I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5164

To provide a site for construction of a national health museum, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 29, 2004

Mr. LATOURETTE (for himself, Ms. NORTON, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, and Mr. 

OBERSTAR) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL

To provide a site for construction of a national health 

museum, and for other purposes.

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 Health Mu5 seum Act of 2004’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

7 The purpose of this Act is to provide for a site to 

8 be used for the construction and operation of a national 

9 health museum. 
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1 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act, the following definitions apply: 

3 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis4 trator’’ means the Administrator of General Serv5 ices. 

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

7 the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Com8 pensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 

9 9601 et seq.). 

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

11 means the Committee on Transportation and Infra12 structure of the House of Representatives and the 

13 Committee on Environment and Public Works of the 

14 Senate. 

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

16 National Health Museum, Inc., a District of Colum17 bia nonprofit corporation exempt from taxation pur18 suant to section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 

19 Code of 1986. 

20 (5) NORTHERN PORTION OF THE PROPERTY.—

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

22 that portion of the property which the Administrator 

23 and Museum deem appropriate for the museum fa24 cility. 

25 (6) PROPERTY.—The term ‘‘property’’ means 

26 the property located in the District of Columbia, 
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1 subject to survey and as determined by the Adminis2 trator, generally consisting of Squares 325 and 326, 

3 and the westerly portions of Squares 351 and 352, 

4 including the parcel and structure commonly known 

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

6 bounded by 12th Street, Independence Avenue, 

7 Maryland Avenue, the James Forrestal Building, 

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

9 D.C., and shall include all associated air rights, im10 provements thereon, and appurtenances thereto. 

11 (7) SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE PROPERTY.—

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

13 that portion of the property other than the northern 

14 portion of the property. 

15 SEC. 4. CONVEYANCE OF PROPERTY. 

16 (a) AUTHORITY TO CONVEY.—

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

18 of this Act, the Administrator shall convey the prop19 erty to the Museum on such terms and conditions as 

20 the Administrator considers reasonable and appro21 priate to protect the interests of the United States 

22 and further the purposes of this Act. 

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

24 not later than 60 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 shall 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. 

15 (b) PURCHASE PRICE.—

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

17 property shall be its fair market value based on its 

18 highest and best use as determined by an inde19 pendent appraisal commissioned by the Adminis20 trator and paid for by the Museum. 

21 (2) SELECTION OF APPRAISER.—The appraisal 

22 shall be performed by an appraiser mutually accept23 able to the Administrator and the Museum. 

24 (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 remedial 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.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The property shall be con8 veyed pursuant to 2 quit claim deeds (one for the 

9 northern portion and one for the southern portion of 

10 the property), each of which shall contain the cov11 enants required by section 120(h) of CERCLA (42 

12 U.S.C. 9620). 

13 (2) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.—The United 

14 States shall not be liable or responsible pursuant to 

15 paragraph (1) for any additional remedial action—

16 (A) with respect to hazardous substances 

17 not existing on the property as of the date of 

18 conveyance, unless the presence of such haz19 ardous substances on the property was caused 

20 by the United States; or 

21 (B) caused, required, or arising out of ac22 tions of the Museum, its affiliate, any successor 

23 thereto, or any of their respective agents, con24 tractors, or assigns. 
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1 (e) USE RESTRICTION.—The northern portion of the 

2 property shall be dedicated for use as a site for a national 

3 health museum for the 99-year period beginning on date 

4 of conveyance of that portion to the Museum. 

5 (f) REVERSION.—

6 (1) BASES FOR REVERSION.—The northern por7 tion of the property shall revert to the United 

8 States, without any obligation for repayment by the 

9 United States of any amount of the purchase price 

10 for the property, if —

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

12 a national health museum at any time during 

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

14 or 

15 (B) the Museum has not commenced con16 struction of a museum facility on that portion 

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

18 enactment of this Act, other than for reasons 

19 beyond the control of the Museum as reason20 ably determined by the Administrator. 

21 (2) ENFORCEMENT.—The Administrator may 

22 perform any acts necessary to enforce the rever23 sionary rights provided in this section. 

24 (3) CUSTODY OF PROPERTY UPON REVER25 SION.—If any portion of the property reverts to the 
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1 United States pursuant to this section, such prop2 erty shall be under the custody and control of the 

3 Administrator. 

4 (g) CLOSING.—

5 (1) DEADLINE.—The Administrator shall con6 vey the northern and southern portions of the prop7 erty not later than 3 years after the date of enact8 ment of this Act. The Administrator may extend 

9 that period for such time as is reasonably necessary 

10 for the Museum to perform its obligations under sec11 tion 6(a). 

12 (2) APPLICABILITY OF REQUIREMENTS.—The 

13 requirements of this Act shall remain in full force 

14 and effect with respect to any portion of the prop15 erty conveyed before the deadline established by 

16 paragraph (1) or any extension. 

17 SEC. 5. OFFICE LEASE. 

18 (a) NEGOTIATION AND EXECUTION.—

19 (1) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—Notwithstanding 

20 any other provision of law, the Administrator and 

21 the Museum (or its affiliate) shall, within 60 days 

22 after entering into the agreement described in sec23 tion 4(a)(2), negotiate the terms and conditions, 

24 consistent with this section, of a lease pursuant to 

25 which the Administrator would lease approximately 
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1 250,000 square feet in a building to be constructed 

2 by the Museum on the southern portion of the prop3 erty. 

4 (2) TIMING.—The Administrator and Museum 

5 shall execute the lease not later than the date of the 

6 conveyance of the southern portion of the property. 

7 (b) RENT.—

8 (1) BELOW MARKET RATE.—The effective rent 

9 charged to the Administrator as part of the lease en10 tered into under this section shall be below pre11 vailing market rates for similar space in Southwest, 

12 Washington, D.C., as agreed to between the Admin13 istrator and the Museum (or its affiliate). 

14 (2) AUTHORITY TO APPLY PROCEEDS TOWARD

15 RENT.—The Administrator may apply any or all of 

16 the proceeds from conveyance of the property toward 

17 the rental charges incurred by the United States 

18 under the lease if the Administrator otherwise com19 plies with the notice requirement set forth in section 

20 4(c). Any such application of proceeds toward rent 

21 shall not be considered in determining that the rent 

22 charged under the lease is below prevailing market 

23 rates as required in this section. 

24 (c) OPERATING LEASE.—The lease entered into 

25 under this section shall be on terms and conditions that 
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1 allow such lease to be scored as an operating lease in ac2 cordance with guidance published by the Office of Man3 agement and Budget. 

4 (d) CONDITION TO CONVEYANCE.—The execution of 

5 the lease under this section shall be a precondition to con6 veyance of the southern portion of the property to the Mu7 seum. 

8 SEC. 6. ENVIRONMENTAL MATTERS. 

9 (a) LIABILITIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.—The 

10 agreement entered into under section 4(a)(2) shall provide 

11 that the Museum will conduct any environmental remedi12 ation activity with respect to the property, and bear the 

13 costs of any such activity, except as otherwise provided 

14 by section 4(d) and subsection (b) of this section. 

15 (b) CREDITING OF REMEDIATION COSTS.—Any costs 

16 of environmental remediation activities referred to in sub17 section (a) shall be credited to the purchase price for the 

18 property up to an amount not greater than the purchase 

19 price for the property. 

20 (c) SCOPE OF REMEDIATION ACTIVITIES.—The scope 

21 of any required environmental remediation activity with 

22 respect to the property shall be as required by section 120 

23 of CERCLA (42 U.S.C. 9620). 
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1 SEC. 7. INCIDENTAL COSTS. 

2 (a) RESPONSIBILITIES.—Except as otherwise specifi3 cally provided by this Act, the Museum shall bear any and 

4 all costs associated with complying with the provisions of 

5 this Act, including studies and reports, surveys, relocating 

6 tenants, and mitigating impacts to existing Federal build7 ings and structures resulting directly from the develop8 ment of the property by the Museum. 

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

10 of relocating existing tenants (including the costs of re11 lated studies), shall be paid by the Museum up to an 

12 amount to be agreed upon by the Administrator and Mu13 seum in the agreement entered into under section 4(a)(2), 

14 and any costs in excess of such agreed upon amount shall 

15 be credited to the purchase price for the property upon 

16 the closing on the portion of the property first conveyed. 

17 SEC. 8. LAND USE APPROVALS. 

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

19 shall be construed as limiting or affecting the authority 

20 or responsibilities of the National Capital Planning Com21 mission or the Commission of Fine Arts. 

22 (b) COOPERATION.—

23 (1) ZONING AND LAND USE.—Subject to para24 graph (2), the Administrator shall reasonably co25 operate with the Museum with respect to any zoning 

26 or other land use matter relating to development of 
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1 the property in accordance with this Act. Such co2 operation shall include consenting to applications by 

3 the Museum for applicable zoning and permitting 

4 with respect to the property. 

5 (2) LIMITATIONS.—The Administrator shall not 

6 be required to incur any costs with respect to co7 operation under this subsection and any consent pro8 vided under this subsection shall be premised on the 

9 property being developed and operated in accordance 

10 with this Act. 

11 SEC. 9. REPORTS. 

12 Not later than one year after the date of enactment 

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

14 5-year period following conveyance of the property or until 

15 substantial completion of the museum facility (whichever 

16 is later), the Museum shall submit annual reports to the 

17 Administrator and the Committees detailing the develop18 ment and construction activities of the Museum with re19 spect to this Act.

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