II

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1508

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

Center under the direction of the United States Capitol Preservation

Commission, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

NOVEMBER 9, 1997

Mr. LOTT (for himself, Mr. DASCHLE, and Mr. WARNER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules

and Administration

A BILL

To authorize the Architect of the Capitol to construct a

Capitol Visitor Center under the direction of the United

States Capitol Preservation Commission, 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 1997’’.
2

•S 1508 IS

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, furnish, and equip the

6 Capitol Visitor Center under the East Plaza of the

7 United States Capitol with associated improvements

8 to the Capitol to provide access thereto; and

9 (2) to reconstruct the East Plaza of the United

10 States Capitol and its environs to enhance its

11 attractiveness, safety, and security;

12 in a manner that preserves and maintains Olmstead’s

13 ‘‘General Plan for the Improvement of the United States

14 Capitol Grounds’’, 1874.

15 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Capitol Visitor

16 Center shall include—

17 (1) providing reception facilities, educational

18 materials and exhibits, information, amenities, a gift

19 shop, and other programs and facilities for members

20 of the public visiting the United States Capitol; and

21 (2) enhancing the security of the Capitol.

22 (c) DESIGN.—Plans for construction of the Capitol

23 Visitor Center shall be substantially in accordance with

24 the Final Design Report dated November 10, 1995, sub25 mitted by the Architect of the Capitol to the Committee

26 on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of
3

•S 1508 IS

1 Representatives, the Committee on Rules and Administra2 tion of the Senate, and the United States Capitol Preser3 vation Commission, subject to modifications approved by

4 the Commission.

5 (d) EXHIBITS.—The informational and educational

6 experience afforded visitors to the Capitol Visitor Center,

7 including all exhibits, shall be the responsibility of the

8 United States Capitol Visitor Board under the direction

9 of the United States Capitol Preservation Commission, as

10 approved by the House of Representatives and the Senate.

11 The Architect of the Capitol, the Clerk of the House of

12 Representatives, the Secretary of the Senate, the Sergeant

13 at Arms of the House of Representatives, and the Ser14 geant at Arms and Doorkeeper of the Senate shall provide

15 staff, support, and resources for the installation, assembly,

16 and maintenance of all exhibits and other informational

17 and educational fixtures and equipment. Exhibits and all

18 informational and educational materials shall be subject

19 to section 7(b).

20 (e) SECURITY SYSTEMS.—The design, installation,

21 and maintenance of security systems for the Capitol Visi22 tor Center shall be the responsibility of the Capitol Police

23 Board in accordance with section 308 of the Legislative

24 Branch Appropriations Act, 1996 (40 U.S.C. 212a–4) and
4

•S 1508 IS

1 section 308 of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act,

2 1997 (40 U.S.C. 212a–4a).

3 (f) MANAGEMENT.—After the opening of the Capitol

4 Visitor Center to the public, the Architect of the Capitol

5 shall administer, maintain, and improve the Capitol Visi6 tor Center as part of the Capitol Building and Grounds,

7 subject to this Act and the oversight of the appropriate

8 officers and committees of the House of Representatives

9 and the Senate.

10 (g) DEFINITION OF PROJECT.—In this Act, the term

11 ‘‘project’’ means the activities and purposes set forth in

12 subsections (a) through (f).

13 SEC. 3. UNITED STATES CAPITOL PRESERVATION COMMIS14 SION; FINANCING PLAN; SECURITY STUDY.

15 (a) DEVELOPMENT OF PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION

16 CAPACITY.—Not later than 30 days after the date of en17 actment of this Act, the United States Capitol Preserva18 tion Commission shall meet at the call of either co-chair19 man for the purpose of establishing a special committee

20 of the Commission to carry out the functions of the Com21 mission in implementing and overseeing the project.

22 (b) FINANCING PLAN.—As soon as practicable after

23 the date of enactment of this Act, the United States Cap24 itol Preservation Commission shall develop a detailed plan
5

•S 1508 IS

1 for financing the project at the lowest net cost to the Gov2 ernment. The financing plan shall provide for—

3 (1) the acceptance of donations from public and

4 private sources to be used to minimize the use of or

5 to repay any appropriated or borrowed funds;

6 (2) the use of any revenues generated by the

7 Capitol Visitor Center to minimize the use of or to

8 repay any appropriated or borrowed funds and, to

9 the extent available, to pay the operating costs of

10 the Capitol Visitor Center;

11 (3) the use of any other funds available for the

12 preservation and restoration of the Capitol; and

13 (4) only to the extent necessary, the use of ap14 propriated or borrowed funds.

15 The plan shall be submitted to Committees on Appropria16 tions and House Oversight of the House of Representa17 tives and the Committees on Appropriations and Rules

18 and Administration of the Senate.

19 (c) REVOLVING FUND.—All funds described in sub20 section (b) shall be deposited in the United States Capitol

21 Visitor Center Revolving Fund, which is hereby estab22 lished in the Treasury. The Fund shall be managed as

23 provided in section 9602 of the Internal Revenue Code of

24 1986 and shall be available, without fiscal year limitation,

25 to carry out the project, including—
6

•S 1508 IS

1 (1) the reimbursement of appropriations ac2 counts of the Senate, the House of Representatives,

3 and the Architect of the Capitol for all costs associ4 ated with the operation of the Capitol Visitor Center

5 Gift Shop;

6 (2) the payment of costs of the continued con7 servation and preservation of the Capitol Building;

8 and

9 (3) the payment of costs of further acquisitions

10 of fine arts as approved by the Senate Commission

11 on Art or the House Fine Arts Board.

12 (d) SECURITY STUDY.—The Capitol Police Board

13 shall conduct a study to assess security cost savings and

14 other benefits resulting from the construction and oper15 ation of the Capitol Visitor Center and shall report the

16 results of its study to the United States Capitol Preserva17 tion Commission and to the Committees on Appropriations

18 and House Oversight of the House of Representatives and

19 the Committees on Appropriations and Rules and Admin20 istration of the Senate.

21 SEC. 4. CONSTRUCTION.

22 (a) BUILDING CODES.—The project shall meet design

23 standards applicable under nationally recognized building

24 codes, as determined by the Architect of the Capitol. Dur25 ing construction, the Architect shall conduct periodic in-
7

•S 1508 IS

1 spections for the purpose of ensuring that such standards

2 are being met.

3 (b) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN LAWS.—The project

4 shall not be subject to any Federal or State law (including

5 law of the District of Columbia) relating to taxes, building

6 codes, studies, reports, permits, or inspections.

7 SEC. 5. GIFTS.

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

9 the project, gifts or donations of services or property may

10 be received, accepted, held, and disposed of, subject to the

11 provisions of the plan promulgated under section 3.

12 (b) TREATMENT UNDER TAX LAWS.—Any gift ac13 cepted in accordance with the plan promulgated under sec14 tion 3 shall be considered a gift to the United States for

15 the purposes of income, estate, and gift tax laws of the

16 United States.

17 SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO CONTRACT.

18 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Ar19 chitect of the Capitol may establish competitive procedures

20 for work on the project by the use of prequalification

21 standards and may award contracts on the basis of con22 tractor qualifications as well as price. Such procedures

23 and contract awards shall be final and conclusive upon all

24 officers of the Government.
8

•S 1508 IS

1 SEC. 7. CAPITOL VISITOR BOARD.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—

3 (1) AUTHORITY OF CAPITOL VISITOR BOARD.—

4 The Capitol Visitor Board, under the direction of

5 the United States Capitol Preservation Commission

6 and subject to prior approval of the House of Rep7 resentatives and the Senate, shall establish the Cap8 itol Visitor Center operations, tour, exhibit and edu9 cation policies, including—

10 (A) establishing hours of operation, tour

11 content, and tour schedules;

12 (B) producing or selecting films, videos,

13 exhibits, publications, and other items of an

14 educational nature; and

15 (C) approving items for sale by the Capitol

16 Visitor Center gift shop.

17 (2) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out this sec18 tion, the Capitol Visitor Board shall consult with the

19 Historians of the Senate and House of Representa20 tives, the Senate Commission on Art, the House

21 Fine Arts Board, and any advisory board of the

22 United States Capitol Preservation Commission des23 ignated for this purpose by the Commission.

24 (3) OTHER AUTHORITIES NOT AFFECTED.—

25 (A) SECURITY.—Nothing in this section

26 affects the authority of the Capitol Police
9

•S 1508 IS

1 Board with respect to security of the Capitol,

2 the Capitol Visitor Center, or their environs.

3 (B) SENATE COMMISSION ON ART.—Noth4 ing in this section affects the authority of the

5 Senate Commission on Art with respect to the

6 Old Senate Chamber and the Old Supreme

7 Court Chamber.

8 (b) EXHIBITS AND INFORMATIONAL AND EDU9 CATIONAL MATERIAL.—

10 (1) EXHIBITS.—Exhibits, including any audio,

11 video, or demonstrative presentations, shall illustrate

12 the history and the Constitutional role of the United

13 States Congress and the history, including art and

14 architectural history, of the Capitol.

15 (2) INFORMATIONAL AND EDUCATIONAL MATE16 RIALS.—To assist visitors, the Capitol Visitor Board

17 shall publish or provide for informational and edu18 cational materials for free distribution to the public,

19 in accordance with title 44, United States Code. Ma20 terials provided for sale may be purchased through

21 approved procedures for the Capitol Visitor Center

22 gift shop and any revenues produced shall be depos23 ited to the United States Capitol Visitor Center Re24 volving Fund account as approved by the United

25 States Capitol Preservation Commission.
10

•S 1508 IS

1 (c) CAPITOL VISITOR CENTER GIFT SHOP.—

2 (1) PURPOSE.—The Capitol Visitor Center

3 Board shall establish and operate the Capitol Visitor

4 Center Gift Shop in accordance with policies ap5 proved by the United States Capitol Preservation

6 Commission and the appropriate oversight commit7 tees of each House.

8 (2) PROCEEDS OF SALES OR SERVICES.—All

9 monies received from sales or services of the Capitol

10 Visitor Center Gift Shop shall be deposited in the

11 United States Capitol Visitor Center Revolving Fund

12 established by section 3(c) of this Act.

13 SEC. 8. AMENDMENTS RELATING TO THE UNITED STATES

14 CAPITOL PRESERVATION COMMISSION.

15 (a) PURPOSES.—Section 801(a) of the Arizona-Idaho

16 Conservation Act of 1988 (40 U.S.C. 188a(a)) is amend17 ed—

18 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

19 (2); and

20 (2) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the

21 following:

22 ‘‘(3) carrying out functions assigned by the

23 Capitol Visitor Center Authorization Act of 1997;

24 and
11

•S 1508 IS

1 ‘‘(4) conducting other activities that directly fa2 cilitate, encourage, or support the purposes specified

3 in the preceding paragraphs.’’.

4 (b) STAFF SUPPORT.—Section 801(e) Arizona-Idaho

5 Conservation Act of 1988 (40 U.S.C. 188a(e)) is amended

6 by inserting ‘‘Clerk of the House of Representatives, the

7 Secretary of the Senate, the Sergeant at Arms of the

8 House of Representatives, the Sergeant at Arms and

9 Doorkeeper of the Senate, the’’ after ‘‘The’’.

10 (c) DELEGATION.—Section 801 of the Arizona-Idaho

11 Conservation Act of 1988 (40 U.S.C. 188a) is amended

12 by adding at the end the following:

13 ‘‘(f) DELEGATION.—In addition to the special com14 mittee provided for by section 3(a), the United States

15 Capitol Preservation Commission may delegate any func16 tions to 1 or more special committees if the membership

17 of each such committee is drawn equally from the House

18 of Representatives and the Senate.’’.

19 (d) FUND TRANSFERS.—Section 803 of the Arizona20 Idaho Conservation Act of 1988 (40 U.S.C. 188a–2) is

21 amended by adding at the end the following:

22 ‘‘(f) TRANSFERS.—Not later than 30 days after the

23 date of enactment of this Act, the balance in the account

24 in excess of $250,000 shall be transferred to the fund es-
12

•S 1508 IS

1 tablished by section 3(c) of the Capitol Visitor Center Au2 thorization Act of 1997.’’.

3 (e) CAPITOL VISITOR BOARD.—

4 (1) RENAMING.—Section 441 of the Legislative

5 Reorganization Act of 1970 (40 U.S.C. 851) is

6 amended by striking ‘‘Capitol Guide Board’’ each

7 place it appears and inserting ‘‘Capitol Visitor

8 Board’’.

9 (2) INFORMATION.—Section 441(a) of the Leg10 islative Reorganization Act of 1970 (40 U.S.C.

11 851(a)) is amended by inserting after ‘‘Architect of

12 the Capitol,’’ the following: ‘‘the Secretary of the

13 Senate, the Clerk of the House of Representatives,’’.

14 SEC. 9. REPEAL.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The provisions of title III of the

16 National Visitor Center Facilities Act of 1968 (40 U.S.C.

17 831) shall be repealed to the extent that such provisions

18 are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act.

19 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 301 of the

20 National Visitor Center Facilities Act of 1968 (40 U.S.C.

21 831) is amended by striking ‘‘the United States Capitol

22 Historical Society,’’.

Æ