[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 148 (Wednesday, September 17, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H8341-H8343]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           JOHN F. KENNEDY CENTER REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2008

  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend 
the rules and concur in the Senate amendment to the bill (H.R. 3986) to 
amend the John F. Kennedy Center Act to authorize appropriations for 
the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and for other 
purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the Senate amendment is as follows:

       Senate amendment:
       In the Senate of the United States, June 26, 2008.
       Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representatives 
     (H.R. 3986) entitled ``An Act to amend the John F. Kennedy 
     Center Act to authorize appropriations for the John F. 
     Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and for other 
     purposes.'', do pass with the following amendment:
       Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``John F. Kennedy Center 
     Reauthorization Act of 2008''.

     SEC. 2. TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.

       Section 2(a)(2)(J)(ii) of the John F. Kennedy Center Act 
     (20 U.S.C. 76h(a)(2)(J)(ii)) is amended by striking ``Public 
     Works and Transportation'' and inserting ``Transportation and 
     Infrastructure''.

     SEC. 3. PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEM.

       The John F. Kennedy Center Act is amended by inserting 
     after section 6 (20 U.S.C. 76l) the following:

     ``SEC. 7. PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEM.

       ``(a) In General.--The Board may study, plan, design, 
     engineer, and construct a photovoltaic system for the main 
     roof of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
       ``(b) Report.--Not later than 60 days before beginning 
     construction of the photovoltaic system pursuant to 
     subsection (a), the Board shall submit to the Committee on 
     Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 
     Representatives and the Committee on Environment and Public 
     Works of the Senate a report on the feasibility and design of 
     the project.''.

     SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       Section 13 of the John F. Kennedy Center Act (20 U.S.C. 
     76r) is amended--
       (1) by striking subsections (a) and (b) and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(a) Maintenance, Repair, and Security.--There are 
     authorized to be appropriated to the Board to carry out 
     section 4(a)(1)(H)--
       ``(1) $20,200,000 for fiscal year 2008;
       ``(2) $21,800,000 for fiscal year 2009;
       ``(3) $22,500,000 for fiscal year 2010;
       ``(4) $23,500,000 for fiscal year 2011; and
       ``(5) $24,500,000 for fiscal year 2012.
       ``(b) Capital Projects.--There are authorized to be 
     appropriated to the Board to carry out subparagraphs (F) and 
     (G) of section 4(a)(1)--
       ``(1) $23,150,000 for fiscal year 2008;
       ``(2) $16,000,000 for fiscal year 2009;
       ``(3) $17,000,000 for fiscal year 2010;
       ``(4) $17,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; and
       ``(5) $18,500,000 for fiscal year 2012.'';
       (2) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (e); and
       (3) by inserting after subsection (c) the following:
       ``(d) Photovoltaic System.--There are authorized to be 
     appropriated to the Board such sums as are necessary to carry 
     out section 7, to remain available until expended.''.

     SEC. 5. EXISTING AUTHORITIES.

       Nothing in this Act limits or otherwise affects the 
     authority or responsibility of the National Capital Planning 
     Commission or the Commission of Fine Arts.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson) and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. 
Graves) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Texas.


                             General Leave

  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous 
consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to 
revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on 
H.R. 3986.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield myself 
such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Senate amendment to 
H.R. 3986. The bill will authorize the John F. Kennedy Center for the 
Performing Arts for 5 years, from fiscal year 2008 through fiscal year 
2012. The House passed this bill on December 7, 2007, and the Senate 
amended the bill to extend the authorization period from 3 years to 5 
years. I support the amendment.
  The building's 1.5 million square feet on 17 acres have been 
upgraded, refigured and transformed to more easily and graciously 
accommodate the center's 2 million annual visitors and patrons. The 
center is to be commended for giving a commitment not only to the 
center's programmatic side, but also the more mundane bricks and mortar 
side that makes up the presidential memorial. The fact is that, first 
and foremost, this building is a memorial to President John F. Kennedy.
  I am pleased to support the amended bill, and urge the passage of 
H.R. 3986 with the Senate amendment.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GRAVES. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, H.R. 3986, the John F. Kennedy Center Reauthorization 
Act, will authorize much-needed funds for the continued operation of 
the John F. Kennedy Center, which was established to celebrate the arts 
and honor of the memory of President John F. Kennedy.
  H.R. 3986, as amended by the Senate, authorizes the Kennedy Center 
for a 5-year period consistent with the center's facilities management 
plan. The 5-year authorization will allow the Kennedy Center to manage 
the center in a responsible manner.
  The House passed the version of this legislation in December of last 
year that included a 3-year authorization for the Kennedy Center. The 
Senate amendment provides a 5-year authorization to allow for a longer-
term plan

[[Page H8342]]

for the management of that center. With this longer authorization, the 
Kennedy Center can upgrade and maintain the facility, using a 
renovation schedule that is both realistic and responsible.
  While the center has had financial management problems in the past, 
the management of projects shows great success in facilities management 
policy. The master plan for the facility provides an aggressive plan 
for care and repair of the facilities. I believe that the long-term 
master plan presented by the board of directors lays out a responsible 
vision for the center.
  Many of the projects in the center's budget will repair and renovate 
capital assets and keep the center in good condition. Planned upgrades 
will make the facility safer and more welcoming to those who visit. 
Other projects will help maintain the Kennedy Center's unique 
structure.
  The legislation also authorizes the Kennedy Center Board of Directors 
to study the usefulness of a solar panel system for the main roof of 
the memorial. Before the center can begin construction of a system, the 
board would be required to report to Congress information about the 
system.
  I am very encouraged by the steps that the board of directors has 
taken to make the Kennedy Center more fiscally responsible. This 
authorization will give the center the resources necessary to carry out 
a well thought-out plan for the arts center that honors and remembers 
President Kennedy.
  I support the legislation, and encourage my colleagues to do the 
same.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I reserve my time.
  Mr. GRAVES. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica), the ranking member of the overall 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, which has oversight 
over the Kennedy Center.
  Mr. MICA. Madam Speaker, first of all, I want to thank the gentleman 
for yielding me time, and also recognize the efforts of our 
Subcommittee on Public Buildings of the Transportation and 
Infrastructure Committee. Also we have Ms. Johnson here and Mr. Graves 
for this reauthorization bill on the Kennedy Center.
  I just wanted to add my congratulations for the incredible work that 
this national cultural center does provide, not only to the District of 
Columbia and the northeast United States, but the entire country.
  Mr. Oberstar, our chairman, and myself as ranking member, get to 
serve as honorary trustees on the Kennedy Center Board, and I had the 
honor and privilege of attending the reopening of the Eisenhower 
Theater.
  Now, folks don't realize that the Kennedy Center was opened in 1971, 
and, of course, some of the facility does need rehabilitation. The 
Eisenhower Theater, one of the most prominent theaters, named after 
President Eisenhower, was closed for several years and underwent a 
complete renovation, and now is open.
  But I had the opportunity to attend the little ceremony and dinner 
commemorating the reopening, and the Rogers family and others who have 
helped lead that effort are also to be commended in this commentary 
this afternoon.
  Most folks don't know this now, and I really wasn't aware of it until 
this dinner, but the Kennedy Center was actually the idea and one of 
the primary projects of Dwight David Eisenhower. President Eisenhower 
actually was the author of creating a national cultural center, and it 
was during his administration and it was a bipartisan effort in 1958 
that they authorized a national cultural center to be located in our 
Nation's Capital here, and it did open in 1971.
  Now, it was interesting also to see the plans and vision that 
President Eisenhower had for a national cultural center back then. Of 
course, it was named for our slain and lost most distinguished 
President, John F. Kennedy, but the Eisenhower Theater within that 
complex still bears the visionary's name for this center.
  So as you undertake this act today, and I commend again the committee 
members and staff who have worked on this and all those who do make the 
Kennedy Center one of the richest national cultural centers and 
facilities, not only in the United States, but the world, I just wanted 
to add that commentary for the record.
  Mr. GRAVES. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  As was pointed out, they are embarking down at the Kennedy Center on 
a renovation plan, and one of the things they are looking at and one of 
the things we talked about in committee on various occasions is the 
photovoltaic plan that is going to be implemented on a lot of buildings 
around Washington, D.C., government buildings. It is fascinating 
technology. In fact, it has come light-years from where it was just a 
couple of decades ago, and I am very confident we are going to see some 
very interesting things come out of this as we move forward. Obviously, 
that is a big part of it.
  Alternative energy sources is a very big part of what needs to be 
done in this country, whether it is wind power, photovoltaic, 
hydropower, obviously very, very important, as well as everything else 
out there that we need to do, which is clean burning coal technology, 
which is more drilling in the United States to utilize those resources 
we have right here in the United States, instead of doing what happened 
last night, which is locking away the vast majority of those resources 
in this country, at least when it comes to drilling off the Outer 
Continental Shelf, and not being allowed to drill between 50 and 0 
miles of the coast.
  That is unfortunate, because it is going to take all of the above. It 
is going to take solar power and wind power. It is going to take 
turning coal into fuel. It is going to take burning coal in a very 
clean way. It is going to take drilling for oil in the United States. 
It is going to take conservation, which is obviously a very big part of 
this. It is going to take all of those things.
  What we need in this country is a real energy plan that does just 
that and that uses all of the above; not just a little bit of the 
above, but all of the above.
  So I applaud the Kennedy Center and their plan, and I am looking 
forward to seeing how photovoltaic moves forward in this. I am very 
tickled to support this bill, H.R. 3986, and urge my colleagues to do 
the same.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield myself 
such time as I may consume.
  I just want to comment a bit on his closing statement. The 
Comprehensive American Energy Security and Consumer Protection Act 
underscores real differences between really the Democrats and 
Republicans when it comes to energy.
  The comprehensive Democratic plan is America's own 21st century 
energy policy that the country has been waiting for. It lowers prices 
for consumers and protects taxpayers, it expands domestic drilling 
offshore and on land, it expands renewable sources of energy, increases 
our security by freeing America from the grip of foreign oil, requires 
big oil to pay what it owes to the taxpayers, ends the subsidies for 
the big oil companies and creates good-paying jobs here in America.
  The Republican bill presented was nothing more than the same Bush-
Cheney energy policy, written by and for the energy companies. Big oil 
gets more land, more oil, more taxpayer dollars and all the record 
profits, while American families suffer because of the big prices.
  Members of Congress made a clear choice last night. Some Republicans 
joined with the Democrats in siding with the American taxpayers and 
consumers struggling with these energy costs. I am puzzled how any 
Republican can oppose a policy that will create good-paying American 
jobs and increase the Nation's security, while it lowers the price for 
gas for our consumers.

                              {time}  1630

  Madam Speaker, I would urge the passage of the John F. Kennedy Center 
reauthorization bill.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3986, 
as amended, the ``John F. Kennedy Center Reauthorization Act of 2008''.
  The Kennedy Center is one of the world's preeminent cultural centers. 
More than a physical memorial, the Kennedy Center acts as a

[[Page H8343]]

living memorial for performance arts programming and education. The 
Kennedy Center is the Nation's busiest arts facility, presenting more 
than 3,000 performances in 2006 and hosting millions of theater goers, 
visitors, and tourists. The Kennedy Center also provides educational 
programs for teachers and students from pre-kindergarten through 
college across the United States.
  H.R. 3986, as amended, authorizes the Kennedy Center's capital and 
maintenance program for the next 5 years. The bill authorizes a total 
of $112.5 million for fiscal years 2008 through 2012 for maintenance, 
repair, and security projects for the Kennedy Center. The bill also 
authorizes a total of $91.7 million for capital projects for the 
Kennedy Center during this period. These authorization levels are 
derived from the Kennedy Center's 2006/2007 Comprehensive Building 
Plan.
  Over the past 10 years, the priorities for Kennedy Center capital 
improvements were life safety and accessibility projects. With the 
pending completion of these projects, the current Comprehensive 
Building Plan emphasizes facility infrastructure. In some past 
projects, such as theater renovations, the mechanical and electrical 
infrastructure scope has been limited to replacement of renovated 
space. The primary building mechanical and electrical systems consist 
of original equipment and those elements not previously replaced are 
reaching the end of normative service life, are showing signs of 
failure or impending breakdown, or are deteriorating. The bill 
authorizes systematic rehabilitation of these primary mechanical and 
electrical systems.
  In addition, the bill authorizes the Kennedy Center to study, plan, 
design, and construct a photovoltaic system on the 4-acre (140,000 
square foot) main roof of the Kennedy Center. According to a 
preliminary estimate by the Kennedy Center, a photovoltaic system would 
cost approximately $6 million to construct and would yield savings of 
approximately $10.2 million over the next 25 years.
  I strongly urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 3986, as 
amended, the ``John F. Kennedy Center Reauthorization Act of 2008''.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson) that the House 
suspend the rules and concur in the Senate amendment to the bill, H.R. 
3986.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. GRAVES. Madam Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a 
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not 
present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.
  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.

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