Lapas attēli
PDF
ePub

Question.

some cases there will be no need for the installation of permanent television lighting. In other cases where there is a high demand for televised hearings, a television lighting design might require greater attention and care because of the nature of the room. It is anticipated that these rooms can be completed by the end of FY 1997 at the present funding level of $1,284,000 per year. However, each room will be surveyed to determine the specific needs of each space and of each committee in consideration of this proposed schedule.

SENATE PAGE DORMITORY

Please update us on the status of the new Senate page dormitory facility. We were told last year that it would be ready in January 1995. When will it be ready for occupancy? Is it on schedule? Are you within budget? What do you estimate the total cost will be?

Response. The new Senate Page Dormitory will be completed and the pages will occupy the building on June 18, 1995. The following week, the Page School will be moved into the building. This is in keeping with the current project schedule. The total cost of the construction is estimated to be $2,460,000. This includes the repair and renovation of the facility for the dorm and the school, site work, and pre-construction site investigations and preparation. This does not include site acquisition and administrative costs or consulting fees. This total construction cost is within the present budget. Both the budget and schedule as originally conceived have been revised during the course of the project to accommodate changes in the scope of work that have been coordinated with and approved by the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms and the Secretary of the Senate.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

The request for the Library of Congress buildings is $19.9 million for fiscal
year 1996. That is an increase of $7.5 million over fiscal year 1995's level of
$12.4 million. The largest items in your request relate to renovations to the
Special Facilities Center ($5 million) and the book conveyor systems ($3
million).

Question.

Special Facilities Center

You are requesting $5 million for renovations to the Special Facilities Center. How much do we have invested in that facility to date?

Response. To date, the funding for acquisition and improvements to the property formerly known as St. Cecilia's at Sixth and E Streets, S.E. is as follows:

[blocks in formation]

Question. What work have you accomplished so far and what remains to be done in renovating the facility?

Response. This Facility required some initial actions to accommodate acceptable structural integrities, including roof repairs, removal of asbestos and lead paint materials, repair of broken windows, and repair of sidewalks and masonry walls. The Ground Floor level of the Building was renovated to accommodate a child day care center for

approximately 100 children. Playground areas were provided and the remaining grounds landscaped to an acceptable condition.

The three upper floors of the classroom building, the Entry and the Gymnasium remain to be renovated. The use of this space will be to accommodate visiting scholars, provide for a training and learning center and a multi-media room. The specific details of these needs are described in a Program Statement dated January 27, 1995, copy attached. To accommodate these needs requires a variety of modifications to the existing structure. Consulting services have been employed for engineering and architectural design to accommodate necessary construction renovations.

The construction renovations include:

Demolition:

Removal of a garage structure to provide space for trash storage and removal, access to the multi-media space and completion of additional playground space.

ADA Requirements:

Modification of toilet facilities to comply with ADA accessibility requirements.
Installation of a wheelchair lift at the North Main Entry.

Fire and Safety:

Installation of fire alarm system with smoke detection and water sprinkler system. Modification of exterior door hardware to comply with fire and security needs. Installation of exit lights.

Energy Conservation:

Replace all exterior single pane windows.

Architectural:

Replace all interior finishes; install new ceilings in classroom areas; provide toilet, pantry and mechanical equipment space in the multi-media room; and modification of Main Entry Area.

Electrical and Telecommunications:

Installation of lighting in all renovated spaces, replacement of electrical distribution system to accommodate increased loads, additional power circuits for office and mechanical equipment. Installation of telephone ducts from 6th Street SE into the Building, provisions for a telephone switch and distribution of telephone and data circuits throughout the renovated areas.

Mechanical and Indoor Air Quality:

Question.

Modification of existing low pressure steam heating system as necessary, replacement of heating system for multi-media room, installation of conditioned air to all renovated spaces and modifications to plumbing system to match required renovations.

Book Conveyors

You are also requesting $3 million for renovations to the book conveyor system control stations. This is, I believe, either the second or third year funding has been requested for this project. What is the nature of these renovations, why are they necessary, and why does it cost so much?

Response.

Budget requests prior to FY 95 were for replacement of specific components of the Library's automatic book conveyor system. The FY 95 Request asked for planning monies to identify all the needs and deficiencies of the four separate conveyor systems and

to design a single system with replacement controls using current technology. The FY 96 Budget Request provides for that replacement.

The book conveyor systems are in daily use from 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM for each day the Library of Congress is open to the public. The oldest portion of the four conveyor systems dates to the 1930's and accommodates the Thomas Jefferson Main Reading Room. This portion of the system employs antique electro-mechanical controls that requires most replacement parts to be hand-made by in-house shop personnel. The next oldest portion of the system serves the Jefferson Bookstacks and employs control devices from the 1950's. Although some parts of the control system can be purchased and adapted, much of the system requires parts to be fashioned by shop personnel. The major portion of the book conveyor system was provided with the construction of the Madison Building, a system that employs 1960's computer technology, and has for some time been obsolete. There are 184 conveyor sections and 55 entry/exit stations. This system is controlled with computer software that employs "machine language," and as a result, most parts of the system are proprietary.

Although the system was state-of-the-art when installed, it is now obsolete and manufacturer support is no longer available. The system has been kept operational by scavenging devices from locations that were taken out of service. To date, twenty stations have been eliminated from this portion of the system. The remaining section of the conveyor system provides access to one-half of the John Adams Bookstacks. At present, the four conveyor systems operate independently and require manual transfers to move materials from one system to another.

The requested renovations are necessary to ensure that the Library's capability to provide service is not placed in jeopardy. Disruption of service caused by any one of the four conveyor systems creates delays that are unacceptable for Library Operations. The conveyor systems transfer on an average of 1,000 boxes of material each day. Each box can hold approximately 10 average size books which can be distributed to 80 different locations within the three Library Buildings. Most of the requests for materials originate from persons waiting in various reading rooms, making the delivery of the material time-sensitive. Should the conveyor system fail, and the need to resort to other means to move materials become mandatory, the Library would be forced to employ or assign 20 additional personnel to the task of manually moving materials with considerable delay in the distribution of materials. The cost to eliminate present concerns of operational disruptions due to the obsolete conveyor controls requires that all portions of the system controls be replaced. The new controls will incorporate all four conveyors under a single control system. A new computer and 80 control stations will be installed along with the hundreds of sensors, devices and area controllers that manage the automatic transfer of materials. In addition, some expense will be required to physically connect the four conveyors into a single system. The project will improve the current system using level 4 computer software language that will accommodate numerous benefits to the operation of the system. These benefits include:

[ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors]

All control stations would become operational and placed into service on an as-needed basis.

The current limit of 350 transfer boxes could be expanded to any desired

amount.

Limit the use of the system to authorized personnel with proper ID.
Ability to identify the sender and all materials included in the transfer.
Ability to determine the precise location of any item while being transferred.
Improvement of delivery time through the reduction of time required at
decision points.

Eliminate the need for manual transfers from one system to another.

Availability of replacement parts, manufacturer support and information for maintenance and repair of the system.

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

STATEMENT OF MICHAEL F. DIMARIO, PUBLIC PRINTER

ACCOMPANIED BY:

CHARLES COOK, SUPERINTENDENT, CONGRESSIONAL PRINTING

MANAGEMENT DIVISION

WILLIAM GUY, BUDGET OFFICER

WAYNE KELLY, SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS

INTRODUCTION OF ASSOCIATES

Senator MACK. We will begin with the continuation of the earlier hearing.

And I apologize. The anticipation that builds in trying to get this done and get it over with when we have a vote come up can delay the balance of the meeting. So I appreciate your waiting for us to return, or actually waiting for me to return.

Mr. DiMario, is there anyone that you would like to introduce that you brought with you today?

Mr. DIMARIO. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yes.

With me on my right is Mr. Charles Cook, who is the head of our Congressional Printing Management Division. To my immediate right is William Guy, who is our Budget Officer; and Mr. Wayne Kelly is to my left, who is our Superintendent of Docu

ments.

We also have several additional GPO staff members in the audience if their services are needed.

BUDGET REQUEST

Senator MACK. Very good. Now, your budget request for fiscal year 1996 is $137.4 million.

Mr. DIMARIO. That is correct.

Senator MACK. A $15.4 million, or 12.6 percent, increase. The committee understands you requested increases for specific capital improvements to the GPO buildings and facilities.

Mr. DIMARIO. That is correct, sir.

Senator MACK. Now you understand, again, that the circumstances in which we find ourselves today-and I suspect, like maybe the Architect of the Capitol, these budgets have been under preparation back as far as October.

But the conditions are such that I can just tell you right from the beginning, there is really no way we are going to be able to accommodate that budget request.

Mr. DIMARIO. For the increase for the capital improvements.
Senator MACK. That is right.

Mr. DIMARIO. OK. Which would be the $15.4 million.

Senator MACK. In the joint hearings, many expressed a need to restructure Government Printing Office activities and its governing

statutes, title 44. This is the job of the Joint Committee on Printing. But obviously, the issues are of great interest to this committee.

And the point that I make there is while there has been a lot of discussion, well, what is the Appropriations Committee going to be doing in these particular areas, the reality is-again, we are the appropriators.

I will attempt to derive some things from the standpoint of what we believe we can do from an appropriations standpoint, but there are others who have more direct responsibility.

So we will be working with them, as well as you, over these next 2 weeks to kind of finalize where we are headed with this.

PREPARED STATEMENT

I might, at this point, ask you, if you would, you have a statement that we will include in the record. And I am sure there are things that you would like to highlight from that statement. So why do you not go ahead?

[The statement follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF MICHAEL F. DIMARIO

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, I am pleased to present the funding requirements of the Government Printing Office (GPO) for fiscal year 1996.

FISCAL YEAR 1996 APPROPRIATIONS REQUEST

For fiscal year 1996, I am requesting $121.9 million for those programs that require annual appropriations directly to GPO, and $15.4 million for capital expenditures to improve GPO buildings over the next five years.

While the total request of $137.3 million is an increase of 13 percent over the funding approved for fiscal year 1995, the increase is solely for building improvements due to environmental and safety requirements. The request for programs funded through our two annual appropriations is the same level that was approved for the current year.

CONGRESSIONAL PRINTING AND BINDING APPROPRIATION

GPO's fiscal year 1996 request for the Congressional Printing and Binding Appropriation is $91.6 million, an increase of $1.9 million, or 2.1 percent, over the level approved for fiscal year 1995. The increase is necessary due to the cost of pay raises, employee benefits, paper, and utilities over a five-year period. Paper prices have been increasing sharply as a result of world-wide supply and demand factors. Over the past year, the prices we pay for paper on quarterly contracts have increased 85 percent.

Rate changes projected for fiscal year 1996 vary by category of work. Factors affecting the rates include work procedures, labor and equipment efficiency, number of copies per page, and the cost of paper. The daily Congressional Record rate is projected to decline by about 8.5 percent due to increased input of electronic copy, upgrades in GPO's Electronic Photocomposition Division, and new and more efficient presses.

While GPO manages the personnel, equipment, and work processes necessary to provide printing and related services to Congress in support of the legislative process, it does not control the demand for congressional printing. We must respond to all congressional printing demands and fulfill all congressional orders, regardless of the amount of appropriated funds. Consequently, there have been occasions in the past when our workload requirements exceeded the amounts appropriated, resulting in a budget shortfall. However, due to the unusually low volume of printing in fiscal year 1994, $8.5 million in fiscal year 1994 funds was made available to completely pay off the prior year shortfall.

In fiscal year 1996, congressional volume is projected to increase, based on historical data. For example, an increase is expected in Congressional Record pages, which is typical in second sessions of Congress.

« iepriekšējāTurpināt »