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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Itemized estimates of appropriations, fiscal year 1968

SALARIES, MILEAGE FOR MEMBERS, AND EXPENSE ALLOWANCE OF THE SPEAKER

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Itemized estimates of appropriations, fiscal year 1968-Continued
SALARIES, OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES

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higher than normally would be paid under prevailing rates in private industry. They adopted some of the rates used by other agencies such as HEW and VA. This adjustment was made in August of last year.

COMPARABILITY OF MENU PRICES

Mr. YATES. Suppose you were to operate next year without a deficit; how much would you have to increase prices?

Mr. COWAN. By at least 25 percent flat.

Mr. YATES. You mean on everything?

Mr. COWAN. They would have to go up by $300,000.

Mr. YATES. That is your projected deficit?

Mr. COWAN. Yes.

Mr. YATES. You would have to increase every price by 25 percent? Mr. COWAN. Yes, sir.

Mr. YATES. Has any comparison been made between the prices you charge and the prices charged in private restaurants?

Mr. COWAN. Yes, sir. I did some work unofficially on that.

Mr. YATES. Were the prices you charge lower or higher than those charged in private restaurants?

Mr. CowAN. I would say right now our lunch prices in the House restaurant are comparable to an outside restaurant with a somewha similar operation.

Mr. YATES. I know in the last year the prices of items on the men have gone up.

Mr. CowAN. Yes. They went up in January of this year.

Mr. YATES. Then the apparent difference is the cost of labor, is not?

Mr. COWAN. That is it; yes, sir.

Mr. YATES. That is all.

Mr. ANDREWS. Mr. Steed.

Mr. STEED. What is your problem in the kitchen? Are you gettin the kind of help you want?

Mr. CowAN. I think so, Mr. Steed. My chef who had been in th House restaurant for many years retired a little over a year ago an I got a man I think I was very fortunate to get. He is an Italian gentl man and his menus lean in that direction but I think he is a good mat Mr. STEED. In order to keep skilled people in the kitchen you have give them not only the going rate but full-time employment? Mr. COWAN. Yes, sir; this particular man.

Mr. STEED. And this goes whether you have any work for them do or not?

Mr. COWAN. That is right, but during the session of Congress th one man will put in such a tour of duty down there that the coup of months when Congress is adjourned is practically the same as t amount of overtime he has put in while it is in session.

Mr. STEED. If you started fresh in employing people at the beg ning of every session of Congress you would be in bad shape, wor you not?

Mr. COWAN. Yes, sir.

Mr. STEED. And that adds to your cost?

Mr. COWAN. Yes, sir.

Mr. STEED. That is all.

Mr. ANDREWS. Mr. Langen.

Mr. LANGEN. First I would like to make one or two comments off the record.

(Discussion off the record.) Mr. LANGEN. On the record.

RISING LABOR COSTS

Mr. Cowan, as I have understood the discussion here this morning, and noting the deficit that is requested in this budget, this has come about primarily because of increased salaries that it takes to run the various restaurant operations?

Mr. CowAN. Yes, sir.

Mr. LANGEN. And while there has been some increase in the price of food as listed on the menu, it has not gone up as fast as the labor cost increases?

Mr. CowAN. That is correct.

Mr. LANGEN. So this serves as a lesson for all of us that if we continue to increase the cost of operation it will increase the cost of the product, which in this case is food service.

Mr. CowAN. Yes, sir.

PROFITABLE AND UNPROFITABLE OPERATIONS

Mr. LANGEN. It is my understanding that there are some parts of the operations that are not losing money and others that are?" Mr. COWAN. That is correct.

Mr. LANGEN. Can you give us a brief statement identifying your experience in the various parts of the operations?

Mr. COWAN. Yes, sir. The carryout shops have never lost any money. They are making money. The cigarst and operations are profitable. The two private dining rooms and the House restaurant and at the oment the Longworth cafeteria are losing money. As I said, the Rayburn cafeteria will probably wind up even for the current fiscal

year.

Mr. LANGEN. Is it not also true that all of these units, including the cafeterias and the House restaurants, do provide service to a good any people outside of Members of Congress and congressional staff? Mr. CowAN. Yes, sir.

Mr. LANGEN. The visting public and people interested in the doings of Congress also eat in these restaurants so this is not a service proded only to Members of Congress?

Mr. CowAN. No, it is not.

Along those lines, I think Mr. Reifel last year mentioned the bus ds of children we feed before and after lunch hours. There are ousands of them and we try to feed them between 11:00 and 11:30 the morning and after 1:30 in the afternoon. Our deficit is directly red to the volume of business we do and the schedule of business is the House.

Mr. LANGEN. But is it not true in many instances those bus loads ple, whether they are students or otherwise, do create a workload is difficult to meet because they are unpredictable and you have toe prepared to take care of them?

Mr. CoWAN. That is right.

Mr. LANGEN. And you therefore need a work force that is sufficient to meet those requests when they come in?

Mr. COWAN. That is right.

Mr. LANGEN. That indicates a problem that exists in that there are not other restaurant facilities in this vicinity to provide that service and these House restaurants have to provide that service?

Mr. CowAN. That is right.

Mr. LANGEN. That is all.
Mr. ANDREWs. Mr. Reifel.

Mr. REIFEL. Mr. Chairman, may I proceed off the record a minute? Mr. ANDREWS. Surely.

(Discussion off the record.)

Mr. REIFEL. I want to compliment the management and all of his staff. Whatever parts of the restaurants I go, I find courteous service, Even at times of very crowded conditions the people are pleasant and one feels he is being given every consideration.

Mr. CowAN. I hope that continues. If there is anything in the world I want around there it is courtesy. If we are not courteous we should not be in the business of serving the public.

Mr. REIFEL. That is all.

Mr. ANDREWS. Mr. Andrews?

POSSIBILITY OF CONTRACTING FOR FOOD SERVICE

Mr. ANDREWS of North Dakota. I want to join my colleague in complimenting you and your staff for your courtesy under difficult conditions, but looking at the deficit and knowing full well 99 percent of the Members do not wish the taxpayer to subsidize their eating or the eating of their staff, do you periodically examine the possiblity of letting this whole restaurant operation out on bids?

Mr. Cowan. I do not myself, sir, because I am not concerned with that.

Mr. ANDREWS of North Dakota. Does the Architect of the Capitol? It would seem to me the only way to handle this deficit situation is to periodically review the possibilities of letting the operation out to an outside contractor who would come in and be given the physical facilities and other equipment but would have to furnish his own food setup and his own menu and the rest.

Mr. CowAN. They had some experience like that on the Senate side. Mr. ROOF. We have not had any such experience with concessionaires but at one time we ran the Senate restaurant and it was then turned over to an outside manager by the Senate and the deficit went right on. There was no decrease in deficit as I recall.

We ran it both before and after the concession and all during that time we were making the major expenditures for equipment, draperies. heat, light, power, furnishing the equipment, the ranges and all the equipment they use in a restaurant. So our experience has been in the Senate that it would not make any difference whether the Architect runs it or a concessionaire runs it. Some years ago the Senate commit. tee in charge approached GSI, the organization that runs most of the Government restaurants downtown, and they said they would no take the business unless they were subsidized or they would take only facilities like the cafeterias and carryouts and then only if they coul control personnel and portions. They would not take the dining rooms Mr. ANDREWS of North Dakota. My thought was that if you wer to invite outside restaurant men in Washington on the basis of takin over the whole operations with the possibility of staying open in th

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