over the
  2003-2010 period. CBO estimates that $190 million of that amount could
  be appropriated over the 2003-2007 period, with the remaining $210
  million provided after 2007.

       Basis of estimate: For this estimate, CBO assumes that H.R. 
     5012 will be enacted near the end of fiscal year 2002 and 
     that the amounts necessary to implement the bill will be 
     appropriated for each year. Estimates of outlays are based on 
     information from the Federal Highway Administration, the John 
     F. Kennedy Center, and historical spending patterns of 
     similar projects. Based on information from the agency, CBO 
     estimates that DOT would plan and construct the plaza project 
     over the next 12 years. Current plans for the plaza include 
     space for two small buildings.
       Pay-as-you-go considerations: None.
       Estimated impact on state, local, and tribal governments: 
     H.R. 5012 would bypass the D.C. City Council's review and 
     approval of efforts to dispose of D.C. property for the 
     Kennedy Center Plaza project. In preempting the City 
     Council's authority, the bill contains an intergovernmental 
     mandate as defined in UMRA, but CBO estimates that it would 
     impose no duty on the city government that would result in 
     additional spending.
       If necessary for the construction of the proposed Kennedy 
     Center Plaza, the District of Columbia would have to 
     reconfigure the city highway system. In addition, the 
     District of Columbia would have to transfer any property or 
     air rights required for the project, without compensation. 
     These potential requirements on the city also would be 
     intergovernmental mandates as defined in UMRA. Based on 
     information from the Federal Highway Administration and the 
     District's Department of Transportation, CBO

[[Page H6007]]

     estimates that the costs of complying with these mandates 
     would be significantly below the threshold established in 
     that act ($58 million in 2002, adjusted annually for 
     inflation). Furthermore, the construction-related costs 
     resulting from the mandates would be funded by the federal 
     government.
       Estimated impact on the private sector: H.R. 5012 contains 
     no private-sector mandates as defined in UMRA.
       Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Rachel Milberg; Impact 
     on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Greg Waring; and 
     Impact on the Private Sector: Jean Talarico.
       Estimate approved by: Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant 
     Director for Budget Analysis.

  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the John F. Kennedy Center has long been envisioned and 
has been created and established as a living memorial to the late 
President Kennedy. It is also the Nation's premier cultural institution 
for the performing arts.
  The chairman of our Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 
the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young), is also a member of the Board of 
Trustees of the Kennedy Center, and we both know from our participation 
in the deliberations of the board that the center is this vibrant and 
dynamic institution that it was envisioned to be. Every year over 5 
million people visit, attend, enjoy, and are enriched by performances 
at the Kennedy Center, particularly the Millenium State performances 
that are free to the public and operate 365 days a year. They are 
innovative performances that are available to all the people who come 
to our Nation's capital for whatever purpose, travel or business, 
leisure, and people come to enjoy those Millenium State performances in 
ever-increasing numbers.

                              {time}  1430

  But, unfortunately, the Kennedy Center is sort of cut off from the 
rest of Washington, D.C. The original design of the center does not 
envision the structure situated as it is today. I can remember when I 
was working teaching language in Haiti in 1959 and 1960 through 1962, 
reading, admittedly, with three weeks' delay, the news from Washington 
and reading this grand design plan set forth by then-President 
Eisenhower or by his administration for a center for the performing 
arts in Washington, D.C., and this magnificent sweep of the structure 
out over the Potomac River and looking back towards monumental 
Washington. And, of course, the part east of the current location of 
the Kennedy Center was then dilapidated buildings, all envisioned to be 
torn down, no roadway where we now have one, and it was intended that 
this would just connect Washington, D.C. and this new center for the 
performing ars. That is not the way it worked out.
  Funding constraints limited the original scope. The connection with 
downtown Washington was not realized. The center's problems have 
multiplied over the years. Attending nighttime performances means that 
patrons either add to the District of Columbia's notorious rush hour 
traffic jams or are reduced to a functional but not fully acceptable 
and adequate shuttle system.
  There are over 200,000 vehicles a day that use the complex series of 
ramps and roadways that are adjacent to the Kennedy Center. There is no 
pedestrian or bicycle access to the center from the east or from the 
southeast, from the Washington, D.C. mall.
  In many a time I have been driving along that avenue and watched as 
pedestrians risk their lives running across 4 to 5, 6 lanes of traffic 
at even heavy traffic times. That is just simply not acceptable. The 
closest Metro stop to the Kennedy Center is the Foggy Bottom Metro stop 
a half mile from the center, too far for a good many people to walk 
comfortably and perhaps not entirely safe either. The center runs a 
very successful shuttle bus, but there is a lack of frequency, a lack 
of adequate signage to make it comfortable for walkers to find the 
center. And, furthermore, this is a very historic neighborhood and 
people ought to be able to enjoy it in some fashion other than rushing 
to get from wherever they are parking to the Kennedy Center.
  In 1998, the former chairman of our Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure, Congressman Shuster, and I worked together to secure 
funding in the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, to 
provide funds for the Department of Transportation to analyze methods 
to improve access to the Kennedy Center. That study has been completed. 
It has identified a number of proposed design and access improvements. 
In particular, the study proposes going back to the original concept of 
connecting the Kennedy Center with monumental Washington, as I call it, 
that is the historic sweep of structures and monuments that are 
testimony to the Nation's history and its evolution with the Kennedy 
Center. This plan would build a plaza over the spaghetti bowl of 
freeways, particularly the Potomac freeway, and would create 8 new 
acres of public space, would connect E Street and 25th Street to the 
plaza and reestablish the city grid; E Street to be changed at the 
western terminus to link the center and the core of the city, and there 
are proposed new connections between Rock Creek Parkway and the Potomac 
freeway. There would be pedestrian paths, bicycle paths, transit 
improvements to link the center to the heart of Washington, D.C. That 
is how it should be. That is how this national cultural center should 
function.
  Based on this study, the bill we bring to the floor today, the 
Kennedy Center Plaza Authorization Act, authorizes a cooperative 
venture between the Kennedy Center, the U.S. Department of 
Transportation, and the District of Columbia to improve access to and 
from the Kennedy Center. It authorizes, as the gentlewoman from West 
Virginia (Mrs. Capito) said a moment ago, $400 million to plan, design 
and construct the proposed plaza in order to undertake the necessary 
highway improvements to create this access to the center.
  The Kennedy Center itself has offered to undertake the cost of 
constructing the new buildings to be constructed on the plaza, 
buildings that will house rehearsal halls, classrooms, and be an open 
invitation to the public to actually come and see how rehearsals are 
conducted. It would be a great opportunity for the public who come to 
enjoy the arts in our Nation's capital. And I invite any of our 
colleagues to come to the center or ask the Kennedy Center staff to 
come and give them a presentation, a showing of the artists' rendition 
of these structural changes because I think once Members see it, they 
will be enthralled, captivated and excited by it, as I am, as the 
members of the board of trustees, and as is the gentlewoman from the 
District of Columbia.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman 
from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton).
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I very much appreciate the remarks of the 
ranking member who always brings a background and perspective that 
makes anyone who has not been fortunate to be in this institution as 
long as he has understand the continuum of the work we are about and a 
continuum is what we are about today. I also want to thank the 
gentlewoman from West Virginia (Mrs. Capito) for her hard work in 
bringing this bill to the floor.
  This bill is really part of a larger vision, and one does not have to 
live here to have that vision. This is a small, compact city. There is 
not a lot of room left for all of the buildings, not to mention all of 
the memorials, that people would like to see in Washington. But there 
is a big, relatively for this city, a big piece of land that could, in 
fact, house much more to make the Kennedy Center the true national 
performing arts center it was intended to be. But to even begin to 
approach this vision, we have a lot of work to do on the basics, and 
this bill is about the basics. This bill is not about the buildings. I 
believe they will be constructed all with private funds. I have talked 
with the dynamic new leader of the Kennedy Center. But there is part of 
this work that is for government alone.
  Its rough name is infrastructure. We have got to lay the groundwork 
in order for the vision to rise. The mall is a work in progress. The 
mall is always incomplete. So we should not be surprised that we are 
always adding to the mall. That is as the Founders wanted it. They have 
also wanted us to be careful about the mall. They did not want us to 
put every little thing on the

[[Page H6008]]

mall. And one of the things I implore my colleagues to remember is that 
the mall is perpetual. When generations we cannot even imagine are 
here, the mall should be here, and one of the things we do not want to 
do is just crowd the mall with the hubris of our generation, leaving no 
room for anything else to go up. If we do that, we will have to do what 
some of the European countries are doing. They are tearing down statues 
in order to allow more to rise. I think we should just be careful what 
we do.
  I believe future generations will look at what this bill initiates as 
part of the natural process of filling out the mall. And I very much 
applaud the continuing attention that the Committee on Transportation 
and Infrastructure has given to the Kennedy Center and to the 
completion of the work there, and especially to the fact that one 
cannot get there from here.
  The 25 million tourists who come to the District of Columbia may do 
as I do as often as I can. I go on a race walk down the mall beginning 
at 3rd Street. It is a wonderful way to get exercise. When we get to 
the Lincoln Memorial, that is it, folks. If we want to walk, walk no 
further, unless we want to take our chances going across highways. That 
is not exactly what the mall had in mind. Indeed, cars cannot always 
get there from here. It is as if, as we get to the Kennedy Center, it 
was made for cars, not people, and not even for the arts.
  Remember that the John F. Kennedy Center really reminds us of two 
great presidents. The notion of a cultural arts center began with 
President Eisenhower. Ultimately, when it was built, it was named for 
the martyred President Kennedy, so it bears the imprimatur of two great 
president and it inspires this body in a bipartisan fashion to move 
forward to try to complete it even as generation after generation moves 
forward with the mall to complete it or to make sure that it remains a 
mall and remains in many ways clear.
  The Congressional commitment to the plaza and to the center has been 
clear, as the ranking member indicated, since Chairman Shuster was the 
chair of the committee. And, therefore, I am sure he would take special 
pride that we are moving forward with it today.
  This is a cultural center with no bus service; cabs have a hard time 
getting in and stopping; no metro; cut off from its neighborhoods along 
the riverfront except one cannot get to the riverfront from the center; 
isolated from everything around it. The very opposite of what a 
cultural center is supposed to be. We are going to fix that.
  I appreciate that the bill incorporates the District of Columbia, 
which has the air rights, and the mayor and I have spoken about those 
rights. There will be no problem getting whatever is necessary to make 
sure that the many air rights are, in fact, dealt with.
  The central feature of the mall will be a pedestrian plaza over a 
deck. It will transform the Kennedy Center itself. It will mean that 
our constituents who come in very large numbers, and increasingly so 
now that everyone understands that the capital of the United States is 
the safest city in the world, better protected than any city in the 
world, as the visitors come, they will be the first to understand that 
there has been a transformation in this city, that the city is being 
completed, that the mall itself is being extended, and that we are 
opening the cultural life physically and in every other way to the 
world and especially to our country.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill and to remain with us until 
we see this plaza rise, and perhaps Members of Congress will be the 
first to walk down the plaza and invite people from all around the 
world to come to a cultural arts center made for the world and where 
the world can now come and walk and see and have the kind of access 
that was always intended.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman from the District of 
Columbia (Ms. Norton) for her very thoughtful, as always, constructive 
and scholarly presentation and I am particularly touched by the 
gentlewoman's reference to the mall as perpetual, yet evolving.
  The arts, more than the Kennedy Center, the arts are perpetual. They 
are what lift a Nation's spirits.

                              {time}  1445

  I think history records more what our poets and our composers have to 
say than what our generals have to do. We, especially in the aftermath 
of September 11, need the arts to lift our spirits and to design the 
future and to refocus our aspirations. Kennedy Center is part of that. 
It was one of the very first cultural institutions in the United States 
to have a response in art form to the events of September 11, and just 
as important as it is to make the Kennedy Center accessible as the 
National Cultural Performing Arts Center to all those 20 million plus 
visitors who come to this Nation's capital, it also must be accessible 
to the residents of the District of Columbia themselves, and connecting 
the Kennedy Center through this plaza to monumental Washington will 
make it far more attractive and far more available to the residents of 
the District of Columbia themselves, and that is my fond hope.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
   Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
   I would like to thank my colleagues the gentlewoman from the 
District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) and the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. 
Oberstar) for their very moving tributes to the Kennedy Center and also 
to the beloved District of Columbia. I appreciate their hard work on 
this.
  I too believe the Kennedy Center is a jewel of our District of 
Columbia, and to have access to the arts, the very vibrant programs 
that are brought there daily, not only to the citizens of the District 
and those of us who are here on a regular basis, but for the many, many 
visitors I think is a wonderful project that will make generations to 
come be able to enjoy all the many fine programs that the Kennedy 
Center has put forth now and in the future.
  Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Speaker, I first with to thank Chairman LaTourette 
for lending his support and providing leadership for this bill. Also 
Chairman Young and Ranking Member Oberstar, trustees of the Kennedy 
Center, have worked to establish broad bi-partisan support for the 
bill.
  This bill will authorize the Department of Transportation, the 
Government of the District of Columbia, and the Board of Trustees of 
the John F. Kennedy Center to enter into agreements to conduct 
environmental planning, provide designs, and execute plans to improve 
pedestrian, vehicular, and bicycle access to the John F. Kennedy Center 
for the Performing Arts.
  The Kennedy Center is currently isolated from the surrounding city 
and its physical setting is inconsistent with its mission. A report 
authorized by TEA-21 identified a number of conditions that impede 
access to the Presidential memorial. There is no access from the east 
for pedestrian, vehicles, or bicycles, the pedestrian link to the Metro 
is too far away and poorly signed, pedestrian and bicycle traffic from 
the south must cross hazardous roadways, very poor vehicular 
connections exist between the freeway and the Rock Creek Parkway, and a 
complicated series of ramps and exits exist to the south of the Center.
  The study recommends a series of improvements to remedy the access 
problem. The centerpiece of these improvements is a proposed plaza, 
which will be atop a deck over the Potomac Freeway. This deck would 
provide a new public space and stately approach to the Center from the 
east. E St. and 25th St. would connect to the plaza, thus 
reestablishing the local street grid. To the north of the Center new 
connections would be built between Rock Creek and the Potomac Freeway 
in the vicinity of K St. Overall, hazardous and congested traffic 
conditions would be relieved.
  The Board of Trustees of the Center has committed to raising private 
funds to construct the building to be constructed on the plaza. 
Currently the plan calls for two buildings for the plaza. One building 
would be used as rehearsal space, classrooms, and for administrative 
offices. It is expected the second structure could house and display 
musical artifacts currently stored at the Library of Congress and the 
Smithsonian.
  I support H.R. 5012 and again extend my thanks to the Committee 
leadership for their encouragement and support.
  Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Culberson). The question is on the 
motion offered by the gentlewoman from West Virginia (Mrs. Capito) that 
the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5012.

[[Page H6009]]

  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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