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Subcommittee to Examine Future of the National Mall |
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May 19, 2008
CONTACT: Allyson Groff or Blake Androff, 202-226-9019
Washington, D.C. - With its monuments to great leaders, memorials to brave heroes and citizens, and museums that house unique knowledge and cultural artifacts, the National Mall - located in the heart of Washington, D.C. - is the physical embodiment of America's national identity, laid out in a public venue for all the world to experience.
In 2003, the U.S. Congress placed a moratorium on the construction of memorials on the National Mall, stating that the Mall is a substantially complete work of civic art and that future memorials must be located in other prominent places in the city. In 2006, the National Park Service (NPS), the agency charged with management of the majority of the land and memorials housed on the Mall, began an ongoing effort to draft the National Mall Plan that will guide management and further improvements on the Mall over the next 50 years. The NPS has solicited and received thousands of comments from the public and has used those comments to develop four alternatives for how to manage the various uses of the land for the Mall's more than 25 million yearly visitors.
With so much of America's history, culture and national identity at stake, the House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands, led by Chairman Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), will hold an oversight hearing to ensure that the final plan - which will impact the Mall for generations to come - truly represents the voices and best interests of the American people.
Subject:
Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands
Oversight Hearing on "The Future of the National Mall"
When:
Tuesday, May 20, 2008, at 10:00 a.m.
Where:
Room 1334 Longworth House Office Building
Witnesses:
Panel 1
Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC)
Panel 2
Peggy O'Dell, Superintendent, National Mall and Memorial Parks, National Park Service, Department of the Interior
Harriet Tregoning, Director, Office of Planning, Government of the District of Columbia
John V. Cogbill, III, Chairman, National Capital Planning Commission
Panel 3
Arthur B. Spitzer, Legal Director, American Civil Liberties Union of the National Capital Area
Judy Scott Feldman, PhD, President, National Coalition to Save Our Mall
John E. "Chip" Akridge, III, Chairman, Trust for the National Mall
The hearing will be webcast live on the Committee's Web site at: http://resourcescommittee.house.gov.
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