INTER-AMERICAN CULTURAL AND TRADE CENTER (INTERAMA) THURSDAY, AUGUST 26, 1965 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, The Subcommittee on International Organizations and Movements met at 10 a.m., room 2172, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Dante B. Fascell (chairman) presiding. Mr. FASCELL. The subcommittee will come to order, please. We are here this morning to consider H.R. 30, and several companion bills to provide for participation of the United States in the Inter-American Cultural and Trade Center in Dade County, Fla., and for other purposes. (The text of H.R. 30 is as follows:) [H.R. 30, 89th Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To provide for participation of the United States in the Inter-American Cultural and Trade Center in Dade County, Florida, and for other purposes Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the President, through an executive department or independent agency designated by him, shall cooperate with the Inter-American Center Authority (an agency of the State of Florida), with respect to, and determine the extent to which the United States shall be a participant and as exhibitor at, the Inter-American Cultural and Trade Center (hereinafter referred to as Interama), the first permanent international exposition, which is planned to open in 1966. The purposes of such exposition are: (1) To establish a permanent international exposition to serve as a common meeting ground of the Americas to portray the American way of life-Progress with freedom. Interama will show what the Americas have achieved without the sacrifice of civil liberties and individual freedom-within the framework of democratic institutions. Through dynamic exhibits, events, and live performances, that are constantly up-dated. Interama will bring together, under freedom, the governments and industries of the Americas and other foreign nations-to provide a continuous exchange of cultures, ideas, and people. (2) Interama will be worldwide in scope, although special emphasis will be given to exhibits and pavilions of the Western Hemisphere nations. The President is authorized, by proclamation or in such other manner as he may deem proper, to invite the several States of the Union and foreign countries to take part in the exposition: Provided, That no Communist de facto government holding any people in subjugation be invited to participate. (1) To utilize United States participation to increase mutual understanding between the peoples of the United States and the peoples of other countries by means of educational and cultural exchange programs at Interama; to utilize Interama to strengthen the ties which unite us with other nations of the free world by demonstrating the educational, social, economic and cultural interests, developments and achievements of the peoples of the United States and other free nations, as provided by the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961, as amended, and in any other ways which he deems appropriate. (2) To utilize for the purposes of subparagraph (1) above such funds and other resources authorized by law, including personnel as are or may become available to the various departments or agencies of the governments for the purposes of this Act, including, but not limited to, the Department of State and its various constituent agencies (including the Agency for International Development, the Office of the United States Coordinator, Alliance for Progress); the Department of Agriculture; the United States Information Agency; the Housing and Home Finance Agency; and the Export-Import Bank. SEC. 2. There shall be in the designated department or independent agency a Commissioner for Interama who shall be appointed by the President and who shall receive compensation at the rate payable to an Assistant Secretary of an executive department. The head of the designated department or independent agency shall prescribe the duties of the Commissioner and may delegate such powers and duties to him as are deemed advisable in order to carry out this Act. SEC. 3. In carrying out the provisions of this Act, the head of the designated department or independent agency may (a) Appoint without regard to the civil service laws and the Classification Act of 1949, such persons as he deems to be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act, except that no person appointed under this paragraph shall receive compensation from the United States at a rate in excess of that received by persons under the Classification Act of 1949 for performing comparable duties; (b) Enter into such contracts as may be necessary to provide for United States participation in Interama. (c) Erect or lease such buildings and other structures as may be appropriate for United States participation in Interama on land in Dade County, Florida, (five acres or more and including land necessary for ingress and egress) leased or conveyed to the United States (in fee simple and free and clear of liens and encumbrances), in consideration of the participation by the United States in Interama and without other consideration: Provided, That all laborers and mechanics employed by contractors or subcontractors in the performance of work on such buildings and other structures shall be paid wages at rates not less than those prevailing on similar construction in the locality as determined by the Secretary of Labor in accordance with the Bacon-Davis Act, as amended (40 U.S.C., sec. 276a-276a-5) in the design and construction of such buildings and other structures consideration (including consultation with the General Services Administration), shall be given to their utility for governmental needs after the close of Interama, if such an occasion should occur; (d) Purchase books of reference, newspapers, and periodicals; (e) Incur such other expenses as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act, including but not limited to expenditures involved in the selection, purchase, rental, construction, and other acquisition of exhibits and materials and equipment therefor and the actual display thereof, and including but not limited to related expenditures for costs of transportation. insurance, safekeeping, maintenance and operation, rental of space, and dismantling; and (f) Accept any gifts, loans, donations, or devices to be used in carrying out the provisions of this Act. SEC. 4. The head of each department, agency, or instrumentality of the Federal Government is authorized to cooperate with the head of the designated department or independent agency, from time to time, on a reimbursable basis, such personnel as may be necessary to assist the designated department or independent agency in carrying out its functions under this Act. SEC. 5. There is authorized to be appropriated, until expended, such sums as the Congress deems appropriate from time to time to carry out the provisions of this Act. Mr. FASCELL. This is a matter which has long been close to the hearts of the people of Dade County and we are delighted with the very fine representation here today to speak in behalf of this bill. We are pleased to welcome this morning our colleagues in the House, a distinguished Member and sponsor of this legislation, who worked very hard for it and who will coordinate the presentation on behalf of those sponsoring the bill. We are also very happy to welcome both of our distinguished U.S. Senators from Florida. STATEMENT OF HON. CLAUDE PEPPER, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF FLORIDA Mr. PEPPER. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, we are very grateful to your distinguished committee for giving us the honor and the opportunity of appearing here this morning. This bill to provide for U.S. participation in the great Inter-American Cultural and Trade Center at Miami has the united support of our delegation and of the people of our State. There has been a long and favorable attitude toward this project on the part of the Congress in past years and indeed on the part of the Congress that is now here in Washington. Today a fine indication of the unity of the delegation from Florida is the fact that we have our two distinguished Senators here to open with statements in behalf of this measure this morning. First, our eminent senior Senator, long a very warm and diligent advocate of this great measure, the Honorable Spessard Holland. Mr. FASCELL. Senator Holland, we will be very happy to hear from you. STATEMENT OF HON. SPESSARD HOLLAND, U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF FLORIDA Senator HOLLAND. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee. I appreciate the invitation from the chairman addressed to your two Senators to come over here. I never come to this dignified body without such an invitation. Mr. FASCELL. Senator, I assure you for those of us on this committee, both of you are always welcome without an invitation. Senator HOLLAND. We appreciated the invitation. Mr. Chairman, a few general remarks. For a great many years I believe that the thing of greatest importance to our country in its world relations is our relations with our neighbors in this hemisphere. I think hemispheric understanding, and if possible hemispheric unity, is the most solid thing that we could ever attain. It has been for that reason that I have requested and accepted various assignments in the Senate, such as for 12 years having the Senate participation in the Inter-American Highway project; such as our activities in Panama Canal matters which I have handled in the Appropriations Committee; such as our connection with Latin America in connection with highway matters in which I have been assigned twice to attend Pan-American Highway Congresses, one at Mexico City and the other at Caracas; such as the knocking out of the hoofand-mouth disease menace in Mexico in which I served as a member of the subcommittee from the Senate to go to Mexico and to lend in every way that we could our help in getting rid of that menace to them and to us. I have seen what I think is a basic need for many years. That is the need for a place dedicated to cultural, industrial, educational, agricultural, and social exchanges between our country and our friendly neighbors. All of our neighbors used to be friendly. I shall hope for the time when they will all be friendly again. It seems to me that with all the emphasis on cultural and educational and industrial exchanges, that perhaps the greatest emphasis of all should be laid upon social exchange, a building of a better and firmer understanding between peoples. I think there is no place and no proposed establishment that is quite so well situated geographically and from other standpoints to meet the need for such a place of a common meeting ground in the Western Hemisphere as is Miami and the proposed Interama organization and establishment. May I point to the map over here on the left and there you will see for yourself what I am sure every member of the committee already knows. Miami comes nearer being at the geographic center of the Western Hemisphere than any other city of any substantial size. If you have read with interest, as I am sure you have, the population figures for the Western Hemisphere I am sure that you have noted also and for the record I call attention to the fact-that Miami comes very near being at the population center of the Western Hemisphere. I am not going to elaborate on these two points. They just happen to be true and they happen to be a very great argument, very great reason why this Interama project was initiated originally and why it has had a long life of steady but sometimes heavy going which it has had since it was originated. Along with my distinguished colleague, Senator Smathers and our distinguished colleague, Congressman Pepper, I have been privileged to have some small part in this matter from the time of its inception. Beginning with a joint resolution passed in 1950 introduced in the House by my now distinguished colleague, Senator Smathers, who then was a Member of the House representing the Miami area, and, supported avidly in the Senate by Congressman Pepper, then my distinguished colleague in the Senate and myself, and followed in 1951 by the setting up of a State agency which has since operated without interruption with very considerable State financial support. Also, very great support has been received from the city of Miami and from the county of Dade, with unanimous support from the Florida delegation and from many, many other agencies. The Interama effort has continued without interruption from that time until now when I hope it is approaching realization and maturity. Just a word about what has been done in the way of physical progress toward the objective. The 1,700 acres of mangrove lands or flats similar completely to much of what is now Miami Beach, similar completely to what is now much of the highly developed area of the entire Gold Coast of Florida, was granted to Interama for this purpose by the city of Miami. I am sure that others will speak about it later. I simply want to locate it for the record as being at the north end of Biscayne Bay adjoining Miami Beach, just south of the developed areas which constitute Hollywood Beach and on down to the Diplomat Hotel-with which I am sure you are all familiar-on the mainland adjoining North Miami on the northeast and Miami proper on the southwest. It is available and accessible to everybody who will be in that great area, which I shall speak of as the Dade area consisting now of many communities and have a total resident population of 1,500,000 people, about as near the center of that area as it is possible to be. The area of 1,700 acres is said to be worth about $50 million. Not being an expert in real estate valuations, all I can say is that it seems to have been the very satisfactory basis for the $21 million bond issue already approved and of which a substantial part has already been issued and used in the filling and making available of the first 680 acres out of the 1,700 which is now available for construction because it has been filled, the settling period has been completed. That is the area most accessible from the city of Miami, the city of Miami Beach, and the other areas which I have mentioned. So that we now have the 1,700-acre tract, 680 acres of it filled and ready for development. We have the commitment of the State through its several Governors, including its present Governor, and including the State highway department for the building of all the roads and bridges, and they are quite expensive structures. We have the commitment of the city of North Miami for the inclusion of the water and sanitation facilities. We have the commitment of the Florida Power & Light Co., for the bringing in of the power facilities. I think it is only good business on the part of both of these to do just that. We have the availability of the rest of the $21 million bond issue, $13 million to move ahead. We have the availability of the $22 million Community Facilities Administration loan for the building of the structures which are to house a proposed Federal exhibit and proposed exhibits by our Latin American neighbors. We have a very considerable interest shown by numerous great business enterprises of this Nation. I shall yield to later witnesses to talk about that. There is no question about it, that with the enormous outlet available in Latin America for the automobiles and for all of the other things which are primarily manufactured in our own country, there will be large industrial exhibits and investments there without question. May I say that the interest of private investors so far as I am concerned has sort of come to a head in the interest manifested by Mr. Edward Ball, the head of the Du Pont empire. Many do not approve of his philosophy. Many may not be fond of him personally but there is nobody living who can question two facts: First, that he has a very fine idea about business and how to make profitable business investments. Second, that he has a very large control of capital enabling him to make highly substantial investments wherever he thinks there is an opportunity. I was told about Mr. Ball's interest in the erection of a tower. It will be the dominant entertainment facility from the standpoint of eating and the like to be located on these premises. I asked him to come to see me, which he did. He told me of his interest and of his willingness to invest subject to certain conditions. I asked him to write me a letter on that point. He did write me a letter and I told him that I expected to use it at the appropriate time at a hear |