National Children's Museum Act

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5919 directs GSA to provide rent relief to the National Children's Museum currently housed in the Federal Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center. This bill will provide the National Children's Museum with similar relief afforded to other congressionally designated museums. I want to thank the fine gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rodney Davis) for working with Ms. Norton on this bipartisan piece of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support for this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend, Mr. Rouzer, for the time, and I do want to say thank you to my colleague and partner on the Highways and Transit Subcommittee, Ms. Holmes Norton, and also to Mr. Beyer and all who work to make sure that we are here today to do what is right.

We are here to make sure that the National Children's Museum here in Washington, D.C., is able, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, to still be able to provide the entertainment and offer its offerings of activities to our kids, not just here in Washington, D.C., but throughout this great country.

Today is the day we can celebrate in a bipartisan way so that we can allow GSA to give them a break, to help this community, and to help them find some sense of normalcy by being able to safely attend and participate in the activities of the National Children's Museum.

Pre-pandemic, the museum offered our children the ability to interact with exhibits focused on science, technology, engineering, arts and math. This allowed our kids to be able to foster a greater appreciation for STEM fields.

Who knows?

The next great member of the next pandemic response team could have had their interest piqued in working in science by going to the children's museum here in Washington, D.C.

We need STEM education now more than ever, and this is an opportunity to show the world that Republicans and Democrats in this institution can agree to get things done.

I thank Ms. Holmes Norton for working with me and working with all of us on this very important piece of legislation, and I ask my colleagues to support it.

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Mr. ROUZER. Mr. Speaker, in closing, H.R. 5919 will provide much- needed rental relief for the National Children's Museum consistent with the policy for other congressionally designated museums.

Mr. Speaker, I again want to thank Ranking Member Davis for his work on this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I urge its support, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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