[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 170 (Friday, November 21, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S15390-S15393]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              NATIONAL WOMEN'S HISTORY MUSEUM ACT OF 2003

  Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate now 
proceed to consideration of Calendar No. 404, S. 1741, a bill to 
provide a site for the National Women's History Museum in the District 
of Columbia.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 1741) to provide a site for the National Women's 
     History Museum in the District of Columbia.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent the bill be 
read the third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon 
the table, and any statements related to the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (S. 1741) was read the third time and passed, as follows:

                                S. 1741

       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 ``National Women's History 
     Museum Act of 2003''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds that--
       (1) the National Women's History Museum, Inc., is a 
     nonprofit, nonpartisan, educational institution incorporated 
     in the District of Columbia;
       (2) the National Women's History Museum was established--
       (A) to research and present the historic contributions that 
     women have made to all aspects of human endeavor; and
       (B) to explore and present in a fair and balanced way the 
     contributions that women have made to the Nation in their 
     various roles in family and society;
       (3) the National Women's History Museum will collect and 
     disseminate information concerning women, including through 
     the establishment of a national reference center for the 
     collection and preservation of documents, publications, and 
     research relating to women;
       (4) the National Women's History Museum will foster 
     educational programs relating to the history and contribution 
     to society by women, including promotion of imaginative 
     educational approaches to enhance understanding and 
     appreciation of historic contributions by women;
       (5) the National Women's History Museum will publicly 
     display temporary and permanent exhibits that illustrate, 
     interpret, and demonstrate the contributions of women;
       (6) the National Women's History Museum requires a museum 
     site near the National Mall to accomplish the objectives and 
     fulfill the ongoing educational mission of the museum;
       (7) the 3-story glass enclosed structure known as the 
     ``Pavilion Annex'' is a retail shopping mall built next to 
     the Old Post Office in 1992 by private developers using no 
     Federal funds on public land in the Federal

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     Triangle south of Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.;
       (8) the Pavilion Annex came into the possession of the 
     General Services Administration following bankruptcy and 
     default by the private developer of the Old Post Office 
     Pavilion;
       (9) the Pavilion Annex has been vacant for 10 years and is 
     in a state of disrepair;
       (10) the Pavilion Annex is located near an area that has 
     been identified as an ideal location for museums and 
     memorials in the Memorials and Museums Master Plan developed 
     by the National Capital Planning Commission;
       (11) the National Women's History Museum will provide a 
     vibrant, cultural activity in a building currently controlled 
     by the General Services Administration but unused by any 
     Federal agency or activity;
       (12) the General Accounting Office has determined that 
     vacant or underutilized properties present significant 
     potential risks to Federal agencies, including--
       (A) lost dollars because of the difficulty of maintaining 
     the properties; and
       (B) lost opportunities because the properties could be put 
     to more cost-beneficial uses, exchanged for other needed 
     property, or sold to generate revenue for the Government;
       (13) the National Women's History Museum will use 
     Government property for which there is no Government use as 
     of the date of enactment of this Act, in order to--
       (A) promote utilization, economy, and efficiency of 
     Government-owned assets; and
       (B) create an income producing activity;
       (14) the National Women's History Museum will attract an 
     estimated 1,500,000 visitors annually to the District of 
     Columbia; and
       (15) the National Women's History Museum will promote 
     economic activity in the District of Columbia by--
       (A) creating jobs;
       (B) increasing visitor spending on hotels, meals, and 
     transportation; and
       (C) generating tax revenue for the District of Columbia.

     SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
     Administrator of General Services.
       (2) Museum sponsor.--The term ``Museum Sponsor'' means the 
     National Women's History Museum, Inc., a nonprofit 
     organization incorporated in the District of Columbia.
       (3) Pavilion annex.--The term ``Pavilion Annex'' means the 
     building (and immediate surroundings, including any land 
     unoccupied as of the date of enactment of this Act) in 
     Washington, District of Columbia that is--
       (A) known as the ``Pavilion Annex'';
       (B) adjacent to the Old Post Office Building;
       (C) located on Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., to the east of 
     11th Street N.W.; and
       (D) located on land bounded on 3 sides by the Internal 
     Revenue Service buildings.

     SEC. 4. OCCUPANCY AGREEMENT.

       (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
     law, the Administrator shall enter into an occupancy 
     agreement to make the Pavilion Annex available to the Museum 
     Sponsor for use as a National Women's History Museum in 
     accordance with this section.
       (b) Appraisal.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, a fair market value for the purpose of 
     determining rent shall be determined by not more than 3 
     appraisers, operating under a common set of instructions, of 
     whom--
       (A) 1 shall be retained by the Administrator;
       (B) 1 shall be retained by the Museum Sponsor; and
       (C) 1 shall be selected by the first 2 appraisers only if--
       (i) the first 2 appraisals are irreconcilable; and
       (ii) the difference in value between the first 2 appraisals 
     is greater than 10 percent.
       (2) Difference of not more than 10 percent.--If the 2 
     appraisals differ by not more than 10 percent, the fair 
     market value shall be the average of the 2 appraisals.
       (3) Irreconcilable appraisals.--If a third appraiser is 
     selected--
       (A) the fee of the third appraiser shall be paid in equal 
     shares by the Administrator and the Museum Sponsor; and
       (B) the fair market value determined by the third appraiser 
     shall bind both parties.
       (c) Term of Occupancy Agreement.--
       (1) In general.--The term of the occupancy agreement shall 
     be at least 99 years, or any lesser term agreed to by the 
     Museum Sponsor.
       (2) First payment.--The first payment shall be due on the 
     date that is 5 years after the date of execution of the 
     occupancy agreement.
       (d) Private Funds.--The terms and conditions of the 
     occupancy agreement shall facilitate raising of private funds 
     for the modification, development, maintenance, security, 
     information, janitorial, and other services that are 
     necessary to assure the preservation and operation of the 
     museum.
       (e) Shared Facilities.--The occupancy agreement may include 
     reasonable terms and conditions pertaining to shared 
     facilities to permit continued operations and enable 
     development of adjacent buildings.
       (f) Renovation and Modification.--
       (1) In general.--The renovation and modification of the 
     Pavilion Annex--
       (A) shall be carried out by the Museum Sponsor, in 
     consultation with the Administrator; and
       (B) shall--
       (i) be commenced as soon as practicable but not later than 
     5 years after the date of execution of the occupancy 
     agreement;
       (ii) sever the walkway to the Old Post Office Building; and
       (iii) enhance and improve the Pavilion Annex consistent 
     with the needs of the National Women's History Museum and the 
     adjacent structures.
       (2) Expense credit.--Any expenses incurred by the Museum 
     Sponsor under this subsection shall be credited against the 
     payment under subsection (c)(2).
       (g) Report.--If the Administrator is unable to fully 
     execute an occupancy agreement within 120 days of the date of 
     enactment of this Act, not later than 150 days after the date 
     of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to 
     the Committee on Governmental Affairs in the Senate and the 
     Committee on Government Reform in the House of 
     Representatives a report summarizing the issues that remain 
     unresolved.

     SEC. 5. EFFECT ON OTHER LAW.

       Nothing in this Act limits the authority of the National 
     Capital Planning Commission.

  Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, I now ask unanimous consent to engage 
in a colloquy with the Senator from Alaska, and I yield to the Senator 
from Alaska for that purpose.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Madam President, I appreciate the opportunity to speak 
today and engage in this colloquy with the Senator from Maine. I thank 
the Presiding Officer for the opportunity to speak about opening a 
National Women's History Museum near the National Mall.
  Currently, the National Women's History Museum is without a home. It 
is accessible online, but Americans need a physical location for the 
National Women's History Museum so a history from every State can be 
collected, viewed, and analyzed.
  Recognizing the Senator from Maine and this Senator from Alaska have 
a connection, both of us coming from Northern States, both of us coming 
from States with populations that are relatively small, both States 
have a history that demonstrates a history of pioneering women. Alaska 
and Maine have historically afforded opportunities that might not be 
available to women in other States.
  Throughout Alaska's and Maine's history, women have had perhaps more 
opportunities because our populations are isolated, and you are forced 
to be a little more self-reliant.
  Women of Alaska and Maine, as their male counterparts, are ingrained 
with the ability to make do with what we have. I ask the Senator from 
Maine if she would agree with some of my statements?
  Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, I certainly do agree with the 
distinguished Senator from Alaska. Both of us have had the opportunity 
to serve in public office. Both of us come from States that are small 
in population but large in the impact that women have had on our 
Nation's history. We are from States with rich histories of 
accomplishments by women of all backgrounds and cultures.
  For example, the legendary Senator Margaret Chase Smith was the first 
woman in history to serve in both the U.S. House and the Senate.
  Pauline Elizabeth Hopkins, who has been called the dean of African-
American Women Writers, and who has been considered one of the most 
prolific black female writers in the beginning of the 1900s, was born 
in Portland, ME.
  Mary Gabriel, of the Passamaquoddy Tribe, was a famous Native-
American basket weaver, largely credited with reviving the art in the 
State of Maine.
  Brenda Commander is the first woman to be elected as chief of Maine's 
Maliseet Indian Tribe.
  Is the Senator from Alaska aware of similar accomplishments by 
Alaskan women?
  Ms. MURKOWSKI. We have a history, as I have said, of pioneering 
women, women who perhaps have done the unexpected, who have reached out 
into areas that we would not anticipate, at a time we would not 
anticipate, women such as Kate Carmack, who is especially important in 
Alaska's history. Kate was an Athabascan woman who married an American 
trader. She is actually credited with discovering the first gold in 
Bonanza Creek, which started the Alaska gold rush in 1896.
  As the story is told, when Kate first discovered the gold, it was 
frozen in

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the mud. Kate and her husband did not have the grub stake, if you will. 
They did not have the cash necessary to do the digout that winter. So 
they literally were sitting on the largest gold discovery in history. 
Kate's resourcefulness as a skin sower and her skill as an outdoorsman 
earned enough cash for the family to pull together that grub stake to 
hit ``pay dirt'' when the ground thawed the next spring.
  When we think of women like Kate Carmack in Alaska, who braved some 
pretty tough, some pretty difficult conditions, I ask the Senator from 
Maine if she has any similar stories from her State?
  Ms. COLLINS. I certainly do. That is a wonderful story of a truly 
courageous woman.
  We have many women such as that throughout Maine's history. Josephine 
Peary was one such woman. She was married to the great explorer, Robert 
E. Peary, who was the first to reach the North Pole, not that far from 
Alaska. They lived together on Eagle Island in Casco Bay, ME. Josephine 
began exploring when she accompanied her husband to Greenland on a 
journey sponsored by the Academy of Natural Sciences that would last 
for a year and a half. That travel, in 1892, made Josephine the first 
woman in history to be a member of an Arctic exploration team.
  I understand that women in Alaska also have been pioneers in 
expanding opportunities for women to work outside of the home. I wonder 
if the Senator from Alaska might expand on that.
  Ms. MURKOWSKI. We have a lot of firsts that, again, when we look at 
Alaska's history and recognize we did not become a State until 1959, it 
is a very recent history, but yet women's involvement in some very 
important firsts have gone back so many years prior to statehood it 
really gets your attention.
  Historically, Alaskan women were employed in jobs that women in other 
areas of the country could only dream about. In 1915, Anchorage 
employed its first female principal in the Anchorage School District, 
our largest community now, 3 years before World War I and 5 years 
before women's suffrage was ratified.
  A year later, 1916, and still 4 years before national women's 
suffrage passed, Lena Morrow Lewis is believed to be the first woman to 
campaign for Alaska's territorial seat in the U.S. Congress. She did 
not win, but she was certainly followed by other pioneering women in 
the workforce.
  Marvel Crosson was the first female licensed pilot in Alaska in 1927. 
Mildred Herman became the first woman admitted to the Alaska Bar 
Association in 1934. And Barbara Washburn was the first woman to climb 
Mount McKinley, the tallest mountain in North America.
  This is all long before Alaska became a State. Other opportunities 
for women, as we flip through the history books, become very apparent. 
A woman by the name of Nell Scott became the first woman to serve in 
the Alaska State legislature in 1937. This was a year before the 
National Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 was passed, which established 
a minimum wage.
  Blanche McSmith was the first Black woman to serve in the Alaska 
State legislature. Sadie Neakok was the first Native Alaskan woman to 
serve as a magistrate in Alaska in 1960, during the same time period 
when the struggle for civil rights was raging in the South. Blanche and 
Sadie began serving in Alaska in very prominent roles 4 years before 
the Civil Rights Act was passed.
  Could the Senator from Maine describe for me some of the pioneering 
women in her State.
  Ms. COLLINS. I would love to share that information with the Senator 
from Alaska. It is just fascinating to hear the many firsts that women 
from her State have established.
  The Senator from Alaska obviously has a great deal of pride in the 
history of women in her State.
  In Maine, too, we have women who have played influential roles 
throughout history, but especially in the field of literature.
  I am sure all of my colleagues know well the story of Harriet 
Beecher. She wrote ``Uncle Tom's Cabin'' in 1850 while pregnant with 
her seventh child. She began writing the book while residing in 
Brunswick, ME. Her deep religious faith and dedication to bringing to 
light the problems with slavery encouraged ``Hattie'' to write with 
such passion that she quickly finished and continued to write an 
average of a book a year to support her family.
  Another famous Mainer, Martha Ballard, also made important 
contributions. She lived in Hallowell, ME, and was a midwife and a 
healer. She faithfully maintained a diary from 1785 to 1812, and her 
meticulous records have provided us with a rare glimpse into the daily 
life in Maine in the late 1700s and the early 1800s. Her contributions 
and life were only recently highlighted when Laurel Ulrich documented 
her work in a Pulitzer Prize winning book ``The Midwife's Tale.''

  America's first female novelist, Sally Sayward Barrell, also known as 
Madam Wood, was born in York, ME, in the southern tip of our State. She 
wrote five gothic novels, first under the signature of ``A Lady of 
Massachusetts,'' and then, later, under the signature of ``A Lady of 
Maine'' when Maine was granted statehood in 1820.
  Another pioneering woman was Dorothea Dix. She was born in Hampden, 
ME, in 1802, and is considered a groundbreaking reformer in the area of 
treatment for individuals suffering from mental illness. She traveled 
the Nation advocating for a more compassionate, holistic approach to 
the treatment of those suffering from mental illness. She was truly 
ahead of her time. She also successfully lobbied Congress to establish 
the first and only national Federal mental health facility which would 
become a world premiere mental health and research center.
  I ask my colleague to further expand on how Alaska has supported 
women and their accomplishments.
  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Well, as the Senator has noted, her home State of 
Maine and Alaska both have a very rich history of groundbreaking women, 
women who have been pioneers, women who have reached out. I think our 
States have demonstrated the very supportive nature of moving women 
forward in their prosperity.
  In Alaska, as a for instance, since we are talking about ``for 
instances and firsts,'' the very first bill ever passed by the 
Territory of Alaska was the Shoup women's suffrage bill in 1913.
  That was our first bill as it related to women's rights. Seven years 
before women's suffrage was ratified in the rest of the country and 46 
years before Alaska became a State, our territorial legislature's first 
bill was related to women's rights.
  I ask the Senator from Maine, in terms of your role model throughout 
your political career, who would you cite as that role model, that 
individual?
  Ms. COLLINS. I would reply to my friend and colleague from Alaska 
that my role model and inspiration was the great Senator Margaret Chase 
Smith. She served as Senator from Maine the entire time I was growing 
up. She served in the Senate from 1949 to 1972. I realize how fortunate 
I was to have as a role model this courageous, smart, and brave woman 
who did so much and set so many firsts for America. I have often 
thought that the path for my colleague Olympia Snowe and myself to the 
Senate was paved by the remarkable Senator Margaret Chase Smith.
  I remember well my very first meeting with Senator Smith. I was a 
senior in high school. I was in Washington for a special program, and 
she spent nearly 2 hours talking with me. She talked about national 
defense, her service on the Armed Services Committee and, most of all, 
about her decision to speak out against the excesses of Joseph 
McCarthy. That was an extraordinarily brave thing to do, but it was 
typical of Senator Smith, who had a courageous and independent spirit.
  She was the first to do so many things. She was the first Republican 
Senator elected to the Senate. I would note that when I was elected to 
the Senate, Maine became the first State to send two Republican women 
to the Senate to serve at the same time. She was the first woman to 
serve in both the House and the Senate. She was the first woman to be 
backed by a major political party in a Presidential election. Long 
after it became commonplace for women to serve in the highest ranks of 
our Government, Senator Smith will always be acknowledged and 
remembered and honored in Maine for her dignity and her courage.

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  Although I didn't realize it at the time, when I look back at her 
meeting with me, I realize that that was the first step in a journey 
that led me to run for her seat 25 years later. I am so proud to hold 
the seat once held by the legendary Senator Margaret Chase Smith.
  Women such as those the Senator from Alaska has spoken of and whom I 
have talked about today are the reason we are so proud to sponsor a 
bill that, at no cost to the taxpayers, directs that the Old Post 
Office Annex be made available to house the National Women's History 
Museum. We need a place for our country to honor the contributions of 
women, particularly for young girls who are coming to Washington to be 
able to go to this museum and learn about some of the remarkable women 
who have changed American history, about whom the Senator from Alaska 
and I have talked today. Women's history needs a place in our capital 
and in our collective American history.
  I ask my colleague from Alaska if she would agree with that 
sentiment. She has been such a leader in getting this bill through.
  Ms. MURKOWSKI. I couldn't agree more with the Senator from Maine. 
Just in the discussion we have had this evening about some of the women 
from my State and their pioneering enterprises and hearing the stories 
about the women of Maine, I would love to be able to go somewhere and 
spend the time to do more research, to find out more about these 
pioneering women, not only in Alaska and Maine but all of the States in 
between. By having the women's history museum here in Washington, DC, 
we will be able to do that.

  Women have played such a crucial role in the development of my State, 
as you have heard, and certainly in the development of yours. By 
encouraging women's history of all of our respective States, we can see 
and celebrate this common history from as far apart as Maine to the 
east and Alaska in the west.
  Those frontier women, women of independent spirit, demonstrated self-
reliance, themes that embody all American women and the American 
spirit. I, too, am most proud to be a cosponsor of this bill and thank 
the Senator from Maine for her leadership in moving this forward so 
that we do have a place to house these great collections.
  Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, I thank the Senator from Alaska for 
participating in this discussion tonight. She certainly continues that 
proud tradition in Alaska of women who have made a real difference. I 
am honored to serve with her. She does an extraordinary job. I also 
think we would be remiss in not recognizing the contributions of our 
Presiding Officer today, the Senator from North Carolina, Mrs. Dole, 
who also has established so many firsts in American history. I know 
that she, too, will be prominently featured in this museum once it 
comes about.
  I think we can take great pride in being here tonight and knowing we 
have passed this legislation unanimously.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
order for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Murkowski.) Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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