[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 43 (Wednesday, March 11, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E644-E645]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            NATIONAL MALL REVITALIZATION AND DESIGNATION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 11, 2009

  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce the National 
Mall Revitalization and Designation Act. The National Mall is one of 
Washington's best known and most treasured sites, but also is the 
District's most neglected and undervalued. The Mall lacks everything 
that a majestic natural wonder deserves, from an official identity to 
necessary amenities. My bill (1) authorizes the National Capital 
Planning Commission (NCPC) to officially designate and expand the 
boundaries of the Mall and (2) requires the Secretary of the Interior 
to submit a plan to enhance visitor enjoyment and cultural experiences 
within 180 days of passage of the bill.
  I worked closely with NCPC and other agencies in framing the bill. It 
would give the NCPC the responsibility and the necessary flexibility to 
designate the Mall area for the first time since its creation and to 
expand the Mall area when appropriate. The bill requires the NCPC, to 
accommodate future commemorative works and cultural institutions, 
working with key federal and local agencies, and with participation 
from the public and recognized national leaders in culture and 
development.
  Frustrated at continually fighting off proposals for new monuments, 
museums, and memorials, on the crowded Mall space, I asked the NCPC to 
devise a Mall preservation plan five years ago. In 2003, Congress 
amended the Commemorative Works Act to enact the NCPC's designation of 
a no-build zone where no new memorials can be built. This action was 
helpful in quelling some but by no means all of the demand from groups 
and individuals for placement on what they view as the Mall. The bill 
spells out the needed authority to preserve the no-build zone while 
expanding the mall to accommodate commemorative works.
  The NCPC and the Commission on Fine Arts (FAC) are working on the 
National Capital Framework Plan and already have shown they can 
identify sites near the existing Mall which are suitable for new 
memorials, including East Potomac Park, a part of the Mall area that is 
seldom viewed as integral to the more familiar space between the 
Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial; Banneker Overlook, the grounds around 
RFK Stadium, the Kennedy Center Plaza site and the new South Capitol 
gateways. Five new prestigious memorials are scheduled for such sites, 
including the Eisenhower Memorial and the U.S. Air Force Memorial.
  I appreciate that NCPC and the FAC work closely with the District of 
Columbia in designating off-Mall sites for new monuments. The District 
welcomes the expanded Mall into appropriate neighborhoods, enhancing 
the work of the District of Columbia government and local organizations 
such as Cultural Tourism that offer historic tours of District 
neighborhoods in developing the tourism that is vital to the city's 
economy. Additional Mall sites for various monuments also complement 
the creation of entire new neighborhoods now underway near the Mall 
particularly the District's redevelopment of the Southwest waterfront 
and my own work on the Southeast Federal Center, now known as The 
Yards, that is to becoming a mixed use public-private development and 
waterfront park.
  A second and important goal of the bill is to make the Mall a living, 
breathing, active place where things happen and visitors can be 
comfortable. The bill seeks to achieve this vibrancy by requiring the 
Secretary of the Interior to submit a plan, in consultation with the 
appropriate federal agencies, and leaders in culture and development 
and the public, to ``enhance visitor enjoyment, amenities, cultural 
experiences in and the vitality of (the National Mall).'' Bordered by 
world class cultural institutions, the Mall itself has been reduced to 
a lawn with only a few--too few--ordinary benches and a couple of fast 
food restaurants. The Mall lacks the most basic amenities appropriate 
to such an area including restrooms, shelter and informal places to 
gather and interesting places to eat. When it rains, there are no 
places to stay dry on the Mall and when the humidity reaches sky high, 
there are few places to rest and have a cold drink. Nevertheless, in 
writing this bill I was compelled to recognize today's reality that 
funds to make the Mall the 21st century destination it deserves to 
become are simply not available, and will not become available in the 
near future until the deficit and other priorities make room. Yet, the 
Mall needs a total makeover for the 21st century to be worthy of 
L'Enfant's vision for the city he planned and the MacMillan Plan that 
is largely responsible for the space between the Capitol and the 
Lincoln Memorial that is known today as the Mall. However, we must move 
now to begin to do all we can to rescue this space from its present 
dull and uninviting condition, damaged by heavy use and often used as 
no more than a pass-through, despite its magnificent potential. With 
the necessary imagination, a plan to make the Mall a welcoming place 
with cultural and other amenities envisioned by the bill is achievable 
now.
  I am pleased that Chip Akridge and the Trust for the National Mall 
have embarked upon an ambitious fundraising effort to bring the private 
sector into the revitalization of the National Mall. The Congress 
started to do its part last year when, at my request, Chairman Grijalva 
held the first hearing in decades on the National Mall and this bill, 
and in FY10 Congress included $10 million for the sinking Jefferson 
Memorial and $135 million above 2008, to continue the 10 year 
initiative to upgrade our National Parks before the 100th anniversary 
of the National Park Service in 2016. The National Park Service is also 
prepared to meet the requirements of this bill as they progress on 
their own National Mall plan and the National Capitol Planning 
Commission with its final National Capitol Framework plan on April 2nd, 
2009. The private sector, the executive and legislative branch all 
recognize the need for repair and revitalization of our National Mall 
and no event signified the need like the largest gathering in the 
Mall's history with almost two million people at President Obama's 
inauguration.
  The Mall Designation and Revitalization Act is the first step in an 
effort to begin to give the Mall its due after decades of neglect and 
indifference. The bill begins at the beginning--defining for the first 
time what we mean by the Mall, allowing for expansion of its natural 
contours, and taking the first steps to breathe life into a space that 
is meant for people to enjoy.

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