Mr. SCRUGHAM. Will you submit that language for the consideration of the committee? Mr. DEMARAY. Yes, sir. Also an explanation of it, if you would like. Mr. Taylor submitted that. PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA SALARIES AND GENERAL EXPENSES Mr. SCRUGHAM. The next item is salaries and general expenses, public buildings and grounds in the District of Columbia. Mr. DEMARAY. I will submit the following justification: The estimate of $7,070,000 is for the maintenance, operation, protection, and preservation of public buildings in the District of Columbia under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service, including rented buildings, the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Lincoln House, Lincoln Museum, the Columbus Fountain, and the District of Columbia War Memorial. The estimate provides for an increase of $1,094,100 over the amount appropriated for the 1937 fiscal year. The estimate is made up of the following component parts: 1937 appropriation. Deduct amounts included in 1937 appropriation, not required for 1938: Rental of 1712 G St. and annex bilding, cost to be reimbursed by the Social Security Board_ Maintenance of temporary building F, building to be vacated and demolished at end of the 1937 fiscal year. Rented office space for which funds were appropriated for 1937, space to be released prior to 1938.. $5, 975, 900 87,507 57, 885 65, 169 Funds were appropriated for 1937 for the following listed space, which it is planned to release prior to June 30, 1937. The release of all of this space, with the exception of premises located at 1214 New Hampshire Avenue, will be made possible by the completion of the New Interior Building. The lease has termnated on premises at 1214 New Hampshire Avenue, and the Government activities formerly housed there have been transferred to rented quarters located at 1220 Nineteenth Street NW. The space involved is as follows: Reduction in requirements for moving expenses of Government establishments.---. $34, 000 The 1937 appropriation includes $111,000 for the operations of the Division of Government Space Control, including costs of moving Government establishments. It is estimated that only $77,000 will be required for this purpose in 1938, as follows: Moving from temporary building F to other locations $10,000 Moving into the apex building 3, 000 10, 000 Moving into space in New Post Office Building, to be vacated by the Home Owners' Loan Corporation___ 2,750 Old Post Office Building, space adjustments 5,000 Miscellaneous moving of Government agencies 23, 000 Salaries and expenses of administrative staff of the Division of Government Space Control.... 23, 250 Total estimated for 1938. 77, 000 Total of items not required for 1938. Base for 1938. Increase for 1938: Rental and maintenance of office space in 1938 for which no funds were appropriated in 1937_ $244, 561 5, 731, 339 302, 290 No funds were included in the 1937 appropriation for the rental and maintenance of the following listed office space now rented by the National Park Service, which will be required in the 1938 fiscal year and for which deficiency estimates will be submitted for the current year. Maintenance, operation, and protection of Government-owned buildings to be operated in 1938 for which funds were not appropriated in 1937 ... $486, 211 The amount of $486,211 is included for the maintenance, operation, and protection of Government-owned buildings scheduled for completion prior to or during the 1938 fiscal year and for which no funds were appropriated for 1937, with the exception of the New Interior Building. Funds were appropriated for maintaining the New Interior Building only a portion of the current fiscal year. The amount included in this item for the New Interior Building is the balance required for an entire year's operation. The amount for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing Annex represents the cost of furnishing steam from the central heating plant. The buildings involved are as follows Maintenance of approximately 124,000 square feet of office space converted from warehouse space. To meet the need for additional office space by the Procurement Division, Treasury Department, that Division has converted 124,000 square feet of space in the Procurement Division Build ing devised for warehouse use into office space. The amount indicated is required to clean and maintain this space for office use. Maintenance and operation of electric smoke precipitators recently installed on the stacks of the Central Heating Plant No funds have been appropriated for the maintenance of these smoke precipitators recently installed on the stacks of the Central Heating Plant by the Procurement Division at a cost of approximately $370,000. The amount of $10,000 is required for the salaries of electricians, labor to remove soot, purchase of electric current, and replacement parts. $20, 160 10, 000 Additional required for administrative expenses to maintain added space covered in this estimate___. This amount is necessary for clerk hire to maintain personnel records, cost records, procure and issue supplies for the approximately 2,077,000 square feet of space in Government-owned buildings to be taken over by the National Park Service for maintenance responsibility. This is less than one-tenth of 1 cent per square foot. Physical improvements and repairs to Government owned buildings under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service in the District of Columbia - - The projects planned are as follows: 1. Eliminate fire and other hazards and provide $20,000 2. Improvements and replacements in the Central 4. Replace obsolete and defective electrical wiring 5. Replace defective, worn-out and unsanitary con- 6. Replace worn-out, obsolete, and defective traps 7. Renew hot- and cold-water lines and install new 8. Paint exteriors and other exposed surfaces for 9. Replace copper roof and repair slate roof on the 10. Provide skylight shades over the 2 large hearing Amount required for 1937. 55, 000 120,000 25, 000 30, 000 35,000 90,000 40, 000 $20,000 500, 000 20, 000 7, 070, 000 CHANGES IN LANGUAGE Modifications in language are recommended to permit the purchase of motorpropelled passenger-carrying vehicles; increase the provision for motor-propelled passenger-carrying vehicles from two to three vehicles; and permit the purchase of arms and ammunition for the guard force to be used by the guards while on duty in the public buildings for the protection of public property. In deleting language from this appropriation title in the 1937 budget for transfer to the appropriation title "Salaries and expenses, National Capital Parks" the word "purchase", through inadvertence, was not retained in the former title. Authority to purchase motor-propelled passenger-carrying vehicles is required in order that the present vehicles may be replaced when they have served their useful life. Due to the expansion of activities and personnel as the result of the additional buildings maintained by the National Park Service in the District of Columbia, it is necessary that three passenger-carrying vehicles be made available in order that adequate supervision and inspection service may be performed. Arms and ammunition for the use of the guard force are obtained, at present, from the War Department in accordance with the provisions of 20 Stat., 410, 37 Stat., 589, and 41 Stat., 67. The arms being obtained from the War Department are not suitable for use by members of the guard force, in that they are too heavy and cumbersome to carry and are of too high caliber. MAJOR REPAIRS AND IMPROVEMENTS Mr. O'NEAL. I would like to ask about that new language there, Mr. Chairman. Mr. SCRUGHAM. That language reads: and not to exceed $500,000 shall be available for major repairs and improvements to public buildings, monuments, memorials, and grounds in the District of Columbia. Can you show the break-down of that $500,000? Mr. DEMARAY. Yes, sir; may I explain that language? Last year a program was presented to the Budget Bureau of major repairs and alterations that were essential to the proper upkeep of the public buildings in Washington. They submitted an item of $1,150,000 as the beginning of that program of rehabilitation and upkeep to the Deficiency Appropriation Committee, and that was allowed. Now, this year in the continuation of that program the Budget Bureau allowed $500,000 in this item, with this wording; and they have also told us that that must also take care of situations over which we have no control; that is, if we are told by the President of the United States that we must provide additional space for which no appropriation has been made we must provide for rental out of this fund. We will be before the Appropriations Committee again with a deficiency of a considerable sum of money this year. The Budget officials have said that we will have to meet any contingency of that nature in 1938 out of this fund. So that we will not know possibly until at least the middle of the fiscal year as to how much of it we can safely obligate for the repairs. that are essential to the proper upkeep of buildings. The public buildings in Washington have been allowed to go down. very considerably. Also, much of the machinery is of obsolete type and it must be replaced as rapidly as possible. Mr. RICH. What do you mean by "machinery"? Mr. DEMARAY. Elevators, for instance; elevators that the District elevator inspectors will not approve as complying with the safety regulations of the District of Columbia. MAINTENANCE OF NEW INTERIOR DEPARTMENT BUILDING Mr. RICH. What is this Interior Department annual item of $543,195? You haven't that building constructed yet. What would that be for? I suppose that that is the one that you are just completing. How would you spend half a million dollars on that building right now? Mr. DEMARAY. That is for the maintenance of this new building. We are just taking it over and are going to operate it for less than 6 months this fiscal year. Mr. RICH. A little over half a million dollars for less than 6 months? Mr. DEMARAY. No. That is for the year 1938. This $125,000 is the amount allowed in the 1937 appropriation to operate it during the balance of the 1937 fiscal year. The building is not yet occupied. It is going to be moved into starting on Monday. Mr. RICH. Are you going to spend $400,000 more because you are going into the new building than it was operated for under the old building? Mr. DEMARAY. We have to operate both the old and the new buildings. That item of $543,195 is the grand total required for the new building in 1938. From that we have to pay the total cost of operating that building. Of this, $125,000, was in the 1937 base. Then we anticipate that the P. W. A. will reimburse us for the maintenance of the space that is to be assigned to that agency in the old Interior Building, in the amount of $138,000. The amount in the 1937 base plus the amount to be reimbursed by P. W. A. amounts to $263,000, and that deducted from the total which we are asking to operate the new building, shows a net additional amount required for 1938 of only $280,195. Mr. RICH. You say "only"? Mr. DEMARAY. We are operating large buildings, Congressman Rich; and we are operating buildings of that character cheaper that you can rent comparable space. Mr. O'NEAL. Where is it in the set-up that you are reimbursed for the buildings that you are operating? In other words, it is costing you $547,128 to operate your two buildings? Mr. PETERS. No. The $543,195 is to operate the new building, not taking into account the amount that we anticipate we shall collect from the P. W. A. of $138,000 because of their occupancy of the old building. Mr. O'NEAL. Then you are collecting that from them? Mr. PETERS. We are collecting that next year from them. Mr. O'NEAL. Where does that show as an offset? Mr. DEMARAY. It does not show in your particular figures here. Mr. O'NEAL. It looks to me as though a substantial cut could be made on that. Mr. DEMARAY. There can be no cut made on it. Mr. O'NEAL. You are asking in this for an appropriation of $138,000 for the old building for 1938? Is that correct? Mr. PETERS. Yes. Mr. O'NEAL. On page 450 you are estimating $543,195 that it w cost you to operate and maintain the new Interior Department Build ing. Is that correct? Mr. PETERS. That is correct. |