Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS -- (Senate - March 03, 2005)
Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, today I am introducing the National Women's History Museum Act of 2005. I appreciate the support of my colleagues who have helped in this important effort and who have agreed to be cosponsors, including Senators LANDRIEU, DOLE, MIKULSKI, HUTCHISON, BOXER, SNOWE, CANTWELL, MURKOWSKI, CLINTON, FEINSTEIN, LINCOLN, MURRAY, STABENOW, VOINOVICH, AKAKA, BENNETT, DURBIN, LAUTENBERG, SARBANES, and PRYOR. I introduced this bill last Congress, and it passed the Senate unanimously.
The need to establish a museum recognizing the contributions of American women is clear. There is currently no national institution in the Washington, D.C. area that is dedicated to the legacy of women's contributions throughout our country's history. Sadly, fewer than 5 percent of the Nation's 2,200 National Historic Landmarks are dedicated to women, a troubling fact given the significant contributions of women throughout our Nation's history.
The proposed legislation would direct the General Services Administration (GSA) to negotiate and enter into an occupancy agreement with the National Women's History Museum, Inc. (NWHM) to establish a museum in the currently vacant Pavilion Annex of the Old Post Office building in Washington, D.C. The NWHM is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, educational institution in the District of Columbia that was created to research and present the historic contributions that women have made to all aspects of human endeavor and to present the contributions that women have made to the Nation in their various roles in family, the economy, and society. In 1999, the President's Commission on the celebrating of Women in American History concluded that ``efforts to implement an appropriate celebration of women's history in the next millennium should include,the designation of a focal point for women's history in our Nation's capital,'' citing the efforts of the NWHM to implement this goal.
The proposed legislation would serve two important purposes: Creating, as the President's Commission recommended, a national women's museum in the District of Columbia and, by designating the Pavilion Annex, utilizing a currently vacant space on Pennsylvania Avenue, considered ``America's Main Street.''
I would note that, last Congress the Government Accountability Office (GAO) placed real property on its High Risk list noting that vacant and underutilized properties present significant potential risks to Federal agencies including lost dollars because of the need for maintenance and lost opportunities because the property could be put to more beneficial uses. The Annex has been vacant for more than 10 years and it is unclear whether, if at all, GSA will be able to generate a use for the building. While the adjacent
Old Post Office is a national historic landmark, the Annex is not and has sat vacant and deteriorating for years, while Federal dollars are used to keep it maintained and secured.
In addition, the proposed legislation would generate revenue from this now vacant property for the Federal Government through rental payments, based on the fair market value. The museum would also benefit the city by drawing an estimated 1.5 million visitors annually to the District and promoting economic activities by attracting tourists.
I believe this legislation is clearly a win-win situation.
There is strong precedent for this type of legislation. In fact, museums in the District of Columbia are historically established by Congress through legislation that authorizes the use of Federal land or buildings. One recent legislative example is the National Museum for African American History and Culture, which identified potential sites for such a Museum. Another example is the National Law Enforcement Museum Act, which authorized the National Law Enforcement Officers' Memorial Fund, Inc. to build a Museum on Federal land. The current Building Museum located in the historic Pension Building was authorized by an act of Congress.
I believe that just as these museums serve very important public purposes of educating visitors about important aspects of our history and culture, so also would a national women's history museum fill a void in telling the story of women in our history.
The most compelling reasons to support this important piece of legislation are the stories of the women in American history, who helped change and shape our Nation: Women who were and are trailblazers such as Sandra Day O'Connor, who was the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court; Sally Ride, who was the first American woman in space; and Madeleine Albright, who was the first woman U.S. Secretary of State. We should ensure that the stories of women with unwavering bravery are told. Women like Harriet Tubman, who led slaves to freedom using the underground railroad, and Rosa Parks, who sparked a movement just by refusing to sit in the back of a bus. A national museum would record this history and tells the stories of these pioneering women, so that others might be inspired by them.
One woman who inspired me and who is my own role model is the woman who served in the Senate seat that I now hold, Maine's own Margaret Chase Smith, who was the first woman nominated for president of the United States by a major political party and the first woman to serve in both houses of Congress. Senator Smith began representing Maine in 1940. She was a woman who embodied the independent spirit of Maine. She was from Skowhegan and was known as a smart, courageous, and independent Member of Congress. Long after it became commonplace for women to serve in the highest ranks of our government, Senator Smith will be remembered in Maine and the Nation for her courage and service.
These women, and many like them, are the reason I am proud to sponsor a bill directing that the Old Post Office Annex be made available to house the National Women's History Museum. Women's history needs a place in our Capital and in our collective American history, so that we all cannot only learn about our past, but also be inspired to make history of our own.
I urge that my colleagues support this important piece of legislation.
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