Eleanor Holmes Norton: “I rise today in support of H.R. 3567, a bill to amend the John F. Kennedy Center Act to transfer operating and capital…”

“I rise today in support of H.R. 3567, a bill to amend the John F. Kennedy Center Act to transfer operating and capital improvement responsibilities from the National Park Service to the Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. This bill is truly exemplary of efforts to reinvent government. Recognizing the inefficacy over the years of dividing responsibility for the operations, maintenance, and capital repairs of the Kennedy Center, the Board of Trustees of the Kennedy Center and the National Park Service mutually agreed to centralize these responsibilities with the Center's Board of Trustees. The approach crafted in the bill will promote stability and allow the Board to develop and carry out a plan that will set the Kennedy Center on a healthy financial and structural path for the 21st century. It will also enable the National Park Service to dedicate scarce human and financial resources to protecting and conserving our natural environment. In addition, the bill is an excellent example of public/private partnership.”