National Mall Revitalization And Designation Act

Floor Speech

Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce the National Mall Revitalization and Designation Act. The National Mall is one of Washington's best known and most treasured sites, but also is the District's most neglected and undervalued. The Mall lacks everything that a majestic natural wonder deserves, from an official identity to necessary amenities. My bill (1) authorizes the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) to officially designate and expand the boundaries of the Mall and (2) requires the Secretary of the Interior to submit a plan to enhance visitor enjoyment and cultural experiences within 180 days of passage of the bill.

I worked closely with NCPC and other agencies in framing the bill. It would give the NCPC the responsibility and the necessary flexibility to designate the Mall area for the first time since its creation and to expand the Mall area when appropriate. The bill requires the NCPC, to accommodate future commemorative works and cultural institutions, working with key federal and local agencies, and with participation from the public and recognized national leaders in culture and development.

Frustrated at continually fighting off proposals for new monuments, museums, and memorials, on the crowded Mall space, I asked the NCPC to devise a Mall preservation plan five years ago. In 2003, Congress amended the Commemorative Works Act to enact the NCPC's designation of a no-build zone where no new memorials can be built. This action was helpful in quelling some but by no means all of the demand from groups and individuals for placement on what they view as the Mall. The bill spells out the needed authority to preserve the no-build zone while expanding the mall to accommodate commemorative works.

The NCPC and the Commission on Fine Arts (FAC) are working on the National Capital Framework Plan and already have shown they can identify sites near the existing Mall which are suitable for new memorials, including East Potomac Park, a part of the Mall area that is seldom viewed as integral to the more familiar space between the Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial; Banneker Overlook, the grounds around RFK Stadium, the Kennedy Center Plaza site and the new South Capitol gateways. Five new prestigious memorials are scheduled for such sites, including the Eisenhower Memorial and the U.S. Air Force Memorial.

I appreciate that NCPC and the FAC work closely with the District of Columbia in designating off-Mall sites for new monuments. The District welcomes the expanded Mall into appropriate neighborhoods, enhancing the work of the District of Columbia government and local organizations such as Cultural Tourism that offer historic tours of District neighborhoods in developing the tourism that is vital to the city's economy. Additional Mall sites for various monuments also complement the creation of entire new neighborhoods now underway near the Mall particularly the District's redevelopment of the Southwest waterfront and my own work on the Southeast Federal Center, now known as The Yards, that is to becoming a mixed use public-private development and waterfront park.

A second and important goal of the bill is to make the Mall a living, breathing, active place where things happen and visitors can be comfortable. The bill seeks to achieve this vibrancy by requiring the Secretary of the Interior to submit a plan, in consultation with the appropriate federal agencies, and leaders in culture and development and the public, to ``enhance visitor enjoyment, amenities, cultural experiences in and the vitality of (the National Mall).'' Bordered by world class cultural institutions, the Mall itself has been reduced to a lawn with only a few--too few--ordinary benches and a couple of fast food restaurants. The Mall lacks the most basic amenities appropriate to such an area including restrooms, shelter and informal places to gather and interesting places to eat. When it rains, there are no places to stay dry on the Mall and when the humidity reaches sky high, there are few places to rest and have a cold drink. Nevertheless, in writing this bill I was compelled to recognize today's reality that funds to make the Mall the 21st century destination it deserves to become are simply not available, and will not become available in the near future until the deficit and other priorities make room. Yet, the Mall needs a total makeover for the 21st century to be worthy of L'Enfant's vision for the city he planned and the MacMillan Plan that is largely responsible for the space between the Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial that is known today as the Mall. However, we must move now to begin to do all we can to rescue this space from its present dull and uninviting condition, damaged by heavy use and often used as no more than a pass-through, despite its magnificent potential. With the necessary imagination, a plan to make the Mall a welcoming place with cultural and other amenities envisioned by the bill is achievable now.

I am pleased that Chip Akridge and the Trust for the National Mall have embarked upon an ambitious fundraising effort to bring the private sector into the revitalization of the National Mall. The Congress started to do its part last year when, at my request, Chairman Grijalva held the first hearing in decades on the National Mall and this bill, and in FY10 Congress included $10 million for the sinking Jefferson Memorial and $135 million above 2008, to continue the 10 year initiative to upgrade our National Parks before the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service in 2016. The National Park Service is also prepared to meet the requirements of this bill as they progress on their own National Mall plan and the National Capitol Planning Commission with its final National Capitol Framework plan on April 2nd, 2009. The private sector, the executive and legislative branch all recognize the need for repair and revitalization of our National Mall and no event signified the need like the largest gathering in the Mall's history with almost two million people at President Obama's inauguration.

The Mall Designation and Revitalization Act is the first step in an effort to begin to give the Mall its due after decades of neglect and indifference. The bill begins at the beginning--defining for the first time what we mean by the Mall, allowing for expansion of its natural contours, and taking the first steps to breathe life into a space that is meant for people to enjoy.

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