CONCLUSION Over the past several years, the AOC has undergone significant change and we have reaffirmed our commitment to providing high-quality service to Congress and the American people. In its August 2004 report to Congress, the GAO indicated that: "AOC has made progress in preparing agency-wide financial statements; supporting an audit of its September 30, 2003, balance sheet; and establishing related internal control policies and procedures." "...AOC has made progress addressing employee communications by developing a "Our January 2003 report provided AOC with recommendations for establishing and "During the six-month review period, AOC took steps to develop the Capitol Complex Master · "AOC made progress in the development of its environmental program and its movement toward a more strategic approach. In particular, AOC has completed the baseline assessment as well as the waste stream analysis for its facilities and operations." Although we still have much more to accomplish as outlined in our Strategic Plan, GAO has noted, "organizational transformation does not come quickly or easily and the changes underway at the AOC would require a long-term, concerted effort." My team and I are committed to fulfilling our responsibilities over the long-term to ensure that our transformation continues as planned. Our request for funds for FY 2006 is in direct response to our responsibility to maintain and preserve the facilities under our care, as well as to respond to our customers' requests for priority projects and programs. In addition, we continue to strive to achieve the level of safety, security, preservation, and cleanliness expected across the Capitol complex. We have completed tens of thousands of work orders to our clients' satisfaction and have achieved many of our goals due to the hard work and dedication of AOC employees. I am very privileged and honored to lead such a professional team. The Committee's support in helping us achieve these goals is greatly appreciated. Once again, thank you for this opportunity to testify today. I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have. CVC WORKING SPACE Chairman LEWIS. Mr. Hantman, at the very beginning, David Obey asked very specific questions relative to the CVC working space. In order to have that be a center of our discussion today, would you spend speaking about your thoughts and reactions to Mr. Obey's very serious concerns? Mr. HANTMAN. Mr. Chairman, the original program for this project, as Mr. Obey pointed out, included the Visitor Center facility and future expansion space for the House and Senate. After the events of September 11, 2001, while the project was already well under design, and, in fact, contracts were let for the excavation and foundation work, some $70 million was appropriated, $35 million for the House and $35 million for the Senate, to plan what in fact would go into this future expansion space and actually to construct it. [CLERK'S NOTE.-The estimates are currently $41.1 million for the House space and $40.2 million for the Senate space.] Mr. HANTMAN. The program was developed in concert with the House Office Building Commission and signed off on during the schematic and design development phases. We basically listened to what the needs were and designed the facilities to accommodate those needs. The House hearing room, as described, is some 3,200 square feet. It is basically as big as the Ways and Means Committee room and can have 65 people sitting at the dais. And if there are fewer people at the dais, the lower level of the tables and chairs could be removed and more people can be fit into the room itself. On that same floor level, there are two major meeting rooms; one of them, I am assuming, would be for the majority and the other for the minority. The larger meeting room is almost 2,200 square feet, basically the same size as this room. So it is a very sizable working room and it is divisible by half. The majority caucus could meet in there very comfortably and use it as a working facility. The additional meeting room on the other side, on the north side of the House hearing room, is 1,830 square feet, a large enough meeting room for the minority to meet in and get its business done. It also is divisible by half. Those are three major meeting rooms on the second level down from the main Visitor level of the three-story building. The lowest level, as Mr. Obey indicated, is for the intelligence organizations, and we worked directly to the program put together by the House Office Building Commission and the intelligence organizations. The top or entry level, which can also be accessed from a corridor leading from the Cannon tunnel will have the House TV and radio studio, a 13,000 square feet, so that Members can come from the House office buildings without going into the Capitol and use the House TV and radio studio very conveniently. There are other support spaces surrounding it. Mr. Chairman, when we originally planned the budget for the expansion spaces, we were planning to-we were assuming in the lack of having a program in the first place that this might be used for office support space. When the program was developed through the House Office Building Commission, the hearing room and the major meeting rooms were developed as important focal points for this. Therefore, we had to revise our estimates, as well as the structural spans, to make sure we could have a good hearing room. We needed to move columns that had been originally designed for smaller office-type spaces. We needed to add stairways, because this now became a place of assembly as opposed to office space. CVC PUBLIC ASSEMBLY SPACE From a life safety perspective, we needed to improve things. We needed to add additional mechanical and electrical support for the type of functions that we were requested to design in this facility. When we talk about a place of public assembly, the corridors surrounding these meeting rooms are very important in that people need to be able to egress safely from this building in an emergency. All the stairways we had planned and we added, dictate that those corridors be there and the type of support spaces we have are important. I will submit for the record, Mr. Chairman, the approvals from the House Office Building Commission, which we have been carrying out in this program. [The House Office Buildings Commission approvals follow:] I am transmitting herewith for your approval the Design Development Submission (Final Design) for the House shell space within the Capitol Visitor Center. Construction Documents are currently being produced and should be complete in July of this year. I shall, of course, be pleased to provide any additional information that you may deem desirable. Sincerely, Alan M. Hanman, FAIA Enclosure J. Dennis Hastert, Chairman Dancy Pelosi Nancy Pelosi, Member House Office Building Commission Tom DeLay, Member House Office Building Commission |