109TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 501

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 2005’’.
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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) in March 1999, the President’s Commission

16 on the celebrating of Women in American History

17 concluded that ‘‘efforts to implement an appropriate

18 celebration of women’s history in the next millen19 nium should include the designation of a focal point

20 for women’s history in our nation’s capital . . .’’ cit21 ing the efforts of the National Women’s History Mu22 seum to implement this goal;

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

24 collect and disseminate information concerning

25 women, including through the establishment of a na26 tional reference center for the collection and preser-
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1 vation of documents, publications, and research re2 lating to women;

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

4 foster educational programs relating to the history

5 and contribution to society by women, including pro6 motion of imaginative educational approaches to en7 hance understanding and appreciation of historic

8 contributions by women;

9 (6) the National Women’s History Museum will

10 publicly display temporary and permanent exhibits

11 that illustrate, interpret, and demonstrate the con12 tributions of women;

13 (7) the National Women’s History Museum re14 quires a museum site near the National Mall to ac15 complish the objectives and fulfill the ongoing edu16 cational mission of the museum;

17 (8) the 3-story glass enclosed structure known

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

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

20 developers using no Federal funds on public land in

21 the Federal Triangle south of Pennsylvania Avenue,

22 NW.;

23 (9) the Pavilion Annex came into the possession

24 of the General Services Administration following
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1 bankruptcy and default by the private developer of

2 the Old Post Office Pavilion;

3 (10) the Pavilion Annex has been vacant for

4 over 10 years and is in a state of disrepair;

5 (11) the Pavilion Annex is located near an area

6 that has been identified as an ideal location for mu7 seums and memorials in the Memorials and Muse8 ums Master Plan developed by the National Capital

9 Planning Commission;

10 (12) the National Women’s History Museum

11 will provide a vibrant, cultural activity in a building

12 currently controlled by the General Services Admin13 istration but unused by any Federal agency or activ14 ity;

15 (13) the Government Accountability Office has

16 determined that vacant or underutilized properties

17 present significant potential risks to Federal agen18 cies, including—

19 (A) lost dollars because of the difficulty of

20 maintaining the properties; and

21 (B) lost opportunities because the prop22 erties could be put to more cost-beneficial uses,

23 exchanged for other needed property, or sold to

24 generate revenue for the Government;
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1 (14) the National Women’s History Museum

2 will use Government property for which there is no

3 Government use as of the date of enactment of this

4 Act, in order to—

5 (A) promote utilization, economy, and effi6 ciency of Government-owned assets; and

7 (B) create an income producing activity;

8 (15) the National Women’s History Museum

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

10 to the District of Columbia; and

11 (16) the National Women’s History Museum

12 will promote economic activity in the District of Co13 lumbia by—

14 (A) creating jobs;

15 (B) increasing visitor spending on hotels,

16 meals, and transportation; and

17 (C) generating tax revenue for the District

18 of Columbia.

19 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

20 In this Act:

21 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis22 trator’’ means the Administrator of General Serv23 ices.

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

25 Sponsor’’ means the National Women’s History Mu-
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1 seum, Inc., a nonprofit organization incorporated in

2 1996 in the District of Columbia.

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

4 Annex’’ means the building (and immediate sur5 roundings, including any land unoccupied as of the

6 date of enactment of this Act) in Washington, Dis7 trict of Columbia that is—

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

9 (B) adjacent to the Old Post Office Build10 ing;

11 (C) located on Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.,

12 to the east of 11th Street NW.; and

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

14 the Internal Revenue Service buildings.

15 SEC. 4. OCCUPANCY AGREEMENT.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi17 sion of law, the Administrator shall enter into an occu18 pancy agreement to make the Pavilion Annex available to

19 the Museum Sponsor for use as a National Women’s His20 tory Museum in accordance with this section.

21 (b) PAYMENTS.—The Administrator shall enter into

22 negotiations with the Museum Sponsor concerning pay23 ment to the Federal Government based on the cost basis

24 of the Pavilion Annex or prior appraisals or expert opin-
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1 ions rendered to the General Services Administration re2 lating to valuation of the structure.

3 (c) APPRAISAL.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Administrator and the

5 Museum Sponsor are unable to reach agreement on

6 fair market value for the purpose of determining

7 rent within 90 days after the date of enactment of

8 this Act, fair market value for the purpose of deter9 mining rent shall be determined by not more than

10 3 appraisers, operating under a common set of in11 structions, of whom—

12 (A) 1 shall be retained by the Adminis13 trator;

14 (B) 1 shall be retained by the Museum

15 Sponsor; and

16 (C) 1 shall be selected by the first 2 ap17 praisers only if—

18 (i) the first 2 appraisals are irrecon19 cilable; and

20 (ii) the difference in value between the

21 first 2 appraisals is greater than 10 per22 cent.

23 (2) DIFFERENCE OF NOT MORE THAN 10 PER24 CENT.—If the 2 appraisals differ by not more than
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1 10 percent, the fair market value shall be the aver2 age of the 2 appraisals.

3 (3) IRRECONCILABLE APPRAISALS.—If a third

4 appraiser is selected—

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

6 paid in equal shares by the Administrator and

7 the Museum Sponsor; and

8 (B) the fair market value determined by

9 the third appraiser shall bind both parties.

10 (d) TERM OF OCCUPANCY AGREEMENT.—

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

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

13 term agreed to by the Museum Sponsor.

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

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

16 execution of the occupancy agreement.

17 (e) PRIVATE FUNDS.—The terms and conditions of

18 the occupancy agreement shall facilitate raising of private

19 funds for the modification, development, maintenance, se20 curity, information, janitorial, and other services that are

21 necessary to assure the preservation and operation of the

22 museum.

23 (f) SHARED FACILITIES.—The occupancy agreement

24 may include reasonable terms and conditions pertaining
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1 to shared facilities to permit continued operations and en2 able development of adjacent buildings.

3 (g) RENOVATION AND MODIFICATION.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The renovation and modi5 fication of the Pavilion Annex—

6 (A) shall be carried out by the Museum

7 Sponsor, in consultation with the Adminis8 trator; and

9 (B) shall—

10 (i) be commenced as soon as prac11 ticable but not later than 5 years after the

12 date of execution of the occupancy agree13 ment;

14 (ii) sever the walkway to the Old Post

15 Office Building; and

16 (iii) enhance and improve the Pavilion

17 Annex consistent with the needs of the Na18 tional Women’s History Museum and the

19 adjacent structures.

20 (2) EXPENSE CREDIT.—Any expenses incurred

21 by the Museum Sponsor under this subsection shall

22 be credited against the payment under subsection

23 (d)(2).

24 (h) REPORT.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Administrator is un2 able to fully execute an occupancy agreement within

3 180 days of the date of enactment of this Act, not

4 later than 240 days after the date of enactment of

5 this Act, the Administrator shall submit to the Com6 mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Af7 fairs in the Senate and the Committees on Trans8 portation and Infrastructure and Government Re9 form in the House of Representatives a report.

10 (2) CONTENTS.—The report shall contain—

11 (A) a summary of the issues that remain

12 unresolved and an analysis of the position of

13 the General Services Administration;

14 (B) an itemization, including date, where

15 appropriate, and costs of actions taken by the

16 General Services Administration to maintain

17 and secure the Pavilion Annex to prevent fur18 ther deterioration; and

19 (C) a plan for future use and development

20 of the Pavilion Annex, including plans for ap21 propriate security improvements.

22 SEC. 5. EFFECT ON OTHER LAW.

23 Nothing in this Act shall limit the authority of the

24 National Capital Planning Commission and the National

25 Capital Planning Commission shall retain authority over
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1 development in the Federal Triangle development area as

2 defined in subchapter II of chapter 67 of title 40, United

3 States Code (40 U.S.C. 6711 et seq.).

4 SEC. 6. FEDERAL PARTICIPATION.

5 The United States shall pay no expense incurred in

6 the establishment, construction, or operation of the Na7 tional Women’s History Museum, which shall be operated

8 and maintained by the Museum Sponsor after completion

9 of construction.

Passed the Senate July 29, 2005.

Attest:

Secretary.
109TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 501

AN ACT

To provide a site for the National Women’s History

Museum in the District of Columbia.