I 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5773 
To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to enter into a long-term ground 
lease for the operation and maintenance of Rock Creek, Langston, and 
East Potomac as golf courses, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 10, 2008 
Ms. NORTON (for herself and Mr. CLAY) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to enter into 
a long-term ground lease for the operation and mainte-
nance of Rock Creek, Langston, and East Potomac as 
golf courses, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. GOLF COURSE PRESERVATION AND MOD-
ERNIZATION. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) Langston Golf Course, Rock Creek Golf 
Course, and East Potomac Golf Course are owned 
by the United States and are under the administra-
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tive jurisdiction of the National Park Service, and 
each golf course has a long history of service to the 
general public as an integral part of the Nation’s 
capital, including services to local and regional resi-
dents, visitors, and tourists. 
(2) Golf courses differ considerably from other 
lands administered by the National Park Service be-
cause they require a significant and continuing in-
vestment that cannot be required of a conces-
sionaire. 
(3) East Potomac Golf Course opened in 1920 
with three courses to accommodate all levels of play, 
including an 18-hole tournament-level course and 
two 9-hole practice courses, and was initially seg-
regated, with African-Americans allowed to play on 
Mondays. 
(4) Rock Creek Golf Course opened in 1923 as 
a 9-hole course, and in 1925 the course was com-
pleted as an 18-hole tournament-level course. This 
course was located in Rock Creek Park, a major 
recreation and picnic facility for residents. 
(5) Langston Golf Course opened in 1939 as a 
golf facility for African-Americans and has been the 
home course of both the Royal Golf Club and the 
Wake Robin Golf Club, the Nation’s first golf clubs 
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for African-American men and women, respectively. 
The golf course was named for John Mercer 
Langston, the first African-American Congressman 
from Virginia, elected in 1888. 
(6) Each of the three courses contains valuable 
historic components that must be maintained. 
(7) Langston Golf Course is listed on the Na-
tional Register of Historic Places. 
(8) Langston Golf Course is believed to be the 
first regulation course built in the United States al-
most entirely on a refuse landfill. 
(9) The first American-born golf professional of 
African-American ancestry was John Shippen, who 
was born in 1879 in the Anacostia area of Wash-
ington, DC, placed fifth in the second United States 
Open golf tournament in 1896 at 16 years of age, 
and helped found the Capitol City Golf Club in 
1925. 
(10) The Capitol City Open golf tournament 
has made Langston Golf Course its home for the 
past 40 years. 
(11) The Capitol City Golf Club, renamed the 
Royal Golf Club and Wake Robin Women’s Club, 
has historically promoted a safe golf facility for Afri-
can-Americans in Washington, DC, during an era of 
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few available facilities, and these two clubs remain 
the oldest African-American golf clubs in the United 
States. 
(12) The Langston facility provides important 
recreational outlets, instructional forums, and a 
‘‘safe haven center’’ for the enhancement of the lives 
of inner city youth and other residents in Wash-
ington, DC. 
(13) The Langston, Rock Creek, and East Po-
tomac golf courses provide a home for the Nation’s 
important minority youth ‘‘First Tee’’ golf instruc-
tion and recreational program in Washington, DC. 
(14) The Langston, Rock Creek, and East Po-
tomac golf courses have traditionally provided addi-
tional quality of life value to Washington, DC, and 
regional residents and visitors and the golf courses 
will reach their considerable potential once upgraded 
to meet their athletic and historical promise. 
(b) MANAGEMENT OF GOLF COURSES.— 
(1) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this 
section, the following apply: 
(A) ROCK
CREEK.—The term ‘‘Rock 
Creek’’ means the federally owned golf course 
and related facilities located at 16th and Rit-
tenhouse NW., Washington, DC 20011, within 
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the boundaries of 16th Street, NW. to the East; 
Military Road, NW. to the South; Beach Drive 
NW. to the West; and Sherrill Drive, NW. to 
the North. 
(B) LANGSTON.—The term ‘‘Langston’’ 
means the federally owned golf course and re-
lated facilities located at 26th and Benning 
Road NE., Washington, DC 20002, within the 
boundaries of Anacostia River to the East; 
Hickory Hill Road to the Northeast; Valley 
Road NE. to the Northeast; Azalea Road NE. 
to the North; Ellipse Road NE. to the West; M 
Street NE. to the North; Maryland Avenue NE. 
to the Northwest; 22nd Street NE. to the West; 
26th Street to the West; and Benning Road 
NE. to the South. 
(C) EAST POTOMAC.—The term ‘‘East Po-
tomac’’ means the federally owned golf course 
and related facilities located at 972 Ohio Drive 
SW., Washington, DC 20024, within the bound-
aries of Ohio Drive to the East, South, and 
West; and Buckeye Drive SW. to the North. 
(D) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 
means the Secretary of the Interior, acting 
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(3) may allow fees collected at one golf course 
to subsidize the maintenance and operation of one or 
more of the other golf courses; and 
(4) allows for a long-term ground lease on the 
3 courses. 
(e) REQUESTS
FOR
PROPOSALS.—The Secretary 
shall solicit proposals, through a competitive process, to 
procure the lease described in subsection (c) and may, 
after such solicitation, enter into agreements to procure 
the lease. The Secretary shall solicit the request for pro-
posals under this subsection in such a manner— 
(1) to provide that the lease described in sub-
section (d) shall be entered into not later than 180 
days after the effective date of this Act or not later 
than 30 days after the expiration of the concession 
contract for East Potomac; and 
(2) which ensures, to the greatest extent prac-
ticable, the participation of disadvantaged business 
enterprises among the equity partners of the spon-
sors of the proposals. 
(f) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN LAWS.—The Na-
tional Park Service Concessions Management Improve-
ment Act of 1998 (16 U.S.C. 5951 et seq.) shall not apply 
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to requests for proposals submitted and leases and agree-
ments entered into under this section. 
Æ 
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