Mr. Chairman, I would like to give credit also to Cindy Troia, who works in the Finance Office, and happens to be here today, for doing the basic research on the first document. She really worked hard and deserves recognition. Mr. Molloy is with us today to testify on the day-to-day operations of the school as well as his immediate office. Mr. BENJAMIN. Would you be kind enough to provide the Subcommittee with a copy of the contract so we can see what Cindy wrote? Mr. COLLEY. All right. She may have to answer some questions. We had a special ceremony with the Secretary of the Senate in signing a document that had long been sought. Mr. BENJAMIN. Thank you. Jim. DOORKEEPER'S OPENING STATEMENT Mr. MOLLOY. Mr. Chairman, I have a brief statement. If the Chair would allow, I would like to put it in the record. Initially I want to thank you and your colleagues, Mr. Chairman, for the understanding and cooperation you have afforded the Doorkeeper's Office in the year you have been Members of this Committee. We owe a great deal to your predecessor, Chairman Shipley, too, for his initial interest, which captured your concern and motivated your efforts in behalf of the services with which we are charged. If a book were to be written about the heart of the House, it would have to start in the operations under the administration of the Doorkeeper's Office. Here we have the practical application of laws written by the Congress in the appointments made by Members to positions in House service organizations. We have 3 employees over 80 years of age-untotaled over 50handicapped-war veterans-students financing higher education-young people with degrees who cannot find placement in today's job market. They are the lowest paid House employees and the most grateful for the generosity of this body. Many were appointed by Members long gone-Members still alive in the anecdotes recounted by those who remember and revere them. The existence of this service group makes us holdouts in the Federal Government against what has been described as the "invisible government"-subcontractors to whom agencies let work. There is a large question as to the economy of this practice, most lately addressed by some of your colleagues. This last year we have been making great strides towards modernity through the interest and cooperation of the Committee on House Administration. HIS has taken on the challenges existing in the modernization of reports and records keeping in the Document Room and Publications Distribution Service, and have been training personnel in the use of computer terminals. The Office of Management Services is gearing to assist our special situations and needs which are unlike those of congressional offices. Through your concerned interest, Mr. Chairman, and the cooperation of Chairman Moakley, much has been accomplished to correct the looseness which has existed in the administration of the page program and the Page School. With the cooperation of the Clerk's Office, the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms, the Secretary of the Senate, and Bill Cochrane of Senate Rules Committee, we are moving quickly to a better understanding and relationship with the D.C. Board of Education, which will result in greater respect for the Congress by the Board; thus benefiting the students at the Page School. In Mr. Henshaw's regretted absence, I would like to thank Mr. Colley and Counselor Brand for their accomplishments, and ask that they relate my thanks to the Clerk. Rather than prolong this statement, I am prepared to answer any questions you have about the proposed budget request for fiscal year 1981. Please bear in mind the processes of change we are experiencing. Mr. BENJAMIN. We thank you for your eloquent statement. Before asking several questions that I have on the Page School-your statement was indeed eloquent. I am interested in the composition of the heart of the House. In what category would the Doorkeeper fit? Mr. MOLLOY. Right in the middle, sir, right in the middle. PAGE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE Mr. BENJAMIN. There were several other recommendations in the GAO study, one of which was the notification of academic performance for sponsors. What has been done with that recommendation? Mr. MOLLOY. Sponsors have always received reports on academic performance of their individual Pages. The Chiefs of Pages receive reports for those under their supervision, and then consult with appointing Members about Pages whose performance is below the acceptable level. As for reports from home schools to sponsors, the Page school requires records transfer, and I would suppose the sponsors require them also as part of their selection process. Mr. BENJAMIN. It should not be too difficult in getting a report card. Mr. MOLLOY. We have all that. Mr. BENJAMIN. To the sponsor, though? Mr. MOLLOY. They get that immediately. I thought you were asking about improving the prerequisites, in coming here, for the sponsors. I am sorry. PAGE SCHOOL-ADDITIONAL TEACHER Mr. BENJAMIN. No, but I thank you for that answer too. Is the Page School asking for another teacher? You will recall that was one of the requests. Mr. MOLLOY. Yes, sir. Mr. BENJAMIN. Would you look at that since the GAO did give them a clean bill of health, in the sense of their instructors. I would like to find out if they are requesting, and if so, whether it is justified. Mr. MOLLOY. Mr. Chairman, that is one of the items. Mr. BENJAMIN. Check that out, Jim. Mr. MOLLOY. Yes, sir. Mr. BENJAMIN. They are asking for $38,500 more, if I understand. Mr. MOLLOY. I will get back to the Committee right away on that, sir. Mr. BENJAMIN. We may as well get a breakdown of that. Mr. MOLLOY. The Clerk has submitted a breakdown of what they presently are projecting. Mr. BENJAMIN. Why don't we include this, and besides that put what they are asking for in fiscal '81. Mr. MOLLOY. May I submit the whole thing together then, rather than doing it piecemeal? [The information follows:] Funding for an additional teacher was cut out of fiscal year 1980 appropriation. It is included in fiscal year 1981 request again. The Page school continues to ask the D.C. Board of Education for the appointment. PAGE SCHOOL ENROLLMENT Mr. BENJAMIN. How many House and Senate pages are there? Mr. Russ. Seventy-one in the House and about 32 I think in the Senate. Mr. BENJAMIN. Do they all attend Page School? Mr. MOLLOY. Yes, that is mandatory, sir. There are 4 page vacancies as of today, on the House side. As you are well aware, the Page School is available to qualified congressional employees. I don't know the exact number. We will submit it for the record. I think it is about 3 or 4 in addition to pages. [The information follows:] There are 5 students who are not Pages, 1 from the House and 4 from the Senate. PAGE HOUSING Mr. BENJAMIN. And how many pages in the House and Senate are from out of town, and must live in the District area somewhere? Mr. MOLLOY. I would have to get that figure for you, but just a ballpark figure, about 70 percent are from out of town. I will try and get you a figure for that, sir. Mr. BENJAMIN. Would you also provide for us along with that the average length of appointment for an out-of-town page as compared to the average appointment for a page from the local area. Mr. MOLLOY. I will provide that, sir. Mr. BENJAMIN. Jim, also when you break this down, you are going to give us the number from congressional offices, the number from the House and the Senate, and would you also provide us the number, if any, from the Supreme Court. Mr. MOLLOY. None right now, sir. The Court disbanded their program 4 years ago. [The following was provided for the record:] In the time period September, 1978, to January, 1980, there have been 222 Page appointments, including 59 summer Pages. Of the latter, approximately one-third were local and lived at home, and another third stayed with friends or relatives in this area. The rest boarded wherever they could find quarters. About 25 percent were six month appointments; 12 percent were here for a year; and 13 percent for two months. Six percent had appointments covering 2 school years, and the balance, 44 percent, varied from 3 to 15 months. Seven percent of the total were from Maryland, Virginia or the District, but it is safe to say this group lived in rooming houses close to the Capitol because of transportation problems in getting to classes beginning at 6 a.m. PAGE SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION Mr. BENJAMIN. The construction of a new Page School and dormitory was authorized by the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970, Public Law 91-510. Subsequently, $50,000 was appropriated to the Architect of the Capitol for plans and cost estimates, and site acquisition funds were provided in the 1973 supplemental, Public Law 92-607. What is the current status of page housing? Where do they live? Do they have adequate supervision? Mr. MOLLOY. They all live close to the area of the Congress itself. Do they have adequate housing? No, sir. Do they have adequate supervision? No, sir. As for the females, it is mandatory, unless we get written requests from their parents, that they live in the Thompson-Markward Hall, which is the equivalent of the YWCA, and we are fairly satisfied with that. In the area we have 2 or 3 boarding houses traditionally that they have lived in, and just recently we have had a former page, a dedicated House employee, who has taken a great responsibility on himself to establish a home for the pages, namely Jim Oliver. He is an employee here on the Hill, works on the Minority side. Mr. BENJAMIN. How far has he gone on that? Mr. MOLLOY. Quite a bit, sir. He has a house. He has 15 students. There is a waiting list to get in there. We are very happy that they are living in one group, and he lives there, so they have good supervision. Then I would venture to say probably better than half of them live in boarding houses in the area, and then a scattered few live in private residences around here. Again, it is not a good situation, but it is the best we can do under the conditions we are facing. Mr. BENJAMIN. Again let me ask the status of that appropriation for the Architect and for the acquisition of land. Mr. MOLLOY. Yes, Mr. Chairman. As you are aware from your interests in it, the last thing I have is back around February of 1976, and there is no change at this particular time. Mr. BENJAMIN. Has the Architect contacted you on that at all? Mr. MOLLOY. Yes, he has. This is not the Architect's problem. He has the funds. He had a small amount of funds to do a study on the old Providence Hospital property. They have since done studies to build a parking lot there, but it hasn't moved forward, in the last couple of years. Mr. BENJAMIN. What would it take to move it forward? Mr. MOLLOY. It would be a big investment on the part of the House and Senate. I think there has been some reluctance expressed in that area. As the chairman knows himself from his own personal interest, we just haven't been able to accomplish anything in that area. There is a great need for it, Mr. Chairman. Mr. BENJAMIN. I have no further questions. Thank you. 60-245 0 - 80 - 7 Mr. MOLLOY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. OFFICE OF THE POSTMASTER WITNESSES ROBERT V. ROTA, POSTMASTER, C. ELMO BOYDSTON, ASSISTANT POSTMASTER Mr. COLLEY. Mr. Chairman, we go to page 20 of the Clerk's statement, Office of the Postmaster. For salaries, including employment of substitute messengers and extra services of regular employees for the Office of the Postmaster, $1,403,100. Mr. Chairman, our House Postmaster, the Honorable Robert V. Rota, is here to discuss the operations of the House Post Office, and we will place this table of appropriations and expenditures in the record. [The information follows:] OFFICE OF THE POSTMASTER For salaries, including employment of substitute messengers and extra services of regular employees for the Office of the Postmaster, $1,403,100. Mr. Chairman, our House Postmaster, the Honorable Robert V. Rota, is here to discuss the operations of the House Post Office. POSTMASTER'S STATEMENT Mr. ROTA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I ask unanimous consent that I might be granted permission to submit for the record my prepared statement. |