This work was last done in 1960, when repairs to the dome were completed under the extension of the Capitol program, and should be done next year for purposes of preservation and appearance. The House allowed $67,000 for this item-deleting $8,000 for painting the exterior sandstone of the west-central front, deferring this portion of the work until a decision is made as to what is to be done about the west front. We accept this cut, without appeal. It is important that the other areas be painted in the fiscal year 1966.

MISCELLANEOUS REQUESTS

Three other items of increase requested under this appropriation were also approved by the House-$4,800 to replace the existing air filters in the air-conditioning system which filter the air supplied to the House and Senate Chambers, which have become deteriorated after 15 years of continuous use; $6,000 to provide an annual allotment for the maintenance of the new electronic clock and legislative signal systems, sound systems, and other electronic equipment in the Capitol, Senate Office Buildings, and Rayburn House Office Building-to provide for miscellaneous repairs and replacements, detailed on page 27 of the justification; and $4,100 for replacement of existing fire hoses which have been in service for many years and for replacement of existing straight stream nozzles with fog nozzles which can be used with better control and will extinguish a fire in a shorter period of time.

CAPITOL GROUNDS

We requested, and the House allowed, under this heading for 1966 a total of $638,000-which is $102,000 less than $740,000 appropriated for 1965.

The first six items, on pages 44, 45, and 46 of the justification, cover mandatory increases, totaling $27,600. They include $22,840 for wageboard increases; $960 for within-grade promotions under the classification Act; $1,100 for increases under the "Federal Employees' Salary Act of 1964"; $600 for increased cost of 1 day's pay above the stated annual rate; $1,200 for Government contribution to retirement fund; $900 for Government payment to employees' health benefits fund.

A $2,000 increase is asked under the general annual repairs allotment to meet current cost. There has been no increase provided under this allotment for the past 5 years.

CAPITOL LANDSCAPING AND GARDENING

Senator MONRONEY. Before you leave the grounds, have you still got the same landscape gardener as last year?

Mr. STEWART. Yes, sir: he is present here.

Senator MONRONEY. We appropriated extra money, I think, trying to beautify the grounds, and it does not appear to be much more beautiful than it was when we started.

Mr. STEWART. Well, Senator, several of the ladies of the Senate have visited with me out there

Senator MONRONEY. I hear from the Senate ladies that they are very unhappy with the situation, lack of imagination, lack of any landscape gardening and artistry of the Capitol Grounds, and a general weedy condition of the gardens.

I

You see perfectly maintained gardens run by the National Park Commission here. When we come out on Capitol Hill, you can see the difference in the quality of the landscaping and the gardening. do not know whether it is our labor, or what is the matter, whether it is our planning or administration, but I do not know why we cannot have some of the nice looking lawns you have at the National Gallery of Art and places of that kind.

Mr. STEWART. May I ask Mr. Pincus to explain exactly what he has done during the past year?

Senator MONRONEY. Yes.

Mr. PINCUS. I had Mrs. Humphrey and her committee on a tour of the Capitol Grounds recently and she left me with the impression that she was very favorably impressed by the overall condition of the Capitol Grounds.

ADVERSE VIEW

Senator MONRONEY. That was not my reaction in a conversation I have had with the ladies of the Capitol, and they wanted to know why we cannot do more about it. I am a pretty ham gardener, but I do not think it justifies the money we spend, and it does not justify the prestige that this Nation's center should have in the maintenance of our central place of government. I think it is one of the worst looking places of a national seat of government I have ever run into anywhere in the world.

The Japanese Diet, Latin America, and other places, they all have their grounds maintained in much better condition and with much better care than we have here. This is my own personal opinion.

I walked around the grounds, I have looked at them, and I have watched them, and I do not feel they meet any kind of standards deserving of what we should have here. I will be glad to hear you.

Mr. PINCUS. If I may show you [presenting photograph], one improvement we made this year was the tulip garden on the west front lawn.

Senator MONRONEY. Yes. What about our trees? Are we going to be able to add some more trees or does it take an act of Congress to do it?

Mr. PINCUS. No, sir; as a matter of fact, about 125 trees have been added this year. This drawing [illustrating] represents the trees that have been added since last March. Each red dot represents a tree on the complete area of the Capitol Grounds. This plan shows the trees added in the immediate vicinity of the Capitol Building.

Senator MONRONEY. This is the tulip garden here?

WORK ACCOMPLISHED ON CAPITOL GROUNDS

Mr. PINCUS. Yes, sir. I have here with me a report of the work accomplished on the Capitol Grounds since March 1, 1964, which shows the additional plant material which has been added since March 1, 1964, and the work accomplished on the grounds by the ground forces.

Senator MONRONEY. That will be printed in the record at this point.

(The information referred to follows:)

REPORT ON THE WORK ACCOMPLISHED BY THE CAPITOL GROUNDS' FORCES DURING THE PERIOD MARCH 1, 1964, THROUGH FEBRUARY 27, 1965

New plantings

March 16-20, 1964.-Planted 50 Kuercus coccinea, scarlet oak, 2- to 21⁄2-inch cal., on top of Legislative Garage. Planted 3 Augustine Elms, 3 inches cal., on Constitution Avenue.

May 12, 1964.-Planted 84 Taxus cuspidata nana, Dwarf Japanese yew, 15 to 18 inches, around Taft Memorial fountain.

May 13, 1964.-Planted Memorial Tree: Boys' Clubs of America, Pinus resinosa, red pine, 6 to 8 feet, in vicinity of west Senate lawn.

May 18-23, 1964.-Planted approximately 10,000 annuals in the beds on the terrace of the Capitol, and in the boxes at East Capitol Street. These included: Cannas, dusty miller, marigolds, petunias, salvia, vinca, and other bedding material.

June 2, 1964.-Planted approximately 60 azaleas at Senate and House sides, east front of Capitol.

June 11, 1964.-Planted Memorial Tree: Speaker McCormack, Acer saccharum, sugar maple, 22- to 3-inch cal., House lawn, east front. Planted Memorial Tree: Congressman Halleck, Liriodendron tulipfera, tulippoplar, 2- to 3-inch cal., House lawn, east front.

June 16-17, 1964.-Planted 325 chrysanthemums along base of terrace wall of Capitol.

July 21, 1964.-Planted 350 Hedera helix, ivy, in beds, as replacements on top of Legislative Garage.

November 30-December 8, 1964.-Planted 12,400 Darwin tulips in plant beds on the terrace of Capitol. Planted 18,000 Darwin tulips in the new west front lawn garden, pond lawn.

December 9, 1964.-Planted living Christmas tree, Pseudotsuga taxifolia. Douglas Fir, 25 feet, in west front lawn, pond lawn.

December 11, 1964.-Planted 2 Ilex crenata rotundifolia, 6 by 6 feet at Senate Office Building, on Constitution Avenue side.

December 15, 1964.-Planted 500 tulips in Senate courtyard.

December 17, 1964.-Planted 5 Ilex crenata rotundifolia, 6 by 6 feet, west front, House side, below terrace wall.

January 5, 1965.-Planted 2 Taxus media hatfieldi, 22 to 3 feet; 10 Taxus baccata repandens, 15 to 18 inches; 250 Pachysandra. These were planted at the Senate Office Building, on the C Street side.

February 9, 1965.-Planted 1 Ilex crenata rotundifolia, 6 by 6 feet, at base of terrace wall, west front, Senate side.

Lawn work, seeding, sodding, top dressing

April 24, 1964.-Seeded and fertilized in vicinity of Senate Office Building, and New Senate Office Building.

June 23-July 16, 1964.-Spread topsoil and graded areas on top of Legislative Garage and along Constitution Avenue, installed 3,200 square yards of sod in these areas.

September 3, 1964.-Sprayed lawn in Senate courtyard and plots at east front of Capitol with 400 dilute gallons of crab grass killer in preparation for seeding these areas.

September 11, 1964.-Sprayed lawn around New Senate Office Building with crab grass killer in preparation for seeding.

September 16–25, 1964.-Dug up lawns around New Senate Office Building, regraded area with 50 cubic yards of topsoil, fertilized and seeded with 150 pounds of seed.

October 5-November 2, 1964.-The following areas were top dressed, fertilized and seeded: Grass plots in front of Capitol, east front; Senate courtyard; Top of Legislative Garage; Old Grounds around the Capitol: New Grounds to D Street: House Office Building areas.

In these areas, approximately 26 tons of fertilizer was applied, 4,500 pounds of seed was sowed, 500 cubic yards of topsoil spread.

Repairs to sidewalks, roads and parking lots

March 23-28, 1964.-Poured and finished exposed pea gravel aggregate concrete around west front fountain. Patched concrete in fountain on top of Legislative Garage.

April 13, 1964.-Patched holes in roads.

April 14-27, 1964.-Applied asphalt over sidewalks on both sides of Carroll St., Southeast.

June 23, 1964.-Repaired exposed aggregate sidewalks on north side of Constitution Avenue, from Delaware Avenue to New Jersey Avenue.

July 20-22, 1964.-Repaired exposed aggregate sidewalks on New Jersey Avenue, between Constitution Avenue, C Street, and Louisiana Avenue.

July 27–30, 1964.-Repaired cracks and broken areas in sidewalks along both sides of East Capitol Street, from First Street to the Plaza.

August 3–5, 1964.-Repaired holes in parking lot behind House Office Building. September 28, 1964.-Erected concrete block partition walls in Legislative Garage tunnel for storage areas for Senate vehicle supplies.

October 12, 1964.-Placed asphalt over parking lot in rear of Rayburn House Office Building parking lot.

October 19, 1964.-Patched holes in parking lot in rear of House Office Building. For this period, 62.5 tons of asphalt, bituminous plant mix was used.

General maintenance and miscellaneous

The daily routine maintenance on the Grounds included daily sweeping of the Capitol steps and walks; removal of trash and debris from the Grounds; pick up trash and general hauling for the buildings in the legislative group; sweeping roads and drives twice a week with the mechanical sweeper; mowing lawns during last part of April through September; washing down Capitol steps twice a week; watering lawns at night, 6 nights a week, during the summer. The fall crop of leaves was raked from October through December, 1964. Snow and ice were removed from walks, steps, and roads on the following dates:

January 10-13, 1965.

January 16-18, 1965.
January 31, 1965.

February 15, 1965.

This included spreading sand and ice removing pellets on these areas.

The Grounds forces were responsible for putting up the cables for the Inauguration and funerals during this period.

Plumbing Division

The following work was accomplished by this division on the underground sprinkler systems and sewers for the period March 1, 1964, through February 26, 1965:

March 1, 1964-March 7, 1964.-General maintenance on the sprinkler systems on the Grounds.

March 9, 1964-March 17, 1964.-Installed drain lines at Poplar Point Nursery. March 18, 1964-March 31, 1964.-General maintenance, placed topsoil around hand valves and sprinkler heads.

April 1, 1964-April 24, 1964.-General maintenance on sprinkler system on House side of Capitol; dewinterizing system, checking spray heads and valves. April 27, 1964-May 14, 1964.-General maintenance on sprinkler system on Senate side of Capitol; dewinterizing system, checking heads and valves.

May 15, 1964-May 19, 1964.-General maintenance on sprinkler system in west front lawn; checking heads and valves.

May 20, 1964-May 21, 1964.-General maintenance on sprinkler system in Old Senate Office Building courtyard.

May 22, 1964-June 2, 1964.-Installed waterlines in the fields at Poplar Point Nursery.

June 1, 1964.-Night watering of lawns started.

June 3, 1964-June 13, 1964.-Replacement of sprinkler heads, Senate side of Capitol, and graded around these.

June 15, 1964-July 22, 1964.-Repaired sprinkler system on new Grounds, area bounded by Constitution Avenue, New Jersey Avenue, Delaware Avenue, and Louisiana Avenue.

July 23-29, 1964.-Replaced valves in lot across from Esso Building, Northwest. July 30 to August 26, 1964.-Installed hand valves replaced 3-inch valve, general maintenance.

July 27 to September 4, 1964.-Installed sprinkler system in new planted fields at Poplar Point Nursery.

September 7-19, 1964.-Installed hand valves at Senate side of Capitol.
September 21-24, 1964.-Installed drains for new outside fountains.

September 24 to October 10, 1964.-Installed sprinkler line, House side, near electric vault, general maintenance.

October 12-30, 1964.-Installed hand valves in vicinity of Delaware and C Street NE., general maintenance.

November 2-23, 1964.-General maintenance, cleaned sprinkler heads, painted grates and buffalo boxes; turned off water and drained fountains.

November 24, 1964, to January 22, 1965.-Installed buffalo boxes, cut sleeves and stanchions for inauguration. Cut cable and painted stanchions for inauguration.

January 25 to February 26, 1965.-Installed waterlines for new fountains, installed valves and buffalo boxes.

The following material was either installed or replaced during this period: 3-inch stock:

20 valves: 1-21 linear feet copper pipe.

1 valve stem: 2-3 by 4-inch T's-2-3 by 14-inch T's.

42 couplings: 1-3 by 11⁄2-inch T's.

22-inch stock:

6 valves: 2-22 by 14-inch T's-42 linear feet galvanized pipe.

8 couplings: 2 linear feet copper pipe.

2-inch stock:

4 valves: 645° bends-1 2- by 12-inch T's.

6 couplings: 1-2 by 14- by 2-inch T's-190 linear feet copper pipe.

11⁄2-inch stock:

4 valves: 6 L's-68 linear feet copper pipe.

6 couplings: 1-12 by 14- by 4-inch T's.

14-inch stock:

4 valves: 7-14 by 1- by 4-inch T's-1-14 by 1-inch reducer.

43 couplings: 914 inch 45°, 5 14 inch 90°-728 linear feet copper pipe. 1-inch stock:

1 valve: 2 L's-28 linear feet copper pipe.

8 couplings: 6-1 by 4-inch T's.

34-inch stock:

180 sprinkler heads-22 couplings. 10 valves: 7 L's.

174 adapters: 179 brass nipples.

6 34 inch 90°-120 linear feet copper pipe.

12-inch stock:

2 gate valves.

1 brass nipple.

70 buffalo boxes with covers.

REPORT ON THE STATUS OF THE TREE SURGEON'S WORK, AND THE TREES ON THE CAPITOL GROUNDS

There are approximately 2,000 trees and 5,000 shrubs being grown and cared for on the Capitol Grounds. All of these trees and a percentage of the larger shrubs and vines are maintained by the tree surgeons and helpers, assigned to the Capitol Grounds forces.

These trees and shrubs represent a good cross section of plant material which is grown throughout the country, and includes approximately 100 species and varieties of shrubs and approximately 120 species of trees. This plant material is comprised of the most common material, such as forsythia and sugar maple, to the lesser known and rarer trees, such as California redwood and Hungarian oak.

A survey on the condition of the oaks, elms, and sycamore trees within the Capitol Grounds was completed this past summer, by the plant pathologists of the U.S. Department of the Interior. Many of the oaks and sycamores are being attacked by a plant virus, which is causing many of these to die back. A chemical spray program has been set as recommended by the plant pathologists, which has been in effect for the past year. Many older trees are dying due to environmental conditions and old age. Several street trees growing in small tree spaces along the sidewalks and curbs show dieback to the environmental ondition.