II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1841 

To provide a site for the National Women’s History Museum in Washington, 

District of Columbia, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 20, 2007 

Ms. COLLINS (for herself, Mr. AKAKA, Mr. BENNETT, Mrs. BOXER, Ms. 

CANTWELL, Mrs. CLINTON, Mr. COLEMAN, Mr. DURBIN, Mrs. DOLE, Ms. 

KLOBUCHAR, Ms. LANDRIEU, Mrs. LINCOLN, Mrs. MCCASKILL, Ms. MIKULSKI, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mrs. MURRAY, Ms. SNOWE, Ms. STABENOW, 

and Mr. VOINOVICH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice 

and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 

Affairs 

A BILL 

To provide a site for the National Women’s History Museum 

in Washington, District of Columbia, 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 ‘‘National Women’s His5 tory Museum Act of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) the National Women’s History Museum was 

2 established— 

3 (A) to research and present information 

4 relating to the historic contributions that 

5 women have made to all aspects of human en6 deavor; and 

7 (B) to explore and present in a fair and 

8 balanced way information relating to the con9 tributions that women have made to the United 

10 States through the various roles that women 

11 have assumed in families and in society; 

12 (2) in March 1999, the President’s Commission 

13 on the Celebration of Women in American History— 

14 (A) concluded that ‘‘efforts to implement 

15 an appropriate celebration of women’s history 

16 in the next millennium should include the des17 ignation of a focal point for women’s history in 

18 our nation’s capital . . .’’; and 

19 (B) cited the efforts of the National Wom20 en’s History Museum toward the achievement 

21 of that goal; 

22 (3) through the establishment of a national ref23 erence center, the National Women’s History Mu24 seum would be able to collect and preserve docu25 ments, publications, and research relating to women; 


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1 (4) through the promotion of imaginative edu2 cational approaches that are designed to enhance the 

3 understanding and appreciation of historic contribu4 tions by women, the National Women’s History Mu5 seum would foster educational programs relating to 

6 the historical contributions that were made by 

7 women to society; 

8 (5) the National Women’s History Museum 

9 would publicly display temporary and permanent ex10 hibits that illustrate, interpret, and demonstrate the 

11 historic contributions of women; 

12 (6) the National Women’s History Museum 

13 would attract approximately 1,500,000 visitors to 

14 the District of Columbia each year; and 

15 (7) the National Women’s History Museum 

16 would promote economic activity in the District of 

17 Columbia by— 

18 (A) creating jobs; 

19 (B) increasing visitor spending on hotels, 

20 meals, and transportation; and 

21 (C) generating tax revenue for the District 

22 of Columbia. 

23 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

24 In this Act: 


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1 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis2 trator’’ means the Administrator of General Serv3 ices. 

4 (2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

5 means the National Capital Planning Commission. 

6 (3) FEDERAL TRIANGLE DEVELOPMENT

7 AREA.—The term ‘‘Federal Triangle development 

8 area’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘development 

9 area’’ in section 6711 of title 40, United States 

10 Code. 

11 (4) MUSEUM SPONSOR.—The term ‘‘Museum 

12 Sponsor’’ means the National Women’s History Mu13 seum, Inc., that— 

14 (A) is a nonprofit organization, as de15 scribed in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Rev16 enue Code of 1986; and 

17 (B) in 1996, was incorporated in the Dis18 trict of Columbia. 

19 (5) NET PROCEEDS.—The term ‘‘net proceeds’’ 

20 means the amount obtained by subtracting— 

21 (A) the sum of all costs incurred by the 

22 Administrator relating to the occupancy agree23 ment; from 


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1 (B) the sum of all amounts received by the 

2 Administrator relating the occupancy agree3 ment. 

4 (6) OLD POST OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Old Post 

5 Office’’ means the building and surrounding land 

6 that is— 

7 (A) commonly known as the ‘‘Old Post Of8 fice’’; and 

9 (B) located— 

10 (i) in Washington, District of Colum11 bia; 

12 (ii) at 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, 

13 N.W.; and 

14 (iii) in the northwest corner of a par15 cel of land bounded by— 

16 (I) Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.; 

17 (II) 10th Street, N.W.; 

18 (III) Constitution Avenue, N.W.; 

19 and 

20 (IV) 12th Street, N.W. 

21 (7) PAVILION ANNEX.—The term ‘‘Pavilion 

22 Annex’’ means the building and surrounding land 

23 that is— 

24 (A) commonly known as the ‘‘Pavilion 

25 Annex’’; and 


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1 (B) located— 

2 (i) in Washington, District of Colum3 bia; 

4 (ii) adjacent to the Old Post Office; 

5 (iii) on Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., to 

6 the east of 11th Street N.W.; and 

7 (iv) on a parcel of land bounded on 3 

8 sides by buildings operated by the Internal 

9 Revenue Service. 

10 SEC. 4. OCCUPANCY AGREEMENT. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi12 sion of law, the Administrator shall enter into an occu13 pancy agreement with the Museum Sponsor to allow the 

14 Museum Sponsor to locate a National Women’s History 

15 Museum at the Pavilion Annex. 

16 (b) TERM OF OCCUPANCY AGREEMENT.— 

17 (1) LENGTH OF TERM.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara19 graph (B), the term of the occupancy agree20 ment shall be negotiated between the Adminis21 trator and the Museum Sponsor. 

22 (B) MAXIMUM TERM.—The term of the oc23 cupancy agreement shall extend for a period of 

24 not more than 99 years. 


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1 (2) TERMINATION.—The occupancy agreement 

2 shall permit the Administrator to terminate the oc3 cupancy agreement if, as determined by the Admin4 istrator, the Pavilion Annex is placed at risk by— 

5 (A) casualty; 

6 (B) financial nonperformance; or 

7 (C) any other appropriate circumstance, as 

8 determined by the Administrator. 

9 (c) RENT.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Museum Sponsor shall 

11 pay to the Administrator rent in an amount equal 

12 to the fair market rental value of the Pavilion 

13 Annex, as determined by a method described in 

14 paragraph (2). 

15 (2) DETERMINATION OF FAIR MARKET RENTAL

16 VALUE.—The fair market rental value of the Pavil17 ion Annex shall be determined in a manner con18 sistent with— 

19 (A) an agreement negotiated between the 

20 Administrator and the Museum Sponsor; or 

21 (B) an appraisal of the Pavilion Annex, in 

22 accordance with instructions agreed to by the 

23 Administrator and the Museum Sponsor. 

24 (d) OPERATION OF ADJACENT REAL PROPERTY AND

25 BUILDINGS.—At the discretion of the Administrator, the 


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1 occupancy agreement shall include terms and conditions 

2 that— 

3 (1) regardless of use, allow for the unimpeded 

4 operation (including the provision of security) of any 

5 adjacent real property or building; and 

6 (2) to meet the operational requirements of any 

7 adjacent real property or building, reserve the rights 

8 of the Administrator to a certain quantity of square 

9 footage in the Pavilion Annex. 

10 (e) INITIAL RENOVATION AND MODIFICATION.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any activity relating to the 

12 renovation or modification of the Pavilion Annex 

13 shall— 

14 (A) be the sole responsibility of the Mu15 seum Sponsor; 

16 (B) be carried out by the Museum Spon17 sor, in consultation with the Administrator, 

18 using only non-Federal funds; 

19 (C) be commenced not later than 5 years 

20 after the date on which the Administrator has 

21 entered into an occupancy agreement with the 

22 Museum Sponsor under section 4(a); 

23 (D) be carried out consistent with a master 

24 plan that is— 


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1 (i) developed by the Museum Sponsor; 

2 and 

3 (ii) approved by the Administrator; 

4 (E) be carried out in accordance with all 

5 applicable laws (including regulations) and ordi6 nances; and 

7 (F) as determined by the Administrator, 

8 enhance or improve the Pavilion Annex con9 sistent with the requirements of— 

10 (i) the National Women’s History Mu11 seum; 

12 (ii) the Old Post Office; 

13 (iii) any adjacent real property or 

14 building; and 

15 (iv) the Federal Triangle development 

16 area. 

17 (f) OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE.— 

18 (1) RESPONSIBILITY.—Until the date on which 

19 the occupancy agreement is terminated, the Museum 

20 Sponsor shall be solely responsible for the operation 

21 and maintenance (including repairs and alterations) 

22 of the Pavilion Annex. 

23 (2) MAINTENANCE OBLIGATIONS.—To ensure 

24 that the Pavilion Annex is maintained in a manner 

25 consistent with the prominent location of the PavilVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:24 Jul 21, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1841.IS S1841

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1 ion Annex, the Museum Sponsor shall promptly per2 form any necessary exterior maintenance, as deter3 mined by the Administrator. 

4 (g) ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The oc5 cupancy agreement shall contain such additional terms 

6 and conditions that the Administrator considers to be ap7 propriate. 

8 (h) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

10 the authority of the Administrator under this section 

11 shall not be subject to— 

12 (A) section 525 or 549 of title 40, United 

13 States Code; or 

14 (B) any other Federal law. 

15 (2) EXCEPTION.—The authority of the Admin16 istrator under this section shall be subject to any 

17 Federal law relating to environmental or historical 

18 preservation. 

19 (i) AUTHORITY OF COMMISSION.—Nothing in this 

20 Act— 

21 (1) limits the authority of the Commission; or 

22 (2) affects the authority of the Commission re23 lating to the development of the Federal Triangle 

24 development area. 


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1 SEC. 5. FEDERAL PARTICIPATION. 

2 (a) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Federal share 

3 of any cost relating to the establishment, construction, 

4 maintenance, or operation of the National Women’s His5 tory Museum shall be 100 percent. 

6 (b) USE OF PRIVATE FUNDS.—The Museum Sponsor 

7 shall raise private funds to pay for any cost relating to— 

8 (1) the initial modification and renovation of 

9 the Pavilion Annex; and 

10 (2) the operation and maintenance of the Na11 tional Women’s History Museum, including any 

12 service necessary to ensure the preservation and op13 eration of the National Women’s History Museum, 

14 as determined by the Administrator. 

15 (c) IMPROVEMENTS.—On the date on which the occu16 pancy agreement terminates, any improvement to the Pa17 vilion Annex shall be considered to be the property of the 

18 United States. 

19 SEC. 6. USE OF NET PROCEEDS. 

20 The Administrator shall deposit any net proceeds in 

21 the Federal Buildings Fund established under section 592 

22 of title 40, United States Code, to be used for the real 

23 property capital needs of the General Services Administra24 tion, in accordance with annual appropriations Acts. 


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1 SEC. 7. REPORT. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—If, on the date that is 180 days 

3 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

4 has not entered into an occupancy agreement with the Mu5 seum Sponsor under section 4(a), not later than 240 days 

6 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

7 shall submit a report containing the information described 

8 in subsection (b) to— 

9 (1) the Committee on Homeland Security and 

10 Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 

11 (2) the Committee on Transportation and In12 frastructure of the House of Representatives; and 

13 (3) the Committee on Oversight and Govern14 ment Reform of the House of Representatives. 

15 (b) CONTENTS.—The report submitted by the Ad16 ministrator under subsection (a) shall contain— 

17 (1) a summary of any unresolved issue between 

18 the Administrator and the Museum Sponsor relating 

19 to the occupancy agreement; and 

20 (2) an analysis of the position of the Adminis21 trator relating to any unresolved issue summarized 

22 under paragraph (1). 

Æ 


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