II 

Calendar No. 168 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 501 

[Report No. 109–104] 

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

of Columbia. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 3, 2005 

Ms. COLLINS (for herself, Ms. LANDRIEU, Mrs. DOLE, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mrs. 

HUTCHISON, Mrs. BOXER, Ms. SNOWE, Ms. CANTWELL, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mrs. CLINTON, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mrs. LINCOLN, Mrs. MURRAY, 

Ms. STABENOW, Mr. VOINOVICH, Mr. AKAKA, Mr. BENNETT, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. PRYOR, Mr. CHAFEE, Mr. 

SPECTER, and Mr. CORZINE) introduced the following bill; which was 

read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs 

JULY 18, 2005 

Reported by Ms. COLLINS, without amendment 

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, 
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•S 501 RS

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Women’s His3 tory Museum Act of 2005’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds that— 

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

7 Inc., is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, educational institu8 tion incorporated in the District of Columbia; 

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

10 established— 

11 (A) to research and present the historic 

12 contributions that women have made to all as13 pects of human endeavor; and 

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

15 balanced way the contributions that women 

16 have made to the Nation in their various roles 

17 in family and society; 

18 (3) in March 1999, the President’s Commission 

19 on the celebrating of Women in American History 

20 concluded that ‘‘efforts to implement an appropriate 

21 celebration of women’s history in the next millen22 nium should include the designation of a focal point 

23 for women’s history in our nation’s capital . . .’’ cit24 ing the efforts of the National Women’s History Mu25 seum to implement this goal; 
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•S 501 RS

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

2 collect and disseminate information concerning 

3 women, including through the establishment of a na4 tional reference center for the collection and preser5 vation of documents, publications, and research re6 lating to women; 

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

8 foster educational programs relating to the history 

9 and contribution to society by women, including pro10 motion of imaginative educational approaches to en11 hance understanding and appreciation of historic 

12 contributions by women; 

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

14 publicly display temporary and permanent exhibits 

15 that illustrate, interpret, and demonstrate the con16 tributions of women; 

17 (7) the National Women’s History Museum re18 quires a museum site near the National Mall to ac19 complish the objectives and fulfill the ongoing edu20 cational mission of the museum; 

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

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

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

24 developers using no Federal funds on public land in 
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•S 501 RS

1 the Federal Triangle south of Pennsylvania Avenue, 

2 NW.; 

3 (9) the Pavilion Annex came into the possession 

4 of the General Services Administration following 

5 bankruptcy and default by the private developer of 

6 the Old Post Office Pavilion; 

7 (10) the Pavilion Annex has been vacant for 

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

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

10 that has been identified as an ideal location for mu11 seums and memorials in the Memorials and Muse12 ums Master Plan developed by the National Capital 

13 Planning Commission; 

14 (12) the National Women’s History Museum 

15 will provide a vibrant, cultural activity in a building 

16 currently controlled by the General Services Admin17 istration but unused by any Federal agency or activ18 ity; 

19 (13) the Government Accountability Office has 

20 determined that vacant or underutilized properties 

21 present significant potential risks to Federal agen22 cies, including— 

23 (A) lost dollars because of the difficulty of 

24 maintaining the properties; and 
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•S 501 RS

1 (B) lost opportunities because the prop2 erties could be put to more cost-beneficial uses, 

3 exchanged for other needed property, or sold to 

4 generate revenue for the Government; 

5 (14) the National Women’s History Museum 

6 will use Government property for which there is no 

7 Government use as of the date of enactment of this 

8 Act, in order to— 

9 (A) promote utilization, economy, and effi10 ciency of Government-owned assets; and 

11 (B) create an income producing activity; 

12 (15) the National Women’s History Museum 

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

14 to the District of Columbia; and 

15 (16) the National Women’s History Museum 

16 will promote economic activity in the District of Co17 lumbia 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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•S 501 RS

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

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

5 Sponsor’’ means the National Women’s History Mu6 seum, Inc., a nonprofit organization incorporated in 

7 1996 in the District of Columbia. 

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

9 Annex’’ means the building (and immediate sur10 roundings, including any land unoccupied as of the 

11 date of enactment of this Act) in Washington, Dis12 trict of Columbia that is— 

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

14 (B) adjacent to the Old Post Office Build15 ing; 

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

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

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

19 the Internal Revenue Service buildings. 

20 SEC. 4. OCCUPANCY AGREEMENT. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi22 sion of law, the Administrator shall enter into an occu23 pancy agreement to make the Pavilion Annex available to 

24 the Museum Sponsor for use as a National Women’s His25 tory Museum in accordance with this section. 
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1 (b) PAYMENTS.—The Administrator shall enter into 

2 negotiations with the Museum Sponsor concerning pay3 ment to the Federal Government based on the cost basis 

4 of the Pavilion Annex or prior appraisals or expert opin5 ions rendered to the General Services Administration re6 lating to valuation of the structure. 

7 (c) APPRAISAL.— 

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

9 Museum Sponsor are unable to reach agreement on 

10 fair market value for the purpose of determining 

11 rent within 90 days after the date of enactment of 

12 this Act, fair market value for the purpose of deter13 mining rent shall be determined by not more than 

14 3 appraisers, operating under a common set of in15 structions, of whom— 

16 (A) 1 shall be retained by the Adminis17 trator; 

18 (B) 1 shall be retained by the Museum 

19 Sponsor; and 

20 (C) 1 shall be selected by the first 2 ap21 praisers only if— 

22 (i) the first 2 appraisals are irrecon23 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 (d) 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 (e) 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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•S 501 RS

1 necessary to assure the preservation and operation of the 

2 museum. 

3 (f) 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 (g) 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 (d)(2). 

3 (h) REPORT.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Administrator is un5 able to fully execute an occupancy agreement within 

6 180 days of the date of enactment of this Act, not 

7 later than 240 days after the date of enactment of 

8 this Act, the Administrator shall submit to the Com9 mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Af10 fairs in the Senate and the Committees on Trans11 portation and Infrastructure and Government Re12 form in the House of Representatives a report. 

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

14 (A) a summary of the issues that remain 

15 unresolved and an analysis of the position of 

16 the General Services Administration; 

17 (B) an itemization, including date, where 

18 appropriate, and costs of actions taken by the 

19 General Services Administration to maintain 

20 and secure the Pavilion Annex to prevent fur21 ther deterioration; and 

22 (C) a plan for future use and development 

23 of the Pavilion Annex, including plans for ap24 propriate security improvements. 
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1 SEC. 5. EFFECT ON OTHER LAW. 

2 Nothing in this Act shall limit the authority of the 

3 National Capital Planning Commission and the National 

4 Capital Planning Commission shall retain authority over 

5 development in the Federal Triangle development area as 

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

7 States Code (40 U.S.C. 6711 et seq.). 
Calendar No. 168 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 501 

[Report No. 109–104] 

A BILL 

To provide a site for the National Women’s History 

Museum in the District of Columbia. 

JULY 18, 2005 

Reported without amendment