II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 680 

To authorize the Administrator of General Services to convey a parcel of 

real property in the District of Columbia to provide for the establishment 

of a National Women’s History Museum. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 30, 2011 

Ms. COLLINS (for herself, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mrs. BOXER, Mrs. HUTCHISON, 

Mrs. MURRAY, Ms. SNOWE, Ms. LANDRIEU, Ms. STABENOW, Ms. CANTWELL, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. 

LIEBERMAN, Mr. AKAKA, Mr. PRYOR, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. BEGICH, Mrs. 

FEINSTEIN, and Ms. AYOTTE) introduced the following bill; which was 

read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public 

Works 

A BILL 

To authorize the Administrator of General Services to convey 

a parcel of real property in the District of Columbia 

to provide for the establishment of a National Women’s 

History Museum. 

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 ‘‘National Women’s His5 tory Museum Act of 2011’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act, the following definitions apply: 

3 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis4 trator’’ means the Administrator of General Serv5 ices. 

6 (2) CERCLA.—The term ‘‘CERCLA’’ means 

7 the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Com8 pensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 

9 9601 et seq.). 

10 (3) COMMITTEES.—The term ‘‘Committees’’ 

11 means the Committee on Transportation and Infra12 structure of the House of Representatives and the 

13 Committee on Environment and Public Works of the 

14 Senate. 

15 (4) MUSEUM.—The term ‘‘Museum’’ means the 

16 National Women’s History Museum, Inc., a District 

17 of Columbia nonprofit corporation exempt from tax18 ation pursuant to section 501(c)(3) of the Internal 

19 Revenue Code of 1986. 

20 (5) PROPERTY.—The term ‘‘Property’’ means 

21 the property located in the District of Columbia, 

22 subject to survey and as determined by the Adminis23 trator, generally consisting of Squares 325 and 326. 

24 The Property is generally bounded by 12th Street, 

25 Independence Avenue, C Street, and the James For26 restal Building, all in Southwest Washington, DisVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:44 Mar 31, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S680.IS S680

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1 trict of Columbia, and shall include all associated air 

2 rights, improvements thereon, and appurtenances 

3 thereto. 

4 SEC. 3. CONVEYANCE OF PROPERTY. 

5 (a) AUTHORITY TO CONVEY.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the requirements 

7 of this Act, the Administrator shall convey the Prop8 erty to the Museum, on such terms and conditions 

9 as the Administrator considers reasonable and ap10 propriate to protect the interests of the United 

11 States and further the purposes of this Act. 

12 (2) AGREEMENT.—As soon as practicable, but 

13 not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

14 of this Act, the Administrator shall enter into an 

15 agreement with the Museum for the conveyance. 

16 (3) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The terms and 

17 conditions of the agreement shall address, among 

18 other things, mitigation of developmental impacts to 

19 existing Federal buildings and structures, security 

20 concerns, and operational protocols for development 

21 and use of the property. 

22 (b) PURCHASE PRICE.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The purchase price for the 

24 Property shall be its fair market value based on its 

25 highest and best use as determined by an indeVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:44 Mar 31, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S680.IS S680

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1 pendent appraisal commissioned by the Adminis2 trator and paid for by the Museum. 

3 (2) SELECTION OF APPRAISER.—The appraisal 

4 shall be performed by an appraiser mutually accept5 able to the Administrator and the Museum. 

6 (3) TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR APPRAISAL.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided by 

8 subparagraph (B), the assumptions, scope of 

9 work, and other terms and conditions related to 

10 the appraisal assignment shall be mutually ac11 ceptable to the Administrator and the Museum. 

12 (B) REQUIRED TERMS.—The appraisal 

13 shall assume that the Property does not contain 

14 hazardous substances (as defined in section 101 

15 of CERCLA (42 U.S.C. 9601)) which require 

16 response action (as defined in such section). 

17 (c) APPLICATION OF PROCEEDS.—The purchase 

18 price shall be paid into the Federal Buildings Fund estab19 lished under section 592 of title 40, United States Code. 

20 Upon deposit, the Administrator may expend, in amounts 

21 specified in authorizations and appropriations Acts, the 

22 proceeds from the conveyance for any lawful purpose con23 sistent with existing authorities granted to the Adminis24 trator. 


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1 (d) QUIT CLAIM DEED.—The Property shall be con2 veyed pursuant to a quit claim deed. 

3 (e) USE RESTRICTION.—The Property shall be dedi4 cated for use as a site for a national women’s history mu5 seum for the 99-year period beginning on the date of con6 veyance to the Museum. 

7 (f) FUNDING RESTRICTION.—No Federal funds shall 

8 be made available to the Museum for the purchase of the 

9 Property or the design and construction of any facility on 

10 the Property. 

11 (g) REVERSION.— 

12 (1) BASES FOR REVERSION.—The Property 

13 shall revert to the United States, at the option of 

14 the United States, without any obligation for repay15 ment by the United States of any amount of the 

16 purchase price for the property, if— 

17 (A) the Property is not used as a site for 

18 a national women’s history museum at any time 

19 during the 99-year period referred to in sub20 section (e); or 

21 (B) the Museum has not commenced con22 struction of a museum facility on the Property 

23 in the 5-year period beginning on the date of 

24 enactment of this Act, other than for reasons 


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1 beyond the control of the Museum as reason2 ably determined by the Administrator. 

3 (2) ENFORCEMENT.—The Administrator may 

4 perform any acts necessary to enforce the rever5 sionary rights provided in this section. 

6 (3) CUSTODY OF PROPERTY UPON REVER7 SION.—If the Property reverts to the United States 

8 pursuant to this section, such property shall be 

9 under the custody and control of the Administrator. 

10 (h) CLOSING.—The conveyance pursuant to this Act 

11 shall occur not later than 3 years after the date of enact12 ment of this Act. The Administrator may extend that pe13 riod for such time as is reasonably necessary for the Mu14 seum to perform its obligations under section 4(a). 

15 SEC. 4. ENVIRONMENTAL MATTERS. 

16 (a) AUTHORIZATION TO CONTRACT FOR ENVIRON17 MENTAL RESPONSE ACTIONS.—The Administrator is au18 thorized to contract with the Museum or an affiliate there19 of for the performance (on behalf of the Administrator) 

20 of response actions on the Property. 

21 (b) CREDITING OF RESPONSE COSTS.—Any costs in22 curred by the Museum or an affiliate thereof pursuant to 

23 subsection (a) shall be credited to the purchase price for 

24 the Property. 


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1 (c) NO EFFECT ON COMPLIANCE WITH ENVIRON2 MENTAL LAWS.—Nothing in this Act, or any amendment 

3 made by this Act, affects or limits the application of or 

4 obligation to comply with any environmental law, including 

5 section 120(h) of CERCLA (42 U.S.C. 9620(h)). 

6 SEC. 5. INCIDENTAL COSTS. 

7 Subject to section 4, the Museum shall bear any and 

8 all costs associated with complying with the provisions of 

9 this Act, including studies and reports, surveys, relocating 

10 tenants, and mitigating impacts to existing Federal build11 ings and structures resulting directly from the develop12 ment of the property by the Museum. 

13 SEC. 6. LAND USE APPROVALS. 

14 (a) EXISTING AUTHORITIES.—Nothing in this Act 

15 shall be construed as limiting or affecting the authority 

16 or responsibilities of the National Capital Planning Com17 mission or the Commission of Fine Arts. 

18 (b) COOPERATION.— 

19 (1) ZONING AND LAND USE.—Subject to para20 graph (2), the Administrator shall reasonably co21 operate with the Museum with respect to any zoning 

22 or other land use matter relating to development of 

23 the Property in accordance with this Act. Such co24 operation shall include consenting to applications by 


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1 the Museum for applicable zoning and permitting 

2 with respect to the property. 

3 (2) LIMITATIONS.—The Administrator shall not 

4 be required to incur any costs with respect to co5 operation under this subsection and any consent pro6 vided under this subsection shall be premised on the 

7 property being developed and operated in accordance 

8 with this Act. 

9 SEC. 7. REPORTS. 

10 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

11 of this Act, and annually thereafter until the end of the 

12 5-year period following conveyance of the Property or until 

13 substantial completion of the museum facility (whichever 

14 is later), the Museum shall submit annual reports to the 

15 Administrator and the Committees detailing the develop16 ment and construction activities of the Museum with re17 spect to this Act. 

Æ 


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