[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.
____________________