I am transmitting, herewith, original and two copies of a supplemental estimate of appropriation for the fiscal year 1984, totaling $3,000,000 for the Architect of the Capitol as follows: ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL EAST PLAZA UNDERGROUND GARAGE COMPLEX (Supplemental now requested, existing legislation) To enable the Architect of the Capitol, under the direction of the Commission for Extension of the United States Capitol, to prepare design, working drawings, and estimates of cost for the "East Plaza Underground Garage Complex," as authorized by Public Law 242, 84th Congress, as amended, $3,000,000, to remain available until expended. CLOSING REMARKS Mr. WHITE. That concludes the brief summary, Mr. Chairman. I will be pleased to respond to any questions that you and the Committee may have. [The statement of Mr. White follows:] STATEMENT OF GEORGE M. WHITE, ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL In presenting our appropriations request for fiscal year 1985, Mr. Chairman, I intend to proceed, with your approval, in the same manner as has been the practice the past several years, that is, to present a brief summary of the various requests, following which I will be pleased to respond in detail to questions regarding any of the specific items that you wish to pursue. The justifications have been prepared, Mr. Chairman, to include all items pertaining to the "Architect of the Capitol," including the Botanic Garden, House items, Senate items, and joint items. The total appropriation request for fiscal year 1985 is $97,458,000, which includes funding for 2,078 positions. This represents a net decrease of $119,307,000 and an increase of ten positions over the fiscal year 1984 totals of $216,765,000 and 2,068 positions. Stated differently, gross increases requested are $11,639,600 which have been reduced by nonrecurring fiscal year 1984 program deductions amounting to $130,946,600 and the position request remains unchanged. If the item "Senate Office Buildings" is excluded, the $11,639,600 increase for 1985 reduces to $8,298,100, of which $3,151,500 is for House Office Buildings, and the additional positions remain unchanged. The $8,298,100 increases, which excludes "Senate Office Buildings," fall into five categories, namely, Mandatory Items, which total $1,242,200, or 15 percent of the increase; This category includes annualization of Civilian Pay Act and Wage-rate pay increases effected in January 1984, related benefits and premium pay items for existing and additional positions requested and within-grade salary advancements authorized by law. Also included are funds for an excess work day in fiscal year 1985. New Positions, which total $206,800 or 3 percent of the increase; Ten additional positions are requested of which eight are for "Salaries, Architect of the Capitol" and two are for "Capitol Grounds." They are being requested to provide needed staffing to handle increased workload demands, implement new, expanded, and improved programs, and, in general, apply appropriate efforts to respond to and improve overall services to the Congress. I should like to emphasize that four of these new positions will improve our central office management capacity, particularly in critical functions such as training, project scheduling and coordination, and personnel improvements. These benefits, which will result in cost savings, will in my judgment, outweigh the increase in personnel cost. Annual Recurring Maintenance, which totals $431,900, or 5 percent of the increase; This category contains one significant increase of $235,000 for maintenance and rental of office equipment, which represents 54 percent of the total in this category. The balance of $196,900 is required to finance normal maintenance responsibilities, such as repairs and improvements to electrical, air conditioning and other mechanical systems; procurement of supplies and materials and equipment. Of the total increase of $431,900 approximately $149,900 represents inflationary increases. Cyclical Maintenance, which totals $1,904,200 or 23 percent of the increase; As indicated in the past, I define this category as long term maintenance items that arise only once in ten or twenty years, such as roof repairs, sidewalk replacement and so forth. Four of the largest items, in monetary terms, requested under this category are the replacement of electro-mechanical signal devices (Legislative Call System) in the Capitol Complex ($120,000), roof replacements and required related work at House Office Building Annexes No. 1 and 2 ($900,000), replacement of feedwater pumps and repair of condensers on chillers at the Capitol Power Plant ($545,000), and replacement of several units of motorized equipment to be used at the Capitol Building, Capitol Grounds, Capitol Power Plant, and Botanic Garden ($215,000). The remainder of $123,000 is required for five miscellaneous items for property and equipment maintenance and replacement. The last category is Continuing and Initiating Other Programs, which totals $4,513,000, or 54 percent of the increase; Included in this category are funds for such programs as that of an energy management program $1,370,000; renovations/alterations to selected areas under Capitol Buildings and House Office Buildings, $1,250,000; 10 office intrusion alarms and a video display system, $210,000; conserva tion of wall paintings in the Capitol Building, $220,000; installation of peak shaving electric generators at the Capitol Power Plant, $800,000; modification to elevators to provide fire service, $468,000; and $195,000 for three other items. PROGRAM SUPPLEMENTALS Also, Mr. Chairman, I have requested eight program supplementals for House and joint items in the 1985 Budget for fiscal year 1984. The requests total $114,852,000 and are identified by appropriation, as follows: Contingent expenses: replenishment of funds required for bomb damage, U.S. Capitol Capitol buildings: Computer-aided design and drafting system....... Installation of additional electronic security equipment Replenishment of funds required for the installation of security improvements in the House Chamber and Cloakroom. Capitol grounds: improvement of parking facilities, square 640. House Office buildings: replenishment of funds required for alterations to underground garage shop spaces Library of Congress: Restoration and renovation of the Thomas Jefferson and John Replenishment of funds reprogramed for two elevators, Jeffer- $150,000 600,000 2,100,000 150,000 200,000 152,000 111,000,000 500,000 This request has been included in the 1985 Budget, as transmitted, and will be justified and submitted separately as a Fiscal Year 1984 Supplemental. At this time, Mr. Chairman, I thought it appropriate to mention that the 1985 request does not contain an increase in funds for electricity, oil and coal in the appropriation "Capitol Power Plant." This is due to the stabilization of prices for these energy sources. However, if this trend changes in the near future, particularly in connection with the pending Potomac Electric Power Company proposed rate increase before the Public Service Commission, then an additional 1984 supplemental will be forthcoming. Mr. Chairman, that concludes my brief summary and I shall be pleased to respond to questions that you and the Committee may have. EAST PLAZA UNDERGROUND GARAGE DESIGN REQUEST Mr. FAZIO. Thank you very much. At this point the committee would like an update of the activities on the West Front of the Capitol, since we were all deeply involved. Mr. MURTHA. Could I ask about removing traffic from the square? You are talking about up front, close to the Capitol? Mr. WHITE. Yes sir. Mr. MURTHA. The East Front? Mr. WHITE. Yes sir, where the parking lot is. Mr. FAZIO. We are going to have to give a great deal of attention to that request, along with the general restoration of the Library of Congress Buildings. Mr. WHITE. At this point, just to clarify it, Mr. Chairman, we are not asking for construction funds, we are asking for design funds so that we can have credible cost estimates. Mr. FAZIO. Obviously the whole concept would need to be considered. Mr. WHITE. Yes sir. Mr. FAZIO. Before we embark on the design. Mr. WHITE. Yes sir. WEST FRONT STATUS Mr. FAZIO. Would you proceed with the review of the activities on the West Front? Mr. WHITE. The status of the activity on the West Front is that all of the paint has been removed. That contract is virtually complete, 99 percent complete. We have also partially completed the test drilling contract which was awarded to determine the details of how the holes would be drilled from the exterior walls to the in-. terior walls and into which rods are inserted that will be clamped at both ends to tie the building together and then be grouted. We let a separate contract for the four test holes to be drilled so that we would be assured of a proper description of what the general contractors will need to estimate for their costs. That is partially complete. The selection of proposed bidders has been made, consisting of three contractors-that is Turner Construction Company, the Hyman Construction Company, and Tompkins Construction Company. They have been in conversation with us, have witnessed the drilling taking place and they will receive materials completed for bidding purposes this week. Their bids are due sometime within the next month. During that period other preparatory work will be taking place on the West Front. We are well within our schedule and well within the budget. EMPLOYEES INVOLVED Mr. FAZIO. Could you tell us how many of your employees are involved versus how much of the work is being contracted? Mr. WHITE. Up until now, virtually all of the work has been done with outside contractors. We will do some of the work with socalled in-house employees, particularly work that is involved inside the building. For example, where these tension rods come through the wall on either side, masonry will have to be removed both on the exterior and interior to receive the metal plates against which the rod bears when it is tightened. Those areas will have to be covered again and refinished. We will do the covering on the interior with our own people, including replastering and painting, but the exterior will be done by the contractor responsible for the replacement of stone. Mr. FAZIO. You will be doing the plastering and painting of interior walls? Mr. WHITE. That is right. IN-HOUSE PARTICIPATION Mr. FAZIO. Why are you doing that with your own people versus contractors? Mr. WHITE. Largely because it is hard to tell how much needs to be done and also we have people who are accustomed to doing that type of work. We think it will save money rather than have a contractor trying to estimate what that portion of the work is going to cost. When we do it with in-house labor, it will perhaps be at no cost in terms of the labor. Mr. FAZIO. In other words, they are already on the payroll? |