[House Hearing, 115 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
THE U.S. CAPITOL VISITOR CENTER--TEN YEARS OF SERVING CONGRESS AND THE
AMERICAN PEOPLE
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HEARING
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON HOUSE
ADMINISTRATION
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
__________
MAY 16, 2018
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on House Administration
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available on the Internet:
http://www.govinfo.gov
_________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
32-666 WASHINGTON : 2018
Committee on House Administration
GREGG HARPER, Mississippi, Chairman
RODNEY DAVIS, Illinois, Vice ROBERT A. BRADY, Pennsylvania,
Chairman Ranking Member
BARBARA COMSTOCK, Virginia ZOE LOFGREN, California
MARK WALKER, North Carolina JAMIE RASKIN, Maryland
ADRIAN SMITH, Nebraska
BARRY LOUDERMILK, Georgia
THE U.S. CAPITOL VISITOR CENTER--TEN YEARS OF SERVING CONGRESS AND THE
AMERICAN PEOPLE
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WEDNESDAY, MAY 16, 2018
House of Representatives,
Committee on House Administration,
Washington, DC.
The Committee met, pursuant to call, at 11:00 a.m., in Room
1310, Longworth House Office Building, Hon. Gregg Harper
[Chairman of the Committee] presiding.
Present: Representatives Harper, Davis, Walker, Brady, and
Raskin.
Staff Present: Sean Moran, Staff Director; Kim Betz, Deputy
Staff Director/Policy and Oversight; Dan Jarrell, Legislative
Clerk; Matt Field, Director of Oversight; Ed Puccerella,
Professional Staff; Erin McCracken, Communications Director;
Khalil Abboud, Minority Deputy Staff Director; Kristie Muchnok,
Minority Professional Staff.
The Chairman. I now call to order the Committee on House
Administration for purpose of today's hearing, examining the
United States Capitol Visitor Center as it approaches its tenth
anniversary.
The hearing record will remain open for 5 legislative days
so Members may submit any materials they wish to be included. A
quorum is present, so we may proceed.
First, I would like to thank our witness for taking time
out of her schedule to be with us today.
On October the 20th, 2008, President Barack Obama signed
legislation sponsored by my friend and colleague, then-House
Administration Committee Chairman Robert Brady, designating the
newly completed construction project at the United States
Capitol as the United States Capitol Visitor Center.
On December 2, 2008, coinciding with the 145th anniversary
of the Statue of Freedom's placement on top of the Capitol
dome, the CVC officially opened its doors to the public. Over
the last 9 years, the CVC has welcomed more than 20 million
visitors to our Nation's Capital.
In addition, the CVC has supported well over 7,000
congressional events in CVC meeting spaces, assisted more than
31,000 of our interns and staff on delivering engaging Capitol
tours, and assisted guests at Congressional Gold Medal
ceremonies, commemoration ceremonies, annual Memorial Day and
Capitol Fourth of July concerts, as well as three Presidential
inaugurations.
Today we welcome the leader of these efforts, Ms. Beth
Plemmons, Chief Executive Officer for Visitor Services at the
CVC.
Under Ms. Plemmons' management, the vast majority of
constituents visiting the CVC rate their experience as a
positive one. According to CVC survey data, 93 percent of
visitors to the Capitol said their expectations were met or
were exceeded and they were likely to recommend the Capitol
tour to their friends.
Last year, the CVC witnessed the highest annual number of
visitors to its facility at more than 2.4 million Americans and
international visitors who came to see our great symbol of
democracy in action. In 2017, the CVC also had a record number
of sales in their restaurant and gift shops, which proudly sell
only made in America merchandise.
Today, we have the opportunity to hear from our witness
about the lessons the CVC management has learned during the
facility's first decade of operations, the greatest operational
challenges it faces, and what the plan is to continue to meet
the needs of Congress and the American people in the years to
come.
Ms. Plemmons, thank you for your testifying before us
today. We appreciate you being here.
And I would now like to recognize my colleague and the
Ranking Member of this Committee, Mr. Brady, for the purpose of
providing an opening statement.
Mr. Brady.
[The statement of The Chairman follows:]
Mr. Brady. Thank you. And I want to thank Chairman Harper
for arranging today's hearing.
And thank you, Ms. Plemmons, for testifying today on behalf
of the Capitol Visitor Center.
Ten years ago, the CVC opened its doors as a brand new
facility for visitors from across the world to experience the
United States Capitol and its actively working government.
Under the leadership of Ms. Plemmons, remarkable progress in
organizational structure, education, and visitor experience
have been made.
The evolution of the CVC has been a rewarding project,
although inherited, for me to be a part of. Seeing a gigantic
hole in the ground turn into a world-class facility I see today
is truly amazing.
Ms. Plemmons, it is my pleasure to have you here today, and
I look forward to hearing any information you will be sharing
with this Committee. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
[The statement of Mr. Brady follows:]
The Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Brady.
Does any other Member wish to be recognized for the
purposes of an opening statement? Seeing none, I would now like
to introduce our witness for today.
Ms. Beth Plemmons joined the Capitol Visitor Center in
September of 2008 as Director of Visitor Services, where she
worked to develop and implement the visitor-related procedures
and operations, which included the delivery of 40,000 Capitol
tours each week. That is a lot more than 40,000 people. Those
are individual tours with many, many people. Unbelievable
numbers.
Ms. Plemmons then served as Acting Deputy Chief Executive
Officer for Visitor Services from 2010 to 2011, after which she
was named the Chief Executive Officer, and has been serving in
this role overseeing all aspects of the Capitol Visitor
Center's operations.
Ms. Plemmons has more than 25 years in the hospitality
industry. And prior to joining the Architect of the Capitol,
she served as Associate Director for Guest Services at George
Washington's historic Mount Vernon Estates and Gardens, as well
as working for the 8,000-acre Biltmore Estate in Asheville,
North Carolina, for 17 years.
The Committee welcomes you, Ms. Plemmons.
And the Chair now recognizes our witness for the purposes
of an opening statement.
And you are recognized for 5 minutes. Welcome.
STATEMENT OF MS. BETH PLEMMONS, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER,
CAPITOL VISITOR CENTER
Ms. Plemmons. Thank you. Good morning, Mr. Chairman and Mr.
Brady. Thank you so much for this opportunity to share an
update on the Capitol Visitor Center operations. Let me also
thank you, Mr. Chairman, for your strong support of the Capitol
Visitor Center. Our staff greatly appreciated the kind comments
you made on the House floor on March 5 about our team and our
accomplishments as we approach our 10-year anniversary.
And thank you, Congressman Brady. The CVC is very proud to
carry only products made in America, and we are grateful for
your leadership in helping us achieve this distinction.
On behalf of the Architect of the Capitol, I have had the
privilege of serving as the CEO for the Visitor Center since
2011 and to lead a team that is passionately dedicated to
serving Congress and every visitor to the United States
Capitol.
We have a tremendous civic responsibility to connect people
to our great democracy. Each of our employees strives every day
to meet our mission, which is working together for Congress to
inform, involve, and inspire every visitor to the United States
Capitol.
We remember the words of Thomas Jefferson: An educated
citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free
people. We regularly receive affirmation from our visitors that
we are meeting our vision, which is preserving democracy one
visitor at a time.
I would like to share an excerpt from a recent comment from
a teacher at Ludlow-Taylor Elementary, which is a local school:
``In an era of video games and smartphones, children can often
be easily distracted. Not the case with your tour. The reviews
I heard from the children were incredible. They were engaged,
excited, and could not stop talking about what they had
learned. Most importantly, the children now feel connected to
the legislative process in a way that they were not before.''
Since we opened our doors in December of 2008, we have
welcomed almost 21 million visitors--we hope to reach 21
million by the end of this month--and provided more than
300,000 tours of the Capitol, supported more than 7,000
congressional events in our meeting spaces, welcomed guests at
Presidential inaugurations, Congressional Gold Medal
ceremonies, concerts, and memorial ceremonies.
We have delivered our Capitol Tour Training program to more
than 37,000 staff and provided them with tools that they need
to give informative and inspiring tours for our constituents
and developed a full suite of informational materials,
including publications in multiple languages and audio
translations to assist our large number of international
visitors.
We have welcomed more than 8 million visitors into our
Exhibition Hall and developed a wide variety of educational
tools to fulfill our mandate to inform the public about the
Capitol and Congress.
Our gift shops have improved the quality and variety of our
offerings and heightened our level of customer service. In
addition to offering only U.S.-made products, gift items
represent the work of a growing list of small businesses from
across the country.
Beyond these operational successes, the Capitol Visitor
Center facility has greatly enhanced the visitor experience. To
appreciate the improved security, convenience, and comfort
visitors enjoy today, it is helpful to go back in time to the
years before there was a Capitol Visitor Center.
Although always intended to be open to the public, the
Capitol was never designed to accommodate nearly 2.5 million
visitors each year. Before the Visitor Center opened,
constituents may have waited up to 3 hours outside before
entering the Capitol. There were only five public restrooms and
no food service for visitors. Visitors often roamed freely
through the building on self-guided tours and, not
surprisingly, they soon became lost, confused or frustrated.
Many wandered into restricted areas.
Meanwhile, guides and staff leading tours had great
difficulty overcoming the noise of the crowds. Even Members of
Congress often struggled to reach the Chambers or other
destinations in the building.
Visitors to the Capitol today have a far different
experience. The average wait time to enter the CVC is usually
about 7 minutes. Once inside, visitors can use any of the 26
fully accessible restrooms. The Capitol Cafe provides a place
to enjoy a bite to eat, and two gift shops offer a selection of
more than 2,000 items.
The 16,500-square-foot Exhibition Hall presents educational
materials telling the story of Congress and the Capitol. We are
excited about our plans to redesign our exhibit space, which is
scheduled to be complete in 2021.
The CVC team has also continued to evolve, refining all
areas of operations. While I am very proud of the milestones I
have noted, I am most proud that we have never stopped
exploring opportunities to work smarter, more efficiently, and
more responsively to the needs of the congressional community.
Before closing, I want to take this opportunity to thank
all of our congressional partners for their continued support,
including the House and Senate Sergeant at Arms, the Clerk of
the House, the Secretary of the Senate, the House and Senate
curators and historians, the Office of Congressional
Accessibility Services, and the Capitol Police.
The counsel and support we have received from your staff
and the staff of the Senate Rules Committee has been and
continues to be invaluable to our operation and critical to our
success.
Again, thank you and the entire Committee for your time and
for this opportunity to share information about the Capitol
Visitor Center. I look forward to answering any questions you
may have about our operation.
[The statement of Ms. Plemmons follows:]
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The Chairman. Thank you very much, Ms. Plemmons.
It is now an opportunity for each Member to ask you some
questions about your work and how the experience is for the CVC
and those that have the opportunity to come do those tours. I
know this is your first time testifying before Congress, and we
are honored to have you here with us today.
You stated in your opening remarks how it has changed, from
the facilities, from the availability of restrooms, for the
wait time. Certainly, it has been a pretty remarkable change, I
believe, for our visitors that come in.
And I want to talk to you for a minute about that visitor
experience. And I know you hope and attempt to mitigate any
unnecessary wait times or inconveniences for our visiting
public. And it is certainly their Capitol, the Capitol of the
American people, and we are here to serve them.
To that end, what steps does the CVC take to minimize undue
delays and wait times for Members and their offices, so that
individuals and groups do not experience lengthy wait times as
they attempt to see their Capitol? And what means has the CVC
employed in recent years to attempt to do that?
Ms. Plemmons. Thank you for that question. This certainly
has been a focus for us since we opened.
We continually monitor and evaluate the operation and make
adjustments accordingly so that we can make the experience for
all of our visitors exceptional. And we certainly work closely
with our congressional partners to make that happen.
When the Visitor Center opened, we also started offering a
reservation system online, which had not been available before
to the public. And by doing that, that allowed folks to plan
their experience in advance and make a reservation. And as part
of our reservation system we are able to have different
channels to manage our inventory.
And to answer your question about some of the ways that we
accommodate our congressional offices with wait times, we do
allow congressional offices to book reservations before anyone
else has that opportunity. So that inventory is managed to give
preference to our congressional offices.
We also realized pretty quickly that we needed a walkup
line, because there were days where all the reservations had
been taken and so everything was booked up. We needed to
accommodate folks that were coming in and that had not made
reservations. And as it works out, there are some folks that
don't show up for their reservation, and so we are able to
accommodate the folks that are waiting with that.
We do have two separate walkup lines. We have one for
staff, because we wanted to appreciate their need to get their
constituents who had shown up at their office that day onto a
tour. And for many years, the staff would wait until we had
tickets available, and we would call out their name and they
would come and get the tickets to go on the tour.
Last year, we implemented a virtual queuing system, where
the staff can get their telephone number and we will text them.
And that way, instead of waiting, they can spend that time with
their visitors, with their constituents, and take them around
to Exhibition Hall or Emancipation Hall or get a cup of coffee,
that sort of thing.
The Chairman. That is great.
Ms. Plemmons. The inventory management is something that we
have perfected over the years, and our goal is every day to get
as many folks that want to come to the Capitol and have a tour
in to do just that. And we manage our inventory carefully to
make sure nothing goes to waste.
And so for 6 months out of the year when we are
particularly busy, we are going above and beyond to make sure
that we accommodate as many people as possible with an
experience. And even if we don't have time to give a tour
anymore, we do have some offerings in the afternoon where they
can at least experience some of the Capitol.
The Chairman. And as far as the time for the film, what is
the last time in the day that anyone can start a tour? What is
that time?
Ms. Plemmons. Well, for a guide-led tour, it is at 3:20,
but we have a 3:30 and a 3:40 time slot that is held
exclusively for staff-led tours.
The Chairman. Got it. And as far as the improvements on
communicating with staff, where they are not having to wait
with constituents, how are you communicating with the
congressional community what those best practices are? How do
you get that word out to all the offices?
Ms. Plemmons. We have a couple of ways of doing that. One
of our programs that we offer is CTT, which is Capitol Tour
Training, and that is offered all year, every week. We have a
3\1/2\-hour training class, where our staff, any of the staff
can come and learn the tour route, safety and security
protocol, and also get information about everything that they
are seeing.
So we have a book that we have put together that they can
take with them and accurately tell the story of the Capitol and
the history.
The Chairman. And I am just curious. When they do this
training, obviously, you can't highlight everything. You are
just trying to give them a working knowledge so that they are
informed. Do you go back and review what they are going to be
taught and change that periodically or update it?
Ms. Plemmons. Yes. We have over the years refined the
training process with the goal of when they are done they can
feel a confidence in going out with their constituents, the
visitors, and taking them on a quality tour and having that
visitor informed, involved, and inspired, which is our mission
statement. We want to convey that to everyone and we want to
give the tools to those staffers so that they can do the same.
We have two congressional liaisons that stay in touch with
our offices all the time, sending them information about
upcoming events or anything unusual happening.
We also have information sessions that we hold every year.
We always have one right before the spring, because that is
when it gets really busy and things are a little more difficult
to navigate. And so we want to give everyone some helpful
hints.
At those meetings, we have representatives from the House
and Senate Sergeant at Arms and also the Capitol Police, who
are our partners in sort of making it happen every day and
maneuvering folks through the building while it is still being
a working office building. So that balance can be challenging,
and so we all need to work together to make that happen.
The Chairman. Thank you. And my time has expired.
I will now recognize the Ranking Member, Mr. Brady, for 5
minutes for more questions.
Mr. Brady. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Ms. Plemmons, you already answered my question about made
in America, and I appreciate that. How is that going? How is it
being executed? And the gift shop finances, have they been
stabilizing over the years? I know at one point in time, I
guess because of me, it wasn't stabilized too well. I made you
clean the place out.
Ms. Plemmons. We do credit you with getting us on the right
track for made in America. We are very proud to have all made
in America items in our gift shops.
It was challenging to start out to find enough products
that were made in America that were at a price that we could
pass along to our visitors at an affordable price. But through
the diligence of our staff, we have been able to find a lot of
made in America products.
The stores right now, if you walk into them, are just
beautiful, and they are stocked full of interesting things. And
there is something for everyone, from our students with pencils
and postcards, to tee shirts. We have books. And we have
higher-end gift items as well.
So all of them are related to the Capitol and Congress in
some way. We do have an educational focus in our gift shops as
well as the rest of the CVC.
And so made in America and that educational focus and
Congress and the Capitol has been our guiding force as we have
gone out and developed products and also found items that are
being made across the country. We have about 125 small
businesses that we work with.
And so, to answer your question, that is all going very
well, and we actually every year have had enough revenue to
support our expenses. And last year was a great year for us. It
was the best year we have ever had. We were 24 percent up over
what we had been the previous year.
And so we are obviously buying things to sell in our gift
shops that people want, and we are offering things at a price
point that is affordable, and folks are taking a memento home
with them.
Mr. Brady. Thank you.
You talked about your successes. How about your biggest
challenges? And how can we help on this Committee?
Ms. Plemmons. Well, our biggest challenge has been our
budget and how we have been flat for several years. And serving
more and more people takes more and more staff. And so we have
been seeing an increase in visitors, but a decrease in the
number of staff as we have tried to meet our budgetary
guidelines.
So recently, in fiscal year 2018, we did receive some small
increase in our salary dollars, which we very much appreciate,
to be able to fully staff our team so that we can respond to
all of those visitor needs.
Most of those salary dollars went to our education
department, and we have developed all sorts of wonderful
programs. I saw a preview yesterday of some of our cart
programs, which we take the carts around to the different areas
in Exhibition Hall and Emancipation Hall, and we engage our
visitors and talk to them more in depth about different topics.
And having the salary dollars to fund our educators really
enables us to make a big difference in that experience that the
visitor is having.
We are aging, and so our equipment and our facility is in
need of change and repair. And so those are just ongoing
expenses and maintenance that you would expect to have in any
facility.
One thing that we have on the horizon that we are very
excited about is our Exhibition Hall and redesigning that area.
It was intended to be around for about 10 years before it
needed a refresh, and so we have been excitedly preparing for
what is next. And it is going to be an environment that is even
more welcoming and more educational and engaging than what we
have right now.
Mr. Brady. You know, that is an amazing building, and every
time I go there I get lost. And as I am walking around, I
figure there is something in me, I feel a little stupid, which
is easy for me at times. But I look around, I see my
colleagues, and I find out they are lost, too.
But my point is, your staff is extremely, extremely
helpful. They probably whisper, ``Here comes this guy again,
don't know where he is going.'' But every time they are always
helping and they are extremely helpful, walk me where I have to
go from time to time and sometimes walk me back out to get back
on the House floor.
So that is a testament to your leadership, and I appreciate
it and I thank you. Thanks for being here. Thank you for your
testimony.
The Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Brady.
The Chair will now recognize the Vice Chair of the
Committee, Mr. Davis, for 5 minutes for questions.
Mr. Davis. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Mr. Brady. You can tell he is
on his way out. He is brutally honest that he still gets lost
at the CVC.
We are going to miss you, buddy. You are a good man and
thank you.
The Chairman. And let the record note he did not say he was
going to miss the Chairman. But that is okay.
Mr. Davis. I will not correct the record.
Gregg knows that he will be dearly missed. This Committee
is going to have a big loss with both of them going away. A lot
of experience and a lot of class. And I think that is something
that all of us, in a bipartisan way, throughout our Conference
and throughout the House, we really agree. So thank you both.
Now, can I get a couple extra minutes to question the
witness?
The Chairman. You have 30 seconds.
Mr. Davis. You know, I was a staffer when they started
building the CVC. So I can remember all the discussion in all
the Hill newspapers, and also discussions about how long it may
have taken, how much it was going to cost. But in the end, look
at what is there.
And I remember specifically that there was a lot of concern
for Members of Congress at the time about how do we utilize
this space not just to establish a focal point for tours and
tourists coming in, but how can we utilize it for Members of
Congress and our teams to have meetings. And I know one of the
additions of that scope was to increase those opportunities.
Along these same lines, can you tell me, the auditorium and
the atrium, I already know they are wonderful places for films
and events for Congress to utilize. And I really appreciate
being able to utilize some of your meeting spaces for
constituent meetings.
And also it is great to be able to get down there to do
some things with our, you know, be it closed top secret
meetings, briefings that we as Members of Congress get. I
always enjoy having an electrical outlet there to charge my
phone, while I can't take it into those classified briefings.
It always amazes me, it doesn't matter if I took it in or not,
I know what is happening in the briefings when I get out,
because somebody else is tweeting it out.
But because we appreciate your spaces so much, can you tell
me how often the auditorium, the atrium, and other spaces are
used for films and other events? And can you tell me how often
they are utilized by the House and the Senate?
Ms. Plemmons. I can. Thank you for bringing those up. We
are very proud of those spaces. They are updated and full of
amenities to make sure that whatever meetings are held there go
off without a hitch.
We have about 800 events a year in those spaces, and this
would be the Congressional Auditorium and the two Congressional
Meeting Rooms. And the atrium is sort of right there in front
of the auditorium.
Mr. Davis. Right.
Ms. Plemmons. We use the auditorium about 50 percent of the
time. So, please, book more experiences in the auditorium. We
have that available 6 days a week. We also offer catering for
that particular area. So if you had an event in the atrium, you
could have catering along with your meeting in the
Congressional Auditorium.
Mr. Davis. So the utilization rate of the auditorium is
about 50 percent?
Ms. Plemmons. In the auditorium, yes.
Mr. Davis. And the atrium, what would you estimate?
Ms. Plemmons. It is about 50 percent.
Mr. Davis. Fifty percent. And the same with Emancipation
Hall?
Ms. Plemmons. Uh-huh.
Mr. Davis. Okay.
Ms. Plemmons. Now, Emancipation Hall is a little bit
different. We utilize that for our bigger events, such as Gold
Medal ceremonies and that sort of thing. And we use that about
two to three times a year, on average, for those big events.
Mr. Davis. But you have to kind of keep all the tourists
out while you are doing those events.
Ms. Plemmons. Yes.
Mr. Davis. Okay.
Ms. Plemmons. So we have massaged that over the years to
try to give as much access as possible. And depending on the
time of day that the event is occurring, we can sometimes bring
people in that morning while we are setting up and still give
them a tour and the full experience. Sometimes we do have to
cancel tours when we are having an event in Exhibition Hall.
Mr. Davis. How many times a year, how many special events
did you say with Emancipation Hall a year?
Ms. Plemmons. Emancipation Hall, we have two to three a
year.
Mr. Davis. Two or three a year.
Ms. Plemmons. In 2015, we had eight, because we had the
restoration going on in the rotunda.
Mr. Davis. So only about two or three times a year you have
the disruptions with the tours. And there are other ways for
us, as Members of Congress, to be able to take people on tours,
just not going through the CVC and Emancipation Hall, right?
Ms. Plemmons. And we do facilitate that through the
tunnels, where we ticket folks there and help them find their
way to the Capitol to go into the rotunda and Statuary Hall and
that sort of thing.
Mr. Davis. Did you help Mr. Brady find his way?
Ms. Plemmons. Absolutely. We showed him to the gift shop.
Mr. Davis. Thank you very, very much, Ms. Plemmons.
And thank you again, Bob and Gregg. You have been great to
serve under.
I yield back.
The Chairman. Thank you so much, Mr. Davis. The gentleman
yields back.
The Chair will now recognize the gentleman from Maryland,
Mr. Raskin, for 5 minutes.
Mr. Raskin. Mr. Chairman, thank you so much. And I am not
going to join the chorus singing your praises and that of Mr.
Brady, because we still have another, what, 7 months to go. So
I don't want any kind of premature encomiums for you guys.
Thank you so much for your testimony.
So 50 percent usage rate, is that right, for the atrium and
for the auditorium? And what percentage is it on the weeks and
during the weekends, would you say?
Ms. Plemmons. It is almost all Tuesday through Thursday is
our big--when folks are in session.
Mr. Raskin. So if you add up the whole week, it is actually
less than 50 percent if you count----
Ms. Plemmons. We were counting Monday through Friday as
availability.
Mr. Raskin. Got you.
Ms. Plemmons. And then, of that, we use it about 50 percent
of the time.
Mr. Raskin. I am interested in the weekend just because I
am a local Member. My district touches D.C. And I am just
curious, what are the rules about use of the space during the
weekend? Is it possible for groups to obtain----
Ms. Plemmons. It is available on Saturday. We are open on
Saturdays at the CVC. We are closed on Sundays. And so we
typically do not host events on Sundays unless it is a
congressional directive, and we are happy to do that. We have a
ceremony coming up in June with King Kamehameha that is on a
Sunday.
Mr. Raskin. But for Saturdays, ordinarily it is available
by way of the usual reservation process through Members and so
on?
Ms. Plemmons. Right.
Mr. Raskin. Great.
So do you have a visitor feedback process that you are
using to analyze the use of the space and the facilities?
Ms. Plemmons. We do have visitor feedback systems in a
number of different areas. Our visitor surveys are primarily
done for folks that are on tour or visiting Exhibition Hall or
something like that.
We do ask our participants that utilize the space in the
Congressional Auditorium and the Congressional Meeting Rooms
for their feedback, and ask them to rate our service and how we
are doing and what we can do to be better service providers.
Mr. Raskin. Can you describe the current ticketing system
and how that is working?
Ms. Plemmons. I can. We do have a reservation system, as I
mentioned earlier. And so ideally, a person would go online and
book their reservation in advance. And then they would come a
little ahead of time on the day of their reservation and come
through the screening process and then go to the information
desk and pick up their ticket. And then they get in line for
the theater, and then a guide or a staffer will take them on a
tour of the Capitol.
The ticketing process itself, once that reservation is
made, once we have booked up those reservations for a day, then
we tell folks, just come on in and we are going to accommodate
you if we possibly can.
And so that is where our inventory management comes in,
where we are constantly watching to see how things are flowing.
And if we have someone that does not show up for their
reservation, then we get those tickets to the people who are
standing there. And we do that in order of how long they have
been waiting.
Mr. Raskin. Do you know what the typical wait time is for
someone who just shows up like that?
Ms. Plemmons. It really depends on the day. The 2 weeks
around Easter are traditionally our incredibly busy time.
Mr. Raskin. We have noticed that.
Ms. Plemmons. And we did have one day where waits were up
to 2 hours this past Easter, but that is not the norm.
Normally, it would be no more than 20 minutes or so during our
busy season. Six months out of the year, there is no wait at
all.
Mr. Raskin. Great. All right. Well, thank you so much for
your hard work, and my constituents certainly love it. So you
have got some happy customers in the Eighth Congressional
District of Maryland.
I yield back.
The Chairman. The gentleman yields back.
The Chair will now recognize the gentleman from North
Carolina, Mr. Walker, for 5 minutes.
Mr. Walker. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I do not have to wait for the next few months to offer my
accolades to your character, integrity. And part of your legacy
here will be the honor with which you have handled yourselves,
and I think that is across the aisle. So thank you for your
service.
Ms. Plemmons, you mentioned earlier that because of the age
there were some things that needed change and repair, which
made me think those are some things that I think Vice Chair
Rodney Davis can relate to at his growing age and about needing
some changes and repair, but that is a different story. As our
catcher, we will talk about that some other time.
Ms. Plemmons, I believe Exhibition Hall is a tremendous
asset to the Capitol Visitor Center. It is arguably the only
museum space in our Nation dedicated to American political
history, of which Congress is the epicenter of course.
Can you explain for us the key features that contribute to
the functioning of Exhibition Hall? For example, how often does
the temporary exhibit change? What type of programming have you
historically done in the Exhibition Hall? And have you changed
or expanded the programming in recent years? Could you take
just a minute and address those?
Ms. Plemmons. Sure.
Thank you for asking about Exhibition Hall. It is a great
space, and it is very interesting and engaging. It is a little
dark, and we need to correct that with our redesign to be more
welcoming.
But it does offer a number of artifacts, interactives.
There are films, touchable models. We are telling the story of
Congress. It is, as you mentioned, the only exhibition in the
world that tells the story of the United States Congress and
the Capitol.
And we also have two theaters, one is on the House side and
one is on the Senate side, and the areas are made to look
similar to the Chambers. And we show a film that explains how
Congress works, how the House works and how the Senate works.
We also have a rotating exhibit, and that does occur every
6 months. So a tremendous investment in that. We have a working
group, a content working group that includes the House and
Senate curators and historians, folks from the Archives and the
Library of Congress. They all work together to come up with a
quality exhibit that we refresh every 6 months.
Mr. Walker. Sure. I think you referenced kind of the
redesign of Exhibition Hall in your comments. What was the
purpose of the necessity of those needs? Or, in your opinion,
why did you think that was necessary? And can you also address
where you are in the process?
Ms. Plemmons. Sure. We had always known that the intent was
to refresh the Hall after 10 years. And so as we started to
approach our 10-year anniversary, we started to plan. And part
of that planning included surveying our visitors to find out
what they were looking for in their experience.
And so we wanted to change that environment to be more
welcoming and inviting, the physical space, to make it
something that would draw folks in; and then also to respond to
the needs of our visitors and help them understand the impact
that Congress has on them every day, and also what their role
is in the democratic process.
So that is our focus.
Mr. Walker. Thank you. Thanks for articulating that.
A little bit of a longer question, to preface it, but I
want to get your response on this. The Capitol Visitor Center
currently features our national motto, ``In God We Trust,''
engraved at its entrance; the Pledge of Allegiance, including
the words ``One Nation under God,'' that is engraved at the
entrance of the Congressional Auditorium. ``In God We Trust''
is seen in your mini-House Chamber replica, as it is on our
House floor.
As part of the redesign, since we are talking on that, do
you anticipate any of these important stories or features of
our congressional history and political life being altered,
changed, or even removed?
Ms. Plemmons. We intend to keep all of those as part of
telling the story of Congress and our religious heritage. And I
will say that--put a caveat in there that some of the items are
on loan, such as the two Bibles that we have. They are very
important and part of telling the story of that particular
time.
However, we do abide by the guidelines of our lenders. And
so if there are objects that might need to have a rest, not be
on display for a while to preserve them--and, you know, Bibles
are paper--and so there could be a scenario where the lenders
say: We want to take these off of display.
But our intent is to include those and everything else that
you mentioned, and to continue to weave those stories in, as
appropriate, as we tell the story of the history of Congress
and the Capitol.
Mr. Walker. Thank you, Ms. Plemmons.
I yield back.
The Chairman. The gentleman yields back.
We want to thank you for your time today and for what you
do to make the Capitol the special place that it is.
There is nothing more meaningful to us, as Members, than
seeing first-time visitors to the United States Capitol and to
see that interest that they have, whether it is an adult or a
group of young people from a school. It is something unique and
special, and it is the center of our democracy. And so I thank
you for that work that you are doing.
And as this goes through and the days go by, and you have
issues or needs or things that you are looking at, or redesigns
or reengineering, don't assume that we know about those needs.
And please know that we are here to work together on this to
continue to have it as the most incredible place to visit in
Washington, D.C.
And we thank you for your time today.
Without objection, all Members will have 5 legislative days
to submit to the Chair additional written questions for the
witness, which we will forward if any are forthcoming, and ask
you to answer as promptly as you can so that those answers can
be made a part of the record.
[The information follows:]
The Chairman. Without objection, this hearing is adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 11:40 a.m., the Committee was adjourned.]
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