[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 209 (Thursday, December 10, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7417-S7418]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN LATINO ACT

  Mr. ROBERTS. Mr. President, I rise to engage in a colloquy with the 
distinguished chairman of the Senate Rules Committee and the senior 
Senator from Texas with regard to a commitment made between all of us 
here.
  This commitment is related to the [consideration] of H.R. 2420, 
National Museum of the American Latino Act, previously reported out of 
the Rules Committee on December 3, and championed by Senator Cornyn.
  As chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition. and 
Forestry and having spearheaded the effort to design and build the 
Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial, I appreciate the goal of this 
legislation, but also the challenges getting the effort across the goal 
line.
  H.R. 2420 has an honorable cause: to build a museum that focuses on 
the legacy of the Latino people, one that is embedded in the history of 
the United States. The purpose of the National Museum of the American 
Latino is to serve as the premier location for people to learn about 
Latino contributions to life, art, history, and culture in the United 
States.
  I support such an effort. However, I raise one issue with the 
legislation, that the U.S. Department of Agriculture's historic main 
headquarters building is specified in the bill as a potential location 
for the museum.
  USDA has been headquartered at the location on the National Mall 
since 1868. The main building was renamed in 1995 in honor of one of 
the longest serving members of Congress, Jaime L. Whitten of 
Mississippi. I had the pleasure to serve with Chairman Whitten in the 
House.
  USDA provides leadership on issues related to food, agriculture, 
rural development, and nutrition. The work of the Department benefits 
residents in our rural communities and supports agriculture production 
that feeds hundreds of millions of Americans and others throughout 
theworld.
  The legacy of the Latino people is intertwined with the communities 
that USDA serves in rural and urban America.
  I appreciate the efforts of the Commission to Study the Potential 
Creation of a National Museum of the American Latino. Having recently 
completed the decades-long endeavor to establish Ike's memorial, I am 
sympathetic to the desire to establish a tribute in our Nation's 
Capitol. It is not an easy process, and there will undoubtedly be 
challenges along the way.
  Attempting to relocate the historic headquarters of one of the 
largest Federal agencies which serves all Americans is a hurdle that 
can be avoided.
  So I encourage the board of trustees of the National Museum of the 
American Latino and the board of regents of the Smithsonian 
Institution, who are responsible for choosing the site location of the 
museum, to work through their processes as they finalize a location. 
And as they do so, I encourage them to appreciate USDA's mission and 
constituency when they make hard decisions and consider the expense of 
relocating USDA.
  I am pleased that we have come to a compact with regard to the 
location for this museum, that we agree here to encourage the board of 
trustees and the board regents to break ground on a fresh location, 
rather than a historic site of a Department that has served and will 
continue to serve our Nation's farmers, ranchers, growers, and other 
rural stakeholders.
  I now yield to my friend, Mr. Blunt, the senior Senator from Missouri 
and chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, to offer his perspective.
  Mr. BLUNT. Thank you, Chairman Roberts. I was pleased the Rules 
Committee favorably approved H.R. 2420, the National Museum of the 
American Latino Act, earlier this month.
  There is no doubt the stories of the American Latino are important 
and must be told more fully than they have been in the past. I want to 
commend Senators Cornyn and Menendez on their diligent efforts to get 
here. I know it has been a long road.
  In order to keep this legislation moving forward, I agree with 
Chairman Roberts on the need to state for the record the importance of 
the U.S. Department of Agriculture's historic main headquarters.
  While that building is listed in the bill as a potential location for 
the museum, the Senate recognizes the extreme imposition this would 
place on the Department and the people it serves.
  As a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee for Agriculture--and 
that subcommittee's former ranking member--I couldn't agree more with 
Chairman Roberts that the work of the USDA is crucially important to 
Missouri, to Kansas, to the Nation, and the international community as 
well. Clearly, that work would be disrupted if the USDA and its staff 
were forced to relocate.
  I join Chairman Roberts in encouraging the Smithsonian's board of 
regents to recognize the role and expanse of the USDA when selecting a 
location for the museum and to look for a more appropriate site for the 
museum.
  I now yield to the Senior Senator from Texas, an early champion of 
this legislation, for his remarks.
  Mr. CORNYN. Thank you to the senior Senator from Kansas for his 
leadership over the years and his attention to this bill. I also thank 
the chairman for holding a hearing and passing this important bill out 
of his committee.
  I know some of our colleagues have concerns about the museum 
location,

[[Page S7418]]

and I can assure them, Congress will have a voice in the site of the 
museum. Before construction can begin, congressional committees will be 
consulted on site selection, as detailed in the bill.
  The Smithsonian board of regents, which will select the site, is 
chaired by Supreme Court Chief Justice Roberts and comprises multiple 
members of Congress, including three sitting Senators, as well as the 
Vice President.
  Congress will also need to appropriate funds, a de facto ratification 
or rejection of the site selected by the Smithsonian board of regents.
  I intend there will be open lines of communication between members of 
Congress and the Smithsonian board of regents as they undertake this 
significant project.
  It has been estimated if we pass this bill today, the doors to a new 
museum would not open for at least a decade and more likely not until 
2034--so I am eager to get the process moving.
  Mr. ROBERTS. Mr. President, I appreciate the work of my colleagues 
for raising the issue of the site of National Museum of the American 
Latino and for helping to find agreement.
  I thank Chairman Blunt and Senator Cornyn for their commitment. I 
also thank many of our colleagues who helped us reach this solution 
today.

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