[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 16956-16957]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



[[Page 16956]]

                          EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS

                           EARMARK DISCLOSURE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LATHAM

                                of iowa

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 29, 2008

  Mr. LATHAM. Madam Speaker, I wish to make the following disclosure in 
accordance with the new Republican Earmark Transparency Standards 
requiring Members to place a statement in the Congressional Record 
prior to a floor vote on a bill that includes earmarks they have 
requested, describing how the funds will be spent and justifying the 
use of federal taxpayer funds.
  Requesting Member: Congressman Tom Latham.
  Bill Number: H.R. 6599, the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs 
and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2009.
  Account: MilCon, Air National Guard.
  Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Iowa Air National Guard.
  Address of Requesting Entity: 7700 NW Beaver Drive, Johnston, Iowa 
50131.
  Description of Request: Appropriation of $5.6 million for the 
construction of a new Vehicle Maintenance Facility and remodeling of 
the existing Communications Facility located at the 133rd Test Squadron 
in Fort Dodge, Iowa. Updating facilities at the 133rd Test Squadron is 
of the utmost importance and highest priority for the Iowa National 
Guard. This project is approved on the U.S. Air Force Future Year 
Defense Plan (FYDP), and has been assigned the number HEMT039066. The 
facility is significantly short of space due to the expansion of the 
unit's mission, manning and resources. Since it is the only unit 
designated to test future Command and Control (C2) projects for the 
U.S. Air Force, the performance of the 133rd Test Squadron is vital to 
Air Force missions. A detailed financial plan based on form DD 1391 
required by the Department of Defense for military construction 
projects follows.

                                                  COST ESTIMATE
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                   ITEM                                U/M                Quantity    Unit cost     Cost ($000)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vehicle Maintenance/Comm Training          SF.........................       32,369  ...........           4,171
 Facility.
    Vehicle Maintenance Area.............  SF.........................        7,000          210         (1,470)
    Age Addition To Comm Area............  SF.........................        2,600          186           (484)
    Upgrade Communications Area..........  SF.........................       22,769           91         (2,072)
    Anti-Terrorism/Force Protection        SF.........................       32,369            2            (65)
     Measures.
    Leed Certification...................  LS.........................  ...........  ...........            (80)
Supporting Facilities....................  ...........................  ...........  ...........             864
    Pavements............................  LS.........................  ...........  ...........           (115)
    Utilities............................  LS.........................  ...........  ...........           (150)
    Site Improvements/Parking............  LS.........................  ...........  ...........           (100)
    Communications Support...............  LS.........................  ...........  ...........           (100)
    Pre-Wired Work Stations..............  LS.........................  ...........  ...........           (130)
    Temporary Trailers...................  LS.........................  ...........  ...........           (220)
    Demolition/Asbestos Removal..........  SF.........................        3,270           15            (49)
                                                                                                 ---------------
Subtotal.................................  ...........................  ...........  ...........           5,035
Contingency (5%).........................  ...........................  ...........  ...........             252
                                                                                                 ---------------
Total Contract Cost......................  ...........................  ...........  ...........           5,287
Supervision, Inspection And Overhead (6%)  ...........................  ...........  ...........             317
                                                                                                 ---------------
Total Request............................  ...........................  ...........  ...........           5,604
Total Request (Rounded)..................  ...........................  ...........  ...........           5,600
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  10. Description of Proposed Construction: New Construction: 
Reinforced concrete foundation and floor slab with steel-framed masonry 
walls and sloped roof structure. Includes overhead crane/hoist, all 
utilities, pavements, fire protection, site improvements, and support. 
All interior wall, ceilings, interior finishes and pre-wired work 
stations. Alteration: Rearrange and extend interior walls and 
utilities. Provide anti-terrorism force protection measures. Demolish 
three buildings (304 SM) and landscape the site. Air Conditioning: 60 
Tons.
  Requirement: 32,369 SF Adequate: 0 SF Substandard: 22,769 SF
  Project: Vehicle Maintenance and Communications Training Facility 
(Current Mission).
  Requirement: The base requires an adequately sized, properly 
configured, and environmentally safe vehicle maintenance facility for 
operations and training. Vehicles to be repaired and maintained include 
cars, trucks, sweepers, and snowplows. Functional areas consist of 
maintenance bays, paint bay, office area, parts/tool storage, battery 
shop, vehicle dispatch, fuel dispensing facility and wash rack. An 
adequately sized and properly configured facility is required for the 
operations, maintenance, and training in support of a 132-personnel 
combat communications squadron responsible for tactical communications-
electronics systems. Functional areas include the command section, 
communication systems (i.e. satellite, base, and network), 
communications center, combat support, secure storage, deployment 
control center, classrooms, physical fitness center, dining area, and 
medical training.
  Current Situation: The vehicle maintenance functions are accomplished 
in a facility that has reached the end of its useful life. Facility 
maintenance and repair of the mechanical and electrical systems are no 
longer cost effective due to the lack of replacement parts. The 
facility is significantly short of maintenance, office, and training 
space due to the expansion of the unit's manning and resources over the 
years. Maintenance and repair operations on larger vehicles must be 
done outside because they do not fit in the small bays. The facility 
has numerous safety, health, and environmental hazards. The 
communications and electronics facility portion of this project will 
reconfigure and renovate existing spaces while adding to the complex to 
alleviate facility shortfalls. Mission accomplishment and Status of 
Readiness and Training System (SORTS) levels are degraded as there is 
no adequate space to properly store civil engineering equipment, 
generators, and equipment assets to be deployable within response time 
criteria given winter conditions. The 133rd is accomplishing part of 
the test mission requirements in a facility on the other side of the 
airport driveway. This requires them to take valuable time and manpower 
to get to the support functions such as medical and supply items. The 
area is 12 percent short of the required space needed to support the 
mission. Several Control and Reporting Center (CRC) testing events have 
been located in building 102, which has been identified to be 
demolished. This facility requires roof repairs and electrical and 
mechanical upgrades to meet code requirements. The space is not 
functionally set-up to house a test squadron, which causes 
interruptions in training/testing requirements. They do not have the 
space to test, maintain, train and repair equipment that they are 
required to support. The office space is not properly configured. The 
Aerospace Ground Equipment (AGE) facility (building 101) is not 
functionally efficient as an AGE shop with its current layout. 
Equipment is stored outside due to lack of covered storage space. The 
administrative area is congested and not properly configured. The 
existing forced air heat system is inefficient and requires repair. The 
existing floor drains are not connected to an oil water separator. The 
majority of the base infrastructure system is over 40 years old and has 
been upgraded only as part of new construction. Parts of the system 
that have not been upgraded are deteriorated due to age.
  Impact If Not Provided: Operations and training suffer from lack of 
up-to-date and adequate facilities. The overcrowded and antiquated 
facility seriously degrades the unit's capability to maintain a safe, 
operationally ready fleet, and severely limits the unit's ability to 
train. Continued safety and environmental problems with possible 
violations of federal and state environmental statutes. Quality of life 
is negatively impacted affecting morale, recruiting, and retention.
  Additional: This project meets the criteria/scope specified in Air 
National Guard Handbook 32-1084, ``Facility Requirements'' and is in 
compliance with the base master plan. These facilities are 
``inhabited'' buildings and meet the standoff distance requirements. 
There is minimal threat and the level of protection is low so minimum 
construction standards have been applied. All known alternatives 
options were considered during the development of this project. No 
other option could meet the mission requirements; therefore, no 
economic analysis was needed or performed. The following buildings will 
be demolished as

[[Page 16957]]

a result of this project: 101 (214 SM), 104 (45 SM), and 105 (45 SM) 
for a total of 304 SM.
  Vehicle maintenance area: 7,000 SF = 650 SM.
  Age addition to comm area 2,600 SF = 242 SM.
  Upgrade communications area: 22,769 SF = 2,115 SM.
  Demolition/asbestos removal: 3,270 SF = 304 SM.

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