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With Lunchtime Music on the Mall Starting Today, Norton Introduces Bill to Enhance the National Mall Experience

May 19, 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) said that she hopes District of Columbia residents and federal and private workers will take advantage of 2015's launch of Lunchtime Music on the Mall with local artist Verny Varela and his Latin band today, Tuesday, May 19, 2015, from noon – 1:00 p.m., on the National Mall at 7th Street and Jefferson Drive SW. Lunchtime Music on the Mall is produced in partnership with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, the District of Columbia Commission on the Arts and Humanities, the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation, and the National Park Service, in conjunction with Norton's office. The performances, which will take place every Tuesday and Thursday during lunchtime hours in the summer, will include local artists from a wide variety of genres.

Verny Varela, currently a member of the faculty at Howard University in the District of Columbia, is an arranger, composer, singer and multi-instrumentalist (flute/piano). His latest album, The New Alternative, is a fusion of Latin rhythms and electronic sounds.

In honor of today's Lunchtime Music on the Mall launch event, Norton introduced the National Mall Revitalization and Designation Act to both preserve and improve the National Mall for residents and tourists by expanding the boundaries on which memorials and other commemorative works can be built to protect precious green space on the National Mall, and by adding basic amenities, such as chairs, benches, tables, restrooms and quality food. Norton's bill would authorize the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) to expand the boundaries of the Mall where commemorative works may be located, requires NCPC to study the commemorative works process, and requires the Secretary of the Interior to submit a plan to Congress to enhance visitor enjoyment, amenities and cultural experiences on the Mall.

"The National Mall is one of our country's most treasured public spaces, yet today it still does not receive the adequate federal resources it deserves," Norton said. "I commend the Trust for the National Mall for their outstanding work since 2007 in dramatically improving the National Mall, and its master plan will eventually transform it into a world-class site. In the meantime, however, there is much that can be done to improve the experience of residents and visitors to our city, from defining the Mall's official identity to providing low-cost basic amenities, such as tables and chairs in the shade for residents and visitors to eat lunch."

In 2003, Norton was a leader in getting Congress to amend the Commemorative Works Act to create a reserve area on the Mall where new memorials may not be built. This action was helpful in slowing some of the demand from groups for placement of commemorative works on the central Mall, but the Norton bill empowers NCPC to designate expansion of the Mall area as envisioned by NCPC. Recognizing the need for more commemorative work sites, NCPC and the Commission on Fine Arts released a National Capital Framework Plan in 2009, which identifies sites near the Mall that are suitable for new commemorative works, including East Potomac Park, the Kennedy Center Plaza, and the new South Capitol gateway. Five new prestigious memorials are scheduled for such sites, including the Eisenhower Memorial and the U.S. Air Force Memorial. Norton's bill gives NCPC authority to expand the boundaries of the Mall where commemorative works can be located.

The full text of Norton's introductory statement is below:

Statement of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton

On the Introduction of the National Mall Revitalization and Designation Act

May 19, 2015

Ms. Norton. Mr. Speaker,

Today, we will kick off the fourth season of "Lunchtime Music on the Mall," which brings local and regional musicians to the National Mall to perform during the lunchtime hour, giving visitors and particularly our federal and other office workers downtown a break from the pace of business in Washington and an opportunity to enjoy their National Mall. The performances, featuring amateur and professional city and regional residents, are sponsored by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation, the Smithsonian Institution and the National Park Service (NPS), in conjunction with my office. To preserve and enhance the National Mall, a priceless space, I am reintroducing the National Mall Revitalization and Designation Act. Until the Trust for the National Mall was established in 2007, the National Mall was Washington's most neglected and underutilized federal property, despite being well-known and treasured. The Trust for the National Mall is already making a noteworthy and important difference, and its plan will give the Mall the majesty it deserves. In the meantime, there is much that can be done, from defining the Mall's official identity for the first time to adding low-cost basic amenities. My bill authorizes the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) to expand the boundaries of the Mall where commemorative works may be located, requires NCPC to study the commemorative works process, and requires the Secretary of the Interior to submit a plan within 180 days of passage to Congress to enhance visitor enjoyment, amenities and cultural experiences on the Mall.

I worked closely with NCPC and other agencies in drafting the bill. The bill would give NCPC the responsibility and necessary flexibility to designate Mall areas for commemorative works and, for the first time, to expand the official Mall area when appropriate to accommodate future commemorative works and cultural institutions.

In addition, tourists and workers downtown should be able to walk to the Mall and find attractive tables and chairs in the shade where good – not fast – food is available. Residents of the city and region should be able to find space for fun and games on the Mall, beyond the space between Third Street and the Lincoln Memorial.

Bordered by world-class cultural institutions, the Mall need not continue to be reduced to a mere lawn with a few – too few – old, ordinary benches and a couple of fast food stands until the expansive work of the Trust for the National Mall is completed. The plan by the Secretary of the Interior required by the bill would ensure chairs and tables for people who bring lunch to the Mall and the presence of cultural amenities. The NPS has my thanks for implementing and indeed sponsoring the part of the bill that calls for cultural amenities with Lunchtime Music on the Mall, which begins today. Lunchtime Music on the Mall is a good start to bringing the Mall alive during the workday. With the necessary imagination, making the Mall an inviting place with cultural and other amenities is achievable now.

The NCPC is well on its way to meeting the bill's requirement for an expansive, 21st-century definition of the Mall, particularly now that the Trust for the National Mall is doing such important work. Frustrated by continually fighting off proposals for new monuments, museums, and memorials on the already-crowded Mall space, I asked the NCPC to devise a Mall presentation plan. In 2003, Congress amended the Commemorative Works Act to create a reserve area – a no-build zone where new memorials may not be built. This action was helpful in quelling some but by no means all of the demand from groups for placement of commemorative works on what they view as the Mall.

However, recognizing the need for more commemorative work sites, NCPC and the Commission on Fine Arts (CFA) released a National Capital Framework Plan in 2009, which identifies sites near the Mall that are suitable for new commemorative works, including East Potomac Park, the Kennedy Center Plaza, and the new South Capitol gateway. 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 CFA work closely with the District of Columbia in designating off-Mall sites for new commemorative works. The District welcomes the expanded Mall into our local neighborhoods to increase the number of tourists who visit them, enhancing the work of the District of Columbia government and local organizations such as Cultural Tourism that offer tours of historic District neighborhoods. The off-Mall sites for commemorative works also complement development of entirely new neighborhoods near the Mall, particularly with the passage of my bills that are redeveloping both the Southwest and Southeast waterfronts.

I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.