[House Report 117-32]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


117th Congress     }                                   {       Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session       }                                   {       117-32

======================================================================



 
                     NATIONAL CHILDREN'S MUSEUM ACT

                                _______
                                

  May 12, 2021.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. DeFazio, from the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 1703]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, to whom 
was referred the bill (H.R. 1703) to amend title 40, United 
States Code, to require the Administrator of General Services 
to enter into a cooperative agreement with the National 
Children's Museum to provide the National Children's Museum 
rental space without charge in the Ronald Reagan Building and 
International Trade Center, and for other purposes, having 
considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment 
and recommend that the bill do pass.

                                CONTENTS

Purpose of Legislation...........................................     2
Background and Need for Legislation..............................     2
Hearings.........................................................     2
Legislative History and Consideration............................     2
Committee Votes..................................................     2
Committee Oversight Findings.....................................     2
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures........................     3
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................     3
Performance Goals and Objectives.................................     4
Duplication of Federal Programs..................................     4
Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff 
  Benefits.......................................................     5
Federal Mandates Statement.......................................     5
Preemption Clarification.........................................     5
Advisory Committee Statement.....................................     5
Applicability to Legislative Branch..............................     5
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation...................     5
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............     5

                         Purpose of Legislation

    H.R. 1703 requires the Administrator of General Services to 
enter into a cooperative agreement with the National Children's 
Museum to provide the National Children's Museum (NCM) rental 
space without charge in the Ronald Reagan Building and 
International Trade Center.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    The NCM, designated by the Museum and Library Services Act 
of 2003 (P.L. 108 81), is a 501(c)(3) institution that provides 
learning elements found in a science center with children's 
museum experiences.
    H.R. 1703 directs the Administrator of the General Services 
Administration (GSA) to enter into a cooperative agreement with 
the NCM for the approximately 32,369 square feet of space which 
the Museum currently occupies in the Ronald Reagan Building and 
International Trade Center in Washington, D.C., rent free, for 
the duration of the current lease.

                                Hearings

    For the purposes of rule XIII, clause 3(c)(6)(A) of the 
117th Congress, no hearings were used to develop or consider 
H.R. 1703 in the 117th Congress.

                 Legislative History and Consideration

    H.R. 1703 was introduced in the House on March 9, 2021, by 
Ms. Norton, Mr. Rodney Davis of Illinois, Mr. Raskin, and Mr. 
Sarbanes and referred to the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure. Within the Committee, H.R. 1703 was referred to 
the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and 
Emergency Management.
    The Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, 
and Emergency Management was discharged from further 
consideration of H.R. 1703 on March 24, 2021.
    The Full Committee considered H.R. 1703 on March 24, 2021, 
and ordered the measure to be reported to the House with a 
favorable recommendation, by voice vote.

                            Committee Votes

    Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires each committee report to include the 
total number of votes cast for and against on each record vote 
on a motion to report and on any amendment offered to the 
measure or matter, and the names of those members voting for 
and against.
    No record votes were requested during consideration of H.R. 
1703.

                      Committee Oversight Findings

    With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(1) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee's oversight findings and recommendations are 
reflected in this report.

               New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures

    Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives does not apply where a cost estimate and 
comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974 has been timely submitted prior to the filing of the 
report and is included in the report. Such a cost estimate is 
included in this report.

               Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

    With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(3) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 
402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has 
received the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1703 from the 
Director of the Congressional Budget Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                      Washington, DC, May 11, 2021.
Hon. Peter A. DeFazio,
Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1703, the National 
Children's Museum Act.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew 
Pickford.
            Sincerely,
                                                 Phillip L. Swagel.
    Enclosure.

    		[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    

    H.R. 1703 would direct the General Services Administration 
(GSA) to enter into an agreement with the National Children's 
Museum to operate in the Ronald Reagan Building and 
International Trade Center, a mixed-use facility that houses 
both federal and private-sector offices. Under the bill, GSA 
would pay the museum's lease expenses, but could terminate the 
agreement if the museum no longer uses the space as a 
children's museum or ceases operations as a nonprofit 
organization. The museum entered into a 10-year lease agreement 
for the space in 2017 for an annual lease payment of about $1 
million.
    The bill would require GSA to use funds from the 
Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation or the 
International Trade Center to pay the museum's lease 
obligations; under current law, those funds are primarily used 
for maintenance costs. By directing the GSA to use those funds 
for lease payments, enacting the bill would increase direct 
spending because the amounts in those funds are not otherwise 
available to be spent.
    The museum is currently closed due to COVID-19 and CBO 
expects under H.R. 1703, GSA's obligation to cover the museum's 
lease payments would begin in early fiscal year 2022 when the 
museum reopens, and continue for the period of the current 
contract plus any renewals of the lease agreement. The current 
contract ends in 2027 but CBO also expects it will be renewed 
through at least 2031. Thus, CBO estimates implementing the 
bill would increase direct spending by $5 million over the 
2021-2026 period and $10 million over the 2021-2031 period.
    The costs of the legislation fall within budget function 
800 (general government).
    The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 establishes budget-
reporting and enforcement procedures for legislation affecting 
direct spending or revenues. The net changes in outlays that 
are subject to those pay-as-you-go procedures are shown in 
Table 1.

   TABLE 1.--CBO'S ESTIMATE OF THE STATUTORY PAY-AS-YOU-GO EFFECTS OF H.R. 1703, THE NATIONAL CHILDREN'S MUSEUM ACT, AS ORDERED REPORTED BY THE HOUSE
                                            COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE ON MARCH 24, 2021
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                     By fiscal year, millions of dollars--
                                                      --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                        2021   2022   2023   2024   2025   2026   2027   2028   2029   2030   2031  2021-2026  2021-2031
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Net Increase in the Deficit
 
Pay-As-You-Go Effect.................................      0      1      1      1      1      1      1      1      1      1      1         5         10
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew 
Pickford. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, 
Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.

                    Performance Goals and Objectives

    With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(4) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
performance goal and objective of this legislation is to 
provide rent relief to the National Children's Museum.

                    Duplication of Federal Programs

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee finds that no provision 
of H.R. 1703 establishes or reauthorizes a program of the 
federal government known to be duplicative of another federal 
program, a program that was included in any report from the 
Government Accountability Office to Congress pursuant to 
section 21 of Public Law 111-139, or a program related to a 
program identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal 
Domestic Assistance.

   Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff 
                                Benefits

    In compliance with clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, this bill, as reported, contains no 
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff 
benefits as defined in clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of the rule 
XXI.

                       Federal Mandates Statement

    The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of federal 
mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform 
Act (Public Law 104-4).

                        Preemption Clarification

    Section 423 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 
requires the report of any Committee on a bill or joint 
resolution to include a statement on the extent to which the 
bill or joint resolution is intended to preempt state, local, 
or tribal law. The Committee finds that H.R. 1730 does not 
preempt any state, local, or tribal law.

                      Advisory Committee Statement

    No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) 
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this 
legislation.

                  Applicability to Legislative Branch

    The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to 
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public 
services or accommodations within the meaning of section 
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act (Public Law 
104-1).

             Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation


Section 1. Short title

    This section provides that this bill may be cited as the 
``National Children's Museum Act''.

Sec. 2. National Children's Museum

    This section lists Congress' findings related to the NCM 
and directs the Administrator of General Services to enter into 
a cooperative agreement with the NCM for the operation of the 
Museum in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade 
Center for the duration of the retail space license agreement. 
The section states that under the cooperative agreement, GSA 
will provide rent for space occupied by the Museum using funds 
from the Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation fund or 
the International Trade Center fund. The section also requires 
the Museum to submit an annual report to the House Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure and the Senate Committee on 
Environment and Public Works.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (new matter is 
printed in italic and existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

                      TITLE 40, UNITED STATES CODE




           *       *       *       *       *       *       *
SUBTITLE II--PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND WORKS

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


PART C--FEDERAL BUILDING COMPLEXES

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


              CHAPTER 67--PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE DEVELOPMENT


Sec.
     * * * * * * *

              SUBCHAPTER III--FEDERAL TRIANGLE DEVELOPMENT

6735. National Children's Museum.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


SUBCHAPTER III--FEDERAL TRIANGLE DEVELOPMENT

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


Sec. 6735. National Children's Museum

  (a) In General.-- Not later than 30 days after the date of 
enactment of this section, the Administrator of General 
Services shall enter into a cooperative agreement with the 
National Children's Museum for the operation of the National 
Children's Museum in the approximately 32,369 square feet of 
space commonly known as suite C-001 (hereinafter referred to as 
the ``Space'') of the Ronald Reagan Building and International 
Trade Center for the duration of the retail space license 
agreement between Trade Center Management Associates, LLC, or a 
successor entity, and the Museum, dated December 4, 2017, 
including any exercised renewal options.
  (b) Contents.--The cooperative agreement under subsection (a) 
shall include provisions that--
          (1) require, for the period in which the General 
        Services Administration owns or controls the Space, the 
        General Services Administration to provide rent for the 
        Space; and
          (2) terminate such agreement if--
                  (A) the Museum does not continue to qualify 
                as a nonprofit organization under section 
                501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; 
                and
                  (B) the Museum no longer uses the Space as a 
                children's museum; and
          (3) prohibits the Museum from transferring the 
        interest in such agreement.
  (c) Source of Funds.--To carry out this section, the 
Administrator shall use funds derived from--
          (1) the Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation 
        fund; or
          (2) the International Trade Center fund.
  (d) Report.--The cooperative agreement under subsection (a) 
shall require the National Children's Museum to submit to the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Environment and Public 
Works of the Senate an annual report on the operations and 
finances of the Museum.

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