Lincoln Chafee: “today I am introducing the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Authorization Act. I am introducing this bill…”

“today I am introducing the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Authorization Act. I am introducing this bill at the request of the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees, in my capacity as Chairman of the Committee on Environment and Public Works. Joining me as cosponsors of the bill are the chairman and ranking member of the Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Senators Warner and Baucus. The concept of a national center for the performing arts originated during the administration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. President Eisenhower envisioned a national cultural center in the nation's capital, and in 1958, with the support of Congress, he signed into law the National Cultural Center Act, which established the Center as an independently administered bureau of the Smithsonian Institution. Following the death of President Kennedy, the Congress in 1964 renamed the Center in honor of the late president. The Kennedy Center was opened to the public in September 1971. The response was overwhelming--so much so that the Center's Board of Trustees requested help from Congress in maintaining and operating the Center, for the benefit of the millions of visitors.”