CVC Movement. Legislation outlining how the $621 million Capitol Visitor Center will be managed once it opens in November passed the House by voice vote on Wednesday.

[IMGCAP(1)]Introduced by House Administration Chairman Robert Brady (D-Pa.), the Capitol Visitor Center Act officially puts the Architect of the Capitol in charge of the facility and creates a new office focused on disability access on the Capitol complex.

“This has been a long process,” said Rep. Vernon Ehlers (R-Mich.), who co-sponsored the measure as the committee’s ranking member. “However, what we have today is a good suggestion, a good document.”

Brady’s bill also officially creates the chief executive officer for visitor services to run the CVC, a position already held by Terrie Rouse, who was hired by the AOC last summer.

Under the legislation, the CEOVS has the power to hire and fire personnel, propose the facility’s annual budget, run the CVC gift shop and cafeteria and enter into contracts.

Rouse also is charged with working with Capitol Police officials to develop procedures for background checks for CVC employees and providing a semiannual report to Members on CVC operations.

The bill now heads to the Senate, where it is expected to pass.

More than 99 percent of construction is complete at the CVC, and officials now are focused on running tests of the facility’s complicated fire- and life-safety systems.

Written History. The House passed a concurrent resolution by voice vote on Wednesday reminding Members that their Congressional papers must be properly maintained and encouraging them to “take all necessary measures to manage and preserve these papers.”

While Members might feel they are too busy to take care of their paperwork, their written documents are a unique piece of history that future leaders can use, said House Administration Chairman Robert Brady (D-Pa.), who introduced the measure.

“As history has shown us, it is often these mundane items that present the most accurate picture of our nation’s history,” House Administration ranking member Vernon Ehlers (R-Mich.) said.

— Elizabeth Brotherton