I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1230

To authorize the Architect of the Capitol to establish a Capitol Visitor

Center under the East Plaza of the United States Capitol, and for

other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 14, 1995

Mr. MICA (for himself, Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. GILCHREST, Mr. HAMILTON, Mr.

EMERSON, Mr. MCKEON, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. TRAFICANT, Mr. RAHALL,

Mr. BLUTE, Mrs. SEASTRAND, Mr. FAZIO of California, Mr. MANZULLO,

Mr. LAHOOD, Mr. MATSUI, Mr. HOYER, Mr. CONDIT, Mr. BREWSTER,

Mr. CLEMENT, Mr. MCHUGH, Mrs. MORELLA, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. LEWIS

of California, Mr. HYDE, Mr. MOORHEAD, Mr. HASTERT, Mr.

MCINTOSH, Mr. WELDON of Florida, Mr. EHLERS, Mr. MILLER of Florida, Mr. HUTCHINSON, Mr. PALLONE, and Mr. KNOLLENBERG) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

A BILL

To authorize the Architect of the Capitol to establish a

Capitol Visitor Center under the East Plaza of the

United States Capitol, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Capitol Visitor Center

5 Authorization Act of 1995’’.
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1 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF CAPITOL VISITOR CENTER.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Architect of the Capitol,

3 under the direction of the United States Capitol Preserva4 tion Commission, is authorized—

5 (1) to plan, construct, equip, administer, and

6 maintain a Capitol Visitor Center under the East

7 Plaza of the United States Capitol with associated

8 improvements to the Capitol to provide access there9 to; and

10 (2) to reconstruct the environs of the East

11 Plaza of the United States Capitol to enhance its

12 attractiveness, safety, and security.

13 (b) PURPOSE.—It shall be the purpose of the Capitol

14 Visitor Center to provide reception facilities, educational

15 exhibits, amenities, auditoriums, and other programs and

16 facilities for members of the public visiting the United

17 States Capitol.

18 SEC. 3. ENGINEERING AND DESIGN.

19 (a) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—As soon as practicable

20 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Architect

21 of the Capitol shall complete engineering and architectural

22 designs and cost estimates for construction of the Capitol

23 Visitor Center and transmit a report on the results thereof

24 to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

25 of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Rules
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1 and Administration of the Senate, and the United States

2 Capitol Preservation Commission.

3 (b) CONTENTS.—The report to be transmitted under

4 subsection (a) shall include detailed plans, specifications,

5 and cost estimates for construction of the Capitol Visitor

6 Center.

7 (c) PLANS FOR EXHIBITS.—Plans and specifications

8 for the exhibits and equipping of the Capitol Visitor Cen9 ter shall be completed by the Architect of the Capitol as

10 soon as practicable after the commencement of construc11 tion.

12 SEC. 4. CONSTRUCTION.

13 (a) GENERAL RULE.—The Architect of the Capitol

14 may not begin construction of the Capitol Visitor Center

15 until plans, designs, and cost estimates transmitted under

16 section 3 are approved by resolutions adopted by the Com17 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House

18 of Representatives and the Committee on Rules and Ad19 ministration of the Senate, respectively.

20 (b) BUILDING CODES.—The Capitol Visitor Center

21 and associated improvements shall meet design standards

22 applicable under nationally recognized building codes, as

23 determined by the Architect of the Capitol. During con24 struction, the Architect shall conduct periodic inspections
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1 of the Capitol Visitor Center for the purpose of assuring

2 that such standards are being met.

3 (c) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN LAWS.—The Capitol

4 Visitor Center and associated improvements and the con5 struction thereof shall not be subject to any Federal or

6 State law (including laws of the District of Columbia) re7 lating to taxes, building codes, permits, or inspections.

8 SEC. 5. GIFTS.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of carrying out

10 section 2(a)(1), the Architect of the Capitol may solicit,

11 receive, accept, hold, and dispose of gifts or donations of

12 services or property.

13 (b) DEPOSIT OF RECEIPTS.—The Architect of the

14 Capitol shall deposit into the account established by sec15 tion 6(a) all monetary gifts received under subsection (a)

16 and all proceeds from the disposition of nonmonetary gifts

17 received under subsection (a).

18 (c) TREATMENT UNDER TAX LAWS.—Any gift ac19 cepted by the Architect of the Capitol under subsection

20 (a) shall be considered a gift to the United States for the

21 purposes of income, estate, and gift tax laws of the United

22 States.

23 SEC. 6. ACCOUNT IN THE TREASURY.

24 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the

25 Treasury of the United States a separate account entitled
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1 ‘‘Architect of the Capitol, Capitol Buildings and Grounds,

2 Capitol Visitor Center, Gifts and Donations’’ which shall

3 consist of amounts deposited into the account by the Ar4 chitect of the Capitol under section 5(b) and amounts

5 credited to the account pursuant to this section.

6 (b) AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS.—Funds in the ac7 count established by subsection (a) shall be available to

8 the Architect of the Capitol for carrying out section

9 2(a)(1) in such amounts as are specified in appropriations

10 Acts. Such funds shall not be subject to any fiscal year

11 limitation.

12 (c) REPORTING OF TRANSACTIONS.—Receipts, obli13 gations, and expenditures of funds in the account estab14 lished by subsection (a) shall be reported in annual esti15 mates submitted to Congress by the Architect of the Cap16 itol for the operation and maintenance of the Capitol

17 Buildings and Grounds.

18 (d) INVESTMENT.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treas20 ury shall invest such portion of the account estab21 lished by subsection (a) as is not, in the judgment

22 of the Secretary, required to meet current withdraw23 als. Such investments may be made only in interest24 bearing obligations of the United States. For such

25 purpose, such obligations may be acquired—
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1 (A) on original issue at the issue price; or

2 (B) by purchase of outstanding obligations

3 at the market price.

4 (2) SALE OF OBLIGATIONS.—Any obligation ac5 quired by the account may be sold at the market

6 price.

7 (3) INTEREST ON CERTAIN PROCEEDS.—The

8 interest on, and the proceeds from the sale or re9 demption of, any obligations held in the account

10 shall be credited to and form part of the account.

11 SEC. 7. AUTHORITY TO CONTRACT.

12 The Architect of the Capitol may enter into contracts,

13 using procedures other than competitive procedures, in

14 carrying out section 2(a)(1).

15 SEC. 8. SPECIAL COMMITTEE OF UNITED STATES CAPITOL

16 PRESERVATION COMMISSION.

17 (a) DELEGATION OF FUNCTIONS.—The United

18 States Capitol Preservation Commission is authorized to

19 delegate to the Special Committee appointed pursuant to

20 the amendment made by subsection (b) the functions of

21 the Commission under this Act.

22 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—Section 801 of the Arizona23 Idaho Conservation Act of 1988 (40 U.S.C. 188a) is

24 amended by adding at the end the following:

25 ‘‘(f) SPECIAL COMMITTEE.—
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1 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Commission is au2 thorized to establish a Special Committee consisting

3 of 3 Members of Congress as follows:

4 ‘‘(A) One Member of the House of Rep5 resentatives to be appointed by the Commission.

6 ‘‘(B) One Member of the Senate to be ap7 pointed by the Commission.

8 ‘‘(C) One Member of the House of Rep9 resentatives or the Senate to be appointed by

10 the 2 members appointed pursuant to subpara11 graphs (A) and (B).

12 ‘‘(2) CHAIRMAN; FUNCTIONS.—The Special

13 Committee established pursuant to paragraph (1)

14 shall elect its own chairperson and shall provide the

15 Architect of the Capitol with all necessary oversight

16 and direction in the exercise of the authority granted

17 to the Architect under the Capitol Visitor Center

18 Authorization Act of 1995.’’.

19 SEC. 9. FUNDING LIMITATION.

20 (a) GENERAL RULE.—Funds for the payment of ex21 penses incurred by the Architect of the Capitol in carrying

22 out section 2(a)(1) shall be derived solely from the account

23 established by section 6(a).

24 (b) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—Subsection (a)

25 shall not be construed as limiting the use of any funds
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1 for the repair, reconstruction, or improvement of any ex2 isting structure of the United States Capitol.

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