[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 122 (Monday, July 17, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E684]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




INTRODUCTION OF A BILL TO DIRECT THE ADMINISTRATOR OF GENERAL SERVICES 
            TO SELL THE PROPERTY KNOWN AS THE WEBSTER SCHOOL

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                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 17, 2023

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, today, I introduce a bill to direct the 
General Services Administration (GSA) to sell the federal property 
known as the Daniel Webster School, which is located in the District of 
Columbia, for fair market value by December 31, 2025. I am grateful 
that Representative Scott Perry, the Chair of the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure's Subcommittee on Economic 
Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management, joins me in 
introducing this common-sense legislation.
  Built in 1882, the Daniel Webster School, a red-brick, 3-story 
building, has been used for a variety of purposes over the years. 
However, since the 1980s, the building, which is located in downtown, 
has been vacant and fallen into disrepair. This bill will return it to 
productive use.
  During my service in Congress, I have worked to transfer unused or 
underused federal land in D.C. to D.C. or the private sector to 
redevelop neighborhoods and to generate tax revenue for D.C. I passed 2 
bills that enabled the transformation of the Southeast and Southwest 
waterfronts into thriving, mixed-use neighborhoods known today as The 
Yards and The Wharf, respectively. I passed a bill to transfer 
Reservation 13, which is in Hill East, and Poplar Point to D.C. I 
passed a bill that required the redevelopment of the Old Post Office, 
which is now a hotel. I successfully fought to ensure that at least 67 
acres of the 110-acre Walter Reed Army Medical Center campus would go 
to D.C. for redevelopment. I also successfully worked to bring federal 
agencies to NoMa, which spurred billions of dollars in mixed-use 
development.
  The sale provision in this bill is the same as the sale provision in 
the bill enacted in 2016 that directed GSA to sell the federal property 
in D.C. known as the Cotton Annex, which is now being converted into 
housing.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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