[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 21 (Wednesday, February 14, 2001)]
[House]
[Page H358]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 FIRE SAFETY AT THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, late last month the Office of Compliance 
reported on its comprehensive fire-safety inspections of the three 
Library of Congress buildings.
  After previous dire warnings over the last two years from the House 
Inspector General and the Compliance Office about the state of fire 
protection in the Capitol and congressional office buildings, I had 
hoped for a better report on conditions at the Library. Unfortunately, 
the Compliance Office found that the Library buildings suffer from many 
of the same deficiencies as the Capitol and congressional buildings.
  I strongly believe that Congress must take every reasonable step to 
maximize the physical safety of the thousands who work in the Capitol 
complex every day and of the millions who visit every year. Congress 
also has a responsibility to safeguard the numerous valuable artifacts, 
many of them irreplaceable, which are housed in the Capitol and among 
the Library's collections.
  In view of the Compliance Office's findings at the Library, the new 
Chairman of the House Administration Committee [Mr. Ney] and I have 
written jointly to the Architect of the Capitol, who has responsibility 
for maintaining the Library's buildings, asking for a detailed report 
on the status of his efforts to correct the deficiencies there. 
Specifically, we have requested detailed plans, timelines, and an 
identification of any additional resources needed to complete the task. 
We have also written to the House Inspector General, who has 
demonstrated substantial expertise in fire-protection matters, asking 
his office to participate in regular meetings with Architect and 
Library staff, offer whatever guidance he deems appropriate, and 
monitor progress, as he does in connection with ongoing fire-safety 
work in the House.
  Last September the Architect unveiled before the House Administration 
Committee a staff reorganization plan that places all AOC fire-safety 
work under the supervision of a single senior-level subordinate, as 
proposed in a bill (H.R. 4366) that I introduced in the last Congress. 
The AOC is clearly moving in the right direction and I appreciate the 
progress he has made. The Chairman and I look forward to working with 
the Architect to ensure the deficiencies previously noted, and those 
just identified at the Library, are remedied as soon as practicable. I 
include for the Record the texts of our letters to the Architect and 
the Inspector General of the House:
                                         House of Representatives,


                            Committee on House Administration,

                                 Washington, DC, February 7, 2001.
     Hon. Alan M. Hantman, AIA,
     The Architect of the Capitol,
     The Capitol.
       Dear Mr. Hantman: We have received the recent Office of 
     Compliance report on its fire-safety inspections of the 
     Library of Congress buildings. As you know, the Office found 
     numerous fire-safety deficiencies in the three Library 
     buildings, the same types of deficiencies found last year 
     during thorough inspections of the Capitol and congressional 
     office buildings. We are greatly concerned about the report 
     and the grave danger posed to Library employees, visitors, 
     and to the Library's enormous collection of books and 
     artifacts, many irreplaceable, by decades of inadequate 
     attention to fire-safety matters. We know you share our 
     concern, and trust that you also share our determination to 
     see these additional deficiencies corrected at the earliest 
     possible date.
       Toward that goal, we ask that you provide us immediately 
     with a comprehensive report on the status of AOC efforts to 
     correct deficiencies found in the Library buildings. Please 
     provide detailed plans for the correction of deficiencies 
     that remain uncorrected, including an identification of any 
     additional resources that you may need to complete the work 
     and timelines for its completion. We also ask that you assess 
     the level of fire protection now afforded to the Library's 
     most valuable artifacts, and indicate how you will prioritize 
     the correction of deficiencies related to their protection.
       We appreciate the progress that AOC has made in addressing 
     fire-safety deficiencies in the House office buildings since 
     the Inspector General's and Compliance Office's previous 
     reports. We hope the Library can benefit from the AOC's 
     experience in addressing those deficiencies. In that vein, we 
     encourage you to incorporate into your approach for the 
     Library the use of frequent, regular meetings among AOC, 
     Library, and House Inspector General staff, to coordinate 
     efforts and facilitate communication . A similar approach has 
     worked well in the House.
       Thanking you for your prompt attention to this request, 
     with kindest regards, we remain
           Sincerely yours,
     Bob Ney,
       Chairman.
     Steny H. Hoyer,
       Ranking Minority Member.
                                  ____

                                         House of Representatives,


                            Committee on House Administration,

                                 Washington, DC, February 7, 2001.
     Hon. Steven A. McNamara,
     Inspector General, House of Representatives, Ford House 
         Office Building.
       Dear Mr. McNamara: As you know, the Office of Compliance 
     just reported on the results of its fire-safety inspections 
     of the Library of Congress buildings. The Compliance Office 
     found numerous fire-safety deficiencies in the three Library 
     buildings, the same types of deficiencies that it and your 
     office found during prior inspections of the Capitol and 
     House office buildings. We are greatly concerned about the 
     danger posed to Library employees, visitors, and to the 
     Library's valuable collection of books and artifacts, many 
     irreplaceable, by the effects of decades of inadequate 
     attention to fire safety. We are eager to help the Architect 
     of the Capitol reverse these effects.
       Your office has considerable expertise in such matters, and 
     you continue to oversee the Architect's efforts to correct 
     fire-safety deficiencies in the Capitol and House buildings. 
     We write to ask that you similarly monitor the AOC's work to 
     correct the fire-safety deficiencies at the Library, offer 
     the AOC and the Library whatever guidance you may deem 
     appropriate, and keep the Committee apprised of progress. As 
     work progresses, should you have any concerns, please bring 
     them to the Committee's attention immediately. To coordinate 
     efforts and facilitate communications, we have urged the 
     Architect to incorporate into his approach at the Library a 
     plan to conduct regular, frequent meetings among AOC staff, 
     Library staff and your staff, as he has done in the House.
       Thanking you for your attention to this matter, with 
     kindest regards, we remain
           Sincerely yours,
     Bob Ney,
       Chairman.
     Steny H. Hoyer,
       Ranking Minority Member.

                          ____________________