[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 7375]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 THE INTRODUCTION OF THE NATIONAL MALL REVITALIZATION AND DESIGNATION 
                                  ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 19, 2015

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, today, we will kick off the fourth season of 
``Lunchtime Music on the Mall,'' which brings local and regional 
musicians to the National Mall to perform during the lunchtime hour, 
giving visitors and particularly our federal and other office workers 
downtown a break from the pace of business in Washington and an 
opportunity to enjoy their National Mall. The performances, featuring 
amateur and professional city and regional residents, are sponsored by 
the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, the D.C. Commission 
on the Arts and Humanities, the D.C. Department of Parks and 
Recreation, the Smithsonian Institution and the National Park Service 
(NPS), in conjunction with my office. To preserve and enhance the 
National Mall, a priceless space, I am reintroducing the National Mall 
Revitalization and Designation Act. Until the Trust for the National 
Mall was established in 2007, the National Mall was Washington's most 
neglected and underutilized federal property, despite being well-known 
and treasured. The Trust for the National Mall is already making a 
noteworthy and important difference, and its plan will give the Mall 
the majesty it deserves. In the meantime, there is much that can be 
done, from defining the Mall's official identity for the first time to 
adding low-cost basic amenities. My bill authorizes the National 
Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) to expand the boundaries of the Mall 
where commemorative works may be located, requires NCPC to study the 
commemorative works process, and requires the Secretary of the Interior 
to submit a plan within 180 days of passage to Congress to enhance 
visitor enjoyment, amenities and cultural experiences on the Mall.
  I worked closely with NCPC and other agencies in drafting the bill. 
The bill would give NCPC the responsibility and necessary flexibility 
to designate Mall areas for commemorative works and, for the first 
time, to expand the official Mall area when appropriate to accommodate 
future commemorative works and cultural institutions.
  In addition, tourists and workers downtown should be able to walk to 
the Mall and find attractive tables and chairs in the shade where 
good--not fast--food is available. Residents of the city and region 
should be able to find space for fun and games on the Mall, beyond the 
space between Third Street and the Lincoln Memorial.
  Bordered by world-class cultural institutions, the Mall need not 
continue to be reduced to a mere lawn with a few--too few--old, 
ordinary benches and a couple of fast food stands until the expansive 
work of the Trust for the National Mall is completed. The plan by the 
Secretary of the Interior required by the bill would ensure chairs and 
tables for people who bring lunch to the Mall and the presence of 
cultural amenities. The NPS has my thanks for implementing and indeed 
sponsoring the part of the bill that calls for cultural amenities with 
Lunchtime Music on the Mall, which begins today. Lunchtime Music on the 
Mall is a good start to bringing the Mall alive during the workday. 
With the necessary imagination, making the Mall an inviting place with 
cultural and other amenities is achievable now.
  The NCPC is well on its way to meeting the bill's requirement for an 
expansive, 21st-century definition of the Mall, particularly now that 
the Trust for the National Mall is doing such important work. 
Frustrated by continually fighting off proposals for new monuments, 
museums, and memorials on the already-crowded Mall space, I asked the 
NCPC to devise a Mall presentation plan. In 2003, Congress amended the 
Commemorative Works Act to create a reserve area--a no-build zone where 
new memorials may not be built. This action was helpful in quelling 
some but by no means all of the demand from groups for placement of 
commemorative works on what they view as the Mall.
  However, recognizing the need for more commemorative work sites, NCPC 
and the Commission on Fine Arts (CFA) released a National Capital 
Framework Plan in 2009, which identifies sites near the Mall that are 
suitable for new commemorative works, including East Potomac Park, the 
Kennedy Center Plaza, and the new South Capitol gateway. 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 CFA work closely with the District of Columbia in 
designating off-Mall sites for new commemorative works. The District 
welcomes the expanded Mall into our local neighborhoods to increase the 
number of tourists who visit them, enhancing the work of the District 
of Columbia government and local organizations such as Cultural Tourism 
that offer tours of historic District neighborhoods. The off-Mall sites 
for commemorative works also complement development of entirely new 
neighborhoods near the Mall, particularly with the passage of my bills 
that are redeveloping both the Southwest and Southeast waterfronts.
  I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.

                          ____________________