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COMPARISON OF HOUSE AND SENATE AIR-CONDITIONING MECHANICS

Senator PROXMIRE. Could I ask, Mr. Chairman, why do you need four in the Senate and only two in the House? The House has bigger space, three buildings; we have only two. Why the discrepancy? We have twice as many mechanics as they have.

Mr. RUBEL. It is my understanding that the House already has some men on duty from midnight until the morning, and they will use their services in addition to these two additional people there.

Senator PROXMIRE. How many men do they have on duty at the present time during the so-called shutdown period?

Mr. RUBEL. In the House buildings?

Senator PROXMIRE. Yes.

Mr. HENLOCK. We have a total of 45 men allowed on the air-conditioning force for the three House Office Buildings, spread over three 8-hour shifts. We can supply further details for the record, if desired.

SENATE OFFICE BUILDING NIGHT TEMPERATURE

Senator PROXMIRE. I would appreciate it. (The information follows:)

We are now allowed 7 mechanics on the midnight to 8 A.M. air conditioning force for the 3 House Office Buildings. The two additional mechanics allowed by the House for these 3 buildings will bring the total midnight to 8 A.M. air conditioning force for those 3 buildings for 1968 to 9 mechanics.

Senator PROXMIRE. I will tell you, during the summer of 1964 I slept in my office for about 8 weeks.

Senator KUCHEL. What did you do that for?

Senator PROXMIRE. Because my family went out to Wisconsin and we rented our house. I had no other place to stay. I found it was a very economical operation. It was a comfortable place to sleep and it seemed to me that the temperature rarely went above 75° because it was kept down during the day, and at night it is relatively cool.

Mr. STEWART. Is your office located on the north or the east side of the building?

Senator PROXMIRE. My office is located on the north side of the building.

Mr. STEWART. That would have some effect on the temperature conditions.

Senator PROXMIRE. The south side of the building is considerably warmer?

Mr. STEWART. That is right; a certain amount of latent heat is retained on the south side.

Senator PROXMIRE. It was up pretty high, it was on the fourth floor.

Mr. ROOF. Senator Proxmire, the way this was figured, we just tried to supplement our present air-conditioning force to the extent necessary. As Mr. Rubel says, in some of the buildings we already have the force on duty anyway. For instance, in the Capitol we have a force that is already here, so that you don't have to add to the Capitol appropriation. So we are only asking for the additional men required. Much of the work will be absorbed by men already on night duty.

PRESENT AIR-CONDITIONING COST AND INCREASE

Senator PROXMIRE. Can you give us what the present cost of air conditioning is and how much this would increase it?

Mr. Roof. Yes.

Mr. HENLOCK. The total appropriated for the 105 mechanics on the air-conditioning force for the Capitol Buildings, the two Senate Office Buildings, the three House Office Buildings, the two Library Buildings, and the Supreme Court Building, which we have included on our chart, is $736,000 annually.

Mr. ROOF. This would increase it, according to my notes here, $59,000.

Senator PROXMIRE. So the increase would be in the area of about 7 or 8 percent.

Mr. Roof. Yes, sir.

Senator PROXMIRE. The ones I would be concerned about are the charwomen who have to work for 6 hours and perhaps it is uncomfortable for them. Have they really complained about this?

Mr. ROOF. Yes, we have had petitions from them. I have had calls from Senators, I have had calls from Congressmen, we have had numerous calls over a period of years and we have talked for many years of having the air-conditioning system operating 24 hours a day. That is done, as we understand, now in a lot of modern hotels and office buildings.

And as Mr. Rubel can explain to you, we don't think in the long run that this is going to really cost you any money because of the fluctuation-we will get to that item later. But this is just taking advantage of the plant that you have. In addition to the charwomen and our maintenance personnel, of course, you have the police here at night and you have Senators here at night, you have Senate employees, you have House employees, and House Members here at night and early in the morning that this would take care of.

ELECTRICITY COST

Senator PROXMIRE. How about the electricity cost?

Mr. Roof. It is a very minor item. We covered that in the House hearings.

Senator BARTLETT. I was wondering about that. I will not take issue with Senator Proxmire because I know nothing about this. But before this colloquy started, it occurred to me that it might be cheaper in the long run than if you shut down at 11 o'clock or whenever you do and have to gear the whole thing up and cool it down again. Mr. Roof. We have that in the Power Plant statement, sir. Mr. RUBEL. I have that information here, sir.

Senator BARTLETT. Let's have something on that.

NONOPERATION OF POWER PLANT BETWEEN 11 P.M. AND 7 A.M.

Mr. RUBEL. In anticipation of this question I have accumulated some facts which have a bearing on your contention. Incidentally, the Capitol Power Plant is the only large Federal installation that does not operate its refrigeration equipment on a 24-hour schedule.

The present practice of shutting down at 11 p.m. each night and restarting the plant at 7 a.m. each morning, not only creates discomfort

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for about 350 employees whose regular duties are performed necessarily during the plant shutdown period, but more significantly it results in unsatisfactory environmental conditions in the legislative and other buildings on Capitol Hill during the hours of 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. each day.

These unsatisfactory conditions during the early hours of the working day have resulted in an increasing number of complaints from the building occupants. During the 8-hour plant shutdown the temperature of the 600,000 gallons of stationary water stored in the system frequently rises from 40°, the normal chilled water temperature, to 53° or higher, depending on the atmospheric temperature prevailing during the night.

EARLY MORNING WORKLOAD

The removal of this accumulated heat from the water requires the operation of two 2,200-ton machines for 1 hour or more. Additionally, the heat absorbed by the air in the buildings and by the walls, floors, ceilings, and furniture must be removed as rapidly as possible before the regular workday starts.

This load is at least equivalent to the capacity of two more 2,200-ton machines operating for 1 hour. Consequently, it requires the output of at least four large machines operating for 1 hour each morning to compensate for the effect of the 8-hour shutdown period.

PROPOSED 24-HOUR OPERATION

If the proposed 24-hour operating schedule is approved, reasonably satisfactory conditions normally can be maintained in all buildings from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. by the continuous operation of not more than two machines at less than full load with a total water flow not exceeding 20,000 gallons per minute, and by 8 a.m. each day normal conditions will prevail in all buildings.

As far as the electric power cost is concerned there should be little difference. Under the present system an excessive amount of power is consumed during the period between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. Some of the power consumed by keeping the water and buildings reasonably cool all night will be offset by a reduction in the morning peakload inherent in the present operating schedule. It is very much the same as in your own home, many people will turn down their thermostat at night to 50°, but they are paying for it the next morning to get the temperature up to 70° or 72°.

Senator PROXMIRE. They want it cooler.

Senator BARTLETT. Off the record.

(Discussion off the record.)

ELEVATOR No. 11 MODERNIZATION

Senator BARTLETT. On the record.

The second question on this item, Mr. Stewart, is this: The next largest item under this appropriation is $45,000 to modernize elevator No. 11 in the Old Senate Office Building. What is the problem here! Mr. STEWART. Elevator No, 11 is located adjacent to elevator No. 10 in the southeast corner of the old building near the Constitution Avenue entrance. It is near the tunnel leading to the New Senate Office Building where there is a heavy flow of traffic.

Both elevators are manually operated and controlled by a common flashlight annunciator system. When the operators leave at the end of their shift, both elevators are shut down, since they cannot be automatically operated, leaving this section of the building without elevator service for anyone working after regular office hours.

Elevator No. 11 was installed in 1935. When the building power supply was converted to alternating current in 1955, a new motor generator and starter were installed. No further improvements have been made on this elevator since that time. Its capacity is 3,000 pounds and operates at a speed of 500 feet per minute.

In order to improve the elevator service in this corner of the building, elevator No. 11 should be modernized for both manual and automatic operation, and the old hoistway and control equipment, which is now 30 years old, should be replaced with new equipment.

Under the amount of $45,000 it is proposed to provide a new controller and selector, including new wiring and connections to elevator No. 10; new car-operating fixtures, new power door operator, new car doors and hangers, new hoistway door hangers, new top-of-car operating device, new fascia plates extending across both elevator fronts to eliminate potential hazard at door headers and sills, new bronze panels in lieu of glass panels in hoistway doors, new car-button fixtures with additional wiring, and the elevator cab is to be refinished. Senator BARTLETT. Senator Kuchel, do you have any questions? Senator KUCHEL. No, I have no questions.

ADDITIONAL ELEVATORS FOR NEW SENATE OFFICE BUILDING

Senator BARTLETT. All right, No. 3.

Mr. STEWART. No. 3 is for installation of additional elevators in the New Senate Office Building. This is a nonrecurring item. An estimate of $470,000 is submitted for 1968 for the installation of three additional passenger elevators in the southwest corner of the New Senate Office Building, in order to correct present congested conditions in this location, particularly at the basement level, and to provide more expeditious elevator service for Senators, their staff, and the public.

It is proposed to remove the existing stairway now located directly east of, and adjacent to, the shaft presently occupied by the two large passenger elevators, known as Nos. 8 and 9, and one slow-speed passenger-freight elevator, known as elevator No. 7, now located at the southwest corner, and to install the three new elevators in the adjacent stairway location.

FIRE REGULATION RELAXATION

When the New Office Building was constructed, this stairway was installed, as at that time its installation was a requisite under the fire regulations then prevailing. Since then, building code revisions, issued in 1963 and currently in force, relaxed some of the former requirements, and under the current regulations this stairway can be eliminated without jeopardizing the emergency evacuation of the building occupants. The only change necessary will be the installation of a new fire exit stairway between the subbasement and basement levels, and installation of a new single-flight stairway between the seventh floor and the roof deck.

CONVENIENCE STAIRWAY INSTALLATION

It is, however, recommended, as a matter of convenience, that there also be installed a convenience stairway from the cafeteria on the basement level to the first and ground floor levels. Although this stairway is not a rigorous requirement, its availability would relieve to some degree the traffic imposed on all elevators in the southwest corner of the building. Installation of this stairway would absorb some of the space on the basement floor level presently occupied by the electric shop and would necessitate the elimination of the men's rooms and part of the women's rooms at the southwest corner on the ground and first floor levels. There are, however, adequate toilet facilities elsewhere on these two floors.

NEW ELEVATOR FEATURES

Under the plan proposed, each of the proposed elevators will accommodate 11 passengers, plus an attendant. Provisions will be included for automatic operation, thus making use of the elevators available to Senators and others without the presence of an attendant. When operated without an attendant, the cars will accommodate 13 passengers each. All cars will travel at a speed of 500 feet per minute, the optimum rate of travel for the floor heights in this building. It is estimated that the average waiting time at floor landings will be 30 seconds or less. The potential handling capacity of the bank of three elevators will be 100 passengers in 5 minutes, or 1,200 passengers each hour. The three smaller cars proposed for this installation will provide more expeditious service than two larger cars.

Each of the new cars will be equipped with floor-level indicators visible from the interior of the car. A car-position indicator will be provided at each floor landing for the convenience of waiting passengers. Car-call devices will include provision for a three-ring audible signal.

EQUIPMENT RELOCATION AND FIRE DOOR INSTALLATIONS

The use of the stairwell, to be eliminated, as an elevator shaft will necessitate the relocation of some air ducts, a ventilating fan and lowpressure steam main. It is proposed to install fire doors in the present open entrance to the basement-level pedestrian tunnel leading to the Old Senate Office Building, and also in the subway terminal entrance. Normally, such fire doors will be secured in their open position by electromagnetic door holders. Sensitive smoke-detecting devices will automatically release the tunnel and subway entrance doors to their closed position by the presence of products of combustion.

I would like to ask Mr. Rubel to elaborate on this item, since he has made a thorough study of the situation.

LOCATION

Senator BARTLETT. First, we have a chart here, but I still don't identify the locations.

Mr. Roof. These are the present large elevators that front on the main corridor here. This is the so-called "Senators' private elevator." Senator PROXMIRE. On this map it is over here?

Mr. ROOF. Over there (indicating).

Senator BARTLETT. This is on that end of the building?

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