[Pages H3520-H3521]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

SMITHSONIAN NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK CENTRAL PARKING FACILITY
AUTHORIZATION ACT

Mr. HARPER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee
on House Administration and the Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure be discharged from further consideration of the bill
(H.R. 4009) to authorize the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian
Institution to plan, design, and construct a central parking facility
on National Zoological Park property in the District of Columbia, and
ask for its immediate consideration in the House.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Hollingsworth). Is there objection to
the request of the gentleman from Mississippi?
There was no objection.
The text of the bill is as follows:

H.R. 4009

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Smithsonian National
Zoological Park Central Parking Facility Authorization Act''.

SEC. 2. FACILITY FOR IMPROVED VISITOR EXPERIENCE AND ACCESS
AT THE NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK.

(a) In General.--In order to improve visitor experience and
multi-modal access to the Smithsonian National Zoological
Park, the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution is
authorized to plan, design, and

[[Page H3521]]

construct a central parking facility on National Zoological
Park property in the District of Columbia.
(b) Central Parking Facility.--The facility authorized
under this section may include parking, transportation
improvements, visitor amenities including restrooms, a
pedestrian bridge to a midpoint entry of the National
Zoological Park, and ancillary works to accommodate
alternative uses of the facility.
(c) Funding.--Construction of the facility described in
this section shall be conducted with funds from
nonappropriated sources.

Mr. HARPER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4009, which
authorizes the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution to plan,
design, and construct a central parking facility on National Zoological
Park property in the District of Columbia using non-appropriated funds.
Established by Congress in 1889, the National Zoo was incorporated as
a unit of the Smithsonian Institution in 1890. Today, the National Zoo
consists of two components: the 3,200-acre Conservation Biology
Institute in Front Royal, Virginia and the public National Zoological
Park (Zoo) located at the 163-acre Rock Creek campus in Washington,
D.C. Admission is free of charge and with more than two million people
visiting the Rock Creek facility in 2017, the Zoo remains a favorite
tourist and local destination in the nation's Capital.
While public transit is an option for some visitors, many others rely
on private vehicles to reach the Zoo. Currently, parking at the Zoo
includes several paved surface lots spread across the campus, which
often fill up early in the day during peak season. To better serve
these visitors, the proposed new parking facility consolidates public
parking into a multi-level parking garage located at the midpoint of
the Zoo.
Included in the Zoo's 2008 Comprehensive Facilities Master Plan, the
parking facility will provide a number of benefits that both further
the Zoo's mission and improve the visitor experience. These benefits
include expanding animal habitat space through repurposing existing
surface lots; improving visitor access with a centralized and
accessible arrival point; increasing security through consolidation of
access points; improved pedestrian safety; and expanding the number of
on-site visitor parking spaces which reduces the number of days the Zoo
must turn away visitors due to lack of parking. The additional parking
spaces will help accommodate a projected increase in the number of
visitors to the Zoo.
No appropriated funds will be expended for the project. The
Smithsonian intends to enter into a public-private-partnership for the
construction and operation of the parking facility. The developer would
be responsible for design, construction, maintenance, and operations
for a fixed term of 35 years after which ownership is retained by the
Zoo. Financing is the sole responsibility of the developer, with
construction cost estimated at $70-75 million and annual operating
costs at $1.5 million. As part of the agreement, the Zoo receives an
initial annual payment of $7 million and a recurring annual payment
based on revenues with a guaranteed minimum of $1 million. Design,
construction, operations and maintenance will be conducted in
accordance with the contract and plans approved by the Smithsonian.
The Committee on House Administration held a markup on this bill on
December 13, 2017 and ordered the bill reported favorably to the House,
by voice vote, with no amendments. In its December 21, 2017 cost
estimate, the Congressional Budget Office states that enacting H.R.
4009 would not affect the federal budget and would not affect direct
spending or revenues. Additionally, the Committee on House
Administration exchanged jurisdiction letters with the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure.
I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4009.

U.S. Congress,

Congressional Budget Office,

Washington, DC, December 21, 2017.
Hon. Gregg Harper,
Chairman, Committee on House Administration,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 4009, the
Smithsonian National Zoological Park Central Parking Facility
Authorization Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Meredith
Decker.
Sincerely,
Keith Hall,
Director.
Enclosure.

H.R. 4009--Smithsonian National Zoological Park Central Parking
Facility Authorization Act

As ordered reported by the House Committee on House Administration on
December 13, 2017

H.R. 4009 would authorize the Smithsonian Institution to
plan, design, and construct a central parking facility on the
National Zoological Park's property in the District of
Columbia. Construction would be financed with nonappropriated
funds.
CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 4009 would not affect
the federal budget. Because enacting the legislation would
not affect direct spending or revenues, pay-as-you-go
procedures do not apply.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 4009 would not increase
net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
H.R. 4009 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Meredith Decker.
The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
____

House of Representatives,

Committee on House Administration,

Washington, DC, April 24, 2018.-
Hon. Bill Shuster,-
Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,
Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Shuster: I am writing in regard to H.R. 4009,
Smithsonian National Zoological Park Central Parking Facility
Authorization Act. As you know, the bill was introduced on
October 11, 2017, and referred to the Committee on House
Administration, with an additional referral to the Committee
on Transportation and Infrastructure. The bill authorizes the
Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution to plan,
design, and construct a central parking facility on National
Zoological Park property in the District of Columbia using
non-appropriated funds. On December 13, 2017 the Committee on
House Administration reported H.R. 4009 favorably out of
Committee by voice vote without amendment.
The Committee on House Administration recognizes that the
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure has an
additional referral of H.R. 4009. We ask that the Committee
on Transportation and Infrastructure be discharged from
consideration of H.R. 4009 to expedite the bill. It is the
understanding of the Committee on House Administration that
forgoing action on H.R. 4009 will not prejudice the Committee
on Transportation and Infrastructure with respect to any
future jurisdictional claim over the subject matters
contained in the bill that fall under your Committee's Rule X
jurisdiction.
Sincerely,
Gregg Harper,
Chairman.
____

House of Representatives, Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure,
Washington, DC, April 24, 2018.
Hon. Gregg Harper,
Chairman, Committee on House Administration, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Harper: Thank you for your letter concerning
H.R. 4009, the Smithsonian National Zoological Park Central
Parking Facility Authorization Act. As noted, the Committee
on Transportation and Infrastructure received an additional
referral on this legislation.
In order to expedite floor consideration of H.R. 4009, the
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure agrees to
forgo action on this bill. However, as you noted, this is
conditional on our mutual understanding that forgoing
consideration of the bill would not prejudice the Committee
with respect to the appointment of conferees or to any future
jurisdictional claim over the subject matters contained in
the bill or similar legislation that fall within the
Committee's Rule X jurisdiction. Should a conference on the
bill be necessary, I appreciate your agreement to support my
request to have the Committee represented on the conference
committee.
Thank you for your cooperation on this matter and for
agreeing to place a copy of this letter and your response
acknowledging our jurisdictional interest into the
Congressional Record during consideration of the measure on
the House floor.
Sincerely,
Bill Shuster,
Chairman.

The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, was read
the third time, and passed, and a motion to reconsider was laid on the
table.

____________________