JUDICIARY BUILDING MANAGEMENT With regard to the Federal Judiciary Building, our involvement there is really from the overall management standpoint, an administrative matter, because I have contracted out the management of that entire building two-and-a-half years ago when the law gave me the prerogative to do so. So that entire building, which is over 1 million square feet, is contracted out, the maintenance, the management, even the security. So our involvement with that is to be sure that the standards in the agreement are met and we have a three-year agreement. One of the reasons that was done was so we could make a comparison between contracting out and doing it in-house. We have actual numbers now because we know what our costs are for a building of that nature. So that really doesn't add a great deal to our involvement. We don't have any personnel except executive and administrative people involved in overseeing the contract. In terms of the Supreme Court, the Supreme Court, I suppose, could take that over. One of the reasons that that was done, I believe, is that the Architect of the Capitol, at that time in 1935 when the building was completed, or 1933 to 1935, while it was under construction, was responsible for the construction of the building, and the architect was therefore asked to maintain the building as a part of the ongoing needs. And, of course, the Supreme Court had been in the Capitol building, as you know, and it moved over there in 1935. It came under the jurisdiction of the Congress, really. There isn't any reason why someone else couldn't do that, except-and this is a philosophical reason, that is a unique piece of architecture done by a famous architect of that period by the name of Cass Gilbert. It is a unique building that needs to be preserved and not mutilated. So someone in responsible charge of the maintenance needs to be sensitive to that, and really it is something that I think is important in all of these buildings, to be sure that the architecture is preserved and a concerted interest is taken in that regard, so that you just can't turn it over to somebody like GSA, for example. BOTANIC GARDEN-FURTHER DISCUSSION Mr. PACKARD. Let me return to the Botanic Garden. What would be your opinion or your recommendation if we were to consider merging it with, say, the National Arboretum? Mr. WHITE. It could be done, Mr. Chairman. Mr. PACKARD. And also back to the point of its renovation and restoration. The initial-or two years ago the estimate was $21 million, and it has gone up $7 million. What is the reason? Mr. WHITE. Well, the $21 million was estimated with plans that were then later revised as we developed them. In other words, it was a preliminary estimate. If I could just briefly describe the process, when you design a building you have really four basic stages in the design process. One is conceptual, and then you proceed to schematic drawings and then you do design development drawings and then you do working drawings or contract drawings. At each stage, you are able to estimate better and better, because you put more and more detail on the drawings. That $21 million was based on a very early set of drawings. We now are deeply into the design process and feel very confident in the $28 million. Mr. PACKARD. What is the function of the Botanic Garden and how long has it existed as a government entity? Mr. WHITE. It has existed as a government entity, and I may be incorrect in this in terms of the detail, since 1842. It grew out of the expedition that was financed and determined to be needed by the Congress when Admiral-at that time Captain Charles Wilkes sailed around the world. This was an agrarian economy and they were to develop and pick out plants of various kinds to bring back for possible economic need in the country. It was an official expedition authorized and funded by the Congress. I think he took three or four sailing ships. It was kind of like, although a little bit later in history, but kind of like the mutiny on the Bounty. They didn't have a mutiny, with Wilkes, but you remember they were collecting bread fruit trees to bring back to England and so on. That is what this was. As a matter of fact, he is the discoverer of Antarctica. You will see on the maps Wilkes land, W-I-L-K-E-S, and that was named after him. When he brought this collection back, all of their plants were placed in a botanic garden and it was in the center of the mall. Initially, it was another place, and then relocated to the center of the mall, just at the foot of the hill, and it stayed there until 1930s when the completion of the McMillan plan for the mall required it be moved off, just as the railroad station was moved off to where it is now located. And the Congress maintained control of it because it was the Congress that had authorized it and had funded it. Mr. PACKARD. And what is its function now? Mr. WHITE. Its function now is a museum of plants for the public. It also does plant identification. We have classes, school children come there and so on. It is an educational kind of thing at the moment. And in that regard, speaking of the Wilkes expedition, we have two plants still alive that he brought back in 1842. I didn't know plants lived that long, but apparently some of them do. Mr. PACKARD. Thank you for the historical perspective. I am going to yield to the gentleman from Florida, Mr. Miller, for questions, if you would like. QUESTIONS BY MR. MILLER ON BOTANIC GARDEN Mr. MILLER. Well, let me pursue that one question about the Botanic Garden. I have been there several times. It is a delightful place. I have also been in the Arboretum several times. My wife has been involved in that function for fund-raising purposes, as a matter of fact, and I agree we need to preserve the historic character and everything here. But the function and the role of the Botanic Garden raises the question, $28 million is a lot of money. Maybe there is a better use for it. Maybe they can serve their function better privately funded. Are those type of questions being asked? I am sure people want to preserve and keep that, but it is a limited facility, as you would acknowledge. Mr. WHITE. It is. Mr. MILLER. And the purpose from the 1930s to today maybe has changed. Mr. WHITE. Let me say that because in the beginning it was funded in a certain way, the authorizing jurisdiction comes under the Joint Committee on the Library. It is part of the Library in that sense. We don't fund it that way, but we used to. The employees used to be paid through the Library of Congress. We transferred it in this committee to be paid by us since we were responsible for their supervision. So it goes back to that. And there isn't any reason why it needs to be. am just giving you some history. It could easily be operated by the Smithsonian or the Arboretum, which, of course, is the Department of Agriculture. It is here because of history, and there isn't any reason it needs to be here. That doesn't mean somebody isn't going to have to spend the money on it. The issue is where you want that money to come from, I guess. Mr. MILLER. I guess the point is it is a very limited-sized building. I like to go there, it has a lot of tropical plants, for example, from my area of Florida. But it raises the question, maybe we are better to have a different type of facility at an Arboretum or someplace else that would accomplish the same goal. Mr. WHITE. That is something you could easily do. Mr. MILLER. But who asks that question? Who raises it? Programs kind of get a life of their own and no one would ever question that. I am sure that the groups like those at the Arboretum are there to protect the Arboretum as they are for the Botanic Garden. Mr. WHITE. That question normally comes out of a committee like this where funding is needed. I must say that there is very little activity of the Joint Committee on the Library with regard to oversight as an authorizing entity. And every year this committee asks those questions, and then I think it would be this committee's prerogative to carry it further, if you wished. Mr. PACKARD. If the gentleman would yield, if this committee asked the Architect's office to reduce their budget by 10, 15, 20, 25 percent for the next budget year, would this be a low priority item that you would recommend spinning off to privatize? Mr. WHITE. It would. Mr. PACKARD. Thank you. I would like you to answer a question for the record, and then, Mr. Miller, you may go ahead. [The question and response follows:] BOTANIC GARDEN Question. Why do we need a Botanic Garden? Certainly, the grounds need upkeep-and we need to plant and propagate for the grounds during the seasons of the year. But why can't we obtain these services from local landscape and nursery contractors? Response. The following information is supplied for the record. A. United States Botanic Garden Brief History and Functions Botanic gardens in the modern sense have played an important role in the history of civilization since the first one was founded in the 16th century. The United States Botanic Garden ("the USBG") is no exception. With a history that parallels the development of this country, it is the oldest operating botanic garden in the United States. A botanic garden at the seat of government, devoted to developing and distributing economically useful plants, was the dream of several of America's earliest statesmen, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Plans for a national botanic garden on the Mall began in the late 1790's with correspondence between Washington and the District Commissioners and between Jefferson and scientific colleagues. For Washington and Jefferson a botanic garden was an essential part of the agrarian democracy they wished to further. Their dream was first implemented when the nation's first botanic garden was established in Washington in 1820 under the Congressionally chartered Columbian Institute for the Promotion of Arts and Sciences, the first learned society in the capital. During the following two decades the garden succeeded in amassing a diversified plant collection from foreign and domestic sources and distributed economically useful plants throughout the nation, a practice that continued well into this century. A site near the Capitol was chosen because Members of Congress were all expected to send to the capital native plants from each of their states and districts. With the private Institute in dire financial straits for many years, and the proper housing of the plants brought to the United States from the Wilkes South Seas expedition of 1842 (the nation's first plant exploration) in jeopardy, Congress in 1850 approved construction of the first greenhouse on the site of the Institute's garden. This facility was officially named the U. S. Botanic Garden in 1856. In 1934 the institution's new Conservatory was erected on its present site, and the Architect of the Capitol was named as its acting director (a title retained to this day). Wilkes Expedition plants are still to be found in the facility. The mission of the USBG has changed from its initial emphasis on agrarian progress as the nation's needs and interests have developed. It has become an educational institution that focuses on the value of plants to the well being of humankind and to the ecosystems that support all life. The USBG complex includes the Conservatory and surrounding grounds, the adjacent site of the National Garden, Bartholdi Park and the adjacent USBG administration building, and the world-class Shepherd Parkway nursery and greenhouse range responsible for plant production for the USBG and the entire Capitol Hill Complex as well as housing the collections of the institution. The Shepherd Parkway facility was provided at no cost to the Legislative Branch budget by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority to replace the former Poplar Point facility, which was needed for subway construction. Working with scientists, the Garden grows, displays and keeps records on significant botanical collections for study and for exchange with other institutions. The Garden is involved in the preservation of rare or endangered plants and is actively raising and displaying economic plants. Serving also as a Plant Rescue Center for The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, the Garden is legally obligated to care for and preserve the multitude of protected plants it receives that are illegally shipped into the United States. The USBG serves the public and the Congress in the following ways: Beautiful gardens are displayed under glass and outdoors with the The Garden grows at its Shepherd Parkway facility the majority of plants Spectacular seasonal flower shows are created throughout the year |