CONTENTS Page NATIONAL CONSTITUTION CENTER MONDAY, MARCH 9, 1998 U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON INTERIOR AND RELATED AGENCIES, COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS, Philadelphia, PA. The subcommittee met at 9 a.m., in Carpenters Hall, Philadelphia, PA, Hon. Slade Gorton (chairman) presiding. Present: Senators Gorton, Stevens, and Domenici. Also present: Senators Specter and Santorum. NONDEPARTMENTAL WITNESSES STATEMENT OF EDWARD G. RENDELL, MAYOR, CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, PA OPENING REMARKS OF SENATOR STEVENS Senator STEVENS. Let me call the hearing to order, please. It is a great pleasure to be here today in this very historic building, and we are grateful to the Carpenter's Co., of Philadelphia. I am told that they offered this facility to the First Continental Congress; and we appreciate the continued hospitality of the Carpenter's Co., today and also the city of Philadelphia, Mayor Rendell and his lovely wife Midge last night having a chance to visit. I want to thank the mayor and Senators Specter and Santorum for the hospitality they have shown me and other members of the committee and the interesting discussions we have had so far. We have gone over the development plan for the Constitution Center, and we have allocated some time here this morning-I do not know how long the rain's going to hold off. We appreciate everything you have done to arrange this meeting. I think it is very important the subject we are discussing. I served on the Commission on the Constitution with a former Chief Justice, and I do believe that celebrating the Constitution and helping to educate our children is one of the tasks that we should undertake, educating them concerning the Constitution and the meaning of the Constitution. And it is really of great importance to our lives as Americans. Now, we have this morning a period of time which we have allocated to be here. We must return to Washington slightly after noon. We have set some time limits here on you gentlemen and the statements you want to make, but let me just put it very plainly, Mr. Mayor: We are going to leave right after noon. You use the time however you want. Now, if you want to take the full 2 hours to talk to us right now, you can go right ahead and do that. We would like to have a chance to walk down the mall, and we will not melt if it is raining. We will be happy to take a walk in the rain, but I want you to know that I am the chairman of the full committee. But under the circumstances since Senator Gorton is chairman of the subcommittee that has jurisdiction over this matter and if you want to get the money, you have got to talk to him. [Laughter.] We allocate money-the chairmen do-among the subcommittees; but after Senator Gorton gets the money, he makes the recommendations to the committee as to how the money is to be spent. And normally, normally, the subcommittee chairmen are like cardinals. The only difference is I am not the Pope, and I cannot change that very easily. So let me do this, let me welcome our colleagues from Pennsylvania who are with us here today, Senator Specter and Senator Santorum. Senator Domenici who is the chairman of the budget committee; and if you read the morning paper, you know he has got to get back today, too, because he is going to markup his bill this week. But I leave it to Senator Gorton to chair the full hearing today. Thank you very much. OPENING REMARKS OF SENATOR SLADE GORTON Senator GORTON [presiding]. I thank Senator Stevens for that, and I really appreciate the welcome that we have received here, Mr. Mayor, from you and from members of your staff and from the two extremely persistent U.S. Senators from the State of Pennsylvania. And the fact that three others of us are here today is a tribute to them. For me, it is a wonderful experience. One of my most favorite books in my library is Katherine Drinker Bowen's "Miracle in Philadelphia." I went out for my morning run and did the mall and was thrilled by what I saw. The idea that we should have a memorial, a physical memorial, in place in which to celebrate the Constitution of the United States, I believe is thoughtful and brilliant and extremely valuable. Where we come up with the money, of course, is another question. Senator Stevens has described the way in which we operate, and my subcommittee-we get a certain number of dollars for a wide range of functions. To the best of my memory, the total amount we get each year for capital investments is a little bit over $100 million for the entire United States and the whole Park Service. But last summer Senator Santorum talked me into an extra $1 million or so for a refurbishment at Gettysburg here in your State. So we are here to come listen to the case that you have to make to see whether or not we can come up with an imaginative way in which to help you in what I consider to be a wonderful project. The question being, how we can come up with money to pay for it. And with that, of course, your own Senator Specter is also a chairman of an even larger subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee. And we should probably hear from the two Senators from Pennsylvania, but maybe we will let them go last and hear next from Senator Domenici. OPENING REMARKS OF SENATOR PETE DOMENICI Senator DOMENICI. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Mayor, I want you to also know that in addition to being budget chairman I am on the Interior Subcommittee. So if you all were watching the Senate floor during the past week and saw Senator Specter and I talking on the floor, and Senator Santorum and I, you might wonder in what deep thoughts we were involved. Actually, they were there to lobby me all week long to make sure I came here. [Laughter.] On Friday, I finally decided that I could get away; and I am very pleased to be here. It has been a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Mayor, and seeing just a little bit of a side of you that makes you a great mayor. It has been a pleasure being with you, and to meet your wife last night was a distinct pleasure. Mr. Torsella, it was good to be with you. When you told me what your title was, I almost asked you how old you were. Mr. TORSELLA. I am 60; I am just very healthy. Senator DOMENICI. You do look very young for such a formidable job, but I have no doubt that you are going to succeed. I did want to put a plug in for way out West since frequently in the East all you easterners think the only American history is back here. We are celebrating the 400th anniversary in my State of the arrival of the Hispanics setting up a capitol for Spain in America in my State. So we have a little bit of another side of history. Let me say from the standpoint of an American and a U.S. Senator wherever you are from, New Mexico, Alaska, or New Jersey, it is obvious that the Constitution is something very sacred to us all. To the extent that you are proposing to do more by way of getting Americans to recognize this fantastic part of our heritage, I commend you; and I hope your plans for doing this in a more formidable way than in the past are achieved. Whether we will be able to be a full partner immediately, we will wait and see; but obviously, it is good that we are here. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. OPENING REMARKS OF SENATOR ARLEN SPECTER Senator SPECTER. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I thank Senator Stevens, and Senator Gorton, and Senator Domenici for coming to Philadelphia today. Senator Santorum and I take great pleasure and pride in having this Appropriations Committee hearing on location. I believe that it is unprecedented to have the full Appropriations Committee meet in a field hearing of this sort. At least, none has occurred during my tenure in the Senate. I believe that this is a very important matter to be heard by the committee. The Constitution Center, I believe, will have, could have, important aspects for the country as a whole. I think part of what the Constitution Center will be directing its efforts toward is not only of the buildings here in Philadelphia, but active programming to educate Americans across the land as to what the Constitution means. |