[Senate Hearing 111-]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2011
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THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 2010
U.S. Senate,
Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met at 2:47 p.m., in room SD-138, Dirksen
Senate Office Building, Hon. Ben Nelson (chairman) presiding.
Present: Senators Nelson and Murkowski.
ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL
STATEMENT OF STEPHEN T. AYERS, ACTING ARCHITECT OF THE
CAPITOL
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR BEN NELSON
Senator Nelson. Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome.
Senator Murkowski asked me to go ahead and start because she is
going to be a bit delayed but will be here in short order. So
that is what we will do.
Well, we meet this afternoon to take testimony on the
fiscal year 2011 budget request for the Architect of the
Capitol and the Office of Compliance. I want to welcome our two
witnesses today: Stephen Ayers, Acting Architect of the
Capitol; and Tamara Chrisler, Executive Director of the Office
of Compliance.
I also want to welcome my good friend ranking member,
Senator Murkowski, when she gets here, and I am hopeful that
other members of the subcommittee, Senator Pryor and Senator
Tester, may be able to join us as well.
AOC deg.CONGRATULATIONS ON NOMINATION
Mr. Ayers, I want to first congratulate you on your recent
nomination by the President to serve as the next Architect of
the Capitol. You will be only the 11th person in history to
serve in this capacity, which is really quite impressive, and
on behalf of the Senate and particularly this subcommittee, I
want to thank you for your service over the last 3 years as
acting Architect of the Capitol where your accomplishments
include the opening of the Capitol Visitor Center (CVC), the
staging of the 56th Presidential inauguration, and the opening
of the Library of Congress' National Audiovisual Conservation
Center, to name just a few. You have served us well in this
capacity and we look forward to moving toward your confirmation
by the Senate in the very near future.
Mr. Ayers. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Nelson. I appreciate that. I do not want to in any
way preempt the Senate from that effort on confirmation or to
get ahead of anything, but I am certain that that is in the
near future.
I also want to congratulate and acknowledge the hard work
and dedication of your staff of 2,600 employees. We rely on
these individuals for so many services around here, and this
year, in particular, with the record snowfalls, I want to
especially thank Ted Bechtol of your Capitol Grounds staff and
his team for the long hours they put in removing more than
11,000 tons of snow from the complex. We are deeply grateful
for their dedication and for the commitment of your entire
staff.
AOC OOC deg.FISCAL YEAR 2011 BUDGET REQUEST
Your budget request this year totals $755 million, an
increase of $153 million, or 25.5 percent over current year.
Now, I know you faced a difficult challenge when putting
together your budget request, attempting to balance
maintenance, security, energy efficiency, and new construction
projects on an aging, historical infrastructure within limited
resources. Hopefully, you understand the position the
subcommittee is in, in trying to hold the line on spending
while meeting the critical needs of your agency. So we
definitely have our work cut out for us this year, and I look
forward to hearing your testimony shortly.
Ms. Chrisler, the fiscal year 2011 budget request for the
Office of Compliance totals $4.7 million, an increase of
$300,000, or 6.7 percent over the current year. We appreciate
the efforts that both of your agencies have made to work
cooperatively toward resolving the many fire and life safety
needs around the complex, once again, within limited resources.
So we look forward to your testimony as well and to discussing
the status of health and safety conditions throughout the
Capitol complex.
AOC deg.BUDGET INCREASE CONCERNS
We held our first hearing of this fiscal year 2 weeks ago
and just in case you missed it--I am sure you did not--I would
like to reiterate a few concerns that were raised during that
hearing. I am disappointed in some respects that this
subcommittee has, once again, been presented with a large
budget increase in fiscal year 2011. The fiscal year 2011
legislative branch budget request totals $5.1 billion, or 10
percent over current year. Given the fact that the President
has made it clear about holding the line on spending, this
increase is not acceptable and it is not doable. The fact is
that this country remains in economic turmoil and the American
taxpayers simply will not tolerate unnecessary Government
spending at a time of unemployment. It is questionable whether
they will tolerate necessary Government spending at this time.
And last year, we received an overall increase of 5 percent
in the legislative branch bill, including some fairly large
ticket items for the House, over which we have no control. But
that is history.
And I have stated repeatedly that I am going to do
everything I can to hold the legislative branch flat this year.
I believe we need to lead by example in this subcommittee as
part of the Government, and we cannot do that by appropriating
large increases to our agencies. The President sent the message
loudly and clearly in his State of the Union Address this year,
noting that families across the country are tightening their
belts and making tough decisions. The Federal Government must
do the same, he said. And he announced a 3-year freeze on
nonsecurity discretionary Government spending, and I think we
need to do the same on this subcommittee.
And arriving just in time for my comments, turning it over
now to our ranking member of the subcommittee, Senator
Murkowski, for her opening remarks. What great timing.
STATEMENT OF SENATOR LISA MURKOWSKI
Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I have to
tell you it is music to my ears. As I walk in, you are
repeating the refrain that you and I have made these past 2
years on these budget hearings about the need for fiscal
discipline. If we cannot set the example, if we cannot set the
standard here, how can we expect others outside of our
institution to exercise that same level.
But I want to thank you, Mr. Chairman, for calling the
hearing as we consider the fiscal year 2011 legislative branch
request from the Architect of the Capitol and the Office of
Compliance.
I would like to welcome both of our witnesses here today
and look forward to the opportunity to discuss some pretty
important issues on how the agencies that you both represent
are planning to move forward in the fiscal year. I appreciate
the way that your offices have continued to work to develop the
relationship that is necessary for good communication,
continued cooperation in the common goal that we ensure a safe
environment for our employees and our visitors while we
maintain the important historic nature of the surroundings.
I will start by recognizing Mr. Ayers and congratulating
you on your official nomination to be the next Architect of the
Capitol. We anticipate that the confirmation hearing will be
later on in the spring.
AOC deg.FISCAL YEAR 2011 BUDGET REQUEST
As the chairman has mentioned, the Architect of the Capitol
is requesting $754.8 million, an increase of 25.5 percent over
the fiscal year 2010 enacted level. Again, the chairman's
remarks about how we are going to do more with less I think are
appropriate. I do recognize that the AOC's significant increase
is associated with $216 million requested for line item
projects, a fair amount for deferred maintenance, capital
renewal, capital improvement, capital construction.
But I do think it is going to be important in our
discussions here today to figure out how we prioritize these
projects because it is just simply not going to be possible to
advance all that is contained within the proposal that we have
before us. We have got to look for the best possible solutions,
but it is all about prioritization.
Ms. Chrisler, I want to thank you for your leadership there
at the Office of Compliance. While your budget increase is not
on the level that we are seeing out of the Architect of the
Capitol's Office, it still is a 6.8 percent increase. I know
that you probably looked at that and said that this is a lean
budget and the decisions that went into submitting a request of
this nature are not easy. We appreciate what goes into it. But
I think we need to recognize that we continue to pare down the
agency's request and that we are going to be working to pare
down the Architect's budget, and that you will be working with
the Architect of the Capitol in reprioritizing the projects for
the year ahead.
I am anxious to hear from both of you this afternoon as to
how we can all work together to ensure that we are taking care
of the immediate needs of the historical structures that have
been left to our care, how we minimize the risks to those who
work here and to those who visit here every day. It is not an
easy job, but we know we can do it.
Mr. Chairman, I look forward to the opportunity to get some
questions and answers from our witnesses.
Senator Nelson. Thank you, and I continue to say how much
of a pleasure it is to be able to work with you and to share
many of the same ideas about an approach to dealing with the
budgets and look forward to continuing this year.
Now I would like to begin with witnesses. Because of the
timeframe, if it is possible to keep the opening comments to
somewhere around 5 minutes or something of that nature, the
rest of your comments will be received and, if written, put
into the record. So with that, Mr. Ayers, we will start with
you and then we will hear from Ms. Chrisler. Thank you.
SUMMARY STATEMENT OF STEPHEN T. AYERS
Mr. Ayers. Mr. Chairman and Senator Murkowski, thank you
for the opportunity to testify today regarding the Architect's
2011 budget request.
I would like to first express my thanks to this
subcommittee and the Congress for its support for the Architect
over the past year, as we have worked to maintain and preserve
the Capitol complex.
AOC deg.ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL--PROUD STEWARDS
Twenty-four hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a
year, the AOC serves as proud stewards of the most iconic
buildings and grounds in the world. Nothing demonstrated our
commitment more than our team's remarkable response to
``snowmageddon'' last month. AOC crews logged nearly 35,000
hours to remove more than 11,000 tons of snow to ensure that
the Congress could continue to conduct its business.
The AOC had a very successful 2009, a year that began with
the Presidential inauguration and ended with the first of three
major blizzards to hit Washington. In between these major
events, we welcomed more than 2.3 million visitors to the
Capitol Visitor Center during its first year in operation and
we carried out numerous projects designed to save energy and
improve operations.
AOC deg.FISCAL YEAR 2011 PROJECTS
In that regard, our fiscal year 2011 budget request focuses
on projects that are necessary to attend to the critical needs
of the Capitol complex, and specifically this entails
addressing a significant backlog of deferred maintenance and
capital renewal projects, as well as security, life safety, and
accessibility requirements.
Mr. Chairman, we are requesting $755 million in fiscal year
2011, and the projects portion of this budget is devoted to
addressing these critical issues needing the most urgent
attention. Although every project on the list in our budget is
necessary and will ultimately need to be done, we realize that
not all can be funded in this fiscally challenging year.
However, we do take our responsibility to identify,
quantify, and report to the Congress the state of facilities
and the extent of deferred maintenance very, very seriously.
Most importantly, our project prioritization tools we believe
provide the Congress with concrete and practical assessments of
our infrastructure enabling good decisionmaking about our
future investments.
Over the past year, this process has matured to include a
5-year capital improvements plan, which examines phasing
opportunities and project sequencing and other factors to
better facilitate the timing of projects.
The AOC is committed to making the right choices by doing
our part on energy savings on Capitol Hill. For 2009, the
Congress met its energy reduction goals for the fourth year in
a row and reduced energy consumption by 15.3 percent across the
Capitol complex.
AOC deg.ENERGY CONSERVATION
To help meet future energy reduction requirements, last
summer we entered into our first energy-savings performance
contract to implement energy-saving projects across the House
office buildings, and in December, we entered into an energy-
savings performance contract for the Senate and the Capitol
Building. These public/private partnerships will help us
achieve significant energy reductions over the next several
years.
On the operations side, we have been successful in our
endeavors due to the professional men and women who make up
this great AOC team. Their commitment to excellence allows us
to provide exceptional service to the Congress and the visiting
public every day. In that regard, our annual operating budget
request for $443 million supports the critical activities
necessary to support the Congress and the other legislative
branch agencies.
AOC deg.CAPITOL VISITOR CENTER
With regard to accommodating Members' and visitors' needs,
the Capitol Visitor Center is top in its class. Now in our
second year of operation, we continue to make improvements to
our policies and tour procedures, including modifying the
advance reservation system to give congressional offices more
flexibility to modify, cancel, and reschedule tour
reservations. We have also added a congressional staff line at
the south information desk, increased the number of operators
to ensure prompt response to phone calls, and are placing staff
in strategic locations throughout the Capitol Visitor Center to
improve visitor flow.
In addition, we continue to hold monthly listening sessions
with congressional staff to receive feedback and answer
questions, and to date, more than 5,200 staff members have
attended our Capitol Visitor Center training program.
PREPARED STATEMENT
Mr. Chairman, the AOC is ready to do what is necessary to
keep the Capitol complex open and operating every day of the
year under any circumstances. I am honored and privileged to
work alongside this great team.
Thank you again for the opportunity to testify today.
Senator Nelson. Thank you.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Stephen T. Ayers
Mr. Chairman, Senator Murkowski, and members of the Subcommittee,
thank you for the opportunity to testify today regarding the Office of
the Architect of the Capitol's (AOC's) fiscal year 2011 budget request.
I would like to begin by expressing my thanks to this Subcommittee
and to the Congress for its support of the AOC over the past several
years as we worked to fulfill our mission of serving the Congress and
the American people by maintaining and preserving the U.S. Capitol
complex. I also very much appreciate, and I'm honored by, the trust the
President and the Congress have placed in me to lead this dedicated
group as the nominee to serve as the 11th Architect of the Capitol as
we continue to address the challenges ahead. We are very aware of the
need to preserve the historic infrastructure on Capitol Hill while, at
the same time, recognize the need for fiscal responsibility. It is a
tremendous honor to have the opportunity to continue to work with this
very talented team of professionals.
Twenty-four hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, the AOC
team serves Congress as proud stewards of the most iconic buildings and
grounds in the world. Through our work, we protect the past by
preserving the historic integrity of the U.S. Capitol complex, we are
boldly working today to promote a safe and sustainable workplace, and
we continue to build a legacy of professionalism for generations to
come.
Nothing demonstrated our commitment to our mission more than our
team's remarkable response to the back-to-back blizzards that hit the
Washington, DC, metro area in early February--otherwise known as
``Snowmageddon.''
Throughout both of these snow emergencies, AOC employees
successfully cleared the streets, sidewalks, entryways, and parking
lots across the Capitol complex in order to support the Congress as it
conducted its business on the weekend and during the following week,
keeping the complex cleared of snow and ice for Members, staff, and the
public. At the same time, we continued to operate and maintain all our
facilities, and the Capitol Power Plant's service continued
uninterrupted.
AOC crews logged in nearly 35,000 man hours to remove more than
11,000 tons of snow. Once the snow had ended, our work did not. Our
crews continued to remove piles of snow from across the complex, treat
the sidewalks, streets, and parking lots as the snow melted and re-
froze overnight, and attended to hundreds of trees that were damaged in
the storms.
This pride in our work extends throughout the organization.
Stewardship of the Capitol complex is a unique challenge. The challenge
is amplified by the historic significance of our buildings and
landscape, aging physical infrastructure, and day-to-day operational
requirements. We strive every day to improve the conditions of our
facilities using innovative technologies and sustainable practices to
ensure the U.S. Capitol remains the nation's most visible and treasured
icon of our government for centuries to come.
Our fiscal year 2011 budget request details a number of projects
necessary to ensure we address the critical needs of the Capitol
complex as quickly and effectively as possible. Specifically, this
entails a significant backlog of deferred maintenance and capital
renewal projects, as well as security, life-safety and accessibility,
and environmental requirements. Although every project that we have
listed in our budget request is necessary, we realize that not all can
be funded in these fiscally-challenging times.
However, we take our responsibility to identify, quantify, and
report to Congress the state of our facilities and the extent of the
deferred maintenance backlog very seriously. The prioritization tools
we have developed and refined over the past several years provide
Congress with concrete and practical assessments of our infrastructure.
By using these tools, Congress can choose where best to make
investments in the Capitol complex.
capital budget request and project planning process
We are requesting $755 million for fiscal year 2011. The majority
of our capital budget request is devoted to addressing the critical
projects we've identified as needing urgent attention, which are
primarily classified as deferred maintenance. This portion of our
budget is the most volatile. It fluctuates greatly from year to year
based on the size and complexity of the projects that have been
prioritized as having immediate urgency.
Only a small percentage of our requested increase is non-
discretionary for mandatory cost-of-living increases, and other
operating expenses or contract price increases. We deliberately worked
to keep the growth of this segment of our budget to a minimum in order
to maximize the capital budget. This will enable the greatest
investment as possible in our infrastructure and to allow us to ``buy
down'' the deferred maintenance backlog.
As I have discussed at previous hearings, we have successfully
developed and implemented a robust and balanced process to prioritize
projects based on the facilities' conditions and the level of
maintenance required to ensure they remain functional and viable
working environments.
This process uses several tools in the formulation of the project
prioritization list including Facility Condition Assessments, the
Capitol Complex Master Plan, and Jurisdiction Plans. Over the past
year, this process has matured to include a Five-Year Capital
Improvements Plan, which examines phasing opportunities, project
sequencing, and other factors to better facilitate the timing of the
execution of major deferred maintenance and capital renewal projects.
As I discussed earlier, these tools assist us and the Congress in
looking ahead and enable us to plan when and where to make future
investments in our facilities and infrastructure. We also took into
consideration the challenge of executing required programs efficiently
throughout this process.
As this chart demonstrates, we continue to invest most of our
resources in infrastructure projects that are designed to address the
backlog of deferred maintenance.
Tied into the overall planning process is the Line Item
Construction Program. During this process, projects are scored against
six criteria: preservation; regulatory compliance; mission; economics;
security, and energy efficiency and environmental quality.
As we developed our fiscal year 2011 budget, we considered $373
million worth of capital projects, and are requesting $216 million for
Line Item Construction Program projects. The remaining $157 million in
projects were considered, but were not submitted in this budget
request, and therefore remain on the deferred project list.
As I mentioned earlier, our Capital Budget request is quite
volatile from year to year based on the projects that rise to the top
of the priority list. The AOC's fiscal year 2011 Capital Budget request
includes nine projects that each requires an investment of $10 million
or more. They are:
--Utility Tunnel Improvement Program;
--Egress Projects in the Thomas Jefferson Building;
--Capitol Building Dome Skirt Rehabilitation;
--Capitol Building Exterior Stone and Metal Preservation;
--Copper Roof Replacement and Fall Protection System for John Adams
Building;
--Roof and Skylight Replacement for Hart Senate Office Building;
--Refurbishment of Federal Office Building 8;
--Task 9, Phase II Infrastructure Improvements in Dirksen Senate
Office Building; and
--Collection Storage Module V for Library of Congress.
Mr. Chairman, I'm pleased to report that our Utility Tunnel
Improvement Program is on schedule to meet the June 2012 completion
date. In addition, by utilizing our comprehensive planning process, we
have been able to further reduce the program's cost. This was
accomplished by collecting new information from engineering studies,
visual examination of the exterior of the tunnels, and additional
structural testing. Funds were also saved through an efficient
procurement process and execution plans that consolidated work
elements, thereby saving contract overhead costs. These actions enabled
the AOC to reduce our fiscal year 2010 request and re-phase some work,
thereby reducing the total projected cost of the program from $186.4
million to $176.13 million. We continue to seek additional ways to
further reduce the program's total cost.
ENERGY CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAMS
The AOC is committed to making the right choices and doing our part
to save energy on Capitol Hill. With Congress' support, we have
implemented a number of programs and completed a variety of projects
designed to produce significant results in saving taxpayer dollars and
conserving our natural resources. One of our biggest challenges is
ensuring that we preserve the historic elements of our buildings, while
at the same time making them as energy efficient as possible. That's
why the Architect of the Capitol is committed to using sustainable
design practices whether we're building a new facility or maintaining
one that's 100 years old, like the Russell Building.
For fiscal year 2009, the Congress met its energy reduction goals
for the fourth year in a row, and reduced energy consumption by 15.3
percent across the Capitol complex. This exceeded the fiscal year 2009
requirement of a 12 percent reduction (as compared to the fiscal year
2003 baseline). For fiscal year 2010, a 15 percent reduction is
required under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, (3
percent reduction per year for a 30 percent reduction by 2015), and in
fiscal year 2011, an 18 percent reduction is required.
To meet these requirements to further reduce energy consumption, we
have requested $11.2 million in fiscal year 2011 for energy and
sustainability projects. In addition, we're asking for an increase of
nearly $10 million in operations funding for energy and sustainability
purposes. These sustainable practices include using low-impact
materials, installing energy efficient equipment, incorporating durable
and high-performance systems and materials, investing in renewable
energy, and encouraging and supporting a culture that promotes reuse
and recycling. This includes using food waste, garden clippings, and
other green waste, and repurposing it as compost for flower beds, and
sustaining other plantings throughout the Capitol complex.
To better identify and evaluate energy savings opportunities in
Capitol complex facilities, we have been using energy audits since
fiscal year 2007. The data collected help us realize better cost-
benefit results, and determine where best to invest our resources.
In December, the AOC entered into an Energy Savings Performance
Contract (ESPC) in the Senate Office Buildings. The project includes
nearly $42 million in facility infrastructure upgrades in the Hart,
Dirksen, and Russell Senate Office Buildings, as well as the Senate
Underground Garage, and Senate Employees' Child Care Facility.
Highlights of this project include:
--Energy-efficient lighting upgrades of nearly 31,000 fixtures in all
buildings, with state-of-the-art lighting controls, expanding
AOC/Senate's centralized dimming system, integrating occupancy
and daylight sensors;
--Upgrading of existing pneumatic and electric controls for heating,
ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems with direct
digital controls (DDC) and providing an ongoing program to
train building automation system operators specifically in the
monitoring and diagnosis of energy-related controls
deficiencies;
--HVAC Testing, Adjusting, and Balancing to trim excessive outdoor-
air ventilation, provide for high-efficiency cog belts (for fan
drives), and add weather stripping to exterior doors to
minimize infiltration;
--Replacement of existing transformers with high-efficiency
transformers; and
--Installation of removable insulation covers for steam valves to
reduce heat loss, improve comfort, and reduce the safety risks
associated with the hot surfaces.
After implementation of all energy conservation measures over the
36-month construction period, the Senate Office Buildings are estimated
to potentially realize: a 36 percent reduction in total energy
consumption; and approximately $3.9 million in annual energy savings.
We appreciate the support of the Senate Leadership, Chairman
Schumer, and all of our Oversight Committees in our ongoing efforts to
improve energy efficiency and reduce the carbon footprint of the
Capitol complex. They have made clear their commitment to reduce energy
consumption, conserve natural resources, protect the environment, and
in the long term, save taxpayer dollars.
Last year, the AOC also entered into an ESPC to implement energy
savings projects in the House Office Buildings. The contract includes
nearly $34 million in facility infrastructure upgrades in the Rayburn,
Longworth, Cannon, and Ford House Office Buildings, as well as the
House Page Dormitory.
After implementation of all energy conservation measures over the
30-month construction period, the House Office Buildings are estimated
to potentially realize: a 23 percent reduction in total energy
consumption; a 32 percent reduction in total water consumption; and
approximately $3.3 million in annual energy savings.
In our Energy Savings Performance Contract for the U.S. Capitol
Building, nearly $17 million in facility infrastructure upgrades are
planned for the Capitol Building. They include:
--Upgrading existing light fixtures with high-efficiency lamps,
ballasts and reflectors as well as new replacement fixtures;
--A comprehensive Building Automation System modernization, including
the upgrade of existing pneumatic and electric controls for
heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems with
direct digital controls. These improvements will reduce energy
consumption and improve temperature and humidity control;
--Replacement of the air-handling systems with variable air volume
(VAV) systems to reduce energy consumption while augmenting
capacity and improving temperature and humidity control;
--Replacement of existing electrical transformers with high-
efficiency transformers; and
--A comprehensive audit and repair effort to restore steam trap
performance.
After implementation of all energy conservation measures over the
27-month construction period, the Capitol Building is estimated to
realize: a 38 percent reduction in total energy consumption; and
approximately $2.2 million in annual energy savings.
In addition, we are continuing our efforts to complete the program
to install steam, electricity, natural gas, chilled water, potable
water, and condensate meters across the Capitol complex. This is a key
effort in terms of being able to measure current consumption, look for
improvement opportunities, and measure energy savings results. To date,
approximately one-third of the meters have been installed. The
remaining meters for facilities located outside the Capitol complex, as
well as the rest of the Capitol complex, are included in our fiscal
year 2011 budget request, with a final initial installation funding
request projected for fiscal year 2012.
Because the Capitol Power Plant (CPP) plays a critical role in our
long-term energy conservation strategy, we are continually working to
improve and upgrade operations there. The CPP has served the Capitol
complex very well since 1910, but in order to continue to provide these
services into the future, it is time to transform the CPP and its
operations. We started this transformation last February when we began
using natural gas as the primary fuel source. We are now studying and
evaluating potential new technologies to implement at the CPP. We
recently completed our Strategic Long-Term Energy Plan, which will help
to determine our future Energy Program planning, and explore various
options for continued energy efficiencies.
Over the past several years we have been working to create a
healthy and productive workplace where environmental awareness and
sustainability are the normal ways of doing business in the Capitol
complex. There are a number of initiatives that the AOC has been
engaged in, and we continue to see results in our efforts to improve
energy efficiency.
Here are just a few of our ongoing sustainability initiatives and
projects:
--We recently renovated room G-50 in the Dirksen Building, to install
new LED light bulbs that use over 80 percent less electricity,
give off less heat, and have a life expectancy of 30 years. In
addition, the carpet and paint used in the room has low or no
volatile organic compounds (VOCs). We also use low-VOC and
other green cleaning products throughout the complex to ensure
we maintain excellent indoor air quality.
--We installed nine solar panels in a Senate parking lot to power new
lights which make the parking lot safer.
--We have installed daylight harvesting systems in Member and
Committee Offices that use electronic sensors to lower
artificial lighting levels when enough natural light is
available.
--Nearly 35 percent of AOC employees use public transportation to get
to work.
--We are updating our 2006 Alternative Fuel Policy so, in addition to
providing E-85 fuel to official government vehicles across the
Capitol complex, we require the purchase or leasing of
alternate fuel vehicles when replacing aging vehicles. To date,
there are 40 flexfuel, hybrid, and electric vehicles in the
AOC's fleet.
--In September 2009, the American Lung Association of the District of
Columbia (ALADC) commended the AOC for its use of B20 blend
biodiesel fuel in its shuttle buses that service Capitol Hill.
The ALADC's Chief Executive Officer thanked the AOC for its
leadership in switching to biodiesel noting, ``The ALADC has
long called for greater use of biodiesel to improve the air
quality in our city, so it is particularly noteworthy that a
highly visible location like the Capitol uses biodiesel to
reduce emissions, including carbon monoxide, particulate matter
and unburned hydrocarbons.''
--The AOC recycles 100 percent of its e-waste in three basic ways.
Computer equipment is donated by the Agency. If it's not
donated, it is reused or resold. Any equipment that is not
donated or reused is recycled by a commercial recycling
company. Typically the equipment is either reused or broken
down and its components are repurposed.
--As part of Committee office renovations, the AOC has incorporated
sustainable design features. The AOC installed lighting control
systems where the electricity is metered, used rapidly
renewable materials and certified wood, and recycled more than
12 tons of construction waste in this Committee suite.
--For construction projects, we regularly purchase materials
containing recycled content such as acoustical ceiling tiles,
resilient flooring, sheet rock, doors, low volatile organic
compound materials, and medium density fiberboard. Whenever
possible, construction materials are purchased locally.
--We continue to install low-flow fixtures and automatic faucets in
restrooms, convert from pneumatic to direct digital controls to
maximize energy usage efficiency, and replace incandescent
light bulbs with Compact Fluorescent light bulbs throughout the
Capitol campus.
U.S. BOTANIC GARDEN/SUSTAINABLE SITES INITIATIVE
Because sustainable design, construction, and landscape management
can have a significant and positive impact on our environment, in
November 2009, the U.S. Botanic Garden launched the Sustainable Sites
Initiative, in partnership with the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
and the American Society of Landscape Architects.
The goals of the Sustainable Sites Initiative encourage the
sustainable design, construction, and maintenance of landscapes. These
are the first national guidelines for building landscapes that will
help to clean the air and water; mitigate temperatures; reduce
flooding; provide more natural habitat for birds, insects, and animals,
and help support our health and well-being.
The effort to transform the way built landscapes are designed,
constructed, and maintained for generations to come is a very important
one, and the AOC is proud to be among those leading this national
effort.
ANNUAL OPERATING BUDGET REQUEST
Our fiscal year 2011 annual operating budget request for $443
million provides funding for continuing the critical activities of
operating and maintaining the infrastructure which supports the
Congress, other Legislative Branch agencies, and the public, as well as
other AOC essential mission support services. Some of these services
include financial management, safety, human resources, project and
construction management, planning and development, communications,
information technology, procurement, and central administration.
As I mentioned earlier, this non-discretionary spending has
remained fairly constant over the past several years, and significant
reductions in this portion of our budget would greatly impact our
ability to provide day-to-day services and maintain our facilities at
expected and acceptable levels.
Other operating cost increases lie outside our control, including
additional price increases that exceed inflation and are imposed by
vendors as the cost of doing business. In addition, the cost of leases
has increased, new technologies require investment in new networks, as
well as hardware and software upgrades, and mandatory pay raises
combined with the increase in costs for goods and services have added
to the cost of our daily operations.
CAPITOL VISITOR CENTER OPERATING BUDGET REQUEST
At the opening ceremony for the Capitol Visitor Center (CVC) in
December 2008, I noted that, ``Visitors now have a respectful and
dignified way to come to the People's House, and I invite everyone to
come and explore all that the Capitol Visitor Center and the U.S.
Capitol have to offer.'' Little did I realize that 2.3 million people
would take me up on my offer in just the first year.
We are requesting $23.9 million for CVC operations and
administration, and four FTEs to support operations including an
interpretive curator.
The CVC's first year of operation has been extremely successful.
Average wait times continue to be 6 minutes versus the 3 or 4 hours in
line in years past. More than 1,100 events have been held in the CVC's
meeting spaces in the past year, and we're looking forward to large
crowds again as Cherry Blossom season approaches.
We continue to make improvements and adjustments to our policies
and tour procedures including modifying the Advanced Reservation System
to give Congressional offices more flexibility to modify, cancel, or
reschedule tour reservations. We've also added a Congressional staff
line at the South Information Desk, brought on more operators to ensure
prompt responses to phone calls, and will be assigning staff to
strategic locations in Emancipation Hall to help facilitate visitor
traffic flow of staff- and guide-led tours.
We continue to hold monthly listening sessions with Congressional
staff to receive feedback and answer questions, and to date, more than
5,100 staffers have participated in the CVC's training program.
As a point of interest, I would like to note that in April we will
install new documents into the CVC's Exhibition Hall. The new items,
which include a map used by the National American Woman Suffrage
Association showing their successful campaign for voting rights, the
proclamation to residents of the Louisiana Territory that the United
States had purchased the area from France, and the map showing the
route of the Wilkes Expedition (the U.S. Exploring Expedition to the
South Seas that brought to Washington a collection of living plants
from around the globe) will be on display through early October.
AOC ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Mr. Chairman, this past year we have recorded a number of
significant achievements. The following is a list of just a few of our
many accomplishments.
--Our annual Building Services Customer Satisfaction Surveys for
fiscal year 2009 again showed that a large majority of our
customers are satisfied or very satisfied with the level of
service the AOC is providing them.
--We continued to improve our cost accounting procedures and internal
controls, and received our fifth consecutive clean audit
opinion from independent auditors on all of our financial
statements. The Capitol Visitor Center construction project
received a clean audit opinion; the third in 3 years. We
submitted the first set of semi-annual financial statements for
CVC operations in 2009, and received a clean audit opinion on
those as well.
--We made tremendous progress to close out the recommendations from
the Government Accountability Office's (GAO's) General
Management Review (GMR) of the Agency. Ninety-one percent of
the recommendations are now closed (61 out of 67). Three of the
items from the original GMR are pending closure, and expected
to be completed in summer 2010. The remaining open items focus
on long-term recommendations (not part of the original GMR). We
are closely monitoring those activities and reporting status to
GAO.
--We activated our pandemic flu plan in response to the H1N1 Flu
threat, including implementing action plans to address
continuity of operations; educating staff on how to prevent
getting sick; providing hand sanitizing stations across the
Capitol complex, and doing regular cleaning with a focus on
cleaning hard surfaces, such as desks and tables.
--Worker safety remains one of our top priorities and our focus
remains on decreasing our Injury and Illness Rate each year, as
we have done since 2000. Safety training and education are keys
to our success, with a particular emphasis on injury prevention
through hazard recognition and elimination.
--We will complete the initial phase of our preventative maintenance
standardization program this month. Included in this effort is
the identification of common preventative maintenance issues
across jurisdictions, minimum corrective procedures to follow,
and timelines for completion. This information will be
automated in our facilities management information system and
allow us to track metrics in the future to identify
opportunities for improvement.
--Since 2007, the Office of Compliance (OOC) has issued one citation
to the AOC. AOC has worked collaboratively with the Office of
Compliance to close older citations and has successfully closed
21 citations since 2007. Eighteen Citations remain open today;
four are scheduled for closure in 2010. The remaining address
longer term utility tunnel (6) and fire and life-safety (8)
matters.
--During the 111th Congress, the AOC increased its emphasis on
facility safety inspection, to include pre-inspections of
Members' offices prior to the OOC's biennial inspections. As a
result of the combined efforts of AOC and other employing
offices, the OOC is reporting a decrease of 41 percent in the
number of findings from fiscal year 2010 in the nine facilities
in which the OOC has completed inspections to date.
--The U.S. Botanic Garden (USBG) was recognized as one of
Washington's best tourist spots in August 2009, by Nickelodeon
Television. The USBG won its ``Parents' Picks Award,''
garnering more votes than several other area attractions. In
December, the USBG was voted one of the nation's best spots to
``catch the holiday spirit'' by the American Automobile
Association (AAA).
--The AOC team that managed construction of Modules 3 and 4 and four
Cold Storage Rooms at the Library of Congress Fort Meade High-
Density Storage Facility were honored with a national award in
October from the Construction Management Association of America
(CMAA), in the category of new construction for a project under
$50 million. The new storage units will house 33 million items
from the Library's special-format collections.
--Later this month the AOC will be recognized by the Washington
Building Congress with two awards that recognized special
building skills. The House Office Buildings Sprinkler
Installation Project will receive one award under the category
of ``Decorative Plaster'' and the second under ``Plumbing,''
which has also been nominated for a Star Award. The awards will
be presented on March 26, 2010.
CONCLUSION
Mr. Chairman, as ``Snowmageddon'' has shown, the AOC is ready to
step up and do what is necessary to keep the Capitol complex open and
operating every day of the year--under any circumstances.
Today, we face a blizzard of deferred maintenance projects, and the
forecast is not sunny. We do appreciate the investment Congress has
made in our facilities over the past several years as we work to buy
down the deferred maintenance backlog. The AOC has been successful in
our work to be good stewards of the Capitol complex due to your
support.
We also have been able to accomplish much and experience numerous
successes because of the dedicated, professional men and women who make
up the AOC team. I have been honored and privileged to work along side
them. Because of their efforts and commitment to excellence, we
continue to provide exceptional service to Congress, and have been able
prevent system and facility failure due to their skills and ingenuity.
Once again, thank you for this opportunity to testify today. Mr.
Chairman, we look forward to working with this Subcommittee, the House
Subcommittee on Legislative Branch, and our Oversight Committees to
address the backlog of maintenance and repair projects, and continue to
protect and preserve the U.S. Capitol for generations to come.
I would be happy to answer any questions you might have.
OFFICE OF COMPLIANCE
STATEMENT OF TAMARA E. CHRISLER, ESQ., EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR
Senator Nelson. Ms. Chrisler.
Ms. Chrisler. Thank you. Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, Ms.
Murkowski.
I am honored to be here to appear before you today
representing the Office of Compliance in support of our 2011
fiscal year budget request.
OOC deg.CONGRESSIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY ACT 15 YEAR ANNIVERSARY
I would like to take a moment, though, before I go into the
highlights of that request and note that the Congressional
Accountability Act (CAA) celebrates its 15th anniversary this
year, and it is not just a celebration for the Office of
Compliance, but it is a celebration for the entire
congressional community. The successes that are achieved under
this Congressional Accountability Act are, in large part, due
to the work of the member offices and the agencies and
particularly this subcommittee. So we thank you for your
support in the area of the work of our agency.
OOC deg.SAFETY AWARENESS
Because of this subcommittee, the agency has been able to
raise awareness of safety and health on the Hill, resulting in
an increase of four times the Safe Office Awards in the 110th
Congress. And congratulations to you, Mr. Chairman, and you,
Ms. Murkowski, for being recipients of that award this
Congress. We appreciate your leadership in this area.
In addition, this subcommittee's active involvement in fire
safety issues has led the Office of Compliance and the Office
of the Architect of the Capitol to engage in collaborative
discussions regarding the prioritization of open fire safety
citations. These discussions have resulted in a prioritization
schedule that is cost-efficient, practical, and mindful of the
iconic nature of our environment.
I highlight these areas not just to show the progress that
has been made under the CAA, but to thank you for your support
and to emphasize that the OOC will be carrying out these and
other programs without asking for additional resources, except
where absolutely necessary.
OOC deg.FISCAL YEAR 2011 BUDGET REQUEST
There are three areas where the OOC has requested
additional funding for fiscal year 2011, one being safety and
health to develop a risk assessment approach to inspections;
two being IT infrastructure to update and enhance our IT
security; and three, human capital to provide mandatory salary
increases and minimal merit increases.
The technical guidance we provide in the area of safety and
health is well received and results in cost savings. We want to
continue this type of service and increase cost savings within
the legislative branch, and from the language in the fiscal
year 2010 legislative branch appropriations conference
committee report, you want us to continue that service too. In
line with the conference committee's report, we anticipate
developing a cooperative and cost-efficient approach to the
identification and correction of safety and health hazards.
This approach will be risk-based and, as the conference
committee report indicated, focused on those areas which would
yield the most reduction of risk to human health and safety. As
we see it, those areas are work places and work activities that
pose the biggest risk to safety. We will work very closely with
employing offices as we develop this approach.
OOC deg.COMMUNICATIONS--IT SYSTEMS
As my written statement indicates, our communications and
IT systems are antiquated and do not provide a cost effective
way of securing information. Our current system of two
computers per employee is an administrative burden on our
resources. It is not cost efficient and it is cumbersome for
staff. The funding we seek will allow us to migrate the two
networks into a single system while maintaining security of
confidential information.
The balance of our request is for mandatory cost-of-living
increases, minimal staff increases, and associate benefits.
We understand the fiscal constraints of our environment,
and in the spirit of cooperation, we have presented a budget
request which we believe only has minimal increases, only those
necessary to allow us to continue to serve you, to focus
attention on those hazards that are the riskiest, to protect
confidential and sensitive information, and to retain the
talented workforce that carries out the mandates of the CAA.
OOC deg.ADDITIONAL RESOURCE AVAILABILITY
Though we have a need for additional resources to assist
with our inspections of over 17 million square feet of space in
the D.C. Metro area alone, with an additional 1 million
expected in fiscal year 2012 and 2013, we are not seeking those
additional resources this year. Instead, we are working with
OSHA to secure nonreimbursable detailees to fill the need. We
are hopeful that a mutual exchange of services between the two
agencies will be of benefit to both agencies at no cost to the
Government.
PREPARED STATEMENT
So on behalf of the Board of Directors and the entire staff
of the Office of Compliance, I thank you for your support of
the agency, and I am happy to answers any questions that you
have.
Senator Nelson. Thank you.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Tamara E. Chrisler
Mr. Chairman, Ms. Murkowski, and distinguished Members of the
Subcommittee, I am honored to appear before you today on behalf of the
Office of Compliance (``OOC'' or ``Agency''). Joining me today are
General Counsel Peter Ames Eveleth, Deputy Executive Director Barbara
J. Sapin, Deputy Executive Director John P. Isa, Deputy General Counsel
Susan M. Green, and Budget and Finance Officer Allan Holland.
Collectively, we present to you the Agency's request for appropriations
for fiscal year 2011, and we seek your support for our request.
For fiscal year 2011, the Agency is requesting a total of
$4,675,491, a $298,491 or 6.82 percent increase over the Agency's
fiscal year 2010 appropriations level of $4,377,000. This funding would
provide the Agency with the bare minimum resources necessary to
continue its operations. This minimal increase includes funding for the
development and roll out of a risk-based assessment, essential
improvements to our quickly aging and increasingly inefficient IT
infrastructure, and salary increases required by Federal law.
Before I go into the details of our request, however, I would be
remiss if I did not acknowledge the Subcommittee's continued support
for this Agency. As you may be aware, the Congressional Accountability
Act is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year. As we embark upon
celebrating the successes Congress has achieved under this law, we must
recognize the important role this Subcommittee has played: its vision
and its support for this Agency and the work that we do. Because of
this Subcommittee's steadfast assistance, the Office of Compliance has
been able to continue to raise awareness of safety and health within
our covered community. Just 2 weeks ago, the OOC presented four times
as many Safe Office Awards as in the 110th Congress. These 154
Representatives and Senators ensured that their employees could work in
and that constituents could visit Washington, DC offices that are free
from hazards. These increased numbers are a result of the daily
education efforts of our staff, along with cooperation from staff of
the Office of the Architect of the Capitol, House and Senate Employment
Counsel, and the Chief Administrative Officer. Without the recognition
from this Subcommittee of the importance of the OOC's safety and health
services, and without substantial funding to provide these services, we
would not be celebrating these safe and healthy Congressional
workplaces.
Because of this Subcommittee's dedication to safety issues, a Blue
Ribbon Panel of architects and fire safety experts has been convened to
provide an independent assessment of fire safety issues in the Russell
Senate Office Building. This assessment will be instrumental in
ensuring that fire safety hazards are abated in an effective and cost-
efficient manner, while maintaining the beauty and history of the Halls
of Congress. Indeed, this Subcommittee's active involvement in fire
safety issues has lead the OOC and the Office of the Architect of the
Capitol to engage in collaborative discussions regarding the
prioritization of open fire safety citations. These discussions have
resulted in a prioritization schedule that is cost-efficient,
practical, and mindful of the iconic nature of our environment.
This Subcommittee's interest in the work performed by the OOC does
not end with its help in the area of safety and health. Because of this
Subcommittee's support, the Office of Compliance has increased its
educational workshops provided to sister agencies about our unique
dispute resolution system. Our colleagues have taken an interest in our
services because we implement and administer a dispute resolution
system that focuses on resolving disputes at the front end of a case
using mandatory counseling and mediation. This approach results in
lower costs for all parties and less workplace conflict.
We are providing training for new Congressional employees, and up-
to-date publications for Members, employing offices, and Congressional
employees about their workplace rights and obligations under the CAA.
Training and knowledge of the law are a central part of our job on
Capitol Hill. We are proud of the work we do for you, and we take pride
in the fact that we do it nimbly and efficiently.
In addition, the OOC has been working with the Office of the
Architect of the Capitol to implement a cost-effective approach to
improving public access to Capitol Hill facilities for persons with
disabilities. The goal is, in cooperation with the Architect of the
Capitol's Office, as well as other employing offices, to focus
resources on removing the barriers that will most improve access to the
facilities for the lowest cost.
I highlight these programs to showcase the work that has been done
and the progress that has been made in our legislative community
because of this Subcommittee: your interest in our mission, and your
support for our mission. We thank you. I also emphasize that we will be
carrying out these programs in fiscal year 2011 without asking for
additional resources except where it is absolutely essential.
STRATEGIC PLANNING
As the Office of Compliance celebrates these and many other
accomplishments, we look forward to the next fiscal year, ready with a
new 3 year Strategic Plan. Although the Plan covers fiscal years 2010
through 2012, fiscal year 2011 will be the first fiscal year in which
the Agency has requested funding in support of this Plan. The Strategic
Plan focuses the efforts of the OOC on providing technical guidance to
agencies and employing offices, serving as a resource to the covered
community, expanding our outreach efforts to raise awareness of our
services, and strengthening our infrastructure to improve the quality
of service we provide to our constituents.
Our fiscal year 2011 request for appropriations supports the
initiatives in our new strategic plan. Specifically, our budget request
focuses on three major areas that are designed to support needed
technical assistance to employing offices, as well as upgraded
infrastructure for the Agency, and mandatory salary increases for
staff.
SAFETY AND HEALTH INSPECTIONS
In line with the goals and initiatives in our Strategic Plan, the
OOC requests funding to continue its cooperative and cost-efficient
approach to the identification and correction of safety and health
hazards. If funded as requested, our 2011 budget would support the
ongoing development and implementation of the risk-based inspection and
abatement approach that the Conference Committee on fiscal year 202010
Legislative Branch Appropriations directed OOC to institute.
The OOC is completing its third successive wall-to-wall OSH
inspection of legislative branch facilities on Capitol Hill. The area
we inspect is vast: over 17 million square feet of property in the
National Capital Area, including locations in Maryland and Virginia. As
the covered community grows, so does the area we inspect. We do these
inspections with a small staff of inspectors whose role is critical.
You provided us with funds to hire them because you recognized that by
finding hazards and alerting employing offices about them, employing
offices can abate these hazards one-by-one. The abatement trends are
overwhelmingly positive and exemplify swift progress. The OOC has found
that the number of hazards has dropped substantially during the most
recent three Congresses: from 13,000 in the 109th Congress, to 9,000 in
the 110th Congress, to an estimated 6,000 in the present Congress.
As you have recognized, there is still much to accomplish. At our
last budget hearing, you challenged us, not just to point out hazards
that need to be abated, but to target the most significant risks. In
response to your directive, the Agency is developing an approach to
target the riskiest workplaces and work activities in the 112th
Congress. As we develop our risk assessment program, the OOC will be
working very closely with the Office of the Architect of the Capitol's
staff, as well as with other employing offices, to establish
appropriate parameters. The OOC will work with employing offices to
identify jobs and job sites that are inherently more dangerous: these
may include, for example, the Capitol Power Plant and construction
worksites. Our goal is to concentrate our limited resources where the
risks are highest, to improve our ability to provide technical
assistance focused on reducing on-the-job injuries and illnesses, and
to remedy violations that pose serious threats to workers' safety.
In light of the need to limit our appropriations request as much as
possible, OOC has not requested funding for an additional safety and
health inspector contractor, which we believe is needed. The
authorization and funding provided in fiscal year 2010 for an OSH
Program Manager to replace the retiring detailee equips the OOC with
necessary resources to continue supervising our safety and health
inspectors, working with outside OSH experts, and providing expert
technical advice to the General Counsel and guidance to OGC staff
regarding the application of OSHA standards. However, this position
alone will not provide the resources needed to fully handle
approximately one million additional square feet of Legislative Branch
work space that is expected in fiscal year 2011 and 2012. Ever-mindful
of the financial constraints facing our Government, and with an eye
toward being cost-conscious, the OOC is asking the Occupational Safety
and Health Administration to provide one or more safety and health
inspectors on a short-term, non-reimbursable basis, to provide
temporary inspection services at no additional expense to this Agency,
while simultaneously providing on-the-ground experience for OSHA
personnel.
OOC INFRASTRUCTURE
The Office of Compliance's other focus during fiscal year 2011 is
funding for OOC infrastructure. Communication and IT systems
replacement/upgrades are at a crucial stage for agency efficiency and
progress. Our IT systems impact all the programs discussed above, from
dispute resolution, to education and outreach, to the protection of
confidential information handled by our Agency. To ensure such
confidential information is protected, the Agency maintains a dual
computer network: an internal system which secures confidential
information, and an external system through a server administered and
maintained by the Library of Congress. The practice of maintaining two
computers for each employee significantly decreases efficiency and
increases costs and administrative burden on the Agency. In an effort
to work more productively and reduce administrative costs, we seek
funding to migrate the two networks into a single system.
The balance of the increase that is being requested is for
mandatory cost of living increases, minimal staff salary increases, and
the associated benefits which allow the Office of Compliance to retain
extremely high caliber employees to implement the programs described
herein pursuant to the Congressional Accountability Act.
CONCLUSION
The Agency approaches fiscal year 2011 with heightened fiscal
responsibility and an understanding that only minimal funding essential
to meeting our mission may be available. We have examined our programs
in conjunction with our statutory mandates, and we have made
significant efforts to streamline our appropriations request to reflect
the country's and the Government's current economic difficulties. With
that understanding, we present to the Subcommittee only those items
necessary to meet our statutory mandates. The three items discussed
herein--risk-based inspections' approach, IT improvements, and
mandatory salary increases--are the three major items that comprise our
minimal increase of $298,491. Funding for these items will allow the
Agency to continue to provide needed services and technical assistance
to the covered community.
On behalf of the Board of Directors and the entire staff of the
Office of Compliance, I thank you for your support of this Agency. I
would be pleased to answer any questions.
AOC deg.FISCAL YEAR 2011 BUDGET IMPACT
Senator Nelson. Mr. Ayers, the subcommittee recently asked
you to look at the impact of holding your agency to fiscal year
2010 funding levels for fiscal year 2011. I know and appreciate
the effort you have already put forward on this task, and I
would like to ask you just a few questions about your efforts
to do that.
The first one, perhaps the most obvious one, is what would
be the impact of zero growth on your budget in fiscal year
2011.
Mr. Ayers. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As we approached that
analysis to keep our 2011 budget at the 2010 levels, it
required us to make a reduction of $154 million. So we took a
three-pronged approach.
The first part of that was to look at our existing budget
to see if there was any money we could drive out of that
existing portion of our budget, and we were able to drive $15
million out of that budget, which is equivalent to taking 11
projects off of the list of 46 projects that we have put forth.
The second thing we did was to look at the operations
portion of our 2011 request and see what made sense to reduce
there, and we were able to drive another $14.5 million out of
that portion of our request.
And of course, the most volatile portion of our request is
the projects budget that goes up and down every year depending
upon what projects are there, and the remainder of the required
reduction came out of the projects request.
So the net result of being held to those levels is a couple
of things. One, certainly with the rise in construction costs,
ultimately the projects that are on our list will need to be
done. They will simply cost a little more later.
Second, keeping at a zero percent growth is actually a
decrease because we have to pay mandatory price increases and
mandatory payroll increases instead of furloughing people, and
that would certainly be our objective to not furlough people.
There are a handful of projects that we think are in our
operations side that are not going to get done. There are a
series of full-time equivalents (FTEs) that we will defer to
next year or the year after. Refreshing our information
technology resources will not get done in 2011. Replacement of
security barriers on a regular interval will just be pushed out
in another year or two. So I think those are some of the
impacts that we could expect.
Senator Nelson. In that regard, what method did you use to
try to establish priorities there? Because obviously you are
prioritizing. Did you have any particular methodology you used?
Mr. Ayers. Mr. Chairman, the project prioritization process
that we have been working on for nearly 5 years has matured
year after year. It has really developed into an excellent tool
for the Congress to use to make important decisions on our
budget. So every one of those 46 projects that is on our list
goes through a rigorous prioritization process. In the budget
that we have put forth, they are in priority order. So
theoretically, if you needed to reach a certain reduction, you
could simply start at the bottom of that list and cut those
projects as you work your way up.
AOC deg.PROJECT PRIORITY RANKING
That process includes a number of factors. We look at
mission, economics, energy, security, historic preservation,
life safety. Every project gets a numeric score in each of
those six categories. We also look at how urgent a project is,
and every one of those 46 is measured against immediate, high,
medium, or low urgency. And last, with the theory of you need
to take care of what you have before you build new, every
project receives a classification of either deferred
maintenance, capital renewal, capital improvement, or capital
construction. In our prioritization process a deferred
maintenance project, which is something that is already broken
and needs to be fixed, will move to the top of the list over
new construction.
AOC deg.PRIOR YEAR BALANCES
Senator Nelson. In trying to establish the budget now in
terms of the zero growth, do you take into account what are
generally referred to as prior year balances? For example, I
believe there is somewhere in the neighborhood of $50 million
that was appropriated in fiscal year 2010 for the House
Historic Buildings Trust Fund. Do you take that into account as
well?
Mr. Ayers. We certainly did take that into account, and we
did a comprehensive review of our prior year funds. We did
drive $15 million out of what we thought was in excess to our
needs. We were able to apply that to 11 projects that were on
the list.
We do think that keeping the House Historic Buildings
Revitalization Fund at $50 million is a good thing for our
budget. We have been working very hard with Congress for the
last 3 years to make some seminal changes in our budget
profile. We now have the tools available to look out 20 years.
The future does not look good. So we have really been working
to make a seminal change, and I think that change enables us
not to cut off our nose to spite our face. So we make that
investment later on.
Senator Nelson. But as you do that, how do you choose then
to defer immediate-need projects involving roof replacement and
fire protection? How would that historic trust fund come ahead
of what seem to be more basic needs?
Mr. Ayers. It is making a down payment for the future. So
we know, coming up in a few years, that we have over $100
million in deferred maintenance in the Cannon House Office
Building, which is the next building that we believe needs a
top-to-bottom renovation. So we believe that we need to begin
making that investment in 2016 or 2017. So without that money
and building up a corpus of money, we are not going to be able
to do that come 2016 or 2017. We are going to have to take that
money out of the bandwidth that is available in this budget.
That will prevent us from doing the projects on the list that
given year. So we do think that the balance of projects we need
to do now, as well as making investments for the future, is the
right balance.
Senator Nelson. Well, I think part of the challenge we have
is the future needs and setting aside money, but I think the
American taxpayer will have a challenge understanding socking
away money for future needs if we cannot make ends meet on the
immediate needs that we face right now, such as roof repairs
and other deferred maintenance that may raise life and fire
safety issues. So I raise that as a question for your
consideration.
Senator Murkowski.
Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will follow
on here as it relates to the projects because I think it is
such an important part of what we are dealing with here in
terms of priorities and how we allocate the dollars that are
available.
AOC deg.SUBSTANTIAL PROJECT INCREASE
As I flipped through the various areas within the
jurisdiction of the Architect of the Capitol, looking at the
requests for general administration, you are looking for
funding for three projects. That is an increase of 38.9 percent
for those. Within the Capitol Building section, we have got
nine different projects. This is an increase of 703 percent. In
the category of Senate office buildings, you have got a number
of projects, including what the chairman has mentioned, roof
repairs, et cetera, waterproofing. But this is a 165 percent
increase. In other categories under Library buildings and
grounds, we have got 11 projects, a 279.7 percent increase in
the projects. With the Capitol Police buildings, grounds, and
security, we are looking at additional funding for six
projects, 106 percent increase. The Botanic Garden--there are
only three projects that are requested there. Still, that is an
87.8 percent increase.
I guess the question that I would have is, with these
projects and a pretty substantial increase in terms of
requested projects that now get on the to-do list, are these
projects driven by citations that are coming out of the Office
of Compliance or do they get on the list because they are
deferred maintenance projects that the AOC is trying to work
through? How do we get to this number of projects that are on
the list?
Mr. Ayers. Certainly primarily projects come from
independent assessments of all of the facilities on Capitol
Hill. So for the past several years, we have engaged an
independent company that specializes in this kind of thing to
review every piece of equipment, every building system, and
give us an honest, third party, independent assessment of its
condition and its useful and expected life, and to help us
classify whether it is broken, needs to be fixed, deferred
maintenance, or whether we really need to add onto a system or
capital improvement. This is developed into a significant
database that maps out what needs to be done in all of our
buildings across Capitol Hill for the next 20 years. That comes
into developing what projects are on the list.
AOC deg.WHAT DRIVES THE BUDGET REQUEST
Also, our 20-year Capitol complex master plan has projects
in it that drive what is in our budget request.
But certainly a small number of those--there are three of
them this year. In fact, the top three are driven by citations
from the Office of Compliance. So that will ebb and flow in any
given year.
Senator Murkowski. Are there only three that are driven by
the Office of Compliance?
Mr. Ayers. There are only three in fiscal year 2011 that
are driven by the Office of Compliance.
Senator Murkowski. And which are those projects?
Mr. Ayers. The first is the utility tunnels and the second
one is compartment barriers and horizontal exits in the Capitol
Building. The third is a new exit stair in the Thomas Jefferson
Building for the Library of Congress.
AOC deg.PROJECT LIST--SAFETY ISSUES
Senator Murkowski. Well, I guess I want to understand more
about the prioritization because I am engaged in overhaul of an
old home myself, and believe me, my to-do list looks a heck of
a lot different than my husband's to-do list who is doing all
the work. Then when we go and we consult the checkbook and how
we are going to pay for it, all of a sudden, the to-do list
looks entirely different, and we are constantly resorting and
reprioritizing.
So I guess I am a little concerned that knowing that the
chairman and I have been very specific in asking the agencies,
the departments to give us your lean and mean budget, that we
would be looking at a whole list of projects that while they
will be important to do at some point in time or they are
things that we want, that we really have not figured out how we
can present a very clean and doable list of projects that we
must address because of safety issues.
So to know that of the many different projects in these
various categories, we have got three that we have got Office
of Compliance issues with or some form of citation that is out
there, and that others that are on somebody's matrix of
something that we want to have on the schedule, it does not
give me a very clear picture of what we really think the
priorities should be. I would hope that we will all be working
together to perhaps give some more certainty as to where we are
really going to go with projects for this year.
AOC deg.BLUE RIBBON PANEL--FIRE CODE REQUIREMENTS
I know that there are some things that we can start, and it
does not foul the process if we do not have the full funding to
complete it, but I know that there are other things that you
need to be able to complete once you initiate those projects.
We need to know and understand which fall into those categories
as well.
Senator Nelson. We talked about the Russell Building stairs
and I think we were seeking a blue ribbon panel to review how
the fire code requirements apply to historic buildings. Do we
have the panel's findings with regard to the stairs in the
Russell Senate Office Building? Has that blue ribbon panel
study been completed?
Mr. Ayers. No, Mr. Chairman, it is not complete yet, but we
do expect it to be complete in April.
Senator Nelson. Do you expect it to be helpful in assisting
you in prioritizing the fire and life safety challenges that
you face?
Mr. Ayers. Absolutely. I think we have brought together a
really stellar blue ribbon panel, the best minds that we know
of in the country, to help us address this issue. We are
looking forward to their thoughts and suggestions and
recommendations.
AOC deg.PRELIMINARY FINDINGS
Senator Nelson. Have you had any preliminary feedback from
this panel?
Mr. Ayers. Yes, we have. They did come and present to us a
50 percent completion document, and the entire team got
together. They made a great presentation for us, and all of us
felt that they were on the right track. We were very encouraged
with the level of effort, the level of detail and the level of
professionalism and engineering judgment that they are bringing
to the table. So we are really looking forward to the report in
April.
Senator Nelson. Have you included Ms. Chrisler in the
development of the study and the preliminary findings? Ms.
Chrisler.
Ms. Chrisler. Yes. Actually the Office of Compliance was
provided a copy of the report. We also attended the briefing,
the 50 percent briefing. We were able to attend. We were happy
to attend, and we also gave some comments based on the analyses
that were conducted within the 50 percent report.
Senator Nelson. Did you find it helpful to be able to work
together in that sort of an environment with that kind of a
project?
Ms. Chrisler. Extremely helpful. As Mr. Ayers indicates,
the expertise that sits on the panel will absolutely be
instrumental to the addressing of these issues, and we
appreciate the opportunity to sit down and consult with them,
along with the Office of the Architect of the Capitol.
Senator Nelson. You did not find it necessary to be
adversarial in that environment, I am sure.
Ms. Chrisler. Absolutely not. It is an independent
assessment, and we appreciate the experts' opinion and we
appreciate the time that they have taken, their perspective
that they are bringing to the assessment of the issues, and it
is very collaborative.
Senator Nelson. Good, thank you.
AOC deg.UTILITY TUNNELS
In terms of the utility tunnel repairs, Mr. Ayers, the
request includes $14 million for the utility tunnel project and
$20 million in other citation-related projects. I am glad to
hear that things are pretty much on schedule to complete the
repairs in 2012. When the repairs are completed, do you
anticipate being in full compliance with the applicable health
and safety standards, as we might hope that you would be?
Mr. Ayers. Yes, we do, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Nelson. Maybe since some of the repairs were
considered to be an interim fix, how long do you expect those
interim repairs to last? Are they very short term or are they
intermediate term?
Mr. Ayers. Our objective is to get another 20 years out of
the utility tunnels. It is more of a longer-term approach we
are taking.
AOC deg.REVIEW OF REPAIRS
Senator Nelson. Ms. Chrisler, have you had an opportunity
to review the repairs or some explanation of the repairs?
Ms. Chrisler. We have consistent monitoring of the progress
that is being made within the utility tunnels. We have a
dedicated staff member who liaisons with the Architect's Office
and is kept up-to-date and reviews the information and has
weekly meetings and provides feedback. It is a very engaged
effort on both agencies' parts. So yes, we are very, very much
aware of the progress that is being made and the progress is
very good, right on schedule.
Senator Nelson. And then in terms of the other citations,
are there other citation-related projects included in the
fiscal year 2011 request?
Mr. Ayers. We have three citation projects that are in our
2011 request. The first, of course, is the utility tunnels, our
most important work. The second is compartment barriers and
horizontal exits in the Capitol Building, and the third is a
new stair in the Jefferson Building. It is important to note
that those three have risen to the top of our priority list,
but it is also important to note that those three are in
priority order. As you know, we worked together this summer to
develop a prioritization process where we can now prioritize
these citations. So what you see before you in our prioritized
list is in priority order.
OOC deg.PRIORITIZATION OF CITATIONS
Senator Nelson. Ms. Chrisler, are you comfortable with the
effort that has been made and the results of that
prioritization effort?
Ms. Chrisler. We, being the Office of Compliance and the
Office of the Architect of the Capitol, sat down pursuant to
the direction given by this subcommittee and engaged in some
very productive discussions regarding the prioritization of the
fire safety citations. And during those discussions, we
collaborated and agreed upon an applicable standard, and based
on that application of the standard, together reached this
prioritization that we have before us. So, yes, we are very
much in agreement and we think that it is right on point.
Senator Nelson. Well, I appreciate the collaboration and
the spirit of cooperation there because it seemed to me a year
ago that the Office of Compliance was more in the realm of a
referee or an umpire throwing a flag here and throwing a flag
there on a violation. And it is encouraging to see that there
is more cooperation and collaboration on these projects so that
the adversarial relationship is not necessarily helpful if you
can go forward and work together.
Ms. Chrisler. That is correct. And we see ourselves as a
service agency and as a resource, and we cannot be the only
ones that see ourselves that way. It is important for others to
see us that way as well, and we understand that that
perspective will only come from the work that we are doing and
not just the dialogue that we are engaged in. So we are very
much appreciative of the opportunity to be able to sit down and
not just act as referee but to offer technical advice and
technical assistance where necessary.
Senator Nelson. Great, thank you.
Senator Murkowski.
Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
AOC deg.FEDERAL ACQUISITION STREAMLINING ACT AUTHORITY--LEASE
AUTHORITY
Mr. Ayers, let me ask you some questions about the two
legislative language proposals that are contained within the
budget request. The first is the Federal Acquisition
Streamlining Act authority, the FASA authority, and long-term
lease authority. And I understand that it would provide for
procedures for commercial item acquisition, presumably to
result in efficiencies and savings whether it is janitorial
services or whatever.
I am trying to understand exactly what the budgetary impact
of something like these proposals would actually be and whether
or not there will be cost savings if, in fact, these
authorities are to be granted; whether there are savings in
operations and contracts immediately or whether we are going to
see this play out over time. Can you just kind of give me a
better picture so I can understand what it is that you are
anticipating with this authority?
AOC deg.FASA BUDGET IMPACT
Mr. Ayers. Absolutely, Senator Murkowski. The Federal
Acquisition Streamlining Act is an act that was enacted about
10 years ago and it is widely used throughout the executive
branch. We are looking to have that kind of procurement
flexibility with the Architect's Office. And you are absolutely
right. The purpose of this is to save money, save time, and
create efficiencies in our procurement office.
So what it does, is allows us to purchase commercial items
up to $5.5 million using simplified acquisition procedures.
Today we are only capable of using those simplified acquisition
procedures for procurements up to $100,000. Those procedures
are simply a purchase order, and maybe three or four or five
pages tops of procurement and contract language to procure a
commercial item today $100,000 and below. Today, above
$100,000, we have to go through a contract procedure which is
easily 100 pages of contract clauses to procure a commercial
item up to $5 million. This would really significantly save
time in our procurement office, allowing us to buy commercial
things in a very simplified manner. It saves us money and
prevents, I think the budget impact you were trying to get at.
It prevents us from, in the future, having to come to you and
ask for increases and increases in our procurement staff. We
are gaining some efficiencies there and will not need to do
that in the future.
Senator Murkowski. So do you actually spend over $100,000 a
year moving statues?
Mr. Ayers. That is just one particular item.
Senator Murkowski. I am just looking at it. I am thinking,
okay, bulk fuel, yes; light fixtures, yes. And I was looking at
the cleaning of the chandeliers----
Mr. Ayers. Like toilet paper, paper, all of those types of
things.
Senator Murkowski [continuing]. And I decided those
chandeliers have got to be really expensive to clean.
But you do anticipate--I am assuming you have done some
kind of a cost analysis that has said that consolidating these
procurement policies is going to be beneficial in the short
term and the long term.
Mr. Ayers. Absolutely. We did go back to all of our
procurements in 2008 and analyzed every one of them to
determine how many of them we could have taken from this 100-
page contract phase and used the simplified acquisition
procedures. There were 35 of them, and for those 35, we believe
we could carve out 20 man-days on each one. So it is a very
significant savings.
AOC deg.SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE
Senator Murkowski. Let me ask you about the Senior
Executive Service (SES). Again, this is an area that has been
used within the executive branch, but I am trying to understand
why you believe within the AOC we need to have or we need to
create these Senior Executive Service, similar to executive
branch authority. You are talking about 37 positions here,
which seems like a lot of senior level positions for an agency
that has about a three-fourths blue collar, one-fourth white
collar workforce.
So can you explain to me why you are seeking this
authority, what you hope to gain from it, and give me a bird's
eye view of what the 37 positions are again, that is a lot of
folks here. What is the budgetary impact of converting 37
positions into Senior Executive Service positions? Can you just
speak to this issue for a moment, if you will?
Mr. Ayers. Absolutely, Senator. First, our objective and my
objective is to be the best. To be the best. To be able to
recruit and retain the best people. I know that it is certainly
your objective as well. We do not believe today we are poised
to do that at the senior executive level because our pay and
benefits package does not match those in the executive branch
of the Government.
Senator Murkowski. Should it?
Mr. Ayers. I am sorry?
Senator Murkowski. Should it?
Mr. Ayers. I think it should, absolutely. Certainly not on
the pay side. We recognize that our pay we cap below Member
pay. So we are not seeking authority on pay, and we do not
believe that this flexibility will have any impact in the short
term on funding.
I think it is important to note that when we go to recruit
someone from the executive branch there are disparities, a
great example of that is the amount of annual leave an
executive can carry over. Today our executives can carry over
240 hours. In the executive branch, all of them can carry over
720 hours. So why would one of them be enticed to come work for
the Architect of the Capitol when they are going to have to
give up that benefit that they have, that the Government
Accountability Office (GAO) has, that the Library of Congress
has, but the Architect does not?
So I think the facts are very clear that benefits packages
do not match and we think they should. We really think that
there should be this easy exchange of executive talent between
the executive branch and the legislative branch.
Senator Murkowski. What about the number, the fact that you
have got 37? It seems like a high number of senior level
positions, again in an area where most of your workforce is not
the senior level. It is more the blue collar level.
Mr. Ayers. Of those 37, all of them, I believe, are
existing positions, and they are already paid at the Senior
Executive Service level. The only thing that they would be
affected by is a change in benefits' package for the annual
leave carry over that I mentioned earlier. So they are not new
employees.
Senator Murkowski. These are existing people that you are
just changing their ability to accrue annual leave, carryover,
and bonuses. So what you are saying is that this does not cost,
in terms of what you will see with your budget. It is more of a
recruitment or a retention tool.
Mr. Ayers. That is exactly right. I think it is important
for transparency. There is no question in the first year it
does not cost us. In ensuing years, when employees retire they
are paid out for their annual leave that they still have on the
books. So this would enable an executive to accrue a larger
amount of leave on the books than one would normally have
today, but that is many years down the road.
Senator Murkowski. Would this have any impact on salary
increases in future budget requests?
Mr. Ayers. No, ma'am, it would not.
Senator Murkowski. Mr. Chairman, thank you.
AOC deg.CAPITOL VISITOR CENTER
Senator Nelson. The Capitol Visitor Center. You were
provided $621 million for the construction, but due to reduced
delay claims by sequence 2, a contractor, GAO currently
estimates that the total cost to complete the Capitol Visitor
Center is $591 million. This leaves you with a balance of
approximately $31 million. Are those facts correct, and is
there a remaining balance of $31 million from this project?
Mr. Ayers. I do not believe that that is exactly correct,
but there is no question----
Senator Nelson. There is some money----
Mr. Ayers [continuing]. That there will be at least $20
million available for other priorities. I think that is a great
testament to the team that negotiated the final claims on this
project, and they did just a terrific job and saved us
considerable money.
Senator Nelson. Well, anything that comes under the
ultimate price tag is a savings and it should be viewed that
way. There is no doubt. I appreciate that.
I guess the question I have is could the funding, that
additional $20 million that is there--could that be applied
toward your fiscal year 2011 needs?
Mr. Ayers. Yes, Mr. Chairman, absolutely.
AOC deg.CVC FTE INCREASE
Senator Nelson. Now, you request four FTEs for the Capitol
Visitor Center. Does that mean you are not adequately staffed
at the CVC now? For example, what are the duties of an
interpretive curator? Are they not already available? Or is
there a necessity to add that particular position or positions?
Mr. Ayers. We are requesting an increase of four FTEs for
the Capitol Visitor Center, and I view those in two groups. The
first group and the highest priority, the must-haves, are
converting our two congressional liaison positions that are
currently on board in a temporary capacity to permanent
positions. They really have shown that they are extremely
beneficial, not just for us but for Members, in working and
providing tours at the CVC. So we think those are must-haves.
The second two are in a second tier of more improving
operations and improving efficiencies. We think, certainly, a
curator could help improve our operations in interpreting the
things that are in the Exhibition Hall. But an interpretation
curator and a special assistant do not rise up to the must-have
level of our two congressional liaisons.
AOC deg.CAPITOL POWER PLANT FTE INCREASE
Senator Nelson. And then if we go to the Capitol Power
Plant, your request there includes 3 additional FTEs for that
plant, bringing the total to 98. Have you recognized any
savings that would apply to reducing the number of FTEs as a
result of the installation of a digitized control system at the
plant? In other words, further use of technology should be able
to help you reduce the reliance on human power. Have you
realized anything or can you realize anything there?
Mr. Ayers. Well, we do think that there are some savings to
be realized there. The numbers you mentioned are our FTE cap.
The FTE cap at the Power Plant is 95. These 3, which I will
address in a moment, would increase to 98. But on-board
strength, we have somewhere in the low to mid 70s. We have
purposefully, for the past 2 to 3 years, held recruitment very,
very low in the Power Plant to accommodate these efficiencies.
I know when I became Acting Architect 3 years ago, I think we
were at 85 on-board people and we are now about 10 less than
that. So I think we have been driving some efficiencies out of
there.
AOC deg.UTILITY METERS
The three new positions are, interestingly enough, a new
mission area for the Architect. The Energy Independence and
Security Act required us to install utility meters throughout
all of our facilities. That resulted in about 320 new utility
meters, very high-tech pieces of equipment installed in all of
our buildings. These three new employees would operate and
maintain those meters, do the preventive maintenance on those
meters, as well as read the results of those meters.
AOC deg.SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAM
Senator Nelson. In that regard, you are requesting $11.2
million worth of projects and $10 million in the operations
budget with an energy reduction focus. Is that different than
what we are talking about here with the Power Plant, or is it a
part of it, or is it separate from it? I will ask it that way.
Mr. Ayers. It is certainly separate from the Capitol Power
Plant appropriation, but it is part of our comprehensive
sustainability program to meet the Energy Independence and
Security Act goals of a 3 percent energy reduction per year.
Senator Nelson. Well, as you expect to use the $11.2
million worth of projects and $10 million in the operations
budget, if funded, what will that achieve in terms of overall
reductions in costs to the budget? In other words, I think you
are spending money to try to bring down the costs. What would
you expect in the way of energy savings in terms of dollars?
Mr. Ayers. In terms of dollars, I think a great example of
that is the energy savings performance contract that we have
awarded here in the Senate. This public/private partnership,
where a private company is investing $42 million in the Senate
office buildings, and ultimately, reducing energy by 36
percent, which is almost $4 million a year in energy savings
being driven out of the Senate office buildings. Of course,
initially that money goes to repay this company that is doing
the work and borrowing the money. In the end, we keep those
investments, we keep the upgrades and we reap the benefits
after they are repaid.
Senator Nelson. How long will it take us to recoup the $22
million? How many years do you think it is going to take us to
where we have recovered that? It is good to reduce energy use.
There is no doubt. And it is also good to reduce the cost that
you get from energy reduction. As you try to correlate those
two, how long will it take us to be neutral or have a net
reduction in our costs?
Mr. Ayers. I believe here in the Senate, the projection is
18 to 20 years.
Senator Nelson. What about other buildings or other
facilities? Do you have anything that might--in other words, is
this $22.2 million all in the Senate office buildings?
Mr. Ayers. It is. It is $42 million, the investment they
are making just in the Senate. We have a similar arrangement in
the Capitol----
AOC deg.PROJECTS BUDGET
Senator Nelson. Excuse me. That they are making. But you
have got $22.2 million in your operations budget in projects.
Maybe I am not understanding what those dollars are for.
Mr. Ayers. Those dollars are primarily for two things. One
is enabling us to manage these energy savings performance
contracts across Capitol Hill. For these contracts that we have
entered into, we are investing nearly $100 million. So we are
looking for contract help: engineers to help manage that work
and coordinate that work and be sure it is installed properly
and commissioned properly. That is primarily what much of that
money is for.
Senator Nelson. And then it would take us about 18 years to
get the full benefit of what it is we are trying to do in terms
of dollars.
Mr. Ayers. That is correct.
Senator Nelson. Senator Murkowski.
Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Ms. Chrisler, I do not want to have all the attention
focused on Mr. Ayers here, so we will ask you a couple.
OOC deg.HAZARDS DECREASE
You referred to the number of hazards that have been
identified and the fact that we have seen a decrease from
13,000 in the 109th Congress to 9,000 in the 110th to an
estimated 6,000 in the 111th. And I think that is good. I would
hope that given a level of outreach and education efforts, we
would see the number of hazards continue to go down, and I
think that is clearly the goal here.
Can you tell me how we count hazards? Is it every
overloaded outlet that is counted? And then when they unload it
or put the power strip in or what have you, is it still
counted? How do you account for these multiple hazards?
Ms. Chrisler. Thank you, Senator. It is a very good
question.
What we do is we have inspectors that go out and inspect
each office space and they identify the hazards, they identify
violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) standards. Those are noted. Sometimes they are abated
right on the spot.
Senator Murkowski. And are they counted if they are abated?
Ms. Chrisler. Yes, they are, but they are counted--if they
are abated on the spot, no. So I am mistaken.
Senator Murkowski. So if you unplug it, then you are good.
Ms. Chrisler. You are good.
Senator Murkowski. All right.
Ms. Chrisler. If it takes something other than right on the
spot, then yes, that is counted as a hazard within the
findings.
[The information follows:]
During the hearing, I mistakenly indicated that the OOC
does not record hazards found during biennial inspections if
they are remedied immediately. In fact, OOC notes all hazards
identified during a biennial inspection, whether they are
abated on the spot or abated at a later time. This method of
recording hazards is consistent with the longstanding practice
followed by Occupational Safety and Health Administration
inspectors. The OSHA Field Operations Manual provides: ``Safety
and health violations shall be brought to the attention of
employer and employee representatives at the time they are
documented.'' Field Operations Manual, Directive No. CPL 02-00-
148 at 3-20 (Occupational Safety and Health Administration
November 9, 2009) (emphasis added). In addition, this method of
recording hazards allows the OOC to provide Congress with
consistent and reliable data, as explained below.
The CAA requires the OOC to inspect legislative branch
facilities for compliance with occupational safety and health
standards at least once each Congress and report those results
to the Speaker of the House, the President pro tempore of the
Senate, and employing offices responsible for correcting
violations. CAA Section 215(e), 2 U.S.C. 1341(e). As such, the
OOC is required to notify Congress of the violations it
identified irrespective of when those violations are remedied.
Alongside the hazard findings, the OOC provides abatement
information to provide context for the findings and establish a
clear picture of what hazards remain. Although OOC encourages
early abatement and applauds employing offices for their
efforts to immediately abate hazards, OOC does not note a
distinction in its identification of hazards if a hazard is
abated immediately or if a hazard is abated at a later time: at
the time of the inspection, a hazard that threatened workers'
safety and/or health was present, and the CAA requires the
identification of those hazards and a submission of same to
Congress. The OOC is pleased with the continuing decline in
hazards seen over the past three Congresses, and is hopeful
that the abatement process continues to progress as well.
OOC deg.COMPLIANCE EDUCATION
Senator Murkowski. Is it fair to say then that with
continuing education and awareness, we are able to do within
our own offices a significant level of compliance just on our
own and we are learning so that as the years progress,
hopefully, we will be near zero. I do not know if it is
possible to eliminate all hazards, but I am assuming that is
the direction that we are taking.
Ms. Chrisler. Sure, absolutely it is. And that is part of
where we are hoping to go in the future, as we see the decrease
in hazards. And as you mentioned, it is partly due to the
education efforts of our staff, the increased awareness of the
staff and the Members' offices and the employing offices, and
in part due to the employment counsel's offices as well in
assisting us in conducting the inspections and providing the
education that is necessary. So, yes, we are looking for the
employing offices to be able to spot some of these hazards
themselves and correct them right on the spot. That is part of
our goal is to equip the employing offices with that type of
knowledge so that they are able to utilize our office as a
resource, as a kind of checkpoint to make sure that they are
right on track.
Senator Murkowski. Good. I appreciate that.
I also appreciate the comment that you made in your opening
statement about working in collaboration with OSHA to provide
some assistance, rather than bringing on new or additional
staff working with them in a collaborative effort. I think that
that is good. If there are other opportunities to do similar
collaborating efforts, I would certainly encourage that.
OOC deg.IT SYSTEM
Let me ask you one more question about the IT system. You
mentioned that you have got a somewhat unique system in that
you are required to have two computers for each employee.
Clearly inefficient. It obviously adds increased costs to the
agency.
What do you anticipate your cost savings to be once the new
system is in place? What is the total request for the system
upgrade? And if the funding in fiscal year 2011 does not
support the full cost of the system, how much additional
funding do you figure you need in the out-years to kind of take
care of this?
Ms. Chrisler. Yes, thank you. The system that we have is
unique. Because of the confidential information that our office
maintains with respect to our dispute resolution program, we
have taken great steps to ensure that that type of information
remains protected and remains secure. The system that we have
currently in place provides that protection, but it also
inhibits employees from being able to work as productively as
they could. Literally, there is a switch box that is on
everyone's work station and employees literally have to
transfer back and forth between computers when they are wanting
to work. One of the systems is an internal system where we can
communicate internally and the other one connects to the
outside world, the Internet. And the two systems are not
compatible.
OOC deg.SYSTEM SECURITY
Ms. Chrisler. We have obtained the technical skills of an
IT staff who has developed a program and a system by which we
would be able to maintain that level of security but eliminate
the two computers. So that is something that will result in a
cost savings, will result in efficiency, will allow us to have
a complete COOP plan for teleworking purposes. The total cost
of the program is something that I can provide to you for the
record at a later date.
[The information follows:]
The total investment for new system upgrade equals
$110,000, which encompasses the following: equipment ($60,000--
fiscal year 2011 budget request) and installation ($50,000--
fiscal year 2012 budget request). We expect to recoup the new
system investment through cost savings over a 2\1/2\ year
timeline ($110,000 total upgrade/$43,475 total savings equals
2.53 years).
Ms. Chrisler. Should we not receive the funding for the
improvements, we will have to reevaluate how to go about
developing this plan. Of course, it is not just a 1 fiscal year
project. It is something that we can break into pieces, if we
have to. Some things will have to be delayed. The
implementation would be delayed, but perhaps the development
could continue on some levels.
Senator Murkowski. Well, if you could get that information
and kind of lay that out, that would be helpful.
Ms. Chrisler. Thank you.
Senator Murkowski. Thank you.
Senator Nelson. Thank you.
[The information follows:]
Ideally, OOC would purchase the equipment in fiscal year
2011 for $60,000 and perform the installation in fiscal year
2012 for $50,000. However, if funding is not provided in fiscal
year 2011, OOC would have to delay the implementation of the
new system. The cost would probably not increase dramatically
if the timeline for implementation was delayed; the delay would
simply move the cost to another fiscal year. However, not
receiving the full requested budget for fiscal year 2011 and
delaying the implementation increases the vulnerability of the
agency for disaster recovery planning (COOP), reduces any
efficiencies which could be gained through the ability to tele-
work, and impacts the agency's cybersecurity initiatives.
Because the new IT system will allow for the use of one
computer per work station as opposed to the current use of two,
the agency anticipates enjoying significant cost-savings, not
only in physical equipment, but in human resources as well.
The total annual estimated savings equals $43,475; $22,475
of which is attributed to equipment and software, $21,000 of
which is attributed to Human Capital. Because the new IT system
will require the agency to maintain only one computer per work
station, as opposed to the two it currently maintains, routine
upgrades will be fewer, resulting in significant savings.
Mindful of the costs associated with maintaining current
technology for hardware and software compatibility, the agency
looks to replace its employee PCs every 3 years. As such, once
the system upgrades are in place, and only one PC per work
station is being maintained, the agency will enjoy an annual
savings of $7,950 or $23,800 over the 3-year replacement cycle.
Annual software costs will result in a savings of $11,300; and
purchases of peripheral equipment will yield an additional
savings of $3,225.
The new IT system contemplated by the agency will result in
a $21,000 annual savings of IT staff resources. As the system
currently operates, IT staff allocates 25 percent of their time
annually for support and maintenance of the internal computer
system. Once the new system is implemented, the staff would be
able to utilize that 25 percent toward our IT Security and COOP
initiatives, which have gone understaffed due to the time
commitment necessary to maintain two computer systems.
OOC deg.HAZARD PRIORITIZATION
Senator Nelson. Ms. Chrisler, in establishing the 6,000
hazards, do you then categorize them as to priorities, priority
1, 2, 3, 4, 5? I assume that not every hazard is co-equal with
every other hazard. So do you have a system of prioritization?
Ms. Chrisler. Yes, Senator, we do. What we have is what we
call a RAC system, and it is R-A-C. It is a risk assessment
code. And when the hazards are identified, they are labeled
with this RAC: RAC 1 being posing life-threatening potential,
life-threatening issues; RAC 2 being dangerous and could cause
bodily harm; and 3 and 4 of lesser degree of severity.
The majority of the 6,000 violations that we saw are not
RAC 1. So that is very comforting to know. They fall more in
the range of RAC 3, which is they are significant but they do
not rise to the level of the immediate threat to life safety.
Senator Nelson. Well, I know that you pay close attention
to OSHA and their inspection programs. Do we know what changes
are being planned in the 112th Congress on OSHA inspection
programs?
Ms. Chrisler. That is something that we certainly will look
into, Senator, and be happy to provide to you for the record.
Senator Nelson. Sure. That would be helpful. Thank you.
[The information follows:]
The Secretary of Labor (``Secretary'') is responsible for
promulgating occupational safety and health standards under the
Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, 29 U.S.C. sections
651 et seq. Executive Order 12866 requires the Secretary to
publish semiannually a Regulatory Agenda listing all
regulations the Department of Labor expects to have under
active consideration for promulgation, proposal or review
during the coming year. The Department's most recent Regulatory
Agenda was published on December 7, 2009 and can be found in
its entirety at www.reginfo.gov. The Department's Regulatory
Plan, which is a subset of the Regulatory Agenda, ``highlights
the most noteworthy and significant regulatory projects that
will be undertaken by its regulatory agencies,'' including the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (``OSHA''). 74
Fed. Reg. No. 233 at 52 (Dec. 7, 2009). The most recent
Regulatory Plan lists four OSHA regulations: a modification of
OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard; a rule setting
Occupational Injury and Illness Recording and Reporting
Requirements; a health standard regulating Crystalline Silica
exposure; and an update of the 1971 Cranes and Derricks
standard applicable to the construction industry. Id.
As certain OSHA standards apply in the legislative branch
pursuant to section 215(d) of the Congressional Accountability
Act (``CAA''), 2 U.S.C. section 1341(d), the OOC and its Board
of Directors will continue its close monitoring of OSHA's
regulatory activity in the coming year and assess its effect on
the legislative branch.
AOC deg.CAPITOL POLICE RADIO PROJECT
Senator Nelson. I do not know that I have any more
questions to ask. I guess I could ask about the radio system
here. I have got a question on that.
The Capitol Police radio project. Mr. Ayers, I know you are
responsible for the facilities portion of that project. Can you
give us an outline of how the facilities portion of the project
is undergoing--or how that is going on right now?
Mr. Ayers. I would be happy to, Mr. Chairman. In support of
the Capitol Police project, we are undertaking three activities
on that project. The first is the design and construction of
the primary site, which is where the radio operators and radio
infrastructure will be, in Manassas. We are right on schedule
and on track to complete that by December 2010. We have a
contract awarded, and we are going through the contract design
and submittal phase right now. So we see no issues there.
The second portion is the design and construction and
property acquisition of the mirror site, or the backup site,
here just off of Capitol Hill. We are currently in negotiations
with the leaseholder now, both negotiations on the lease, and
on the construction side. We do not see any issues meeting a
March 2011 completion date to enable the Capitol Police vendor
to begin installing their radio equipment.
And then last, and probably most importantly for me, is
helping the Capitol Police contractors install and navigate
through all of the office buildings and the Capitol Building
and to installing their infrastructure, electricity, antenna
wires, and antennas through the buildings. And we are working
very closely with them now. I know that they have completed the
design for the Senate office buildings. They are nearing
completion of the design for the Capitol and House office
buildings. We do not see any issues there as well.
So things are progressing well and we are very confident
about completing our three tasks on schedule.
Senator Nelson. Well, I appreciate the update. It is good
to know that it is on schedule and not slipping and staying
within the budget as well?
Mr. Ayers. Yes, sir.
Senator Nelson. Well, if there is nothing else to ask,
there is no reason to ask it. Right?
So I appreciate very much your being here today, your work,
and the work of all your associates who, together with you, are
doing such an outstanding job for us. Thank you for your candor
and for your willingness to work with us. I know with such
difficult times that we face right now with unemployment at a
high level, it has also been a very energizing time because
with all the snow and with everything else, it seems to come
all at one time when everybody is saying, well, we need to slow
down our costs at a time when the activity is increasing. It
seems like those should not cross. They should match. But we
are faced with difficult times, and I appreciate the fact that
everybody understands that and we will try to work our way
through it.
So thank you.
Senator Murkowski, do you have any closing comments?
Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I look
forward to working with the Architect of the Capitol, the
Office of Compliance, and others as we kind of slog through how
we prioritize the needs again for those who are working and
visiting our capital. Thank you.
Senator Nelson. In addition to thanking our witnesses
today, I want to thank Robin Morey, the Senate Superintendent,
for keeping the room cool today.
SUBCOMMITTEE RECESS
The subcommittee stands in recess until Thursday, April 15,
when we will meet again in this room at 2:30 to take testimony
on the fiscal year 2011 budget request of the Government
Accountability Office, the Government Printing Office, and the
Congressional Budget Office. Thank you.
[Whereupon, at 4 p.m., Thursday, March 18, the subcommittee
was recessed, to reconvene at 2:30 p.m., Thursday, April 15.]