SAFETY AND FIRE HAZARDS

Mr. ANDREWS. Mr. Stewart, the committee had something to say in its report last year about safety and fire inspection and hazards. Do you have a good inspection system? Are you able to get complete cooperation and access to rooms you need to check in that respect? We spent a lot of money on fireproofing in the basement of the building and otherwise.

Mr. STEWART. We have splendid cooperation from the occupants of the building. Our chief concern is to insure that contractors for work here on the Hill adhere closely to safety rules.

Mr. ANDREWS. You mean contractors who are doing work on the building?

Mr. STEWART. On the buildings and on the grounds, or any other place.

Mr. ANDREWS. You have trouble with them with respect to fire hazards?

Mr. STEWART. We are constantly calling to their attention not only fire hazards, but other dangerous conditions which might result in accidents around the site of the work.

REDECORATING CEILING OF STATUARY HALL

Mr. ANDREWS. Who did the work of redecorating the ceiling, and so forth, in Statuary Hall?

Mr. STEWART. That was done under our own supervision. Mr. Campioli was in charge of that work.

Mr. ANDREWS. I noticed that a few days ago. It looks nice. How much did it cost?

Mr. HENLOCK. We had an allotment of $23,000, and it cost about that amount.

Mr. ANDREWS. What did you do other than paint it?

Mr. CLANCY. We washed it down first, sir, and then the plasterthat was cracked was all repaired. Then we primed it and gave it a final coat.

Mr. ANDREWS. How many coats did you put on it?
Mr. CLANCY. Two coats, sir.

ANNUAL PAINTING, SUPPLIES AND MATERIALS

Mr. ANDREWS. Now will you explain the need for the increase shown on page 23. You have there an increase in annual painting from $32,000 to $36,000, a total increase of $4,000. In supplies and materials there is an increase from $38,000 to $40,000, an increase of $2,000. Explain that.

Mr. HENLOCK. Mr. Chairman, since 1959 when the allotment of $32,000 was fixed, the wages of painters have gone up from $3.425 per hour to $4.495 per hour, including fringe benefits, which is an increase of 30 percent. We are not asking to offset that increase entirely, which would require twice the $4,000 increase requested.. We are asking $4,000 partially to offset that rise in cost.

In the case of supplies and materials, we have not had an increase in that allotment since 1963. Costs have been steadily rising. We are asking to have that item increased by $2,000 partially to offset the rising costs.

Mr. ANDREWS. Does this item for supplies and materials, for which you are requesting $40,000, furnish you with all the materials you need up here on Capitol Hill?

Mr. HENLOCK. That is on the Capitol Building-carpentry, electrical, plumbing, hardware, cleaning, heating and ventilating, and general miscellaneous supplies. A good part of it goes for electric light bulbs or lamps, and fluorescent tubes throughout the building. Mr. ANDREWS. You are beginning to feel the pinch of inflation, are you?

Mr. HENLOCK. Yes, sir.

RADIO-TV CORRESPONDENTS' GALLERY

Mr. ANDREWS. How near are you to completing the renovation work in the gallery around the corner where the Committee on Foreign Affairs used to be?

Mr. CAMPIOLI. That space is finished, Mr. Chairman, and the occupants have taken possession.

Mr. ANDREWS. That is the news media?

Mr. CAMPIOLI. Yes, sir; the radio-TV correspondents' gallery: Mr. ANDREWS. Are the new tenants settled and happy with the job you did?

Mr. CAMPIOLI. As far as I know.

Mr. ANDREWS. What did the whole job cost-everything?

Mr. CAMPIOLI. $163,000, except for a few change orders. We have not closed out all change orders yet. The contractor has yet to submit several change orders which have to be checked and arbitrated before we pay them.

Mr. ANDREWS. Did you put in a restroom?

Mr. CAMPIOLI. No, sir. We had restrooms provided in the plans originally, but inasmuch as the bids came in high and funds were restricted, the radio-TV-press people agreed to leave out the restrooms. They have recently asked however, whether we can put them back. At the moment we do not have the funds to do so.

Mr. ANDREWS. How much would it cost to put in restrooms? How many would you plan?

Mr. CAMPIOLI. We had originally provided for a men's and women's toilet with the minimum number of fixtures in each inasmuch as the space available is rather confined. We would not now be able to provide any more fixtures than we originally indicated. At this stage it would cost about $8,500 to put them back. We did make provision, however, for the plumbing stacks and water supply so they could be put in.

Mr. ANDREWS. You did the roughing in.

Mr. CAMPIOLI. Yes, sir.

EVENING OPENING OF THE CAPITOL

Mr. ANDREWS. I suppose we should take up with the Sergeant at Arms the question of opening the Capitol in the evening, but did we not put $15,000 in this item last year for your share of the added costs?

Mr. STEWART. Yes, sir.

Mr. HENLOCK. Yes, for overtime for the workmen who would have to stay on beyond their regular tour of duty.

Mr. ANDREWs. How much is in the bill this year for that?
Mr. HENLOCK. We have just continued the same amount-$15,000.
Mr. ANDREWS. How are you coming with that project?

Mr. STEWART. I would say it is in a sort of trial period at the present time. Insofar as we can see, the amount allowed will be sufficient. The opening has not been going on long enough to give us any indication as to what the highs and the lows will be.

Mr. ANDREWS. Have you any figures on how many have been coming in in the evening?

Mr. STEWART. Yes, sir. A check has been made on them.

Mr. ANDREWS. On what date did you begin the program?

Mr. STEWART. April 18 is when we began it. We kept a count from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., from Monday, April 18, through Saturday, April 23. The count was made at doors on the first floor where we have two doors open for visitors to enter. April 18, 189 persons. The 19th, 408. The 20th, 309. The 21st, 200. The 22d, 198. The 23d, Saturday, 541. This is in a sort of trial period at the present time. We have no way of knowing what it will be until we have more experience. We could not give you an average of what we could anticipate at this time.

Mr. ANDREWS. I would say that is quite a number right there, 200 or 300 or 400.

Mr. STEWART. On last Saturday, it was 541.

Mr. ANDREWS. Questions on Capitol Building, Mr. Langen?

PAINTING OF THE CAPITOL DOME

Mr. LANGEN. I am not sure I followed completely the painting of the Capitol dome. I note here some reference to exterior woodwork and windows, a nonrecurring item.

Mr. CLANCY. Every 4 years we do the window frames and the outside of the windows and the exterior of the doors.

Mr. LANGEN. The exterior of the building.

Mr. CLANCY. Yes, sir.

Mr. LANGEN. Not related to the dome.

Mr. CLANCY. Yes, sir. It is work done under the same contract. Mr. LANGEN. It is in the same contract? They are put together? Mr. CLANCY. Yes, sir.

EVENING OPENING OF THE CAPITOL

Mr. LANGEN. Let me then inquire with regard to keeping the building open at night and the amount of money allowed. How many extra people does this require?

Mr. RooF. Mr. Langen, there were no extra people allowed. It was just a case of allowing us overtime, $15,000 for overtime for Mr. Clancy to keep, I believe, three laborers and one air-conditioning man here at night.

Mr. CLANCY. I am splitting that overtime up among the men, different ones at different times.

Mr. LANGEN. Anyhow, there was no need to hire extra personnel and you were able to handle this by merely adding some overtime to those who are already there and those who are acquainted with whatever the needs are in connection with the building?

Mr. CLANCY. That is true.

Mr. LANGEN. What about lights? Does this add to the light bill? Mr. Roof. We looked into that at the time, and concluded that the cost was so small it could be disregarded. We did not increase the Capitol Power Plant appropriation in any amount so far as this item is concerned. It is a very minor item. Only a relatively small portion of the building is affected-Statuary Hall and the rotunda on the second floor, and the area under those areas on the first floor. The additional lighting costs are too small to measure when related to the overall light requirements of the Capitol Hill complex.

Mr. LANGEN. Are these folks who visit at this hour brought into the two Chambers or the galleries?

Mr. STEWART. After 6 o'clock, if either one of the Houses are in session, then they are permitted to go to the galleries of the two Chambers; but should Congress not be in session, promptly at 6 o'clock on both sides, the House and the Senate sides of the Capitol are blocked off to visitors. The only areas they can visit then are Statuary Hall, the rotunda, and the crypt, the little rotunda where the 16 columns are. That is the limitation.

Mr. LANGEN. Is the guide service available to them?

Mr. STEWART. Yes sir.

Mr. CLANCY. Up to 6 o'clock.

Mr. LANGEN. Not after 6 o'clock. From there on, they are on their own in the building and wander around and view what they feel is of interest to them.

I think that is all, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. ANDREWS. Mr. Reifel.

Mr. REIFEL. Have you had any more untoward behavior than usual on the part of visitors so far?

Mr. STEWART. In the evening, no, not so far.

PAINTING THE CAPITOL DOME

Mr. REIFEL. Has the quality of the paint improved so that you do not have to paint as often as you did in former years? I am thinking of the Capitol dome.

Mr. CAMPIOLI. We have made a very thorough research of the painting of the dome, dating back to 1960. Originally in the work-tobe contracted we planned to do a minimum painting job; however, after a closer inspection it was revealed that we should remove all 35 coats of paint. It was considered advisable to get down to the bare metal and clean the metal off and start from scratch. The paint had built up so heavily that with each succeeding coat there was a tendency to blister, shrink, peel and chip off right down to the metal, thereby starting a rusting process.

After the dome was entirely cleaned, it was given a protective coat of paint over the raw metal, followed by a prime coat, an undercoater and a finish coat. We used an alkyd-resin type paint as recommended by a paint consultant. As a result, instead of having to paint on the exact 4-year cycle as Mr. Clancy reported, last year we observed the dome and it looked like it would go another year. Except for certain areas where the pieces of cast iron join, the painting has stood up very well. Recently we invited the same paint consultant to

observe the work before we released our specifications for repainting and to make sure that the paint had acted up to expectations. He was very pleased with its performance. As a result, we are resuming and reusing the same paint we did back in 1960.

COMMENDATION FOR CLEAN BUILDINGS

Mr. REIFEL. Mr. Stewart, I want to commend your staff for keeping the place clean. I walk through the basement of the CHOB and the subway and the Capitol early in the mornings, sometimes, not often, and I look in a lot of those places. I think there is one place, the engine room down there, which is as neat as a pin. I am amazed at the way they keep the place clean.

I do realize, at times, when there is a lot of mail going back out to the Members' districts the hallways get cluttered up and you cannot help that. I think you have done a good job. I complimented one of the men the other morning about 7:30 who was down there. He had brushed off all the shelves and ledges. I am amazed at times when I see the number of people going through here, and then the next morning have it so neat. I am proud of the place.

There are places where one can be critical of what is going on, but I do not find too many of them in view of the amount of cluttering by all of us, visitors and others that can be done. I think you are doing a marvelous job.

Mr. STEWART. Congressman, if I may say this off the record. (Off the record.)

ILLUMINATION OF THE DOME

Mr. REIFEL. Have you any figures on what it costs to illuminate the dome, the extra cost? You have started doing it after midnight in the last year or so.

Mr. ROOF. We estimated at the time it would cost about $4,500 a year.

Mr. REIFEL. Is it working out at about that?

Mr. ROOF. Actually, it is charged into our accounts in a way we cannot answer that question. It is reflected in several accounts. We feel the $4,500 reasonably approximates the additional cost. (Off the record.)

Mr. REIFEL. That is all, Mr. Chairman.