Sec. 107 of the fiscal year 1991 Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, P.L. 101-520, provided authority to the Architect of the Capitol to lease approximately 150,000 square feet of space in the City Post Office, known as Postal Square, for use by certain Senate operations. Sec. 107 further provided that funds for such leasing would be appropriated under the "Architect of the Capitol, Senate Office Buildings" appropriation.

An amount of $7,550,000 was appropriated for leasing costs for fiscal year 1994. For fiscal year 1995, a total amount of $7,700,000 is requested, an increase of $150,000 over the amount already in the budget base. The request is based on presently known cost factors, which include the base lease cost increases, the amortization of the GSA Above Standard ild Costs, quired by the le ing arrangement between . GSA and the Architect of the Capitol, utility costs for services provided outside normal operating hours, and costs necessary to reimburse GSA for work orders.

The preventive maintenance program for exterior pointing and caulking was established in fiscal year 1982. The purpose of the program is to provide routine annual maintenance to the exterior stonework and other masonry to avoid costly emergency repair work. Το continue the program at its current work level, an increase of $16,000 is requested, which will cover Inflationary increases over the past two years as well as to provide for washing the exteriors of the buildings. This allotment was last increased in fiscal year 1992.

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In recent years the Architect's Office has responded to recently
amended civil rights legislation by sponsoring training such as
prevention of sexual harassment, employee rights and responsibilities,
substance abuse, and other subjects. This training is required for all
current and

employees. Additionally, the Office requires
supervisory development training and sponsors basic educational skills
training for reading Programs to respond to agency training needs
such as trade apprenticeships and additional supervisory development,
are being prepared.

The limited funding available for training is directed almost entirely toward the required training, leaving few resources available for other organizational training needs. Cost increases have also reduced training opportunities. As a result, the office will have to reduce the availability of basic educational skills training and eliminate trade apprenticeship training being developed. Without an increase in this allotment there will be no monies available for work performance improvement training, technical skills training, or training necessary for implementing or maintaining new programs or technologies.

Because of the unique and high profile environment within which the office operates, employees must possess a combination of technical and communications skills in order to be effective and productive in supporting the activities of the Congress. Employees must have sufficient technical skills to operate and maintain the equipment the Office is responsible for, and they must have sufficient communications skills to perform their work within the Congressional community in an expedient and appropriate manner.

400,000

Annual Furniture and Furnishings increased from
$425,000 to $825,000....

It is requested that the furniture and furnishings allotment be
increased by $400,000 on an annual basis to provide for increased needs
in the Senate. Over the past several years, funds have been provided
for one time procurements for specialty furniture, to provide for an
expanded approved furniture and furnishings list, and an accessories
and special allowances policy. It was anticipated that the
aforenentioned programs would meet the Senate's interim needs for
furnishings related to office automation. An additional thrust of the
furniture improvement program was to ensure that the furniture items
available for issue were in good to excellent condition and that the
Architect maintained a current inventory of the approved furniture and
furnishings itens.

Demands for these Itens have increased significantly as the Senate has become more and more dependent on computer systems to perform its work. "L" shaped desks are ideal to accommodate a traditional workstation (versus modular) because of the need for staff to have a normal work surface as well as to accommodate a PC, a screen and a keyboard. Ergonomic chairs are being increasingly recommended for staff because of the potential for back strain and fatigue, especially in the context of a large number of sedentary hours of work. Lateral files allow more flexibility in organizing office areas in a time period when work spaces are becoming increasingly crowded with office automation equipment. These items need to be procured in larger quantities to satisfy the Senate's needs. Therefore, an annual increase of $400,000 is requested.

This request is part of a comprehensive multi year elevator and escalator modernization and addition program designed to improve the vertical transportation systens within the Senate Office Buildings. The program has been designed to create an Integrated solution to the most critical vertical transportation problems.

The Russell Senate Office Building has fourteen existing elevators.
The elevators

modernized between 1966 and 1978. However,
replacement parts are becoming difficult to obtain and the systems are
outdated in design and operational efficiency. This request is
submitted to provide for the preparation of detailed designs and
modernization of all Russell Building elevators. This modernization
program will also bring the elevators in the Russell Building into
compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

was

This project complements and will be closely coordinated with other projects for the design, development, and modernization of elevators for the Dirksen Senate Office Building, funding for which appropriated in fiscal year 1993. Upon completion of this work, all Russell Building elevators will be completely refurbished, modernized, and will utilize state of the art microprocessor dispatching and control systems.

As this work will require more than one year to complete, these funds are requested on a "No Year" basis. Approval to request funds in the fiscal year 1995 budget for this project has been sought from the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration. This project was requested and denied in the fiscal year 1994 budget.

Cyclical Maintenance (continued)

Modernize Three Freight Elevators, Hart Building.

300,000

This request is part of a comprehensive multi year elevator and oscalator modernization and addition program designed to improve the vertical transportation system within the Senate Office Buildings. This program has been designed to create an integrated solution to the most critical vertical transportation problems.

The three freight elevators in the Hart Building are critical to the efficient operation of all building activities. Elevator S.l on the south and S-2 on the north each have rear and front doors to serve Dirksen floor elevations on the west and Hart floor elevations on the east. These units are very large slow speed elevators and are in heavy daily (24 hours per day) use for the movement of trash, furniture, equipment, pallet trucks and other items. S-3 serves the basement level through the third floor, providing exclusive service from the basement Dirksen kitchen to the Central Hearing Facility on the second floor and the third floors of the central wing of the Hart Building.

An electrical fault in S-l in 1983 caused extensive damage to the control wiring. The central panels were rewired but this system has been very trouble prone ever since that event. In addition, S-2 and S. 3 have proven to be very prone to breakdowns. Efforts over the years to make these systems reliable and make improvements have resulted in increased reliability. However, even with increased reliability these units are still not sufficiently reliable in consideration of how vital these units are to the daily operations of the Senate Office Buildings