II 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1741

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

of Columbia. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 16, 2003

Ms. COLLINS (for herself, Ms. MIKULSKI, Ms. LANDRIEU, Ms. STABENOW, 

Ms. SNOWE, Ms. CANTWELL, Mrs. BOXER, Mrs. CLINTON, and Mr. DURBIN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on Governmental Affairs 

A BILL

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’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that—
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•S 1741 IS 

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

2 Inc., is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, educational institu3 tion incorporated in the District of Columbia; 

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

5 established—

6 (A) to research and present the historic 

7 contributions that women have made to all as8 pects of human endeavor; and 

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

10 balanced way the contributions that women 

11 have made to the Nation in their various roles 

12 in family and society; 

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

14 collect and disseminate information concerning 

15 women, including through the establishment of a na16 tional reference center for the collection and preser17 vation of documents, publications, and research re18 lating to women; 

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

20 foster educational programs relating to the history 

21 and contribution to society by women, including pro22 motion of imaginative educational approaches to en23 hance understanding and appreciation of historic 

24 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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•S 1741 IS 

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.

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