60-886 0-93-23

6,000

OTHER INCREASES ANNUAL RECURRING ITEMS

General annual repairs increased from $203,000 to $209,000.

.........

An increase in the budget request for General Annual Repairs of
$6,000 is necessary in order to continue the higher standards of
maintenance established over the past several years for the House
Office Buildings.

The General Annual Repairs account is used for such items as tools,
materials, supplies and parts for the Sheet Metal Shop, Industrial
Mechanic Shop and the Stonemason Shop. Other items charged to this
account include all specialized repairs which cannot be accomplished by
Government forces such as repairs to forklifts, floor jacks,
electrically operated overhead doors, bailing machine repairs, major
truck repairs, specialized stone cleaning, glasswork and tool and
equipment repair.

With the increased use and activities in the buildings, the
maintenance and cleaning requirements have increased to the point that
the equipment (scrubbers, sweepers, buffers etc.) require more
operating time thus increasing costs of maintenance and repair. The
increase in the use of electrically operated equipment such as delivery
trucks, forklifts and pallet jacks continues to cause damage to the
marble base thus requiring replacement. The need for increased
frequency for the cleaning of bronze work throughout the House Office
Buildings has also required additional monies.

These factors all result in the need for additional funding if the
buildings are to function and be maintained to suit the needs of
Congress and visitors.

8.6

Elevator repairs increased from $82,000 to $117,000..

It is requested that the allotment for elevator repairs be
increased by $35,000 to keep abreast with the increased costs of labor
and materials to maintain proper operation of the elevators and
escalators. The age of the present equipment and the heavy traffic
that is handled have resulted in an increase in the failure rate of the
generators and motors,

Another factor which impacts on the maintenance budget is the
increasing frequency of repairs required for solid state controls which
were installed over 10 years ago in several buildings to replace the
original electro-mechanical controls. Because this relatively new
technology can present specialized problems the use of outside
consultants has recently been necessary. It is anticipated that this
trend will continue to increase as the solid state equipment ages.

This amount is required due to the age of the present equipment and
the heavy traffic that is handled, which has resulted in an increase in
the failure rate of the generators and motors. Since they are now
obsolete and cannot be replaced, the generators and motors must be
rewound by outside firms. This outside repair work is very costly,
particularly when a priority elevator dedicated to Members' use during
roll call votes or quorum calls must be returned to service under
emergency conditions.

35,000

8.7

This allotment provides for the regular annual maintenance and
repair of 23 elevators and 1 lift in the Cannon and Longworth
Buildings, 30 elevators and 23 escalators in the Rayburn Building, 6
escalators providing access between the Rayburn and Longworth
Buildings, 2 elevators and 2 escalators in the Underground Garages in
Squares 637 and 691, and 3 elevators in the O'Neill House Office
Building and 8 elevators in the Ford House Office Building, and
provides for the purchase of such items as cable, minor replacement and
repair parts, lubricants, oil, grease, tools, and cleaning fluid.
Maintenance of Air Conditioning Systems increased from $140,000 to
$177,000.......

This annual allotment provides for such annually recurring items as
filters, refrigeration, antifreeze liquid and other materials and for
repairs and minor improvements for maintenance and upkeep of the air
conditioning systems servicing the House Office Buildings. Cleaning
and chemically treating kitchen ducts and hoods in House Restaurant
facilities located in the office buildings are also accomplished under
this allotment.

$ 37,000

8.8

An increase of $109,000 is requested in order to keep abreast with
increased demands as well as increased costs of supplies and materials
for maintenance and cleaning of the House Office Buildings. Expenses
in this allotment have continued to increase over the last few years to
the point where it has been necessary to reallocate monies from other
sources in order that mandatory supplies and materials could be
purchased.

$ 6,000

Total Increase ANNUAL RECURRING ITEMS.

201.000

8.10