[House Hearing, 114 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
SMITHSONIAN NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM REVITALIZATION
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HEARING
before the
COMMITTEE ON HOUSE
ADMINISTRATION
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
__________
JUNE 22, 2016
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on House Administration
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COMMITTEE ON HOUSE ADMINISTRATION
CANDICE S. MILLER, Michigan,
Chairman
ROBERT A. BRADY, Pennsylvania GREGG HARPER, Mississippi
Ranking Minority Member RICHARD NUGENT, Florida
ZOE LOFGREN, California RODNEY DAVIS, Illinois
JUAN VARGAS, California BARBARA COMSTOCK, Virginia
MARK WALKER, North Carolina
Professional Staff
Sean Moran, Staff Director
Jamie Fleet, Minority Staff Director
SMITHSONIAN NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM REVITALIZATION
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22, 2016
House of Representatives,
Committee on House Administration,
Washington, DC.
The Committee met, pursuant to call, at 10:37 a.m., in room
1310, Longworth House Office Building, Hon. Gregg Harper
presiding.
Present: Representatives Harper, Davis, Comstock, and
Vargas.
Staff Present: Sean Moran, Staff Director; John Clocker,
Deputy Staff Director; Katie Patru, Deputy Staff Director; Mary
Sue Englund, Director of Administration; Erin McCracken,
Communications Director; Cole Felder, Legal Counsel; C. Maggie
Moore, Legislative Clerk; Tim Sullivan, Staff Assistant; Jamie
Fleet, Minority Staff Director; and Matt Pinkus, Minority
Senior Policy Advisor.
Mr. Harper. I now call to order the Committee on House
Administration for today's hearing on the Smithsonian
Institution's National Air and Space Museum Revitalization. The
hearing record will remain open for 5 legislative days so that
Members may submit any materials that they wish to be included.
A quorum is present, so we may proceed.
I welcome our two witnesses, the Secretary of the
Smithsonian, Dr. David Skorton, and the Under Secretary for
Finance and Administration and Chief Financial Officer for the
Smithsonian, Albert Horvath. This is the first appearance of
Secretary Skorton before our Committee. He has served as the
13th Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution since July of
last year.
And we welcome you both.
Congress established the Smithsonian in 1846 to carry out
the will of English scientist James Smithson. Smithson sought
to create an establishment for the increase and diffusion of
knowledge. Since that time, the Smithsonian has developed into
the largest museum and research complex in the world, with 19
museums, 9 research centers, and the National Zoo.
A major responsibility of the Smithsonian is to collect
unique artifacts, which have shaped our Nation's heritage, and
showcase some of those items so that they may be used as
educational resources for today's generation and for
generations to come.
The Committee on House Administration works closely with
Smithsonian staff in its oversight over the Smithsonian's
operations. In that role, we are holding this hearing today to
discuss the current plans to renovate the National Air and
Space Museum. The National Air and Space Museum consists of two
facilities which are open to the public, the flagship facility,
which is located on the National Mall, and the Steven F. Udvar-
Hazy Center near Dulles Airport.
The Air and Space's collection truly tells this country's
amazing aviation history, and its facilities are some of the
most popular. In fact, the Mall facility is one of the most
visited museums in the world and with the world's largest
collection of historic air and spacecraft among its 63,000
artifacts.
Iconic objects include the 1903 Wright Flyer, Charles
Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis, Chuck Yeager's Bell X-1, the
Apollo 11 Command Module ``Columbia,'' and the Key brothers'
airplane from Meridian, Mississippi--thought I would throw that
in--which stayed in the air for 27 days without landing, by the
way, which perfected aerial refueling in 1935.
Next month, the Air and Space Museum's Mall facility will
celebrate its 40th anniversary. With nearly 7 million visitors
a year, the museum is the most visited museum in the United
States and is one of the world's most popular museums, having
received more than 320 million visitors since its opening.
The more than 500,000-square-foot Mall facility was
constructed by GSA between 1972 and 1975 at a cost of $41
million. It includes over 20 exhibit galleries, a planetarium,
theater, public observatory, and the popular interactive flight
simulators. The facility also includes a restaurant, gift shop,
and administrative staff space on the third floor.
Approaching its 40th anniversary this July, the museum's
mechanical systems are nearing the end of their useful life.
Additionally, the building's original design has led to the
cupping of the stones that make up the building's outer stone
cladding. The Air and Space Museum's Mall facility is in need
of major upgrades and construction repairs. This is the largest
revitalization project to date in the Smithsonian's history,
with a price tag of more than $600 million.
The Smithsonian has determined the most cost-effective
approach, with the least impact on visitors, is to renovate
rather than to demolish and replace the facility. The
Smithsonian's proposed revitalization plan will take place over
the course of several years, staggering out the overall
construction costs and work and allowing visitors to still
experience the museum. The Committee has been assured that the
museum will remain at least partially open during the
renovation and that all of Smithsonian's museums will continue
to be free to the public.
The goal of our hearing today is to review whether the
Smithsonian Institution's plan for the Air and Space Museum
renovation of the Mall facility has been thoroughly developed
and vetted, eliminating the need for additional renovations to
this specific project in the near future. Congress must be
assured that the proposed renovation has taken into account all
potential costs, as well as the timing and the value of the
work being proposed.
During this hearing, we want to hear from our witnesses if
the Smithsonian is considering non-Federal funding sources,
such as philanthropic or other potential partnership
opportunities, in the event the full appropriations request for
the renovation is not met by the Federal Government.
We would also like the Smithsonian to address if it has
fully vetted this renovation plan by conducting independent
assessments to determine if current cost estimates and proposed
timetables are accurate and realistic.
Additionally, we would like to hear from our witnesses on
how the addition of proposed storage space located at the
Garber facility in Maryland and our other center will tie into
this renovation. Legislation H.R. 3702 has been referred to
this Committee to authorize the construction of these two
storage facilities.
This Committee wants to be supportive of the needs of the
Air and Space Museum and ensure that the facility is in a
position to have a long and vibrant future. We view this
hearing as your opportunity to make the case for funding to the
public. There are many competing priorities before Congress
today, and our Committee looks forward to hearing your comments
on this renovation plan.
Lastly, our Committee appreciates any information our
witnesses have regarding the overall state of the Smithsonian
Institution, any challenges before you as a whole that we
should be aware of, as well as other potential renovation
projects on the horizon.
Each of the Smithsonian's entities is cherished by us all,
and we feel a personal responsibility to ensure the success of
this valued institution and its continued operation for future
generations. The Smithsonian is truly one of the great
treasures of our Nation and the world, and we look forward to
the Institution's continued service.
I thank our witnesses for their appearance before our
Committee today, and we look forward to hearing from them on
revitalization plans.
I would like now to recognize my colleague, Mr. Vargas, for
the purpose of providing an opening statement.
Mr. Vargas. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate
it.
Mr. Chairman, thank you for holding this important hearing.
And welcome to Secretary Skorton, who is making his first
appearance, I believe, before this panel, the primary oversight
committee in the House for the Smithsonian Institution.
I want to welcome Mr. Horvath also, the Under Secretary of
Finance and Administration. Also welcome to you, sir.
I am filling in for our Ranking Member this morning who is
delayed in Philadelphia working on making sure we have a
successful convention in his district in just a few weeks, so
he apologizes. I do understand that Mr. Brady did speak with
you yesterday, Mr. Secretary, and I know that he appreciates
your appearance here today and is committed to working with you
for a successful revitalization of this amazing museum.
This is an exciting year for the Smithsonian. The Museum of
African American History and Culture is opening in September
with President Barack Obama cutting the ribbon. It seems like
only yesterday this Committee reported the authorization bill
for that museum, and it was only yesterday, in 2012, that we
finally had the groundbreaking.
The passage of time continually requires the Smithsonian to
develop new and improved ways to undertake the construction,
education, collections management, and scientific research
activities for which it has been so well acclaimed. And of
course, the Institution must always look to preserve and
improve the infrastructure, which dates back into the 19th
century.
The National Air and Space Museum is one of the Capital's
and this Nation's major tourist attractions. It is probably the
museum most associated with the Smithsonian by the American
people. In 2009, Chairman Brady convened a hearing which
focused on public health and safety, worker safety issues
related to asbestos abatement in the Air and Space, an
important issue given the passage of millions of people through
the building's halls every and each year.
It is now critical for our Committee to understand the
fiscal implications of this massive new revitalization project,
which will keep portions of the museum closed over a period of
approximately 6 years. The Air and Space Museum opened with
great fanfare in 1976 for the U.S. Bicentennial, but,
unfortunately, it was apparently not built the last for the
ages.
The need for massive external and internal retrofitting at
a time when limited Federal funds are available will place
stress on the long list of other priorities which the
Institution is pursuing. And seeking funding for both Federal
and private, some hard choices obviously are going to have to
be made.
I think, Mr. Harper, you did mention that that plane from
Mississippi, I believe, was up for 27 days?
Mr. Harper. Yes, sir.
Mr. Vargas. It must have been built in San Diego,
California, where we have, of course, some fine--that is
outstanding. I did not know that. So, again, that is a
wonderful fact.
And, Mr. Secretary, Mr. Under Secretary, it is a pleasure
to be here.
And I thank Mr. Chairman, again, for the opportunity to say
a few words.
Mr. Harper. Thank you, Mr. Vargas.
Any other Member? Mr. Davis, do you care to make any
statement?
I certainly would also like to follow up on that, that Mr.
A.D. Hunter was the inventor who designed the shutoff valve for
the aerial refueling, which is still used today with just a
minor modification at all aerial refueling. So we are excited
about that.
I don't know that I would have wanted to have been on that
flight because it is a single-engine plane with a metal catwalk
on the side of the engine, and somebody had to climb out there
during flight and service the engine. So not a lot of fun to
do.
But thanks again to our witnesses.
And I would like to also say that our Chairman, Candice
Miller, sends her regrets. She certainly planned to be here,
but the weather did not accommodate, and she was one of those
many who couldn't get into DCA, into Reagan National last
night, and is traveling this morning. So she sends her regrets
that she could not be here and wishes each of you the best.
I would now like to introduce our witnesses. Dr. David
Skorton is the 13th Secretary of the Smithsonian. He assumed
his position July 1 of 2015. As Secretary, Dr. Skorton oversees
the entire collection of museums and galleries, libraries,
National Zoo, and numerous research centers. Dr. Skorton is
responsible for an annual budget of $1.3 billion, 6,500
employees, and more than 6,300 volunteers.
Before coming to the Smithsonian, Secretary Skorton, who is
also a board certified cardiologist, previously was the
president of Cornell University, a position he held from July
2006. Secretary Skorton is the first physician to lead the
Smithsonian.
Albert Horvath serves as the Under Secretary for Finance
and Administration and Chief Financial Officer for the
Smithsonian, where he manages administrative offices, including
facilities and maintenance, human resources, security, and
financial operations. Mr. Horvath did serve as Acting Secretary
for 6 months last year following the retirement of then-
Secretary Wayne Clough. Before joining the Smithsonian in 2011,
Horvath's career spanned more than 30 years in administration
at five universities and the Mellon Bank.
Again, we thank both of you for being with us today. The
Committee has received your joint written testimony. And the
Chair now recognizes Secretary Skorton, and I will recognize
him for 5 minutes.
STATEMENTS OF DR. DAVID J. SKORTON, SECRETARY, SMITHSONIAN
INSTITUTION; AND MR. ALBERT G. HORVATH, UNDER SECRETARY FOR
FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION AND CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER,
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
STATEMENT OF DAVID J. SKORTON
Dr. Skorton. Thank you, Congressman Harper and Congressman
Vargas, for the opportunity and honor to testify before the
Committee on House Administration. And Mr. Horvath and I also
thank you for the lesson in aviation history that you both just
shared with us in a bipartisan fashion. Thank you.
Due to the generous and steadfast support of Congress, the
Smithsonian is able to tell our Nation's story in relevant and
compelling ways and to inspire the next generations of American
scientists, artists, teachers, and leaders.
July 1 marks my first anniversary on becoming Secretary of
the Smithsonian. Even though a year has passed, every day I
continue to learn more about and become more impressed by the
breadth, depth, and the quality of the Smithsonian's work in
the arts, humanities, and sciences. Every day I continue to
grow more excited by the Smithsonian's enormous potential to
engage with the public on some of the most challenging issues
we face together as a Nation. Every day, I continue to observe
the special bond between the Smithsonian and the American
public, how Americans feel ownership and pride in the
Smithsonian, and their high expectations for and trust in us.
And every day I continue to consider myself privileged to
support the dedicated Smithsonian community.
Each year, millions experience the creativity and
innovation of our Smithsonian community through exhibitions,
scholarly research, public programming, and educational
outreach, not only here in Washington but across America and
around the world. For example, more than 600,000 visitors have
been captivated with the WONDER exhibition at the newly
reopened Renwick Gallery. The gallery itself has become a work
of contemporary art and an integral part of an exhibition that
has clearly resonated with the public. Since opening in
November, WONDER has inspired almost 100,000 social media
posts.
And at the National Museum of American History, we are
exploring new ways to engage the youngest audiences through
wonder of a different sort. The Wegmans Wonderplace is a 1,700-
square-foot play area designed to excite the Smithsonian's
youngest visitors about American history with novel
interactives and objects from the museum's collections. The
success of Wonderplace has, however, created one unexpected
problem: how we manage parking logistics for dozens of
strollers and baby carriages.
Just this past Monday, the Smithsonian Center for Learning
and Digital Access launched a digital learning lab that enables
teachers and students to find and share more than a million
museum resources. We piloted the program in Pittsburgh and
Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, public schools. Teachers there
told us that the lab's online tools allowed them to build
immersive and individualized learning experiences and to share
them with other teachers. As one teacher in Moon, Pennsylvania,
explained, ``It has helped my student and me to think more
creatively.''
On a more international scale, we are sharing our expertise
in collecting and preserving culturally important artifacts
with museum and government officials from across the globe. In
this regard, the Smithsonian is right now hosting a month-long
course entitled ``First Aid to Cultural Heritage in Times of
Crisis,'' training participants from 18 nations to anticipate
and manage threats to cultural artifacts from war or natural
disasters.
Smithsonian staff are also responding to real and immediate
crises near and far from home. In Mali, where jihadists
destroyed ancient tombs and burned archives, we convened museum
directors from across West Africa to share strategies for
responding to terror and provided training for crises. In
Egypt, we responded, along with the Metropolitan Museum of Art,
to bomb-related damage sustained by Cairo's Islamic museum
providing quick assessments and counsel. And in Haiti,
following the catastrophic earthquake of 2010, the Smithsonian
partnered and continues to partner with international
organizations and the Haitian Government to rescue, recover,
safeguard, and restore cultural artifacts and buildings.
As was mentioned, in less than 100 days, we will open the
new National Museum of African American History and Culture.
This spectacular building at the foot of the Washington
Monument was made possible only through the support of the
Congress and thousands of individuals, foundations, churches,
and corporations across the U.S. and the world.
As the museum's founding director, Lonnie Bunch explains,
the museum will not be one that celebrates Black history solely
for Black Americans; rather, we see this history as America's
history. The museum will use African American history and
culture as a lens into what it means to be an American. I look
forward to celebrating with you at the museum's grand opening
on September 24.
Today, though, we are here to update you on the
Smithsonian's plans to revitalize the National Air and Space
Museum, home to some of our most iconic objects and one of the
world's most visited museums. Next week, the Air and Space
Museum building on the National Mall will turn 40. Congress had
appropriated funding in 1971 to construct the museum with a
goal of opening during the American Bicentennial.
On July 1, 1976, the museum welcomed its first visitors.
While the building was designed to accommodate about 2 million
visitors per year, within the first 6 months the 5 millionth
visitor was already counted. Now, four decades later, the
museum hosts over 7 million visitors annually and has welcomed
326 million visitors since 1976.
The passage of time and the many millions of visitors have
taken their toll, and the museum needs a major overhaul. The
building's mechanical systems are nearly 40 years old and have
exceeded their expected useful lives.
The need for new systems was not unexpected, and for
several years the Smithsonian had planned to request funding
accordingly. However, in preparing for the system's replacement
project, our engineers discovered that many of the building's
exterior stone panels were warped or were cracked and that the
entire stone facade needed replacement.
Originally, we anticipated that replacing the building's
systems would cost approximately $250 million and be spread
over several years. Now, with the added complexity and cost of
the exterior stone replacement and the need to protect or
relocate more artifacts in the path of construction activities,
the current estimate for the building revitalization project is
$676 million.
In March, I testified before the House Appropriations
Interior Subcommittee and, reflecting our best knowledge then,
noted a construction estimate of approximately $582 million
based on early schematic designs. Since that time, we have
reached 35 percent completion of design. We now know much more
about the building's condition and the logistics required to
protect the collections, and our cost estimate has consequently
increased.
Five primary goals underlie our approach to the
revitalization project and drive our estimated budget.
First, we want to make as many of the museum's iconic
objects accessible to the public as possible during the
revitalization project. Americans, especially young Americans,
come to Washington and expect to visit the Air and Space
Museum. We do not want to disappoint them. But to avoid that,
construction will need to be sequenced along zones that would
allow for at least 50 percent of the museum to be open to the
public while the work progresses. Doing this, however, adds to
the complexity and cost of the overall project.
Second, as I have mentioned, we have long recognized that
the building's systems, air handling, humidification, plumbing,
and electrical, were overtaxed and their useful lives exceeded.
Almost 55 percent of the project's total cost will support the
installation of new building systems. This is a cross-section
of sprinkler pipe from the museum illustrating the state of
these critical systems.
Third, early in the design and planning phase, our
engineers discovered that the building's marble cladding was
warping, cupping, and cracking, creating the danger of
individual panel failure and an increasing risk that stone
could fall. The stone used when the building was constructed
was half the thickness that should have been used. This drives
the need to replace rather than repair the stone, an
unanticipated increase to the project's scope.
Replacing the stone with an identical or similar material
and associated expenses, such as demolition of the old stone,
protection of the museum's interior from moisture during
construction, the addition of structural reinforcement, and the
containment of hazardous material, adds $101 million, $49
million of which is for securing the new stone, to the overall
construction cost.
Fourth, we intend to transform the 22 galleries in the
museum to bring them into the 21st century with more
interactive and engaging approaches to sharing the excitement
of the museum's incomparable collection. In essence, we are
creating a new National Air and Space Museum for the American
public. The transformation of the inside of the building will
be supported by private contributions that we intend to raise.
And finally, we must store and protect the museum's
collection during construction. For fiscal year 2017, we
request $50 million in construction funding to build a new
storage module adjacent to the Smithsonian's Udvar-Hazy Center
in Chantilly, Virginia. The module's total project cost,
including $8 million already appropriated and committed to
engineering, design, and management, is estimated at $58
million. The cost of the storage module is not included in the
estimate for the Mall building revitalization, but is
nevertheless critical for the success of the larger
revitalization project.
The availability of this quality collection storage space
favorably impacts our budget estimate by eliminating the need
to rent more short-term collection storage space. And at the
conclusion of the project, the module will be used to house
artifacts currently stored at aging temporary buildings at the
Garber facility in Suitland, Maryland. A bill authorizing
construction of this module and an additional storage module at
Suitland has been referred to this Committee.
We believe the Air and Space project should be funded by
Federal appropriations in the same manner as other major
Smithsonian revitalization projects. And, as with the public-
private partnerships that made those projects successful, the
Smithsonian has committed to raise the additional $250 million
from private sources to transform the museum's 22 galleries to
a more imaginative, accessible, and compelling setting for the
world's most important aviation and space collection.
Under Secretary Horvath and I would be pleased to answer
any questions that you may have, and we thank you again for the
opportunity to testify today.
[The joint statement of Dr. Skorton and Mr. Horvath
follows:]
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Harper. Thank you, Secretary Skorton, for that
informative statement.
We will now move into our questions portion, and I will
begin by recognizing myself for 5 minutes.
The first question. This project is obviously substantial
in both scope and cost. Without getting into the specifics of
this one just yet, are there other anticipated renovation
projects on the horizon, anything besides this that we are
looking at?
Dr. Skorton. Yes. The Smithsonian, as you mentioned, is in
its 170th year, and the visitorship to these museums is
breathtaking. We have 28 million visits a year throughout the
Smithsonian between Washington, where the vast majority of them
are, and New York City, where we have two additional museums.
And this very robust visitorship shows the American public's
interest in and trust in the institution and a chance to cross
those thresholds 364 days a year.
Because of the crush of humanity that goes to these
buildings and because of our dedication and commitment to the
safety of the public and having them interact and be inspired
by constantly changing exhibitions, we do anticipate in years
to come that further renovations will be necessary throughout
the Smithsonian family.
Mr. Harper. And if you would, elaborate just briefly on the
Smithsonian's deferred maintenance backlog and how this project
will impact that.
Dr. Skorton. I will do the beginning of this answer and ask
my colleague, Under Secretary Horvath, if he wishes to add
something to it.
The deferred maintenance backlog for the Smithsonian is a
very large and daunting figure. And I want to say again and
again how much I appreciate and, being new to the Smithsonian,
how impressed I am by Congress' very steadfast support of the
Smithsonian.
Because of constraints that I would not want to face that
you face every day making very difficult choices, we have not
been able to keep up with the maintenance of these buildings as
would be ideal. And there is nothing surprising about that.
With so much square footage and with so many visitors, it would
be expected that we would have a backlog of some sort.
What Mr. Horvath and his colleagues and those who manage
the facilities of the Smithsonian have done is to prioritize
the use of precious Federal funds to those aspects of the
deferred maintenance that most affect the public safety and the
operability of these buildings.
Nonetheless, we do have a substantial backlog. And our
plans are to continue to prioritize the needs based, again,
first on public safety and then on the stability of the
operations, including, very importantly, protection of the
collections. And we hope to continue to make our case to
Congress for helping us in whatever fashion you can to deal
with the need for continuing upgrades to our very, very heavily
used facilities.
Mr. Horvath, would you like to add anything?
Mr. Horvath. Just to add very quickly, the Air and Space
Museum in the context of our overall needs is at the top of our
list of deferred maintenance challenges. It had been programmed
in our long-term capital plan for many, many years, and so
addressing these issues helped take some of the most
problematic challenges off the list. Our challenge continues,
though, with the other buildings in our 12 million-square-foot
portfolio of buildings.
Mr. Harper. Thank you.
Secretary Skorton, can you provide the Committee a more
detailed explanation of why it is almost twice as expensive to
demolish and rebuild the museum rather than renovate the
building? And why would rebuilding the museum require it to be
closed for 9 years?
Dr. Skorton. I was very surprised as well when I first came
to the Smithsonian and was briefed by Under Secretary Horvath
about the comparative cost of the revitalization project versus
raising the building and starting over.
Because of the need to protect the collections, we would
have to spend enormous amounts of money to rent or build space
to house the very, very substantial collections. And in this
regard, Congressman Harper, it is not only the number of
objects in the collection, but the nature and size of many of
the objects in the National Air and Space Museum compared to
some other aspects of our 138 million-object overall
collections for the Smithsonian. So an enormous cost due do
that is one.
In closing the museum for that period of time, we would
also lose revenue from some of the retail operations that are
in it. And then the other area, which does not line up with a
cost, a monetary cost, but would have a cost on the Nation, in
my opinion, is keeping people out of that museum for an
extended period of time. And, again, because of the need to
protect the collection, our estimations were based on the idea
that we would have to close the museum for some years.
In designing this project, in my estimation, very
skillfully, Mr. Horvath and my predecessors, when he was
Secretary and before him, decided to develop this idea of a
zoned or phased replacement of different areas that would allow
us to keep perhaps 50 percent of the museum open to the public
at all times.
And so the combination of the need to spend extra money on
collection storage, protection, and management, and the loss of
retail revenue and a few other less large factors, all ended up
meaning that complete razing and starting it over again was not
just a little, but very substantially more than doing it in
this fashion.
Would you want to add anything?
Mr. Harper. Thank you very much.
And I, at this time, I will recognize Mr. Vargas for 5
minutes for questions.
Mr. Vargas. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Appreciate the
opportunity.
Again, I want to thank both of you for being here today and
testifying before us and, again, for your service. I appreciate
it. I know that sometimes it must seem thankless, but believe
me, we are thankful for your service.
Could we just continue on that last question just to finish
up in my mind. It did seem, to me, odd that we wouldn't, when
we are spending that much money, just take the whole building
down and redo it. I mean, it seems to me that that would have
been the logical choice if we are spending this amount of
money. Because I thought you could maybe organize the museum in
a way that is more your liking and more efficient, and it has
been around for a long time. But ultimately, you didn't come to
that conclusion, obviously, from your testimony. Could you just
say a little more about that?
Dr. Skorton. Yes. I want to emphasize again, and I
apologize if I wasn't clear enough in the prepared formal
testimony, that this will be a new National Air and Space
Museum, even though we are not razing the building and starting
from scratch. We will have not only replacement of the
important mechanical systems, we will have replacement of life
safety systems; we will have a complete new what I would call
envelope for the building, roof, cladding, and so on; and very
importantly, Congressman Vargas, we will have upgrades of all
22 galleries, in essence, starting over again in our thinking
of how to engage the American public.
So as a nonspecialist in facilities, but as a student of
facilities development for many years in many earlier
assignments, I would say that how Mr. Horvath and my
predecessors planned this project was actually a very
thoughtful and less expensive way of accomplishing just what
you are talking about, and that is basically having a new
museum without all of the costs and loss of revenue that would
have been involved by completely knocking it down.
And I want to emphasize the public-private partnership
nature of our plans, that a quarter of a billion dollars I have
committed to raise from philanthropic sources to completely
revamp the experience that people will have as they come to the
National Air and Space Museum, and then the combination of
mechanical systems, life safety systems, and the envelope of
the building, will really, in essence, create a new Air and
Space Museum.
Mr. Vargas. Thank you, Doctor.
You know, I live in a historic home, so I am very familiar
with the different costs associated with an old building as
opposed to just razing it. This one I didn't understand if it
was because of the historicity, the nature of the building
itself. It hasn't been around that long. I thought maybe that
was one of the reasons, but I don't believe that that is.
Anyway, I appreciate your comments.
I do want to ask about the stone itself on the outside. So
you said that it was only half the thickness that it was
supposed to be, so that is why you had the cupping and the
breaking. How are we going to be assured that what we are doing
now will last beyond what the old stuff has lasted?
Dr. Skorton. So Under Secretary Horvath and I and all of
the thousands of people working at the Smithsonian standing
behind us are very, very well aware as American citizens of the
enormously difficult choices that you make every day. And we
were, I think not dramatic to say, we were shocked in
developing the plans to replace the mechanical systems by this
issue with the cladding, which was, I believe the Under
Secretary would agree with me, completely unanticipated at the
time that this was done.
I don't second-guess anybody who was making decisions five
decades ago about how to do this. But the decision to cut this
stone thinner than would have been ideal is going to make it
impossible for us to reuse the stone, to reuse it, impossible
to reuse it.
And so our plan--and it is not just a hope, but a plan--is
to make the decisions for this construction project in such a
way that our successors will not be coming back to the
Committee on House Appropriation to have the very same kind of
conversation. We will build this for the long-term and do it in
a very thoughtful way, and that is part of the reason that the
project cost is so substantial.
Mr. Vargas. My time is almost over and I apologize. I did
want to ask then what do you see as the expected timeline on
this building, how long will it be a useful building after this
major revitalization?
Dr. Skorton. Assuming that we can obtain the appropriate
funding for ongoing maintenance--it is a very, very important
assumption--I believe that this building will have at least a
100-year forward look. But that is very dependent, I must say
with respect, on us being able to have sufficient funding to do
important maintenance as we go forward.
And would you like to add anything?
Mr. Vargas. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Appreciate it. My time is over.
Mr. Harper. Thank you.
And Secretary Skorton, we will have you back in 100 years
to verify that it lasted after that, if that is okay.
We will now recognize Congressman Davis for any questions
that he may have.
Mr. Davis. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
And thank you, Mr. Ranking Member. It is always great to
follow those questions.
We should have actually done this at the Air and Space
Museum and would have had an enjoyable time.
Thank you for what you do. I mean, obviously, the thousands
of visitors just from my district that go through your
facilities are always telling great stories. And, as a matter
of fact, the Air and Space Museum happens to be my twin boys'
favorite. They have been there numerous times, much to the
chagrin of my wife, who usually walks there with them.
But we do need to tell the history of our country and the
history of our air and space program. My concern is less with
what your plans are in the future and more with how are you
going to address in today's current environment--you are asking
for appropriations from the Federal Government--what if the
Federal Government's unable to give you what you think you need
to keep the project of this magnitude moving from year to year?
And I want to commend you for the possible private sector
investment that you mentioned. Are you going to be able to
leverage private sector investment if we are not able to get
the appropriations level that you have requested for any given
year--and that has happened on other major projects before--or
will you take it from other existing revitalization projects?
Dr. Skorton. We need to have Federal funding of that
portion that I mentioned, the 676. And the reason I say that
strongly is that I have a very long history of nonprofit
fundraising in multiple institutions, and it has been my
experience that it is very, very difficult to raise private
funds for replacement of mechanical systems, replacement of an
envelope of a building, those sort of things. It is very
difficult to do that.
We do intend to raise funds completely from private sources
to change the interior of this building and bring it, as I
mentioned, into the 21st century. If, as I hope does not
happen, in your very difficult decisions it is impossible for
us to get the funds that we need, we will do our best to look
forward over the period of time to coming back and to making
our case in a more convincing way.
But if those eventualities don't occur, and if we are
unable to get Federal funding, I believe that the day will come
where we will have to begin to reduce the public experience of
the National Air and Space Museum. If there are areas that
become dangerous to public health and safety, we may have to
close those particular areas. And the day may even come where
the entire museum would have to be closed to the public if we
never have a chance to do this.
Now, that day isn't today; that day isn't tomorrow. And we
want to do the project in a thoughtful way over the period of 7
years, including the design phase, as was mentioned.
Mr. Davis. I have got a couple more questions, so let me
reclaim my time.
Dr. Skorton. Yes, please.
Mr. Davis. Speaking of the hazardous materials, has anybody
done a study about the potential of any hazardous materials
that could add to the cost or potentially shut the museum down
during this renovation?
Dr. Skorton. Yes, and that is part of the estimate that you
already have in front of you.
Mr. Davis. That is already part of the estimate, okay.
Dr. Skorton. Yes.
Mr. Davis. One other question I had. I know your retail
operations generates some significant revenue. There is nothing
like space ice cream back at your hotel. It doesn't really
taste as good as the package says it does. I apologize. I hope
I don't cut down on your revenue generation by saying that.
How are you going to mitigate the loss of any revenue
during this revitalization or renovation process?
Dr. Skorton. It is a very, very important question, and we
are going to do that by judicious use of this phased or zoned
project so that we are going to try to maintain as much of the
retail operation by careful use of the zoning or phasing.
Mr. Davis. All right. Can we actually offer any flavor
requests for the space ice cream?
Dr. Skorton. You can send us requests of any type you like,
and I will take the pop flies and Mr. Horvath will take the
line drives.
Mr. Davis. All right. Hey, again, we do sincerely
appreciate what you do. People take for granted the experience
that they can get while going to the different Smithsonian
museums, a very important part of our Nation's history. Thank
you for being here. Thank you for explaining the reason why you
have chosen this project--I have your spreadsheet--versus the
cost of the new building. We will look into that further. And
if I have further questions, I would hope we could be able to
get together and ask those.
Dr. Skorton. Thank you. We are at your service.
Mr. Davis. Thank you, sir.
Mr. Harper. The gentleman yields back.
And I now recognize Congresswoman Comstock for any
questions that she may have.
Mrs. Comstock. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
And thank you for the opportunity to visit. I have been out
to the Dulles facility, in particular. Obviously, like my
colleagues, I have been to the facility on the Mall. But I
particularly appreciate the Dulles facility in my district. And
I certainly did see from the presentation, the visit we had
there, the challenges that you have with the storage. And I
know the storms over the years have taken their toll on the
facilities to where some of the buildings are literally falling
down. If you haven't seen it, it really is a problem.
And then you have some very historic planes and space items
that are in a precarious situation, and if we lose them, we
lose that history forever.
So I do appreciate the difficulty of the challenge. And if
folks haven't been out to the Dulles facility, what is
particularly great is to see the work being done right there
and seeing all the complex programs you have.
And so I wanted to ask--first, thank you for all the good
work that you are doing there. Are there naming opportunities
or things there from the aerospace industry where they can--I
mean, obviously, as you do the private fundraising, they will,
I assume, probably be a target for the fundraising, and,
obviously, people are very interested in preserving that
history that they are very much a part of. But are there naming
opportunities there throughout the facilities where we can use
that in some kind of respectful way that works with the overall
mission?
Dr. Skorton. Yes, there definitely are. And the fact that
the facility in Chantilly is called the Udvar-Hazy Center is a
very good example of that. In pursuing the success of the goal
of $250 million to transform the 22 galleries, we will look
very judiciously at those opportunities as well.
And if I might offer just a comment, still as a relative
newcomer to the Smithsonian, I believe there is a beautiful
balance and synergy between Congress' steadfast support and the
ability to raise private funds. I think people in the public
are more likely to give philanthropically if they see that this
is a congressional priority. And at the same time, I would
assume that our ability to raise private funds, making this
truly a public-private partnership, will make it more likely
that you see us as very careful stewards of the precious funds
that you give us.
So, yes, there will be opportunities. And my colleagues,
especially General Dailey, is already looking into some of
those options.
Mrs. Comstock. And is there anything that we in Congress
are doing that holds back those opportunities? I know we always
run into ethics things about how we can sort of legally promote
and help in any of these ways. And so are there ways that we
are holding you back in any way that we might need to know
about so that you can advance those?
Dr. Skorton. No. I think you do an enormously, enormously
effective job of two very important things: that you are very
generous with us, and at the same time, you help us maintain
the very highest ethical standards. Because the currency that
allows us to be what the American public wants us to be is our
integrity, and you help us very much every day to maintain our
integrity as we assertively try to raise funds in every fashion
that we can. So I have nothing but praise and gratitude for the
Congress throughout these areas.
Mrs. Comstock. And I should know, but what is the ability
to use the facility for private events, for people to come in,
to hold events, again, that you can charge for obviously? And
how is that utilized? And is there some more opportunity there,
whether it is overnights at the museum or things? I mean, are
we able to do those in a way that is profitable for you?
Dr. Skorton. We do have a very well-developed system of
doing that. And if it would be acceptable to you and to the
Chairman, what I could do is get that policy to you to explain
how we handle that situation. But we do that in a very robust
way throughout the Smithsonian family. And I am very happy, if
you would like, for us to give you details.
Mrs. Comstock. Okay. And I know you do have good
advertising at Dulles Airport. When you are riding around, you
get information on visiting there. But I have been bugging our
local airport, Dulles, to do more advertising and promotion
there. So if there are video opportunities, more signage,
because Dulles is so huge and big and they need to be
advertising a lot of the local things that are going on, so if
that is an area where it might help drive more traffic there as
well as more support, corporate support as people come in and
see that, I think that might be another way we can be promoting
and protecting your efforts there.
Dr. Skorton. Thank you.
Mrs. Comstock. So let me know if we can--whatever we are
legally allowed to do, I would be happy, and really do
appreciate the good work that you are doing there.
Dr. Skorton. Thank you very much. I think that is a very
interesting idea. I personally will follow up on that after the
hearing. Thank you very much.
Mrs. Comstock. And I yield back, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Harper. The gentlelady yields back.
One final question, if I may ask. You had said earlier that
35 percent of design completion had been achieved. Was that
correct on what your answer was?
Dr. Skorton. Yes, sir.
Mr. Harper. And when will we get to 100 percent of design
completion? And what might we anticipate on the effect that
would have on projected cost?
Dr. Skorton. Thank you. I am going to turn in a moment to
the Under Secretary to tell you the exact date for 100 percent
completion. But anticipating the question, I went back and
looked at our track record of predictability once we get to the
35 percent design level, and I found that in about half the
cases I looked at we ended up a bit above budget and about half
the cases we ended up a bit below budget, in general, within
about 10 percent of that 35 percent prediction.
And where it exceeded in a substantial way, it usually was
because of some change in the scope of the project. So I am
much more confident at the 35 percent, that we are somewhere,
let's say, 90 percent certainty that this is where we will end
up.
And, Under Secretary, can you remind us the date of 100
percent completion?
Mr. Horvath. It will be about a year from now. The next big
milestone will be at the end of this calendar year when we
expect to hit 65 percent completion and then virtual completion
of design would be the summer of 2017.
Mr. Harper. And if you could, when you hit that 65 percent
mark, if you could inform us of any changes in that cost
estimate, that would be helpful.
Mr. Horvath. Certainly.
Mr. Harper. You know, as we look at the prioritization and
the costs that we have, one of the concerns, obviously, is how
we take care of this deferred maintenance, how we address those
issues and prioritize them, how we come up with the right
funding. But at the heart of this, what the Smithsonian means
to Americans and to our visitors. It is our goal to always keep
this free for admission, where people can come and enjoy this,
regardless large school groups or families, always keep this
open.
You have a great team. You should be thankful for that and
for all the support they have.
Without objection, all Members will have 5 legislative days
to submit to the chair additional written questions for the
witnesses, which we will forward. And I ask the witnesses to
respond as promptly as they can so their answers may be made a
part of the record.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Harper. Without objection, this hearing is adjourned.
Thank you.
Dr. Skorton. Thank you very much.
[Whereupon, at 11:26 a.m., the committee was adjourned.]