this Act, include in the assessed valuation of the leased properties for tax purposes any increase in value by reason of the improvements made on such properties by said company in meeting its obligations under any lease or agreement made pursuant to this Act.

SEC. 7. In connection with the construction of the parking facility contemplated by this Act, the District of Columbia shall, upon the request of the Administrator of General Services Administration, transfer to the said Administrator any real property under its jurisdiction which may be necessary to provide vehicular access to California Avenue.

(b) Any alteration in the existing traffic pattern in Union Station Plaza necessitated or made desirable by reason of the parking facility shall be made only after prior consultation with the Architect of the Capitol.

SEC. 8. Notwithstanding the execution of any agreement or lease pursuant to this Act, the Secretary of the Interior is directed to make a continuing study of the needs of visitors to the Washington metropolitan area, including therein the necessity and desirability of different or additional visitor centers, and to report to the President who shall submit to the Congress such recommendations as he deems appropriate.

SEC. 9. There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act.

Senator JORDAN of North Carolina. Our first witness this morning is Senator Tydings, who is a member of the Public Works Committee, and was a member of the National Visitors Center Study Commission. Senator Tydings, we are glad to have you. I know you started a hearing yourself this morning and we would be glad to hear you in any manner you wish to proceed.

STATEMENT OF HON. JOSEPH D. TYDINGS, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF MARYLAND

Senator TYDINGS. Mr. Chairman, it is a great pleasure to have the opportunity to testify in support of S. 2391, legislation to authorize the construction of a National Visitor Center. This legislation is cosponsored by Senators Baker, Brewster, Scott, and Thurmond.

All of us recognize that facilities available to assist the millions of people who visit our Nation's Capital are woefully inadequate. For this reason, Congress enacted legislation authorizing a National Visitors Center Study Commission to examine the magnitude of the need and recommend to Congress the facilities required to meet this need. I was honored to serve as a member of this Commission and Chairman of its Parking Subcommittee.

S. 2391 represents the best judgment of the Commission that as a minimum, a National Visitor Center is urgently needed, that this Center should be located in the Union Station terminal, and that the Federal Government be authorized to enter into a lease agreement with the Washington Terminal Co., owner of Union Station, so Union Station can be used for the Center and for parking lots to accommodate visitors.

The bill also authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to arrange a shuttle service for visitors between the Visitor Center and the museums and other historic sites along the Mall.

I do not want to belabor the need for this Center, as I am sure the committee is familiar, through personal observation and constituent complaints, with the total lack of facilities available to help visitors in Washington. Nonetheless, I would like to point out that in 1965, an estimated 10 million visitors came to Washington to see our historic buildings and monuments. This means that almost 50,000 people were visiting here every day during the summer months.

By 1976, almost double that number-or 96,000 visitors a daycan be expected during the summer months. These figures dramatically illustrate that Washington, D.C., is a mecca for visitors. But we have taken little action thus far to insure that visitors have a rewarding, educational, and pleasant experience in this city.

Enactment of this legislation would be a significant contribution toward meeting our responsibilities to the millions of visitors from this country and abroad who come to the Nation's Capital.

There is so much to see in Washington that tourists need a centralized place where they can go to get information about what to see, when events are taking place, and how best to coordinate their limited time. The Visitor Center would constitute a centralized information bureau for tourists.

The bill would also insure that 4,000 parking spaces are built at the Center so visitors can park there and then take public transportation to the Mall, Capitol Hill, or whatever their destination. Revenue from the parking lots would help defray the Federal lease payment.

In a time of great budgetary strain, I am pleased to tell the committee that the Federal outlay for this project is minimal. Much of the credit for this economical arrangement must be given Congressman Kenneth Gray, of Illinois, chairman of the House Public Works Committee's Buildings and Grounds Subcommittee, who is really the guiding light behind this bill.

S. 2391 provides that the Washington Terminal Co., owner of Union Station, would spend not more than $5 million to renovate and alter Union Station, under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior. The company is also authorized to spend up to $11 million to construct 4,000 parking spaces at the Center. I know the committee will want to examine these figures most carefully to insure that amounts authorized are adequate to do the job. But no Federal money need be used for the necessary renovations.

The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to enter into a lease agreement with Washington Terminal Co. whereby we would pay rent for the use of the station; a ceiling of $2.9 million annually has been set for this purpose.

It is expected that revenues from parking lots and purchase of goods and services in the Center will partially offset this Federal payment.

Both S. 2391 and H. R. 12603, the bill passed by the House, contain a provision requiring the District of Columbia to give a tax exemption for the increased valuation of the property which would result from improvements made.

I bring this to the committee's attention because I believe this section should be modified. It places a burden on the District's already limited local revenue sources for what is essentially a project designed to benefit visitors from every part of the country and abroad. The District should not be required to subsidize the Visitor Center and the committee might wish to limit the tax exemption to 5 years or less, or to eliminate it altogether.

Finally, the House added language authorizing a 22-member National Visitor Facilities Advisory Commission to aid the Secretary of the Interior and the Administrator of General Services. My experience in serving on the Visitor Center Study Commission indicates that such a large body would be extremely unwieldy. If the committee

believes such a commission is necessary, I believe its membership should be substantially smaller.

Mr. Chairman, I won't get into the technical data which is available to you and which was available to the Commission, other than to say that the Commission spent many, many hours studying all types of areas, sites, alternative proposals, different types of financial schemes, types which would require the outlay of millions and millions of dollars. I think that the proposal which we came up with is an extremely wise one. It does not require major governmental appropriations. It uses private funds for the basic cost.

The Government will enter into a lease. I think that this is the most expeditious manner in which to proceed. I don't think I have to point out to you the number of visitors you have from North Carolina that come up here particularly in the spring.

I think you probably have heard many sad stories from North Carolina fathers who had to spend the whole time driving because they could never even find a spot to park, much less other adequate facilities to take care of their family. What should have been a wonderful experience was hampered and encumbered by no organization, no provision for information, no provision for accommodations, no provision for parking for them while they showed their families what is our principal historic site in this country, our Nation's Capitol. As I said, the bill, among other things, would insure that 4,000 parking spaces are built at the Center so that visitors can park there. Although this is not nearly enough, it would help some.

Congressman Gray spent many, many hours, Mr. Chairman, working with financial consultants and negotiating with representatives of the Washington Terminal Co. and others before coming up with this final proposal.

As previously stated, both S. 2391 and H.R. 12603, the bill passed by the House, contain a provision requiring the District of Columbia to give a tax exemption for the increased valuation of the property which would result from improvements made.

I bring this to the committee's attention because this is one section which should be carefully considered and which might be modified. It places a burden on the District's already limited local revenue sources for what essentially is a project designed to benefit visitors from every part of the country and abroad.

I don't really feel that the District of Columbia should be required to subsidize a visitor center since it will benefit all citizens all over the country, not just citizens who reside within the District of Columbia. The committee might wish to limit the tax exemption to 5 years or less or eliminate it altogether. I think that is one point which we should question witnesses about.

Finally, as I said, the House language authorized a 22-member National Visitor Facilities Advisory Commission to aid the Secretary of the Interior and the Administrator of General Services.

My experience in serving on the Visitor Center Study Commission indicates that such a large body would be extremely unwieldy. If the committee believes such a Commission is necessary, I believe its membership should be substantially smaller and should be designed for efficiency and effectiveness rather than just to accommodate all sorts of different, varying interests.

I ask, Mr. Chairman, that a copy of an editorial which appeared in the Washington Star on December 4, entitled "Visitors Center" be

printed in its entirety at the conclusion of my testimony. It endorses the proposal and basically points out some of the parts of my testimony which I stressed.

Senator JORDAN of North Carolina. It will be included with your testimony. Thank you very much.

Senator TYDINGS. By way of conclusion, Mr. Chairman, I think this is an extremely important proposal, an extremely important piece of legislation. I commend the chairman. I know how busy you are with your many responsibilities as chairman of the important subcommittees of the Senate Agriculture Committee and you have many other commitments. I commend you on your energy, and your determination, and your expedition in moving promptly to hold these hearings because I think that the prompt resolution of this problem, enactment of this law, will provide benefits to thousands and thousands of Americans, Tarheels, and Stump-Jumpers alike.

This will mean a great deal to many, many schoolchildren across the country. I think you have seen the proposals and the layout for the preservation in effect of the Union Station landmark site and its accommodation to really a very workable visitors center.

I think that this would be a wonderful accomplishment.
(The editiorial submitted by Senator Tydings is as follows):

[From The Evening Star, Dec. 4, 1967]

VISITORS CENTER

Thanks to the excellence of the House debate the other day on the plan to convert Union Station into a National Visitors Center, there is now a good chance that the legislation needed to advance this worthy project will win Congress' final approval this month.

The Senate Public Works subcommittee, which will consider the House-passed bill tomorrow, should require no persuasion as to the need for such a facility. Surely Senators are aware of the fact that thousands of their constituents visiting the Nation's Capital every year have little idea of where to go or what to seeand that for too many of them the experience is more frustration than fulfillment. Surely no Senator is unaware of the intolerable inadequacy of parking facilities for tourists-78 percent of whom arrive here by car.

The proposed center would correct these deficiencies as part of a project which includes a heliport, 4,000 parking spaces and an improved railroad terminal. The bill's most attractive feature, however, is a provision assuring that the center would be financed entirely by private capital-with the Park Service leasing and operating the revenue-producing tourist-orientation and parking facilities only after the entire project is completed. It is a remarkable bargain, painstakingly negotiated by a commission which includes leaders of both Congress and the administration.

Members of the House, who subjected the plan to the most intensive sort of scrutiny, wound up by approving it in a wave of enthusiasm. We trust that the Senate will do the same, so that no further time need be wasted.

Senator JORDAN of North Carolina. Thank you very much, Senator Tydings. I want to tell you how very much I appreciate the fine job you have been doing on this and still are doing along with the other members of the Commission.

It is a rare thing that we find an imaginative Government building like that in such a suitable spot.

Senator TYDINGS. That is right.

Senator JORDAN of North Carolina. If I were to pick a location for a building, I think that would be just as good as I could find anywhere in this area because you can walk from that station up here very easily.

Senator TYDINGS. That is right.

Senator JORDAN of North Carolina. With good weather and certainly it wouldn't be far to walk if you didn't have any transportation.

I spent over an hour Friday night down there just walking around. I can see great possibilities for the station being used for the very thing that is outlined in these two bills here and I am hoping that the center can become a reality real soon.

I hope, Senator Tydings, that when you get through with your hearing, you can come back and be with us here.

Senator TYDINGS. I will be right back as soon as I conclude my hearing.

Senator JORDAN of North Carolina. Thank you very much.
Senator TYDINGS. Thank you.

Senator JORDAN of North Carolina. I have a letter here from Senator Brewster which I am going to have put in the record at this point.

(The letter from Senator Brewster follows:)

Hon. B. EVERETT JORDAN,

U.S. SENATE,

Washington, D.C., December 5, 1967.

Chairman, Subcommittee on Public Buildings and Grounds,
Washington, D.C.

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: I regret that a previous commitment in Baltimore prevents me from appearing before your Subcommittee on Public Buildings and Grounds this morning.

As a cosponsor of S. 2391, I appreciate your holding a hearing on this proposal which was recommended by the National Visitors Center Study Commission after long weeks and months of careful study and skillful negotiation.

The prospect of turning Union Station into a magnificent Visitors Center offers amazing possibilities. It will not only benefit the District of Columbia, but also the many millions of visitors now coming to Washington annually from throughout the United States and around the world.

I urge you to give S. 2391 favorable consideration.

With kindest regards, I am,

Sincerely yours,

DANIEL B. BREWSTER, U.S. Senator.

Senator JORDAN of North Carolina. Secretary Udall, would you come up please, sir, with your associates. I believe you have some people with you, do you not?

STATEMENT OF HON. STEWART UDALL, SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR; ACCOMPANIED BY T. SUTTON JETT, REGIONAL DIRECTOR, NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE; ROBERT L. PLAVNICK, URBAN PLANNING CONSULTANT, WASHINGTON, D.C.; AND SEYMOUR AUERBACH, COOPER & AUERBACH, ARCHITECTS, WASHINGTON, D.C.

Secretary UDALL. Yes. I will hold them in reserve for the moment, if I may, Senator.

Senator JORDAN of North Carolina. Certainly. You may proceed as you wish and introduce anybody you wish to testify.

Secretary UDALL. Mr. Chairman, I have a prepared statement and I should like to have it appear in full and I will try to summarize some of the highlights to save time.