industry. And one of the things they do not do in that exhibit is they do not show life. They do not show what this business is all about. I am wondering if you have ever thought of sitting down with the head of the Smithsonian and looking at that particular section of that museum and considering how some of your life exhibits could be shared?

Mr. HANTMAN. We have a memorandum of understanding with the Smithsonian now, to work together on a variety of issues, and we welcome the opportunity to look into that issue.

Ms. KAPTUR. I will put some language in this bill for you to do that.

Mr. HANTMAN. And secondarily, we would welcome sharing with you the exhibit design that we are proposing for the north wing of the Botanic Garden, for which we will be looking for funding in another year, of learning what plants are all about, how they work, a very user-friendly type of learning experience so that they will understand the plant world. It is an exciting opportunity.

Ms. KAPTUR. Will it include medicinal plants? Plants that will produce the fuels of the future so that our kids think about the possibilities? I represent the largest greenhouse growing county in Ohio. This is big business for us. And particularly, plants that have curative possibilities, there are a lot of new markets out there.

Mr. HANTMAN. We could certainly set up a meeting with the head of our division over there and we would be happy to tell you what the exhibits are all about what we are working on. We would welcome that.

Ms. KAPTUR. Maybe we should invite who is in charge of that Smithsonian exhibit to sit in with us. Would you agree with that? Mr. HANTMAN. Certainly. Sharing information is very important.

RAYBURN GARAGE

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chairman, did someone ask about the parking garage in Rayburn and the floor? How many Members have broken their ankles to get to their car?

Mr. TAYLOR. Would you like to bring that up? We covered everything else.

Ms. KAPTUR. I remember Mr. Dingell twice broke his ankle, once in the garage. One, those floors in the Rayburn parking garage are very dangerous at night. There should be some aggregate material, if you can't fill them right away, couldn't you work with the construction industry to get a heavy sand, just so you wouldn't have the holes because the metal beams project up and women tend to wear heels more than not. You really have to be alert when you are walking through there. Some of the floors are very bad. They have done some filling, but I don't know how they do the upkeep and maintenance. There ought to be some aggregate that could be at a low cost, and until you go back and do it the right way.

Mr. HANTMAN. As you know, we are working on the Cannon garage. We will be coming back to this committee in 2003 for design funds to redo the Rayburn garage. Bob, in terms of repair?

Mr. MILEY. We do have an aggregate that we use that is a quick patch. It is very hard to keep up with. We are inspecting it on a weekly basis. Of course, when vehicles are in the garage, there are

PROCEDURES USED BY THE ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL
IN MANAGEMENT AND CARE OF WORKS OF ART

AND ARCHITECTURAL ELEMENTS

The responsibilities of the Architect of the Capitol include the documentation and care of numerous works of art, historic objects, and architectural spaces and features throughout the Capitol Complex. The curatorial and archival functions of the Architect of the Capitol are managed by the Curator for the Architect. The qualifications for this position include a Ph.D. in art history; the Curator is assisted by a person with professional training in muscum registration and a professional archivist.

A major curatorial function is maintaining the inventory of art and historical objects. The Curator's Office manages an in-depth reference system that includes a file on each work of art, artist, and room in the Capitol, in addition to files on the construction of the buildings on the Capitol Grounds and on major ceremonies such as joint sessions of Congress and inaugurations. These files are constantly being updated and are used to answer questions from Members of Congress and the public; they also provide the bases of written fact sheets and publications. The Curator also conducts research on the Capitol and its art as well as encouraging outside scholars through the United States Capitol Historical Society Fellowship.

The filing system established by Charles Fairman, who was Curator from 1911 to 1941, is constantly being updated and expanded. Beginning in the 1980s, the Curator has developed 2 computerized inventory of art objects. The inventory is currently kept in a flexible, relational data base, which allows retrieval of information in different categories and formats. Within this data base, the list of works of art under the jurisdiction of the House of Representatives constitutes the House Registry, which is being maintained by the Curator for the Clerk of the House and the House Fine Arts Board. The data base also includes works of art under joint and Senate jurisdiction.

The computerized inventory contains extensive information on each work of art (for example, medium, dimensions, provenance, and conservation treatments) and is accompanied by pictorial documentation. Updated photographs are taken of each work after cleaning and conservation; each photograph is given a unique negative number and can be retrieved from a related computerized data base.

Information about the art collection is published in Art in the Unites States Capitol, the first version of which was compiled by Charles Fairman in 1913. The book was last published in 1978 and is scheduled to be revised by the Architect for republication during the bicentennial of the Capitol. Plans are under way to make this publication accessible to the public on Internet.

The Curator also records and documents works of artistic and historic importance that are part of the architectural fabric of the building, such as murals, marble mantels, and gilded

historical value in storage for potential use in educational exhibitions (such as those now in the Crypt) or in future reconstructions. This inventory includes items such as pieces of original carved sandstone saved during the restoration of the West Front of the Capitol and cast bronze pieces removed during the 1949-50 remodeling of the House Chamber.

In addition to maintaining the inventory of and records on works of art, the Curator performs other functions on behalf of the Architect in response to requests from Congress. Among these functions are managing and keeping records of loans of works of art to the leadership and committees from the Smithsonian Institution and other museums as well as outgoing loans.

An important curatorial function is the care of works of art through attention to display conditions and through the conservation program, funded through annual appropriations for Repairs, Works of Art, and Conservation of Wall Paintings. Among the most recent conservation projects so documented are the collection of portraits of Speakers and their historic frames, the Mace of the House of Representatives, frescoes by Constantino Brumidi in room H-144, and the ceilings of a number of House committee rooms painted at the turn of the century. Since the establishment of the House Fine Arts Board, portraits of committee chairmen have been included in this program. The reports prepared by conservators are preserved in the records of the Architect.

November 1994

HOUSE CURATOR DISCUSSION CONTINUED

Ms. KAPTUR. And I think that the whole racial and ethnic exclusivity that is represented by what is on the walls here does not help us as we move forward in this country. So to the extent that we can work together on this, just know this Member is vitally interested in it. And I think it is important for our children. And when you look around our country today and you see what is going on it was very upsetting to me when I see these kids murdering kids largely in suburban areas that are very uniform in their makeup. Unless we learn how to deal and develop tolerance and better understanding, then we are not going to progress as fast as we can as a society.

And I think we have to work to teach. We have an enormous opportunity here. And we cannot just let it slip between our fingers. I would appreciate the Architect or superintendent, whoever could come and visit with me on this. Share your thinking with me. And if there is anything I can put in this bill that could encourage you so that you feel comfortable, we will work with you on that language.

ROOM H-208

Ms. KAPTUR I want to shift to another question, and that is a room located here in the Capitol, maybe someone here could clarify the current use of H-208. It is a room on the second floor right outside of where we vote. In the 20th century it was used as the Ways and Means Committee room.

Would somebody clarify what that room is being used for today, please?

Ms. POOLE. We do not do room assignments. Room assignments in the Capitol building are done through the Speaker's office. We just do not have that kind of information available to determine what the rooms are used for.

Ms. KAPTUR. Do you provide that space with furniture?

Ms. POOLE. No.

Ms. KAPTUR. Do you have anything to do with that room? Painting it? Fixing the windows?

Ms. POOLE. Yes, ma'am.

Ms. KAPTUR. So it is legislative branch appropriations that are spent on the room's upkeep and maintenance, the carpeting, the drapes. Phone installation. It is my understanding that that room is now being used by the executive branch. Is that a correct understanding? Could someone tell me that? Does the superintendent know?

Ms. POOLE. It would be the Speaker's office that could provide that.

Mr. TAYLOR. Maybe we can get some information on that and we will move on to Mr. Sherwood and we will try to find that out. Ms. POOLE. Yes.

[The following question from Congresswoman Kaptur and response follows:]

ROOM H-208

Question. Can you tell us who is responsible for paying the cost of power, tele