Normally bustling, Washington, DC, becomes a ghost town in the weeks before an election. The summer tourist rush is long over. Congress adjourns itself so lawmakers can go home and campaign. The press heads beyond the Beltway to cover the top races. And lobbyists, congressional aides, and even Cabinet secretaries head to the battleground states to volunteer for their preferred candidates.
This autumn is no different, but this year, two very special individuals broke the norm and moved to Washington.
Last week, two Chinese nationals by the names of Bao Li and Qing Bao flew 8,000 miles from the city of Dujiangyan to Dulles Airport outside Washington. There, a motorcade complete with a police escort whisked the three-year olds into the nation’s capital.
Why the special treatment for a pair of toddlers? Because Bao Li and Qing Bao aren’t just any new arrivals. They are VIPs: Very Important Pandas.
For nearly 50 years, China has lent some its black-and-white citizens to the National Zoo and select other zoos in what is commonly referred to as “panda diplomacy.” But last fall, the latest pair went home, leaving DC perilously panda-less, and seemingly symbolizing the heightened tensions between the U.S. and China.
Thankfully, the pandas are back, although the public won’t be able to see them for a few more months as the pair acclimate to their new surroundings.
By the time Bao Li and Qing Bao make their public debuts, there is likely to be a new occupant in the White House as well. Until then, however, policymaking in Washington is at a near standstill. With both the Presidency and both chambers of Congress up for grabs on November 5, those who remain in DC are in a holding pattern, not knowing who will set the agenda in 2025 and have the power to effect legislation and regulations.
With wide divides between the parties on a whole host of issues, it is hard to predict what the mood in Washington will be come January. At least both sides appear to support the pandas.
ACRA will provide analysis of the election results and what they may mean for CRM once the election results are in. Stay tuned to ACRASphere for more info in the coming weeks.
ACHP Receives Hundreds of Comments on Their Proposed Program Comment
The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) has received nearly 150 public comments on its Proposed Program Comment on Accessible, Climate-Resilient, Connected Communities.
The ACHP proposed its Program Comment last summer, saying that “the intent of the Program Comment is to help accelerate the review of federal agency actions to rehabilitate existing housing or create new housing in existing buildings, to maintain and update buildings and their immediate environs in response to climate concerns, and to rehabilitate or create new climate-friendly transportation infrastructure. It would apply to all agencies proposing to carry out, license, permit, or fund the covered undertakings which elect to use it.”
The Program Comment would provide all federal agencies with an alternative to Section 106 for a wide range of undertakings.
Among the comments are those from ACRA, which stated that, while it supports the Comment’s policy goals around affordable housing and climate resilience, it believes the Comment “is so broad and all-encompassing that it will undermine significant work conducted over decades by Council members, state and Tribal preservation officers, cultural resource management firms and professionals, and many others to strike an appropriate balance” between the goals of development and heritage.
The Council is reviewing the public comments and will determine next steps in the coming weeks.
All public comments on the Program Comment are available here.