Eleanor Holmes Norton: “I support this bill, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank Representative Duncan and Ranking Member Cummings for sponsoring this…”

“I support this bill, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank Representative Duncan and Ranking Member Cummings for sponsoring this legislation. Representative Duncan first sponsored a bill to improve Presidential libraries 16 years ago. What has happened that we can't get this bill through the Congress? I hope this bill this year will prove different. This Congress, I hope we can finally get this important reform on the President's desk where I am sure it will be signed. The Presidential Library Donation Reform Act would provide transparency to the process for building Presidential libraries. The practice of creating a Presidential library began decades ago with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The tradition has carried on through every President since that time, and it is going to continue. Presidential libraries have become increasingly more expensive as they have evolved into multipurpose centers that do more than simply house Presidential records. For example, the William J. Clinton Library cost an estimated $165 million, while the George W. Bush Presidential Center cost an estimated $250 million to build, with President Bush having raised approximately half a billion dollars for his library, museum, and institute. We can expect that with each new President, these libraries are going to cost more. That is just natural.…”