ADDEMONS Personnel compensation: An increase to $2.862 is requested for 1963 to meet the cost During the past year, 8 additional greenhouses, a boiler plant, and office structure have been erected and placed in service at Popular Point nursery. The services of an additional laborer are required to keep the office structure clean, sweep and wash floors, clean toilets; also, sweep and keep clean the concrete floors of the greenhouses; wash windows; and assist the gardeners in the outside maintenance work. Replacement of boilers, Poplar Point nursery There are 8 greenhouses at Poplar Point nursery, in which plant material for the Botanic Garden and its functions have been grown for many years, which are dependent for their heat supply upon 3 old coal-burner boilers installed in 1929. The normal dependable life of such boilers is 30 years, and these boilers have already exceeded that period by 3 years. They are now obsolescent and deteriorated and repair parts for replacements are no longer commercially available. Their continued use is hazardous. Under the funds requested for 1963, it is proposed to replace these 3 boilers with 3 new boilers, either gas fired or oil burning type, together with necessary piping and other accessory equipment. Total____ Total, estimate for 1963___. $7,732 695 2,000 3,973 48, 500 +62, 900 456, 000 LANGUAGE CHANGE The committee is requested to add the following language to the text shown in the 1963 budget and committee print: Provided, That not to exceed $62,000 of the amount made available under this head for the fiscal year 1962 is hereby continued available until June 30, 1964. The 1962 appropriation includes an allotment of $20,000 for plant material and $72,000 for topsoil for rehabilitation of Poplar Point nursery for the propagation and growing of shrubbery and trees at the nursery for use at the gardens and in landscaping the Capitol and other grounds in the legislative branch. Obligations, totaling $30,000 are being incurred in the fiscal year 1962 for plant material and topsoil for the nursery, of which $8,000 is for plant material and $22,000 for topsoil-leaving an unexpended balance of $62,000. Upon further study, with the present manpower available at the gardens, it is found necessary to spread the rehabilitation program over a 3-year period, instead of a 1-year period as originally planned. Accordingly, it is requested that the unexpended balance of $62,000 provided for this purpose in 1962 be -continued available until June 30, 1964. Mr. STEED. Give us a brief résumé of the items requested here, Mr. Stewart. Mr. STEWART. We are asking for a net decrease of $33,000 resulting from additions totaling $62,900 offset by deductions totaling $95,900 due to the dropping of nonrecurring allotments allowed for 1962. We had $489,000 for 1962 and are asking for $456,000 for 1963. INCREASES REQUESTED The additions are made up as follows: Wage-rate increases authorized by Public Law 763, 83d Congress, for 46 laborers and mechanics on the Botanic Garden roll, $7,732. Within-grade promotions authorized by the Classification Act of 1949, as amended, for employees compensated under that act, $695. Overtime and holiday pay to meet increased pay costs under that allotment resulting from base pay increases under Public Law 763 and the Classification Act, $2,000. One additional position, W-4 laborer-gardener, $3,973. During the past year, eight additional greenhouses, a boiler plant, and office structure have been erected and placed in service at Poplar Point nursery. The services of an additional laborer are required to keep the office structure clean, sweep and wash floors, clean toilets; also, sweep and keep clean the concrete floors of the greenhouses; wash windows; and assist the gardeners in the outside maintenance work. REPLACEMENT OF OLD BOILERS Replacement of boilers at Poplar Point Nursery, $48,500. There are eight old greenhouses at Poplar Point Nursery, in which plant material for the Botanic Garden and its functions have been grown for many years, which are dependent for their heat supply upon three old coal-burner boilers installed in 1929. The normal dependable life of such boilers is 30 years, and these boilers have already exceeded that period by 3 years. They are now obsolescent and deteriorated and repair parts for replacements are no longer commercially available. Their continued use is hazardous. Under the funds requested for 1963, it is proposed to replace these three boilers with three new boilers, either gas-fired or oil-burning type, together with necessary piping and other accessory equipment. LANGUAGE CHANGE- -REAPPROPRIATION The committee is requested to add the following language to the text shown in the 1963 budget and committee print: Provided, That not to exceed $62,000 of the amount made available under this head for the fiscal year 1962 is hereby continued available until June 30, 1964. The 1962 appropriation includes an allotment of $20,000 for plant material and $72,000 for topsoil for rehabilitation of Poplar Point Nursery for the propagation and growing of shrubbery and trees at the nursery for use at the gardens and in landscaping the Capitol and other grounds in the legislative branch. Obligations, totaling $30,000, are being incurred in the fiscal year 1962 for plant material and topsoil for the nursery, of which $8,000 is for plant material and $22,000 for topsoil-leaving an unexpended balance of $62,000. Upon further study, with the present manpower available at the gardens, it is found necessary to spread the rehabilitation program over a 3-year period, instead of a 1-year period as originally planned. Accordingly, it is requested that the unexpended balance of $62,000 provided for this purpose in 1962 be continued available until June 30, 1964. Mr. STEED. What is the condition of the greenhouses at Poplar Point? You give us a pretty good picture of the boiler situation. Is the rest of the plant in good shape? Mr. STEWART. The old greenhouses are in good shape, practically speaking. Of course they pale in significance with the new ones sitting beside them, but they are far better than the ones we had down here near the main conservatory and I would say they will last for a long while from now. Mr. STEED. Does this new boiler program give you sufficient standby? Mr. STEWART. Yes, and not only that, it will give us assurance that in the middle of the night something will not happen and cause us to lose some of our plants in the cold weather. VISITORS TO CONSERVATORY Mr. STEED. Do you have any idea how many people visit the main conservatory near the Capitol Grounds? Mr. STEWART. I have that information broken down on page 200. In 1947 there were 189,000 visitors, in 1948 there were 214,000, in 1960 there were 298,000, in 1961 there were 269,000, and from July 1, 1961, to February 28 of this year there have been 154,893 visitors to the conservatory. Mr. STEED. Are the greenhouses open for public inspection or do you have any visitor problem there? Mr. STEWART. No, sir. The primary attraction in the greenhouses was the orchid collection. In recent weeks we have arranged a section in the conservatory for display of the orchids while in bloom. We do have some visitors to the greenhouses. They are primarily students of botany or floriculture. Mr. STEED. Does that create any problems? Mr. STEWART. No, sir. We welcome them because we think we have the most modern and most up-to-date group of greenhouses that have been built in this area. REMOVAL OF OLD GREENHOUSES Mr. STEED. The destruction of the old greenhouses at the bottom the Hill-is that well underway? Mr. STEWART. It is well underway, except for one building. Under the direction of the Joint Committee on the Library, I was ordered to tear everything down and landscape the square as a park area, but there is one little building down there that is a beautiful building architec turally and should be restored and preserved. We would like to put that building in shape, and we have the money to do so. The contractor took the contract with the understanding that for a certain amount he would tear it down and if we do not tear it down we have that money to put it in shape. I am in hopes I can do the landscaping in that square, at least the preliminary landscaping, with our own men. Mr. STEED. How about using the area cleaned out as a parking area in the meantime? Mr. STEWART. There has been no effort made to do this. Mr. STEED. Can you convert it to a temporary parking lot? Mr. STEWART. If you can get people to walk that far. My experience has been that people on the Hill want to park closer to the building. Mr. STEED. That is true of those that can get a good parking space, but what about the others? Mr. STEWART. Mr. Chairman, I had an experience a few years ago. Mr. Rayburn asked me to investigate the possibility of some areas in the Southwest development that had been torn down with the idea of land leasing for a short period of time the area and paving it and providing bus service from there to the top of the Hill. I picked out 50 persons that I thought was a good cross section and only one said yes. So I quit right there. Mr. STEED. There is a lot in the fact everybody wants the best parking space around here, but parking still continues to be a problem. Mr. STEWART. That is true. Mr. STEED. And I am sure it will continue to be a problem until at least the new building is completed and some relief is to be had there. Mr. STEWART. May I go off the record? Mr. STEED. Yes. (Discussion off the record.) Mr. STEWART. The Joint Committee on the Library has jurisdiction over the Botanic Garden, and they ordered me to tear down all structures and landscape the square, and Public Law 1005, 84th Congress, approved August 6, 1956, confirmed their directive. So to retain the one structure now left standing requires approval, first by the joint committee, and then by the Congress through amendatory legislation. Mr. STEED. Mr. Horan, any questions? Mr. HORAN. Will Poplar Point provide all the landscaping materials for the new buildings? Mr. STEWART. In part. There will be some items we will have to buy, but I would say a good percentage of the materials will be obtained from the nursery. Mr. STEED. What is the desirable age of the trees that you put on the grounds? Mr. STEWART. It depends on the variety of the tree for one thing. If it is a hardwood usually we do not like to put them out much before they are 7 to 8 years old. Take willows or soft wood, you could put them out when 3 to 4 years of age. Mr. STEED. The cost of a tree goes up with its age. Mr. STEWART. That is right, sir. The cost of digging them, balling them, and hauling them, is greater the larger the tree is. That is why I would like to buy small plant material and grow it and give it an average of 4 or 5 years at the nursery and put it in areas where it will be easily accessible to ball and transport to our grounds. It will be a duplication of the effort made around the Library of Congress where every bit of plant material was grown in the nursery and planted around there. HOUSE RESTAURANTS Mr. STEED. The next item is the House restaurants, which is to be found at page 202 of the justifications. We will insert pages 202 through 205 in the record at this point. (The pages follow:) HOUSE RESTAURANTS, FISCAL YEAR 1963, $60,000 CONTINGENT EXPENSES OF THE HOUSE CONTINGENT EXPENSES, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS Miscellaneous items: For miscellaneous items * * * including the sum of $60,000 for payment to the Architect of the Capitol in accordance with section 208 of the act approved October 9, 1940 (Public Law 812) **. The amount allowed under the House contingent expenses appropriation for 1962 for operation of the House restaurants was $60,000. For 1963, the same amount is requested. The loss for the fiscal year 1962, to February 1, 1962, was $14,462 and is expected to amount to $50,000 for the full fiscal year. HOUSE RESTAURANTS, $60,000 The Architect of the Capitol is responsible, by law, for the management and operation of the House of Representatives restaurants. The group of feeding units comprising the House restaurants has been operated by the Architect of the Capitol since the following dates: 1. House restaurant in the Capitol: October 1, 1940. Transferred by House Resolution 590, 76th Congress, from the House Committee on Accounts to the Architect of the Capitol; operated under Public Law 812, 76th Congress. 2. Cafeteria on ground floor, South Capitol Street side, New House Office Building: New establishment, opened March 3, 1942. Operation discontinued February 4, 1959. 3. Coffee shop in the basement of the Capitol: New establishment, opened February 18, 1947; discontinued September 26, 1961. New establishment in improved location, opened January 6, 1962. 4. Members' private dining room in the Capitol: New establishment, opened March 19, 1947. 5. Carryout food service, New House Office Building: New service, opened January 7, 1953. 6. Carryout food service, Old House Office Building: New service, opened February 6, 1953. 7. Cafeteria in courtyard, New House Office Building: New establishment, opened February 5, 1959. 8. Private dining room in extended section of House connection of Capitol: New establishment, opened January 6, 1962. Under the statute controlling operation of the House restaurants (54 Stat. 1056), a special deposit account is maintained for the House restaurants in the Treasury. All funds, including daily receipts, are deposited in and disbursed from the account by checks drawn on the Treasurer of the United States. The House restaurants' accounts are audited by the General Accounting Office. The net loss for the fiscal year 1961 was $44,433, of which $23,561 covers net operating loss. The balance covers expenditures of $16,609 for Government con |