WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) introduced legislation to provide measured fiscal relief to the National Children’s Museum, through a GSA agreement to pay the Museum’s leasing fee. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) and Congressman Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) introduced the House version, H.R. 1703, on March 10, 2021.
Founded as the Capital Children’s Museum in 1974, the Museum served children and families in the Washington region for thirty years in Northeast Washington, D.C. In 2003, the U.S. Congress designated it the National Children’s Museum (NCM), and for several years, NCM operated as a museum without walls by serving the region through traveling exhibitions, partnerships with other nonprofits, as well as community and school outreach programs. From 2012-2015, a small museum space was opened to the public at National Harbor, but closed in preparation for NCM’s next chapter in downtown D.C.
Unfortunately, the NCM reopened just days prior to the pandemic and had to once again close its doors until it is safe to reopen. Due to these circumstances, the Museum has faced severe fiscal challenges. This legislation would direct GSA to enter into an agreement with the Museum to cover its leasing expenses – approximately $1 million annually – as GSA does for the other Congressionally designated national museums.
“In 2003, I joined with my colleagues to designate the National Children’s Museum. Its recent reopening at a new location near the National Mall came at an unfortunate time, as the COVID-19 pandemic prevented our nation’s kids from experiencing all the museum has to offer. This effort will help ensure that as life returns to normal, the National Children’s Museum will be there to provide enriching experiences for children in the D.C. area and from around the world,” said Senator Capito.
“For years, we’ve worked to get the National Children’s Museum officially up and running in our nation’s capital – after it had already served our communities for decades. But as with many organizations across our country, the pandemic could not have come at a worse time for the reopening of the Museum. Providing this modest fiscal relief to the Museum – which all other Congressionally-designated museums receive – will help it weather the COVID-19 storm and ensure that it can continue to bring joy to children visiting it for generations to come,” said Senator Van Hollen.
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