[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 104 (Wednesday, July 29, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9243-S9244]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. AKAKA:
  S. 2368. A bill to permit the use of the proceeds from Senate 
recycling efforts for the expenses and activities of the Senate 
Employees Child Care Center; to the Committee on Rules and 
Administration.


             senate day care recycling funding support act

 Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President. I am pleased to introduce 
legislation today that would enable the Senate Employees Child Care 
Center (SECCC) to receive the proceeds from Senate recycling or other 
waste prevention programs. Specifically, my bill would authorize the 
Architect of the Capitol to receive funds from Senate recycling 
programs and make those funds available for the activities and expenses 
of the SECCC, subject to the regular appropriations process. The effect 
of this measure will be to provide the SECCC with a potentially steady, 
if relatively small, source of income as well as create an additional 
incentive for the Senate to support recycling efforts.
   Mr. President, the SECCC was established as a non-profit 501(c)(3) 
corporation in 1984 by parents who work for the Senate. Today, the 
center provides full and part-time care for about 50 children between 
the ages of 18 months and 5 years. The SECCC is open to the entire 
community, with priority enrollment reserved for children of Senate 
employees. The SECCC is accredited by the National Academy of Early 
Childhood Programs, a division of the National Association of Young 
Children. It first received such recognition in 1989, the first day 
care center in Washington, D.C., to be so distinguished.
  The SECCC is governed by an independent board composed of the parents 
of children enrolled at the center. A cooperative relationship exists 
between the SECCC and the Senate. The parents, through the board, are 
responsible for oversight of SECCC operations; the Senate provides 
critical support, such as providing for the facility itself and 
utilities. The Senate is providing the funds for the construction of a 
new center, near the Daniel Webster Senate Page Residence, which is 
expected to be ready for occupancy within a few months.
  The Senate currently does not appropriate annual funds for the 
operation of the SECCC. The SECCC's annual operating budget of 
approximately $535,000 is funded entirely through tuition payments and 
the center's fundraising efforts. These funds are used to defray costs 
associated with tuition assistance (scholarships), teacher salaries, 
curriculum materials, meals, general office expenses, advertising and 
marketing, accounting and audit fees, professional development, and 
unemployment and liability insurance.
  The recycling program for House and Senate buildings is operated by 
the Office Waste Recycling Program (OWRP),

[[Page S9244]]

under the Architect of the Capitol. Through OWRP, the Architect is 
responsible for collecting and bundling recycled materials; a private 
contractor, under contract to the General Services Administration, 
serves as the recycling facility. However, the Architect does not have 
the authority to receive funds from recycling or other so-called 
``enterprise'' activities; thus, all recycling funds from both the 
Senate and House are deposited in the General Fund of the U.S. 
Treasury.

  The OWRP started as pilot project in 1990-91 and was expanded on a 
voluntary participation basis to all offices in the House and Senate 
office buildings in 1992. The program is based on the concept of source 
separation, an approach that includes the separation, collection, and 
removal of high and mixed grade paper as well as aluminum cans, glass, 
and certain types of plastic materials. The effectiveness of the 
program depends on the active participation of Congressional staff, who 
are needed to separate recyclables into designated receptacles, and the 
custodial and labor forces, who must ensure that materials remain 
segregated during the collection process.
  The program has been a success in certain respects. For example, it 
has allowed Congress to avoid paying costs associated with hauling away 
and landfilling recycled materials, since these costs are borne by the 
recycling contractor. According to the OWRP, in FY97, the House Office 
Buildings recycled 2,247 tons of paper, cans, glass, and plastic, 
avoiding landfill/haulaway costs of $173,000. For the same year, the 
Senate Office Buildings collected 898 tons, for a savings of $69,146.
  However, actual revenues generated by the program have been nominal. 
The Senate recycling program, for example, brought in a relatively 
paltry $2,694 in FY96 and $2,364 in FY97, the last full year for which 
we have data, while collecting an estimated 1,021 tons and 886 tons of 
paper waste. The reason for this seemingly low return is that the 
contractor is not required to pay for materials that are contaminated 
by a certain percentage. With respect to paper, which constitutes the 
bulk of Senate recyclables, contamination refers to mixing with other 
recyclable (e.g., newspapers with high grade paper) or with foreign 
matter such as food. Apparently, Senate and House recycled materials 
have relatively high contamination levels, a fact which may be 
attributed in part to an absence of incentives on the part of 
Congressional offices to recycle.
  This is in sharp contrast to the situation with federal agencies, 
which beginning in 1991 have had the authority to retain recycling 
proceeds, either to defray the cost of maintaining recycling programs 
and/or direct them to programs that directly benefit employees, 
including day care activities. In my opinion, it is no accident that 
while the level of participation in recycling programs varies from 
agency to agency, overall the Executive Branch agencies' recycling 
programs are much more robust than Congress'.
  Mr. President, my bill would authorize the Architect of the Capitol 
to receive Senate recycling funds and make them available for the 
payment of SECCC activities and expenses, through the annual 
appropriations process. This would achieve two mutually beneficial 
goals: first, to provide a small but important supplement to the day 
care center's operating budget; second, to improve the efficiency of 
the Senate recycling program by establishing an internal incentive to 
recycle.
  Thank you, Mr. President. I urge my colleagues to support this 
legislation. I ask unanimous consent that a copy of my bill as well as 
a letter supporting the legislation from the SECCC's board of directors 
be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the items were ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 2368

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Senate Day Care Center 
     Recycling Funding Support Act''.

     SEC. 2. RECYCLING FUNDING FOR THE SENATE DAY CARE CENTER.

       (a) In General.--The Architect of the Capitol shall receive 
     all funds collected through Senate recycling or waste 
     prevention programs and deposit those amounts in an account 
     in the Treasury which shall be available for payment of the 
     activities and expenses of the Senate Employees Child Care 
     Center.
       (b) Subject to Appropriations.--Amounts deposited in the 
     account referred to in subsection (a) shall be available to 
     the extent provided in appropriations Acts.
                                  ____

                                                 Senate Employees'


                                            Child Care Center,

                                    Washington, DC, July 27, 1998.
     Hon. Daniel K. Akaka,
     Hart Senate Building,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Akaka: The Board of Directors of the Senate 
     Employees Child Care Center (SECCC) strongly supports 
     legislation that would allow the SECCC to receive the 
     proceeds from the Senate recycling and other waste prevention 
     programs to support the operating and other expenses of the 
     SECCC. This support was demonstrated in a recent unanimous 
     vote during our board meeting on July 15, 1998.
       We have been advised that the receipts from the Senate 
     recycling program total several thousand dollars a year. 
     Should the legislation pass, we anticipate applying the funds 
     to our tuition assistance program, which helps families who 
     may not be able to afford the full cost of enrollment at the 
     center. The funds from the recycling program would represent 
     a substantial portion of the tuition assistance budget and 
     would provide an annual contribution, allowing us to maintain 
     the tuition assistance program over the long-term.
       Thank you for any assistance you could provide in 
     authorizing the SECCC to receive Senate recycling funds.
           Sincerely,

                                                 Heidi Bonner,

                                                        President,
                                 SECCC Board of Directors.
                                 ______