and the other thing you should be dill jnt -- diligent and vigilant about is, if you put us in charge, hold our feet to the fire to do the right best thing for this country. [ applause ] senator tom co burn. and thank you very much for this opportunity. john andrews, i hand the mike back over to you. coming up on cspan 3, the -- then a congressional gold medal ceremony for the first african-american marines. coming up at 10:00 a.m. eastern, the agricultural committee holds a markup on the 2012 farm bill.

the measure sets policies and programs for the agriculture department for 2017. this version differs from the bill senators passed last month, including cuts to the food stamp program and console lating more than 100 agriculture programs. you can see live coverage of the markup, starting at 10:00 a.m. eastern, here on cspan 3. >> we have great threats to our existence today as a nation. and i would think in my opinion, greater than any threat we have ever faced. whether it's been our civil war, our revolutionary war, whether it's been world war ii, whether it's been the depression. and that threat comes to us because we have spent the last 30 years in this country spending money that we did not have on things we did not

absolutely need and the bill is due. >> colorado christian university held a western conservative issues summit. featuring speakers from this country and the netherlands, watch the forum online at the cspan video library. now an update on plans for changes to the national mall, a house subcommittee heard from planning officials. this is an hour. the committee hearing will come to order t chairman notes the presence of a forum.

under the rules, opening statements are limited to the chairman and ranking members, however i ask unanimous consent to include any other opening statement to -- hearing no objection, it will be so ordered. national mall is america's front yard. actually it's the backyard. our guides have to say we have an east front and a west front. which is a nice way of saying the steps are the east, and the mall is at the back. everyone knew washington, d.c. could grow to the east. which mean this is congress has been wrong from our very inception. so the national mall is really our backyard, but it stretches from the capitol to the lincoln memorial and it also includes the section from the white house

to the national memorial and millions of visitors will -- ground be protected and preserves for the future. each year congress has to consider potential changes and additions to the mall and deliberate how each proposal would affect this important resource and it's finite kpas by, the memorial to president eisenhower has gained significant attention and in my opinion the process has failed to achieve the design with the consensus of support. this particular situation has worked out, it's my hope that we can learn from the process, what was done well, and what we as a community can do. the committee must also consider the pace at which new memorials have proliferated in the past decade. we need to -- taken on their

own, there are probably thousands of ideas that make sense, the vietnam memorial is inspiring. but -- korean memorial, subsequently to an enormous world war ii memorial and now that that has been built, people are asking why isn't there a national world war i memorial. again, it isn't to say that each of these are not meritorious on their own. but each generation may -- before we ever devour the remaining space in a zealous attempt to memorialize our generation. where do we draw the line between elements that are appropriate for the mall and those that have almost become a gettysberg national battlefield this. hearing will be to decide what we can do better when it comes to the future of our national mall. we have witnesses that should be able to provide us with an

insight perspective for the care and keeping of the iconic landscape. i would ask for ideas on what this congress can do better to preserve the grandeur of our national mall and that it continues to be that -- more and more proposals for additions. we have to figure out the matrix on how we will go forward in those areas. for these reasons, i think it's our duty and our own colleagues will agree that we have to preserve a very fitting place on the mall for the memorial for president reagan. >> good morning and good morning to our guests and i want to thank all the witnesses for taking the time to come and testify before us today. today's hearing is titled the future of the national mall. i am glad that my colleagues have decided to address this

topic. it's always good to visit our pref use -- to talk about this topic and i look forward to this morning's conversations. the national mall is where we recognize our triumphs and also our failures. it is a place to gather to remember the fallen heroes of our nation to celebrate culture and to recreate and to learn. the educational role of the mall is often forgotten by congress and i hope you can address that as well today. whatever you do, thousands of visitors including students from across the country and international tourists travel to washington, d.c. to learn more about this great culture. but often the stories and narrative that is to be learned from our memorials and spaces are not entirely true. some of our memorials even perpetuate myth. for example, we can say the nation, jefferson created the

declaration of independence, roosevelt brought the country out of a great depression, none of these are lies, only the one dimensional story emerges, a story that acknowledges a series of events rather than acknowledges the humanity of a person. the national mall is a living, vibrant history book where tales are told and the power of the place continuously reminds of us the collective side of our history. the designer of the mall was to signify the democratic birth of the country. we make a statement to lawmakers about their plight. a first lady hosted an easter morning outdoor concert, an african-american preacher speaking in front of lincoln memorial ignited a nation. these stories are among the many that make up the story of our

country, where democracy survives and continues to survive and our national mall is a place where we can continue to learn from the past and build for the future. i look forward to hearing more from our witnesses about their vision for our nation's backyard and with that, i yield back. >> our panel of witnesses today included officials from the agency commissions who are responsible for overseeing the mall along with two private citizens who will share their expertise with us. so the panel is mr. whitesell from the national parks service. we also have mr. tom lukey, the u.s. commission of fine arts. mr. bryant who is the chairman of the national planning commission. mr. justin jibold who is the chairman of the national civic arts society.

we appreciate you coming here, i think you have all been here and know the drill. the lights in front of you and the timer in front of you tells you how much you have, we're asking you to confine your oral presentations to five minutes, so the green light means everything is going, when you hit the yellow light it's like when you're driving, and you speed up very quickly so that when you get the red light you stop. so mr. whitesell, if you would like to start off, we appreciate your testimony. >> it is my pleasure to be here today to discuss the future of the national mall. i would like to summarize my statement and submit my testimony for the record. the national mall is a national designed historical landscape and is home to some of the great symbols of our country.

i will -- on some current projects to improve the mall. proposals for new memorials in the district of columbia are -- the procedures set north in this law are built on four basic tenants, one it delegates decision making of the sighting and design of memorials to those agencies already charged with planning and urban design review authority. two it includes commemorations prior to 25 years from the date of a death of an individual or the death of the last surviving member of a group or the oak kirns -- three it limits commemoration of military subjects, major conflicts or branches of service with the intention that most future military memorials would be placed on military lands and,

four, it addresses where memorials can be built. in 2003, congress determined that the mall is a completed work of civic art and established the reserve, an area in which no new memorials would be permitted. at that time there were 31 memorials already in place or approved on the mall. congress has twice made exceptions to the prohibition of new memorials, museums and visitors centers in the reserve. in 2003, for the national museum of african-american history and culture and in 2009 for a plaque honoring senator robert dole at the world war ii memorial. in addition the vietnam veteran's visitor's center was authorized in the same law which established the reserve. there are currently 12 bills before congress to establish eight memoryive works.

at various times, the commission has recommended amendments to the bills or locating the memorial on lands not covered by the commemorative works act, or commemorating the -- turning to operational matters, the demands on the national mall are constant and wide ranging, each year there are over 3,000 application force public gathering, resulting in more than 14,000 event days of use. the resulting wear and tear, damages turf impacts the -- continual maintenance challenges. the national parks service is responsible for responding to the ever increasing visitation with a more sustainable and healthier landscape and improved

facilities. towards this end, the national parks service developed the national mall plan which lays outs a blueprint to rehabilitate the mall, accommodate high levels of diversities, improve energy efficiency in park operations and better meet the needs of millions of visitors. implementing the plan will require a reinvestment estimated at 600 to $6$600 to $650 millioe expect to achieve through a combination of donations and public funding. a major fund -- the trust for the national mall. several projects have been funded through the american recovery act including the d.c. war memorial, the lincoln memorial reflecting wall and phase one of the army corps of

engineers potomac park levee project. from 15th to 23rd street. the turf protection projects including replacing the turf with high-tech sod and -- projects that are currently in the design stage include additional phases of the mall turf reconstruction project, the mall walkway study, the earthquake repairs to the washington monument, the world war ii wall improvement to repair leaks. and the washington monument screening facilitynd -- most recently the trust sponsored a national mall design competition for three sites on the national mall plan.

the nps and architect of the capitol will use the competition to generate specific plans to redevelop the sites. the national parks service has recently taken steps to -- contracting with various tour operators operating in and around arlington national cemetery and the mall. in addition the national parks service is working with capitol bike shares and the district of columbia to increase access to rental bicycles around the national mall. mr. chairman, this includes my statement, i will be pleased to respond to any question you or any other members of the subcommittee may have. >> thank you. i noticed on the constitution project, you have those cameras that catch you when you run a red light, i think you just got a ticket. mr. lupke, recognize you for five minutes.

>> thank you mr. chairman. good morning, chairman bishop and members of the subcommittee, my name is thomgs lipke, the commission thanks for you for -- appreciates the opportunity to contribute to the discussion on the future of the national mall. the commission of fine arts was created by an act of congress in 1910 initiated by senator james mcmillan of michigan at the turn of the 20th century. since then the commission of fine arts has played an integral role -- the commissions is the principal federal agency for reviewing public and some private structures in the nation capitol. comprised of seven presidentially appointed members who are selected for their expertise in the arts played a particular role in the design of national symbols, including

monuments on the national mall, overseas military cemeteries or coins and nettles produced by the united states mint. these need to be worthy of our nation and our civic ideals. the commission has been actively engaged in realizing the full intent of the mall that was envisioned in the mcmillan plan of 1902. including playing a key role in deciding the design of the lincoln memorial almost 100 years ago, most recently the commission of fine arts has reviewed such plans at the vet ran's -- disabled american veterans memorial and the smithsonian museum of natural history and culture. in addition the -- important voice in improving designs for many national elements added to mall sites, that include security plans for the

washington, lincoln and jefferson memorials and smithsonian mew seems and the current reconstruction of the reflection pool. in its active role of reviewing projects on the national mall also works closely with many public and private organizations having interest in the mall as well as the national parks service. the commission has cooperated with its federal partners to alleviate pressure of additional structure on the mall. as well as the national capitol memorial advisory commission on the memorials and museums master plan of 2001. building on that plan's goal to encourage continued developments of museums and commemorative works into other areas of the city, the commission of fine arts created the monument core

planning of 2009. the commission has also been an important consulting agency in the development of the the national parks service and the national mall plan and we're pleased to continue a very good relationship with the -- sites and designs of memorials -- i'm honored to represent the commission of fine arts on the national capitol memorials advisory commission expressly established by congress under the law to provide location authorize -- with this group of professionals who are involved so closely in planning and design of the public realm, congress has -- competing interest for commemoration within the monument core of the city. the commission of fine arts since the creation of the primary design review has been committed to encouraging the

highest quality of the design of the mall. we look forward to continuing our work with congress, other agencies and the public to achieve the songest plan 234es for the national mall. that concludes my testimony and i would be pleased to answer any questions that you may v. >> thank you very much. mr. bryant? >> good morning, mr. chairman. my name is preston bryant and i'm the chairman of the national planning commission the national capitol planning commission is the planning agency for the national capitol region that focus on key planning -- our activities include for example jointly offering a comprehensive plan for the national capitol with the district of columbia. reviewing all federal development projects in region and addressing the unique planning issues in the capitol

cities. i'm pleased to share with you the role of the national historic pro -- that makes washington one of the most admired capitol cities in the world. for each memorial problem--responsive and transparent. more broadly, our goal is threefold, first to ensure that washington's commemorative landscape -- second to meet the expectations of millions of americans who visit the nation's capitol and third, as you have said mr. chairman, to plan for the future generations to have excellent locations for their memorial projects. under the commemorative works act. ncp -- ncpc works with a number of stake hold evers, memorial

sponsors t national capitol advisory commission, the u.s. commission of fine arts and did pending on the site or location, either the national parks service or the general services administration. we work with the stake holders to ensure the memorials are located and designed in a manner that supports their commemorative pump and enhances their surroundings. because -- washington's most prominent public settings, the staff works closely with sponsors in either the national parks service or the gsa to ensure that each new project is designed to the highest standards. in addition to our project's specific work, ncpc and it's agency partners develop studies. these studies are designed to support the memorial process and support the next generation of memorials throughout washington. the central themes has been to protect the national mall from overbuilding because overbuilding may diminish is

distinctive openness of the place. the national capital planning commission and it's agency partners have developed two senate works, one is the memorials and museums master plan and second the monumental core frame work plan and -- memorials and museums master plan achieved two important goals, first it identified a reserve area where no new memorials may be built. congress codified the reserve in the 2003 commemorative works clarification and revision act. ncpc strongly supports the reserve policy which maintains the mall's open spaces and existing memorial landscapes that are admired and enjoyed by americans today. the master plan significantly also identifies 100 potential sites for future memorials and museums throughout washington, d.c.

this strategy does a few things, it protects the mall, it help s response sorries visual their -- all four quadrants of the city. the master plan has successfully guided six projects to other locations off of the mall, including memorials honoring eisenhower, the u.s. air force, the victims of communism, the victims of man-made ukrainian -- now let me speak to the monumental core framework plan. in 2009, ncp and -- this plan identifies strategies to extend civic qualities of the national mall and the vitality of the city into federally dominated precincts throughout the monumental core. in doing so, the framework provides several strategies to make potential strategies for

new cultural locations off of the mall more attractive to museum and memorial sponsors, the examples include south p presiblgt avenue. new cultural projects can serve as anchors that -- destinations that enter deuce visitors to new parts of the city, ncpc coordinated with the national parks service to ensure that the frame work's goals are consistent with the national parks services national mall plan. our most recent study called washington as commemoration identifies trends related to memorial -- the ncpc study was done in partnership and includes

publicly accessible catalog of existing memorials on -- you can see this as an interactive online map at ncpc.gov. it also includes analysises of other capital cities abroad. this information will better equip agencies and the public to consider the critical policy decisions -- thank you for inviting me and i'm happy to answer questions. >> thank you. >> members of the subcommittee, i would like to thank you -- mr. chairman, ranking member and members of the subcommittee, i would like to thank you for inviting the national civic arts society to speak today. as a -- tradition in -- we

believe in the importance of preserving and protecting the national mall and the plans that created it as an essential park. the mall and the surrounding monumenting core are arguably the greates -- to highlight this, we recently did a documentary film on washington, d.c.'s classical heritage which is available to watch on our website, civic art.org. the mall as we know it is merely just own over 100 years old, yet it -- it is hard to imagine, but at the turn of the 20th century, there was no breathtaking vista from the capitol to the -- noble edifices, but instead a shabby rambling park anchored on one end by a train station and the other by a swamp. this is hardly the vision that general george washington had in

mind to create a master plan. a grand scheme of radiating avenues whose -- to this day, these are the landmarks by which we orient ourselves spatially and spiritually. the la font plan and it's most important structures were to be classical in design, the physical manifestation of our political and government aspirations. as thomas jefferson emphasized, the classical tradition is time honored and timeless. in a later to la font, he expressed his personal desire for a capitol design after, quote, one of the models of antiquity that has had the -- fob clear our founding archit t architecarchitec