108TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1741

AN ACT

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

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 ‘‘National Women’s His5 tory Museum Act of 2003’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 Congress finds that—

3 (1) the National Women’s History Museum,

4 Inc., is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, educational institu5 tion incorporated in the District of Columbia;

6 (2) the National Women’s History Museum was

7 established—

8 (A) to research and present the historic

9 contributions that women have made to all as10 pects of human endeavor; and

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

12 balanced way the contributions that women

13 have made to the Nation in their various roles

14 in family and society;

15 (3) the National Women’s History Museum will

16 collect and disseminate information concerning

17 women, including through the establishment of a na18 tional reference center for the collection and preser19 vation of documents, publications, and research re20 lating to women;

21 (4) the National Women’s History Museum will

22 foster educational programs relating to the history

23 and contribution to society by women, including pro24 motion of imaginative educational approaches to en25 hance understanding and appreciation of historic

26 contributions by women;
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1 (5) the National Women’s History Museum will

2 publicly display temporary and permanent exhibits

3 that illustrate, interpret, and demonstrate the con4 tributions of women;

5 (6) the National Women’s History Museum re6 quires a museum site near the National Mall to ac7 complish the objectives and fulfill the ongoing edu8 cational mission of the museum;

9 (7) the 3-story glass enclosed structure known

10 as the ‘‘Pavilion Annex’’ is a retail shopping mall

11 built next to the Old Post Office in 1992 by private

12 developers using no Federal funds on public land in

13 the Federal Triangle south of Pennsylvania Avenue,

14 N.W.;

15 (8) the Pavilion Annex came into the possession

16 of the General Services Administration following

17 bankruptcy and default by the private developer of

18 the Old Post Office Pavilion;

19 (9) the Pavilion Annex has been vacant for 10

20 years and is in a state of disrepair;

21 (10) the Pavilion Annex is located near an area

22 that has been identified as an ideal location for mu23 seums and memorials in the Memorials and Muse24 ums Master Plan developed by the National Capital

25 Planning Commission;
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1 (11) the National Women’s History Museum

2 will provide a vibrant, cultural activity in a building

3 currently controlled by the General Services Admin4 istration but unused by any Federal agency or activ5 ity;

6 (12) the General Accounting Office has deter7 mined that vacant or underutilized properties

8 present significant potential risks to Federal agen9 cies, including—

10 (A) lost dollars because of the difficulty of

11 maintaining the properties; and

12 (B) lost opportunities because the prop13 erties could be put to more cost-beneficial uses,

14 exchanged for other needed property, or sold to

15 generate revenue for the Government;

16 (13) the National Women’s History Museum

17 will use Government property for which there is no

18 Government use as of the date of enactment of this

19 Act, in order to—

20 (A) promote utilization, economy, and effi21 ciency of Government-owned assets; and

22 (B) create an income producing activity;

23 (14) the National Women’s History Museum

24 will attract an estimated 1,500,000 visitors annually

25 to the District of Columbia; and
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1 (15) the National Women’s History Museum

2 will promote economic activity in the District of Co3 lumbia by—

4 (A) creating jobs;

5 (B) increasing visitor spending on hotels,

6 meals, and transportation; and

7 (C) generating tax revenue for the District

8 of Columbia.

9 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

10 In this Act:

11 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis12 trator’’ means the Administrator of General Serv13 ices.

14 (2) MUSEUM SPONSOR.—The term ‘‘Museum

15 Sponsor’’ means the National Women’s History Mu16 seum, Inc., a nonprofit organization incorporated in

17 the District of Columbia.

18 (3) PAVILION ANNEX.—The term ‘‘Pavilion

19 Annex’’ means the building (and immediate sur20 roundings, including any land unoccupied as of the

21 date of enactment of this Act) in Washington, Dis22 trict of Columbia that is—

23 (A) known as the ‘‘Pavilion Annex’’;

24 (B) adjacent to the Old Post Office Build25 ing;
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1 (C) located on Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.,

2 to the east of 11th Street N.W.; and

3 (D) located on land bounded on 3 sides by

4 the Internal Revenue Service buildings.

5 SEC. 4. OCCUPANCY AGREEMENT.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi7 sion of law, the Administrator shall enter into an occu8 pancy agreement to make the Pavilion Annex available to

9 the Museum Sponsor for use as a National Women’s His10 tory Museum in accordance with this section.

11 (b) APPRAISAL.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after

13 the date of enactment of this Act, a fair market

14 value for the purpose of determining rent shall be

15 determined by not more than 3 appraisers, operating

16 under a common set of instructions, of whom—

17 (A) 1 shall be retained by the Adminis18 trator;

19 (B) 1 shall be retained by the Museum

20 Sponsor; and

21 (C) 1 shall be selected by the first 2 ap22 praisers only if—

23 (i) the first 2 appraisals are irrecon24 cilable; and
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1 (ii) the difference in value between the

2 first 2 appraisals is greater than 10 per3 cent.

4 (2) DIFFERENCE OF NOT MORE THAN 10 PER5 CENT.—If the 2 appraisals differ by not more than

6 10 percent, the fair market value shall be the aver7 age of the 2 appraisals.

8 (3) IRRECONCILABLE APPRAISALS.—If a third

9 appraiser is selected—

10 (A) the fee of the third appraiser shall be

11 paid in equal shares by the Administrator and

12 the Museum Sponsor; and

13 (B) the fair market value determined by

14 the third appraiser shall bind both parties.

15 (c) TERM OF OCCUPANCY AGREEMENT.—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The term of the occupancy

17 agreement shall be at least 99 years, or any lesser

18 term agreed to by the Museum Sponsor.

19 (2) FIRST PAYMENT.—The first payment shall

20 be due on the date that is 5 years after the date of

21 execution of the occupancy agreement.

22 (d) PRIVATE FUNDS.—The terms and conditions of

23 the occupancy agreement shall facilitate raising of private

24 funds for the modification, development, maintenance, se25 curity, information, janitorial, and other services that are
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1 necessary to assure the preservation and operation of the

2 museum.

3 (e) SHARED FACILITIES.—The occupancy agreement

4 may include reasonable terms and conditions pertaining

5 to shared facilities to permit continued operations and en6 able development of adjacent buildings.

7 (f) RENOVATION AND MODIFICATION.—

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The renovation and modi9 fication of the Pavilion Annex—

10 (A) shall be carried out by the Museum

11 Sponsor, in consultation with the Adminis12 trator; and

13 (B) shall—

14 (i) be commenced as soon as prac15 ticable but not later than 5 years after the

16 date of execution of the occupancy agree17 ment;

18 (ii) sever the walkway to the Old Post

19 Office Building; and

20 (iii) enhance and improve the Pavilion

21 Annex consistent with the needs of the Na22 tional Women’s History Museum and the

23 adjacent structures.

24 (2) EXPENSE CREDIT.—Any expenses incurred

25 by the Museum Sponsor under this subsection shall
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1 be credited against the payment under subsection

2 (c)(2).

3 (g) REPORT.—If the Administrator is unable to fully

4 execute an occupancy agreement within 120 days of the

5 date of enactment of this Act, not later than 150 days

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

7 shall submit to the Committee on Governmental Affairs

8 in the Senate and the Committee on Government Reform

9 in the House of Representatives a report summarizing the

10 issues that remain unresolved.

11 SEC. 5. EFFECT ON OTHER LAW.

12 Nothing in this Act limits the authority of the Na13 tional Capital Planning Commission.

Passed the Senate November 21, 2003.

Attest:

Secretary.
108TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1741

AN ACT

To provide a site for the National Women’s History

Museum in the District of Columbia.