[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 10 (Friday, January 16, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E108]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 INTRODUCTION OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION FACILITIES AUTHORIZATION 
                              ACT OF 2009

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES L. OBERSTAR

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, January 16, 2009

  Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Speaker, my colleagues and I join together today 
to introduce the Smithsonian Institution Facilities Authorization Act 
of 2009.
  I thank my colleagues, including Committee on House Administration 
Chairman Brady, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Ranking 
Member Mica and Subcommittee Chairwoman Norton, Majority Leader Hoyer, 
and the Congressional Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, Mr. 
Becerra, Ms. Matsui, and Mr. Sam Johnson of Texas, for joining me as 
cosponsors of this important legislation and for their continued 
efforts to move these authorizations of critical Smithsonian facilities 
forward.
  This bill authorizes the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian 
Institution to design and construct laboratory space to accommodate the 
Mathias Laboratory at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, 
SERC, in Edgewater, Maryland, and to construct laboratory space to 
accommodate the terrestrial research program of the Smithsonian 
Tropical Research Institute, STRI, in Gamboa, Panama. The bill also 
authorizes the Board of Regents to construct a greenhouse facility at 
its museum support facility in Suitland, Maryland.
  Section 2 of the bill authorizes the Board of Regents to design and 
construct laboratory and support space to accommodate the Mathias 
Laboratory at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in 
Edgewater, Maryland. The bill authorizes $41 million to design and 
construct the facility. SERC is a global leader in the study of 
ecosystems in the coastal zone. The 52,000-square-foot replacement 
laboratory will be connected to the existing structure to provide an 
operationally efficient and environmentally sustainable laboratory 
facility for SERC's research programs. The project will eliminate the 
use of temporary, unsafe trailers, address substandard, inefficient 
laboratory facilities, and will substantially reduce the facility's 
energy use and maintenance costs.
  Section 3 of the bill authorizes the Board of Regents to construct 
laboratory space to accommodate the terrestrial research program of the 
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Gamboa, Panama. The bill 
authorizes $14 million to construct the 53,283-square-foot facility. 
STRI is the principal United States organization devoted to research in 
tropical biology. Tropical biology is critical to finding untapped 
resources to add to the important supply of food, pharmaceuticals, and 
fiber of tropical regions. STRI has outgrown the space available at its 
current facilities and this bill provides for construction of a new lab 
in Gamboa, Panama, on the east bank of the Panama Canal. Gamboa is 
protected by geography from the encroachment of civilization and 
pollution. The terrestrial research program is critical to 
understanding the role that tropical plants and soils play in global 
climate change models and for enriching knowledge of tropical 
biodiversity.
  Section 4 of the bill authorizes the Board of Regents of the 
Smithsonian Institution to construct a greenhouse facility at its 
museum support facility in Suitland, Maryland. This bill authorizes $12 
million for the construction of a new greenhouse facility. This 
facility will support the Office of Facilities Engineering and 
Operations, OFEO, of the Horticulture Services Division, HSD. This 
office provides services for the Smithsonian museums and units through 
planting for exhibits and special events, and through development and 
management of the Smithsonian public gardens.
  In the 110th Congress, I introduced two bills to authorize the 
facilities authorized by this legislation. The Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure reported H.R. 6627, the Smithsonian 
Institution Facilities Authorization Act of 2008, a bill to authorize 
the SERC and STRI facilities on September 15, 2008. The House passed 
this bill by voice vote on September 17, 2008. The Committee reported 
H.R. 5492, a bill to authorize the greenhouse facility in Suitland, 
Maryland, on March 10, 2008. The House passed this bill by voice vote 
on March 11, 2008. Unfortunately, the Senate did not complete action on 
these bills in the 110th Congress.
  I look forward to continuing to work with the Smithsonian as the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure moves to address the 
enormous repair and maintenance backlog of the Smithsonian Institution 
facilities and to ensure that its facilities meet the highest standards 
of energy efficiency and conservation.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the Smithsonian 
Institution Facilities Authorization Act of 2009.

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