Eleanor Holmes Norton: “To respond to the comments from my friend from Maryland. The National Park Service has a maintenance backlog of $23…”

“To respond to the comments from my friend from Maryland. The National Park Service has a maintenance backlog of $23 billion, including $2 billion in the District of Columbia alone. The National Park Service does not have the money to transform the RFK Stadium site from acres of asphalt into parks or mixed uses. There is precedent for Congress giving title to or administration jurisdiction over Federal land to States and other jurisdictions for no consideration. We do not have to look far for examples. Let's look at two of the many examples in D.C. First, section 8124 of title 40 of the U.S. Code has long permitted the Federal Government to transfer administrative jurisdiction over Federal land in D.C. to the D.C. government for no consideration. Second, in 1986, Congress directed the Department of the Interior to enter into a 50-year lease with D.C. for the RFK Stadium site for no consideration. While it is true that H.R. 4984 does not require D.C. to pay the Federal Government for administrative jurisdiction over the RFK Stadium site, it is expected D.C. will spend hundreds of millions of dollars transforming the site from acres of asphalt into mixed-use development. This bill would not require a stadium to be built at the site. Whether to build a stadium would be a decision for the elected D.C. government. Several members of the D.C. Council have expressed opposition to a new football stadium at the site. Mr.…”