Norton Bill to Allow National Children's Museum to Remain in Ronald Reagan Building in D.C. Rent-Free Passes House

Press Release

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) announced that her bill allowing the National Children's Museum (NCM), a congressionally designated museum, to remain in the federally owned Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in the District of Columbia without charge passed today in the House by voice vote, which will enhance its chances in the Senate. Norton says that the passage will allow the nation's first combination children's museum and science center to remain centrally located in the nation's capital for the benefit of D.C. residents and the many visitors who come annually to the nation's capital. Norton introduced the bill before the coronavirus pandemic but said the pandemic made the bill's passage even more urgent. Though the museum remains temporarily closed because of the pandemic, it has continued to provide valuable educational resources virtually.

"Despite the many benefits the NCM brings to the nation's capital and our country, it was an outlier before today," Norton said. "NCM was the only congressionally designated museum expected to pay rent in a federal building. The passage of my National Children's Museum Act today will allow NCM to remain in its current federal location without charge, allowing staff to focus on bringing 21st-century science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM) learning techniques to the nation's capital."

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