John F. Kennedy Center Reauthorization Act of 2008
Floor Speech
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Mr. GRAVES. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, H.R. 3986, the John F. Kennedy Center Reauthorization Act, will authorize much-needed funds for the continued operation of the John F. Kennedy Center, which was established to celebrate the arts and honor of the memory of President John F. Kennedy.
H.R. 3986, as amended by the Senate, authorizes the Kennedy Center for a 5-year period consistent with the center's facilities management plan. The 5-year authorization will allow the Kennedy Center to manage the center in a responsible manner.
The House passed the version of this legislation in December of last year that included a 3-year authorization for the Kennedy Center. The Senate amendment provides a 5-year authorization to allow for a longer-term plan for the management of that center. With this longer authorization, the Kennedy Center can upgrade and maintain the facility, using a renovation schedule that is both realistic and responsible.
While the center has had financial management problems in the past, the management of projects shows great success in facilities management policy. The master plan for the facility provides an aggressive plan for care and repair of the facilities. I believe that the long-term master plan presented by the board of directors lays out a responsible vision for the center.
Many of the projects in the center's budget will repair and renovate capital assets and keep the center in good condition. Planned upgrades will make the facility safer and more welcoming to those who visit. Other projects will help maintain the Kennedy Center's unique structure.
The legislation also authorizes the Kennedy Center Board of Directors to study the usefulness of a solar panel system for the main roof of the memorial. Before the center can begin construction of a system, the board would be required to report to Congress information about the system.
I am very encouraged by the steps that the board of directors has taken to make the Kennedy Center more fiscally responsible. This authorization will give the center the resources necessary to carry out a well thought-out plan for the arts center that honors and remembers President Kennedy.
I support the legislation, and encourage my colleagues to do the same.
I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. GRAVES. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
As was pointed out, they are embarking down at the Kennedy Center on a renovation plan, and one of the things they are looking at and one of the things we talked about in committee on various occasions is the photovoltaic plan that is going to be implemented on a lot of buildings around Washington, D.C., government buildings. It is fascinating technology. In fact, it has come light-years from where it was just a couple of decades ago, and I am very confident we are going to see some very interesting things come out of this as we move forward. Obviously, that is a big part of it.
Alternative energy sources is a very big part of what needs to be done in this country, whether it is wind power, photovoltaic, hydropower, obviously very, very important, as well as everything else out there that we need to do, which is clean burning coal technology, which is more drilling in the United States to utilize those resources we have right here in the United States, instead of doing what happened last night, which is locking away the vast majority of those resources in this country, at least when it comes to drilling off the Outer Continental Shelf, and not being allowed to drill between 50 and 0 miles of the coast.
That is unfortunate, because it is going to take all of the above. It is going to take solar power and wind power. It is going to take turning coal into fuel. It is going to take burning coal in a very clean way. It is going to take drilling for oil in the United States. It is going to take conservation, which is obviously a very big part of this. It is going to take all of those things.
What we need in this country is a real energy plan that does just that and that uses all of the above; not just a little bit of the above, but all of the above.
So I applaud the Kennedy Center and their plan, and I am looking forward to seeing how photovoltaic moves forward in this. I am very tickled to support this bill, H.R. 3986, and urge my colleagues to do the same.
I yield back the balance of my time.
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