Introduction of A Bill to Provide for Interim Appropriations for the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts with Respect to Any Fiscal Year for Which Appropriations Are Not Otherwise Provided for the Commissions
Floor Speech
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Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, today, I introduce a bill that would exempt from federal government shutdowns the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) and the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA). This bill is modeled on a provision I have gotten enacted each year since the 2013 federal government shutdown to exempt the District of Columbia government from federal government shutdowns.
NCPC and CFA are both closed during the current federal government shutdown. Although NCPC and CFA are both federal agencies, they have a significant role in local D.C. land-use decisions. This bill would allow these agencies to reopen during the current shutdown and to exempt them from future shutdowns to prevent interruptions in local D.C. land-use decisions during federal government shutdowns. I have separately introduced bills to remove the authority NCPC and CFA have over local D.C. land-use decisions. Until Congress passes those bills, the agencies should be exempt from federal government shutdowns.
Under federal law, NCPC has approval authority for the development of D.C.-owned buildings located in the ``central area,'' including the location, height, bulk, number of stories and size of such buildings. D.C. is required to consult with NCPC on the development of D.C.-owned buildings outside the central area, but NCPC has only advisory authority in those areas. The central area is defined by the concurrent action of NCPC and the D.C. Council and currently consists of the Downtown and Shaw Urban Renewal Areas.
Under presidential executive orders (EOs) and federal law, CFA has review authority for D.C.-owned parks and buildings, as well as for certain private land in D.C. Under EOs, CFA has review authority for the design of D.C.-owned parks and buildings. Under the Shipstead-Luce Act, CFA has review authority for the design of private buildings in D.C. ``adjacent to public buildings and grounds of major importance,'' such as Rock Creek Park and the Potomac riverfront. Under the Old Georgetown Act, CFA has review authority for the design of private buildings in the part of Georgetown referred to as ``Old Georgetown'' in the act.
I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
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