[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 56 (Monday, April 7, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E538-E539]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 THE INTRODUCTION OF A BILL TO DIRECT THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR TO 
CONDUCT A RESOURCES STUDY TO DETERMINE THE SUITABILITY AND FEASIBILITY 
OF ENTERING INTO PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS TO OPERATE FEDERALLY OWNED 
    GOLF COURSES IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 7, 2014

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to introduce a bill to direct 
the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a resources study to determine 
the suitability and feasibility of entering into public-private 
partnerships to operate federally owned golf courses in the District of 
Columbia. The three golf courses--Langston Golf Course, Rock Creek Golf 
Course and East Potomac Golf Course--are owned by the National Park 
Service (NPS). The courses have long been in desperate need of capital 
investment to reverse decades of deterioration and to maintain and 
preserve their historic features. From the time Congress created the 
first of the courses in the 1920s, they have been underfunded. The 
major reason is that NPS has continued to operate the courses under 
concession contracts even though concession contracts do not allow for 
the significant annual capital improvements necessary for golf courses. 
The concessions approach to operating golf courses has led to an 
inevitable declining state of repair.
  East Potomac Golf Course was built in 1920 and included three courses 
that accommodated all levels of play, with an 18-hole course and two 9-
hole courses. East Potomac was initially segregated, with African 
Americans permitted to play only on Mondays. The course was 
desegregated in 1941 by the then-Secretary of the Interior, Harold 
Ickes, following pressure from an African-American women's golf club, 
the Wake Robin Golf Club. However, Langston Golf Course opened in 1939 
as a segregated course for African-Americans, and is listed in the 
National Register of Historic Places. Langston was the home course for 
the Royal Golf Club and the Wake Robin Golf Club, the Nation's first 
clubs for African American men and women golfers, respectively. 
Langston, named for John Mercer Langston, the first African-American 
elected to Congress from Virginia in 1888, was originally a 9-hole 
course. Langston's expansion to an 18-hole course began in 1955, but 
was not completed until the mid-1980s. Rock Creek Golf Course opened in 
1923 as a 9-hole course and an additional nine holes were added to it 
in 1926. None of the courses have been modernized, all three have 
fallen into disrepair, and all lack the amenities necessary to serve 
the public today.
  My bill would direct the Secretary of the Interior, acting through 
the Director of NPS, to conduct a special resources study to determine 
the suitability and feasibility of entering into public-private 
partnerships with a non-Federal entity or entities to operate the 
courses. The study would assume that one of the three golf courses will 
be a world-class, tournament-quality public course, with playing fees 
commensurate with such courses. The other two courses would be public 
courses of substantially similar quality to top-ranked courses owned by 
cities, towns, counties and states. The playing fees for these other 
two courses would remain the same as they are on the date of enactment 
of the bill, indexed annually to the Consumer Price Index. The study 
would also determine which course would be best suitable as the world-
class, tournament-quality public course.
  The three courses together constitute a magnificent but underutilized 
public asset that could be renovated and modernized, facilitating 
affordable recreation, attracting significantly more golfers and 
generating revenue to maintain the courses. Unlike other NPS 
facilities, golf courses require significant, continuing capital 
investment for maintenance. The current fees collected from patrons at 
the courses, which are established in the concessions contracts, must 
remain affordable and therefore do not generate sufficient revenue for 
NPS or the concessioners to properly maintain the courses.
  Because the public golf courses in the Nation's capital are in such 
poor condition and are in need of a different and better means of

[[Page E539]]

operating and funding, I urge support of this bill.

                          ____________________