II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1861 

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

real property in the District of Columbia. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 24, 2007 

Mr. ISAKSON 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. 

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 ‘‘General Services Ad5 ministration Portfolio Enhancement Act of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act, the following definitions apply: 

8 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis9 trator’’ means the Administrator of General Serv10 ices. 


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

2 the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Com3 pensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 

4 9601 et seq.). 

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

6 means the Committee on Transportation and Infra7 structure of the House of Representatives and the 

8 Committee on Environment and Public Works of the 

9 Senate. 

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

11 National Health Museum, Inc., a District of Colum12 bia nonprofit corporation exempt from taxation pur13 suant to section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 

14 Code of 1986. 

15 (5) NORTHERN PORTION OF THE PROPERTY.— 

16 The term ‘‘northern portion of the property’’ means 

17 that portion of the property which the Administrator 

18 and the Museum deem appropriate for the museum 

19 facility. 

20 (6) 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 and the westerly portions of Squares 351 and 352, 

25 including the parcel and structure commonly known 


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1 as the ‘‘Cotton Annex’’. The property is generally 

2 bounded by 12th Street, Independence Avenue, 

3 Maryland Avenue, the James Forrestal Building, 

4 and L’Enfant Plaza, all in Southwest Washington, 

5 District of Columbia, and shall include all associated 

6 air rights, improvements thereon, and appurtenances 

7 thereto. 

8 (7) SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE PROPERTY.— 

9 The term ‘‘southern portion of the property’’ means 

10 that portion of the property other than the northern 

11 portion of the property. 

12 SEC. 3. CONVEYANCE OF PROPERTY. 

13 (a) AUTHORITY TO CONVEY.— 

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

15 of this Act, the Administrator shall convey the 

16 northern portion of the property to the Museum, 

17 and shall have the authority to convey the southern 

18 portion of the property to the Museum, in each case 

19 on such terms and conditions as the Administrator 

20 considers reasonable and appropriate to protect the 

21 interests of the United States and further the pur22 poses of this Act. 

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

24 not later than 90 days after the date of enactment 


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1 of this Act, the Administrator shall enter into an 

2 agreement with the Museum for the conveyance. 

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

4 conditions of the agreement shall address, among 

5 other things, mitigation of developmental impacts to 

6 existing Federal buildings and structures, security 

7 concerns, and operational protocols for development 

8 and use of the property. 

9 (4) SEPARATE CONVEYANCE OF NORTHERN

10 AND SOUTHERN PORTIONS.—Under the agreement, 

11 the Administrator may convey the northern portion 

12 of the property separately from and, if so agreed by 

13 the Administrator and the Museum, at a different 

14 time than the southern portion of the property (if 

15 such southern portion is conveyed). 

16 (b) PURCHASE PRICE.— 

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

18 property shall be its fair market value based on its 

19 highest and best use as determined by an inde20 pendent appraisal commissioned by the Adminis21 trator and paid for by the Museum. 

22 (2) SELECTION OF APPRAISER.—The appraisal 

23 shall be performed by an appraiser mutually accept24 able to the Administrator and the Museum. 

25 (3) TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR APPRAISAL.— 


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

2 subparagraph (B), the assumptions, scope of 

3 work, and other terms and conditions related to 

4 the appraisal assignment shall be mutually ac5 ceptable to the Administrator and the Museum. 

6 (B) REQUIRED TERMS.—The following 

7 terms and conditions shall apply to the ap8 praisal: 

9 (i) The appraisal shall assume that 

10 the property does not contain hazardous 

11 substances (as defined in section 101 of 

12 CERCLA (42 U.S.C. 9601)) which require 

13 response action (as defined in such sec14 tion). 

15 (ii) The appraisal shall state a value 

16 for the property as a whole as well as sepa17 rate values for the northern portion and 

18 southern portion of the property, taking 

19 into consideration the impact to value (if 

20 any) resulting from a conveyance of less 

21 than the entirety of the property. 

22 (c) APPLICATION OF PROCEEDS.—The purchase 

23 price shall be paid into the Federal Buildings Fund estab24 lished under section 592 of title 40, United States Code. 

25 Upon deposit, the Administrator may expend the proceeds 


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1 from the conveyance for any lawful purpose consistent 

2 with existing authorities granted to the Administrator; ex3 cept that the Administrator shall provide the Committees 

4 with 30 days advance written notice of any expenditure 

5 of the proceeds. 

6 (d) QUIT CLAIM DEED.—The property shall be con7 veyed (in the case of the southern portion of the property, 

8 if at all) pursuant to one or more quit claim deeds (one 

9 for the northern portion of the property and one for the 

10 southern portion of the property), 

11 (e) USE RESTRICTIONS.— 

12 (1) NORTHERN PORTION.—The northern por13 tion of the property shall be dedicated for use as a 

14 site for a national health museum for the 99-year 

15 period beginning on date of conveyance of that por16 tion to the Museum. 

17 (2) SOUTHERN PORTION.—The southern por18 tion of the property may be used for any purposes 

19 permitted by applicable laws and regulations. 

20 (f) REVERSION.— 

21 (1) BASES FOR REVERSION.—The northern por22 tion of the property shall revert to the United 

23 States, at the option of the United States, without 

24 any obligation for repayment by the United States 


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1 of any amount of the purchase price for the prop2 erty, if— 

3 (A) that portion is not used as a site for 

4 a national health museum at any time during 

5 the 99-year period referred to in subsection (e); 

6 or 

7 (B) the Museum has not commenced con8 struction of a museum facility on that portion 

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

10 enactment of this Act, other than for reasons 

11 beyond the control of the Museum as reason12 ably determined by the Administrator. 

13 (2) ENFORCEMENT.—The Administrator may 

14 perform any acts necessary to enforce the rever15 sionary rights provided in this section. 

16 (3) CUSTODY OF PROPERTY UPON REVER17 SION.—If any portion of the property reverts to the 

18 United States pursuant to this section, such prop19 erty shall be under the custody and control of the 

20 Administrator. 

21 (g) CLOSING.— 

22 (1) DEADLINE.—Any conveyance pursuant to 

23 this Act shall occur not later than 3 years after the 

24 date of enactment of this Act. The Administrator 

25 may extend that period for such time as is reasonVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:38 Jul 26, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1861.IS S1861

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1 ably necessary for the Museum to perform its obliga2 tions under section 4(a). 

3 (2) APPLICABILITY OF REQUIREMENTS.—The 

4 requirements of this Act shall remain in full force 

5 and effect with respect to any portion of the prop6 erty conveyed before the deadline established by 

7 paragraph (1) or any extension. 

8 SEC. 4. ENVIRONMENTAL MATTERS. 

9 (a) AUTHORIZATION TO CONTRACT FOR ENVIRON10 MENTAL RESPONSE ACTIONS.—The Administrator is au11 thorized to contract, in the absence of appropriations and 

12 otherwise without regard to section 1341 of title 31, 

13 United States Code, with the Museum or an affiliate 

14 thereof for the performance (on behalf of the Adminis15 trator) of response actions (if any) required on the prop16 erty pursuant to CERCLA. Any officer or employee of the 

17 United States may contract for payment of costs or ex18 penses related to any properties that are conveyed (or to 

19 be conveyed) under this Act. 

20 (b) CREDITING OF RESPONSE COSTS.—Any costs in21 curred by the Museum or an affiliate thereof pursuant to 

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

23 the property. 

24 (c) RELATIONSHIP TO CERCLA.—Nothing in this 

25 Act may be construed to affect or limit the application 


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1 of or obligation to comply with any environmental law, in2 cluding section 120(b) of CERCLA (42 U.S.C. 9620(b)). 

3 SEC. 5. INCIDENTAL COSTS. 

4 (a) RESPONSIBILITIES.—Subject to section 4, the 

5 Museum shall bear any and all costs associated with com6 plying with the provisions of this Act, including studies 

7 and reports, surveys, relocating tenants, and mitigating 

8 impacts to existing Federal buildings and structures re9 sulting directly from the development of the property by 

10 the Museum. 

11 (b) RELOCATION OF EXISTING TENANTS.—The costs 

12 of relocating existing tenants (including the costs of re13 lated studies), shall be paid by the Museum up to an 

14 amount to be agreed upon by the Administrator and the 

15 Museum in the agreement entered into under section 

16 3(a)(2), and any costs in excess of such agreed upon 

17 amount shall be credited to the purchase price for the 

18 property upon the closing on the portion of the property 

19 first conveyed. 

20 SEC. 6. LAND USE APPROVALS. 

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

22 shall be construed as limiting or affecting the authority 

23 or responsibilities of the National Capital Planning Com24 mission or the Commission of Fine Arts. 

25 (b) COOPERATION.— 


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1 (1) ZONING AND LAND USE.—Subject to para2 graph (2), the Administrator shall reasonably co3 operate with the Museum with respect to any zoning 

4 or other land use matter relating to development of 

5 the property in accordance with this Act. Such co6 operation shall include consenting to applications by 

7 the Museum for applicable zoning and permitting 

8 with respect to the property. 

9 (2) LIMITATIONS.—The Administrator shall not 

10 be required to incur any costs with respect to co11 operation under this subsection and any consent pro12 vided under this subsection shall be premised on the 

13 property being developed and operated in accordance 

14 with this Act. 

15 SEC. 7. REPORTS. 

16 Not later than one year after the date of enactment 

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

18 5-year period following conveyance of the northern portion 

19 of the property or until substantial completion of the mu20 seum facility (whichever is later), the Museum shall sub21 mit annual reports to the Administrator and the Commit22 tees detailing the development and construction activities 

23 of the Museum with respect to this Act. 

Æ 


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