A bill to authorize the Smithsonian Institution to plan for the development of the area south of the original Smithsonian Institution Building adjacent to Independence Avenue at Tenth Street, Southwest, in the City of Washington.
Public Law 96-36 · S. 927 · 96th Congress · began in the Senate
Signed by Jimmy Carter (D) on Jul 20, 1979 · Arts, Culture, Religion
Sponsor: Sen. Scoop Jackson (D-WA)
Cosponsors (2): Sen. Patrick Leahy, Sen. Jennings Randolph
Passage votes
- HouseMethod not stated
- SenateMethod not stated
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
Authorizes the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution to plan for the development of the area south of the original Smithsonian Building in Washington, D.C. Authorizes appropriations for such purpose.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 12 actions.
- Jul 20, 1979Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- PresidentPresident · Public Law 96-36.
- Jul 10, 1979PresidentPresident · Measure presented to President.
- PresidentPresident · Measure enrolled in Senate.
- PresidentPresident · Measure enrolled in House.
- Jul 9, 1979FloorFloor · Measure passed House, in lieu of H.R. 3504.
- CommitteeCommittee · Discharged from House Committee on House Administration
- May 22, 1979CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Committee on House Administration
- May 21, 1979FloorFloor · Measure passed Senate.
- May 14, 1979CommitteeCommittee · Reported by Senate Rules and Administration Committee
- Apr 9, 1979CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Senate Rules and Administration Committee
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the Senate
Data notes
Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.
Official record
The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.