
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 23, 2000 and December 4, 2001]
[CITE: 40USC811]

 
             TITLE 40--PUBLIC BUILDINGS, PROPERTY, AND WORKS
 
     CHAPTER 18--NATIONAL VISITOR CENTER FACILITIES; UNION STATION 
                  REDEVELOPMENT; CAPITOL GUIDE SERVICE
 
                       SUBCHAPTER I--UNION STATION
 
                   Part B--Union Station Redevelopment
 
Sec. 811. Assignment of right, title, and interest in the Union 
        Station complex to the Secretary of Transportation
        

(a) Reservation of certain rights by the Secretary; definition

    Upon the request of the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary 
shall assign to the Secretary of Transportation all of the Secretary's 
right, title, and interest in the Union Station complex, including all 
agreements and leases entered into under part A of this subchapter. Such 
assignment may reserve to the Secretary the right to lease space for 
visitor services, to the extent the Secretary and the Secretary of 
Transportation may agree. For purposes of this subchapter, the ``Union 
Station complex'' shall include all the real property, air rights, and 
improvements leased by the Secretary under part A of this subchapter, 
together with any property acquired and all improvements made in 
accordance with this part.

(b) Installation of new roofs and drainage systems

    Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, 
the Secretary shall, not later than twelve months after December 29, 
1981, complete the installation of new roofs and associated drainage 
systems on all existing roof surfaces of the historic Union Station 
building. Of funds appropriated to the Secretary under the construction 
appropriation for the National Park System for the fiscal year ending 
September 30, 1982, not less than $8,100,000 shall be available to and 
allocated by the Secretary for such roof work. In the event the 
assignment provided for in subsection (a) of this section occurs prior 
to completion of such roof work, the Secretary shall continue to be 
responsible for such roof work until its completion, except as the 
Secretary and the Secretary of Transportation may otherwise agree.

(c) Permission to the Secretary of Transportation to carry out certain 
        activities

    Prior to the assignment provided for in subsection (a) of this 
section, the Secretary shall permit the Secretary of Transportation to 
carry out or cause to be carried out the activities authorized by this 
part or by title VII of the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory 
Reform Act of 1976 (45 U.S.C. 851 et seq.).

(d) Secretary to be relieved of certain obligations upon assignment and 
        roof installation

    After both the assignment provided for in subsection (a) of this 
section and the completion of the roof installation required by 
subsection (b) of this section, the Secretary shall be relieved of the 
authority and obligation under part A of this subchapter to construct 
and operate a National Visitor Center at Union Station. The provisions 
of part A of this subchapter shall thereafter be deemed superseded by 
any contrary or inconsistent provisions of this part.

(Pub. L. 90-264, title I, Sec. 111, as added Pub. L. 97-125, Sec. 3(3), 
Dec. 29, 1981, 95 Stat. 1667.)

                       References in Text

    The Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976, 
referred to in subsec. (c), is Pub. L. 94-210, Feb. 5, 1976, 90 Stat. 
31, as amended. Title VII of the Act, which enacted subchapter III 
(Sec. 851 et seq.) of chapter 17 of Title 45, Railroads, and amended 
sections 543, 545, 546, 562, 563, 564, and 791 of Title 45 and section 
1653 of former Title 49, Transportation, was repealed and the provisions 
thereof reenacted principally in chapter 249 of Title 49, 
Transportation, by Pub. L. 103-272, July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 745, the 
first section of which enacted subtitles II, III, and V to X of Title 
49, and by Pub. L. 103-429, Sec. 7(a)(1), Oct. 31, 1994, 108 Stat. 4388.


                           Sale of Air Rights

    Pub. L. 105-33, title IX, Sec. 9102, Aug. 5, 1997, 111 Stat. 670, 
provided that:
    ``(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
Administrator of General Services shall sell, at fair market value and 
in a manner to be determined by the Administrator, the air rights 
adjacent to Washington Union Station described in subsection (b), 
including air rights conveyed to the Administrator under subsection (d). 
The Administrator shall complete the sale by such date as is necessary 
to ensure that the proceeds from the sale will be deposited in 
accordance with subsection (c).
    ``(b) Description.--The air rights referred to in subsection (a) 
total approximately 16.5 acres and are depicted on the plat map of the 
District of Columbia as follows:
        ``(1) Part of lot 172, square 720.
        ``(2) Part of lots 172 and 823, square 720.
        ``(3) Part of lot 811, square 717.
    ``(c) Proceeds.--Before September 30, 2002, proceeds from the sale 
of air rights under subsection (a) shall be deposited in the general 
fund of the Treasury and credited as miscellaneous receipts.
    ``(d) Conveyance of Amtrak Air Rights.--
        ``(1) General rule.--As a condition of future Federal financial 
    assistance, Amtrak shall convey to the Administrator of General 
    Services on or before December 31, 1997, at no charge, all of the 
    air rights of Amtrak described in subsection (b).
        ``(2) Failure to comply.--If Amtrak does not meet the condition 
    established by paragraph (1), Amtrak shall be prohibited from 
    obligating Federal funds after March 1, 1998.''


            Congressional Findings and Declaration of Policy

    Section 2 of Pub. L. 97-125 provided that: ``The Congress finds and 
declares that--
        ``(1) Union Station in Washington, District of Columbia, 
    commissioned by Congress in 1903, designed by Daniel H. Burnham in 
    monumental Beaux Arts style, and completed by the Washington 
    Terminal Company in 1907, is an important historic and architectural 
    landmark of the Nation's Capital;
        ``(2) Union Station was built and used exclusively as a rail 
    passenger station until Congress decided to make the historic Union 
    Station building a National Visitor Center in 1968, allocating rail 
    passenger operations to a replacement facility behind the historic 
    building;
        ``(3) the use of rail passenger service to and from Washington, 
    District of Columbia, declining when the National Visitor Center 
    Facilities Act of 1968 [this chapter] was enacted, has dramatically 
    increased since that time with the advent of and substantial Federal 
    investment in the National Railroad Passenger Corporation and the 
    northeast corridor improvement project, justifying a reversal of the 
    policy adopted 13 years ago;
        ``(4) the historic Union Station building is now unsafe and 
    unusable, and the replacement railroad station is inconvenient and 
    inadequate for present and projected rail ridership demand;
        ``(5) it is in the national interest to preserve the 
    architectural features of Union Station and to provide in the Union 
    Station complex a sound and fully operational transportation 
    terminal;
        ``(6) the Union Station complex and its vicinity present an 
    opportunity for successful commercial development integrated with 
    the transportation functions of the facility; and
        ``(7) the purposes of this Act [see Short Title of 1981 
    Amendment note set out under section 801 of this title] are to 
    achieve the goals of historic preservation and improved rail use of 
    Union Station with maximum reliance on the private sector and 
    minimum requirement for Federal assistance.''
