Join the discussion. On thursday, voters in the United Kingdom will decide if their country should stay or leave the european union. British Prime Minister David Cameron and Labor Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn want the uk to to remain a member of the e. U. But some members of the party are part of the breck it is push, advocating for the uk to split from the european union. Watch the simulcast on cspan 2 and cspan. Org. Smithsonian institution secretary david skorten briefed legislators on plans to renovate the national air and space museum. He explained that at least half of the museum will remain open while the work is in progress. This House Administration Committee Hearing is about an hour. I now all call to order the committee on House Administration for todays hearing on the Smithsonian Institutions National air and space museum revitalization. A quorum is present so we may proceed. I welcome our two witnesses, the secretary of the smithsonian and the undersecretary for finance and administration and chief Financial Officer for smithsonian, albert or vath. This is the first appearance of secretary skorton. He has served since july of last year and we welcome you both. Congress established the smithsonian in 1846 to carry out the will of english scientist james smithson. Smithson sought to create an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge. Since that time, the smithsonian has developed into the Largest Museum and Research Complex in the world with 19 museums, Nine Research centers and the national zoo. A major responsibility of the smithsonian is to collect unique artifacts which have shaped our nations heritage and showcase those items so they may be used as Educational Resources for todays generation and generations to come. The committee on House Administration works closely with smithsonian staff in its oversight over the smithsonians operations. In that role, we are holding this hearing today to discuss the current plans to renovate the national air and space museum. The national air and space museum consists of two facilities which are open to the public, the flagship facility, which is located on the National Mall, and the steven f. Udvahazzi center near Dulles Airport. The air and space collection tell this is countrys amazing aviation facilities and its facilities are the most popular. In fact, the mall facility is one of the most visited museums in the world with the largest collection of air and spacecraft among its 63,000 artifacts. Objects include the 1903 wright flier, Charles Lindberghs spirit of st. Louis Chuck Yeagers bell x1. The apollo 11 command module colombia and the key brothers airport from meridian, mississippi. I thought id throw that in. [ laughter ] which perfected aerial refuelling in 1935. Next month the air and space museums mall facility will celebrate its 40th anniversary. With nearly seven million visitors a year, the museum is the most visited museum in the United States and is one of the most popular museums, having received more than 320 million visitors since its opening. The more than 500,000 square foot mall facility was constructed by gsa between 1972 and 1975 at a cost of 41 million. It includes over 20 exhibit galleries, a plan taryetariupla theater and the popular interactive flight simulators. The facility includes a restaurant, gift shop, and administrative staff space on the third floor. Approaching its 40th anniversary this july, the museums mechanical systems are nearing the end of their useful life. Additionally the buildings original design has led to the cupping of the stones that make up the buildings outer stone cladding. The air and space museums mall facility is in need of major upgrades and construction repairs. This is the largest revitalization project to date in the smithsonians history with the price tag of more than 600 million. The smithsonian has determined the most costeffective approach with the least impact on visitors is to renovate rather than demolish and replace the facility. The smithsonians proposed revitalization plan will take place other the course of several years staggering out the overall Construction Costs and work and allowing visitors to still experience the museum. The committee has been assured that the museum will remain at least partially open during the renovation and that all of smithsonians museums will continue to be free to the public. The goal of our hearing today to review whether the smithsonian institutions plan for the air and Space Museum Renovation for the mall facility has been vetted, eliminating the need for additional renovations to this specific project in the near future. Congress must be assured that the proposed renovation has taken into account all potential costs as well as the timing and value of the work being proposed. During this hearing we want to hear from our witnesses at the smithsonian, it is considering nonfederal Funding Sources such as philanthropic or other potential Partnership Opportunities in the event the full appropriations request for the renovation is not met by the federal government. We would also like the smithsonian to address if it has fully vetted this renovation plan by conducting independent assessments to determine if current cost estimates and proposed timetables are accurate and realistic. Additionally we would like to hear from our witnesses on how the addition of proposed Storage Space located at the garber facility in maryland and our other center will tie into this legislation. Legislation hr 3702 has been referred to this committee to authorize the construction of these two storage facilities. This committee wants to be supportive of the needs of the air and space museum and be sure the facility is in a position to have a long and vibrant future. We view this hearing as your opportunity to make the case for funding to the public. There are many competing priorities before Congress Today and our committee looks forward to hearing your comments on this renovation plan. Lastly, our committee appreciates any information our witnesses have the overall state of the institutions, any challenges as well as other potential renovation projects on the horizon. Each of the smithsonians entity is cherished by us all and we feel a personal responsibility to ensure the success of this valued institution and its continued operation for future generations. The smithsonian is truly one of the great treasures of our nation and the world and we look forward to the institutions continued service. I thank our witnesses before their appearance before our committee and we look forward to hearing from them on revitalization plans. Id like now to recognize my colleague mr. Vargas for providing an opening statement. Thank you very much, mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, thank you for holding this important hearing and welcome to secretary skorton whos making his first appearance before the panel, the primary Oversight Committee in the house for the smithsonian institution. I also want to welcome mr. Horvath, the undersecretary of finance and administration, welcome to you, sir. I am filling in for our Ranking Member this morning who is delayed in philadelphia working on making sure we have a successful convention in his district in just a few weeks so he apologizes. I do understand mr. Brady did speak with you yesterday, mr. Secretary, and i know he appreciates your appearance here today and is committed to working with you for a successful revitalization of this amazing museum. This is an exciting year for the smithsonian, the museum of africanAmerican History and culture is opening in september with president barack obama cutting the ribbon. It seems like only yesterday this committee reported the authorization bill for that museum and it was only yesterday in 2012 that we finally had the Ground Breaking the passage of time requires the smithsonian to develop new and improved ways to undertake the construction education collections management and Scientific Research activities for which it has been so well acclaimed and, of course, the institution must always look to preserve and improve the infrastructure which dates back into the 19th century. The national air and space museum is one of the capitals and this nations major tourist attractions. It is probably the museum most associated with the smithsonian by the american people. In 2009, chairman brady convened a hearing which focused on Public Health and safety, worker safety issues related to Asbestos Abatement in the air and space an important issue giving the passing of millions of people through the buildings halls each year its critical for our committee to understand the fiscal implications of this massive revitalization project which will keep portions of the Museum Closed over a period of approximately six years. The air and space Museum Opened with great fanfare in 1976 for the u. S. Buy seiicentennial buts unfortunately not built to last for the ages. The need for massive external retrofitting at a time when limited federal funds are available will place stress on the long list of other priority which is ins t instituti the institution is committing. Some hard choices will be made. You maenentioned the plane from mississippi was up for 27 days . Yes, sir. It must have been built in san diego, california, where we had a fine thats outstanding, i do not know that. So, again thats a wonderful fact. Mr. Secretary, mr. Undersecretary, a pleasure and i thank mr. Chairman again for the opportunity to say a few yards. Any other member . Mr. Davis do you care to make any statement . I certainly would also like to follow up on that that mr. Hunter was the inventer who designed the shutoff valve for the aerial refuelling which is still used today with just a minor modification at all aerial refuelling so were excited about that. I dont know that i would want to have been on that flight because its a single engine plane with a metal cat walk on the side of the engine and somebody had to climb out there and service the engine during flight. Not a lot of fun to do but thanks again to our witnesses and id like to also say that our chairwoman Candace Miller sends her regrets, she planned to be here but the weather did not accommodate and she was one of those many who couldnt get into d. C. And to Reagan National last night and is traveling this morning so she sends her regrets that he could not be here and wishes each of you the best. Id now like to introduce our witnesses, dr. David skorton is the 13th secretary of the smithsonian. He assumed his position july 1 of 2015. As secretary, mr. Skorton overseas the entire collection of museums and galleries, libraries, national zoo and Numerous Research centers. He is responsible for an annual budget of 1. 3 billion. 6,500 employees and more than 6,300 volunteers. Before coming to the smithsonian, secretary skorton was the president of cornell university, a position he held from july, 2006. Secretary skorton is the first physician to lead the smithsonian. Albert horvath serves as undersecretary for finance and administration and chief Financial Officer for the smithsonian where he managed Administrative Offices including facilities in maintenance, human resources, security and financial operations. He served as acting secretary for six months following the retirement of thensecretary wayne cloud. Before joining the smithsonian . In 2011, he was at five universities and the melon bank. The committee has received your joint written testimony and the chair recognizes secretary skor the,on and ill recognize him for five minutes. Thank you, congressman harper and congressman vargas for the opportunity and honor to testify before the committee on House Administration and mr. Horvath and i enjoyed the lesson in aviation history you shared with us in a bipartisan fashion. Thank you. Due to the support of congress, the smithsonian is able to tell our nations story in relevant and compelling ways to inspire the next generation of american scientists, artists, teachers and leaders. July 1 marks my First Anniversary on becoming secretary of the smithsonian. Even though a year has passed, everyday i continue to learn more about and become more impressed by the breadth, depth, and quality of the smithsonians work in the arts, humanities and sciences. Everyday i continue to grow more excited by the smithsonians enormous potential to engage with the public on some of the most challenging issues we face together as a nation. Everyday i continue to observe the special bond between the smithsonian and the American Public. How americans feel ownership and pride in the smithsonian and their high expectationings and trust in us. Everyday i consider myself privileged to support the dedicated Smithsonian Community. Each year, million experience the creativity and innovation of our Smithsonian Community through exhibitions, scholarly research, public programming and Educational Outreach not only here in washington but across america and around the world. For example, more than 600,000 visitors have been captivated at the wonder exhibition at the renwick gallery. The gallery itself has become a work of contemporary art and an integral part of an exhibition that clearly resonated with the public. Since opening in november, wonder has inspired almost 100,000 social media posts. At the National Museum of American History, were exploring new ways to engage the youngest audiences through wonder of a different sort. The wegmans wonder place is a 1,700 square foot play area designed to excite the smithsonians youngest visitors about American History with novel interactives and objects from the museums collections. The success of wonder place has, however, created one unexpected problem how we manage parking logistics for dozens of strollers and baby carriages. Just this past monday, the Smithsonian Center for learning and Digital Access launched a Digital Learning lab that enables teachers and students to find and share more than a Million Museum resources. We piloted the program in pittsburgh and Allegheny County pennsylvania public schools. Teachers there told us the labs online tools allowed them to build immersive and individualized learning experiences and to share them with other teachers. And one teacher in moon, pennsylvania, explained its helped my student and me to think more creatively. On a more international scale, we are sharing our expertise in collecting and preserving culturally important artifacts with museum and government officials from across the globe. In this regard, the smithsonian is right now hosting a monthlong course entitled first aid to Cultural Heritage in times of crisis. Training participants from 18 nations to anticipate and manage threats to cultural artifacts from war or natural disasters. Smithsonian staff are also responding to real and immediate crises near and far from home. In mali, where jihadists destroyed ancient tombs and burned archives, we convened Museum Directors from across west africa to share strategies for responding to terror and provided by training for crises. In egypt, we responded along with the metropolitan museum of art to bombrelated damage sustained by cairos islamic museum, providing quick assessments and counsel and in haiti following the catastrophic earthquake of 2010 the smithsonian partnered and continues to partner with International Organization and the haitian government to rescue, recover, safeguard, and restore cultural artifacts and buildings. As was mentioned, in less than 100 days we will open the new National Museum of africanAmerican History and culture. This spectacular building at the foot of the Washington Monument was made possible only through the support of the congress and thousands of individuals, foundations, churches and corporations across the u. S. And the world. As the museums founding director explains, the museum will not be one that celebrates black history solely for black americans. Rather, we see this history as americas history. The museum will use africanAmerican History and culture as a lens into what it means to be an american. I look forward to celebrating with you at the museums grand opening on september 24. Today, though, were here to update you on the smithsonians plans to revitalize the national air and space museum home to some of our most iconic objects and one of the worlds most visited museums. Next week the air and space museum on the National Mall will turn 40. Congress had appropriated funding in 1971 to construct the museum with a goal of opening during the american bicentennial. On july 1, 1976, the museum welcomed its first visitors. While the building was designed to accommodate about two million visitors per year, within the First Six Months the five millionth visitor was already counted. Now, four decades later, the museum hosts over seven million visitors annually and has welcomed 326 million visitors since 1976. The passage of time and the many millions of visitors have taken their toll and the museum needs a major overall. The buildings mechanical systems are nearly 40 years old and have exceeded their expected useful lives. The need for new systems was not unexpected and for several years the smithsonian planned to request funding accordingly. However, in preparing for the systems replacement project, our engineers discovered that many of the buildings exterior stone panels were warped or krablged and that the entire stone facade needed replacement. Originally we anticipated that replacing the Building Systems would cost approximately 250 million and be spread over several years. Now, with the added complexity and cost of the exterior stone replacement and the need to protect or relocate more artifacts in the path of construction activities, the current estimate for building revitalization project is 676 million. In march, i testified before the House Appropriations interior subcommittee and reflecting our best knowledge then noted a construction estimate of approximately 582 million based on early schematic designs. Since that time, we have reached 35 completion of design. We now know much more about the buildings condition and the lodgistics required to protect the collections and our cost estimate has consequently increased. Five primary goals underlie our approach to the revitalization project and drive our estimated budget. First, we want to make as many of the museums iconic objects accessible to the public as possible during the revitalization project. Americans, especially young americans, come to washington and expect to visit the air and space museum. We dont want to disappoint them. But to avoid that, construction will need to be sequenced along zones that would allow for 50 of the museum to be open to the public while the work progresses. Doing this, however, adds to the complexity and cost of the overall project. Second as i have mentioned, we have long recognized the buildings system, air handling, humidification, plumbing and electrical were overtaxed and their useful lives exceeded. Almost 55 of the projects total cost will support the installation of new Building Systems. This is a Cross Section of sprinkler pipe from the museum illustrating the state of these critical systems. Third, early in the design and planning phase our engineers discovered the buildings marble cladding was warping, cupping, and cracking, creating the danger of individual Panel Failure and an increasing risk that stone could fall. The stone used when the building was constructed was half the thickness that should have been used. This drives the need to replace rather than repair the stone an unanticipated increase to the projects scope. Replacing the stone with an identical or similar material and associated expenses such as demolition of the old stone, protection of the museums interior from moisture during construction, the addition of structural reinforcement and the containment of Hazardous Material adds 101 million, 49 million of which is for securing the new stone to the overall Construction Cost fourth, we intend to transform the 22 galleries in the museum to bring them into the 21st century with more interactive and engaging approaches to sharing the excitements of the museums incomparable collection. In essence, we are creating a new national air and space museum for the American Public. The transformation of the inside of the building will be supported by private contributions that we intend to raise. And finally we must store and protect the museums collection during construction for fiscal year 2017 we request 50 million in Construction Funding to build a new storage module adjacent to the smithsonians udvarhazy center in chantilly, virginia. The modules cost, including 8 million already appropriated and committed to engineering, design and management is estimated at 58 million. The cost of the storage module is not included in the estimate for the mall building revitalization but is nevertheless critical for the success of the larger revitalization project. The availability of this quality collection Storage Space favorably impacts our budget estimate by eliminating the need to rent more short term collection Storage Space. And at the conclusion of the project the module will be used to house artifacts currently stored at aging team prior buildings at the garber facility in m. Aryland. A bill authorizing this module and an additional module has been referred to this committee. We believe the air and space project should be funded by federal appropriations in the same manner as other major smithsonian revitalization projects. And as with the Public Private partnerships that made those projects successful, the smithsonian has committed to raise the additional 250 million from private sources to transform the museums 22 galleries to a more imaginative, accessible and compelling setting for the worlds most important aviation and space collection. Undersecretary horvath and i would be pleased to answer any questions you may have and we thank you again for the opportunity to testify today. Thank you, secretary skorton for that informative statement. We will now move into our questions portion and ill begin by recognizing myself for five minutes the first question, this project is obviously substantial in both scope and cost. Without getting into the specifics of this one yet, are there other anticipated renovation projects on the horizon . Anything besides this that were looking senate. Yes, the smithsonian, as you mentioned, is in its 170th year and the visitorship to these museums is breathtaking. We have 28 million visits a year throughout the smithsonian between washington where the vast majority of them are, and new york city, where we have two additional museums. And this very robust visitorship shows the American Publics interest in and trust in the institution and a chance to cross those thresholds 364 days a year. Because of the crush of humanity that goes through these buildings and because of our dedication and commitment to the safety of the public and to having them interact and be inspired by constantly changing exhibitions we do anticipate in years to come that further renovations will be necessary throughout the smithsonian family. And if you would, elaborate just briefly on the smithsonians deferred maintenance backlog and how this project will impact that. Ill ask my colleague undersecretary horvath if he wishes to add something to it. The deferred maintenance backlog for the smithsonian is a very large and daunting figure. And i want to say again and again how much appreciate and being new to the smithsonian how impressed i am by congresss very steadfast support of the smithsonian because of constraints that i would not want to face that you face everyday making very difficult choices, we have not been able to keep up with the maintenance of these buildings as would be ideal and theres nothing surprising about that. With so much Square Footage and with so many visitors, it would be expected that we would have a backlog of some sort what mr. Horvath and his colleagues and those who manage the facilities of the smithsonian have done is to prioritize the use of precious federal funds to those aspects of deferred maintenance that most affected the Public Safety and the operability of these buildings. Nonetheless, we do have a substantial backlog and our plans are to continue to prioritize the needs based again first on Public Safety and then on the stability of the operations including very importantly protection of the collections and we hope to continue to make our case to congress for helping us in whatever fashion you can to deal with the need for continuing upgrades to our very, very heavily use fd facilities. Mr. Horvath, would you like to add anything . The air and space museum in the context of our overall needs is at the top of our list of deferred maintenance challenges. It had been programmed in our longterm capital plan for many, many years so addressing these issues help take the most problematic challenges off the list. Our challenges continue in the 12 million square foot portfolio of buildings. Thank you. Secretary skorton, can you provide the committee a detail of why its almost twice as expensive to demolish the building rather than renovate and why would rebuilding the museum require it to be closed for nine years . I was very surprised as well when i first came to the smithsonian and was briefed by undersecretary horvath about the cost of the revitalizing project versus razing the building and starting over. Because of the need to protect the collections we would have to spend enormous amounts of money to rent or build space to house the very, very substantial collections and in this regard, congressman harper, its not only the number of objects in the collection but the nature and size of many of the objects in the national air and space museum compared to some other of our overall collections for the smithsonian. So the enormous cost to do that is one and close the museum for that period of time we would also lose revenue from some of the Retail Operations that are in. And the other area which does not line up with the cost, monetary cost, but would have a cost on the nation in my opinion is keeping people out of that museum for an extended period of time and because of the need to protect the collection our estimations were based that we would have to close the museum for some years. In designing this project very skillfully mr. Horvath and my predecessors when he was secretary and before him decided to develop this idea of zoned or phased replacement of different areas that would allow us to keep perhaps 50 of the museum open to the public at all times. So the combination of the need to spend extra money on collection storage, protection and management and the loss of Retail Revenue and a few other less large factors all ended up meaning that complete razing and starting it over again was not just a little but very substantially more than doing in the this fashion. Would you want to add anything . Thank you very much. At this time ill recognize mr. Vargas for five minutes for questions. Thank you very much, mr. Chairman, appreciate the opportunity. Again, i want to thank both of you for being here today and testifying for us and thank you for your service. Appreciate it. I know sometimes it must seem thankless but believe me were thankful for your service. Can we just continue on that last question just to finish up in my mind. It seemed to me odd that when were spending that much money that we wouldnt take the whole building down and redo it. It seems that would have been the logical choice if were spending this amount of money because i thought you could maybe organize the museum in a way thats more efficient and has been around for a long time but ultimately you didnt come to that conclusion from your testimony. Could you say more about that . Yes, i want to emphasize again and i apologize if i wasnt clear enough in the prepared formal testimony that this will be a new national air and space museum even though were not razing the building and starting from scratch. We will have not only replacement of the important mechanical systems we will have replacement of Life Safety Systems. We will have a complete new envelope for the building, roof, cladding and so on. And very importantly, congressman vargas, we will have upgrades of all 22 galleries. In essence, in essence, starting over again in our thinking of how to engage the American Public so as a nonspecialist in facilities but as a student of Facilities Development for many years and many earlier assignments i would say that how mr. Horvath and my predecessors planned this project was actually a thoughtful and less expensive way of accomplishing just what youre talking about and thats basically having a new Museum Without the costs and loss of revenue that would have been involved by completely knocking it down and i want to emphasize the Public Private partnership nature of our plans. A quarter of a billion dollars i have committed to raise from philanthropic sources to completely revamp the experiences people will have as they come to the national air and space museum. Then the combination of mechanical systems, Life Safety Systems and the envelope of the building will really in essence create a new air and space museum. Thank you, doctor. I live in a historic home so im very familiar with the different costs associated with an old building as opposed to just razing it, this i didnt understand was because of the nature of the building itself. I thought that was maybe one of the reasons but i dont believe that that is. Anyway, appreciate your comments. I want to ask about the stone itself. You said it was only half the thickness it was supposed to be so thats why you had cupping and breaking. How are we going to be assured what were doing now will last beyond what the old stuff has lasted . Undersecretary horvath and i and all of the thousands of people working at the smithsonian standing behind us are well aware of the enormous difficult choices you make everyday. We were shocked in developing the plans to replace the mechanical systems by this issue with the clad iding i dont secd guess decisions made 50 years ago but the decision to cut it thinner will make it impossible to reuse it. Impossible to reuse it. So our plan not a wish, a plan that our successors wont come back to have the very same kind of conversation. We will build this for the longterm future and do in the a thoughtful way and thats part of the reason that the project cost is so substantial. My time is almost over. I wanted to ask what you see as the expected time length timeline on this building, how long will it be a useful building after this major revitalization . Assuming that we can obtain the appropriate funding for ongoing maintenance, i believe this building will have at least a 100 year forward look but thats very dependent, i must say, with respect on us being able to have sufficient funding to do important maintenance as we go forward. Would you like to add anything . Thank you very much, thank you, mr. Chairman, appreciate it. My time is over. Thank you, and secretary skorton, well have you back in 100 years to verify it lasted after that if thats okay. [ laughter ] well now recognize congressman davis for any questions he may have. Thank you, mr. Chairman and thank you mr. Ranking member. Always great to follow those questions. We should have actually done this at the air and space museum and would have had an enjoyable time. Thank you for what you do. I mean, obviously the thousands of visitors just from my district that go through your facilities are always telling Great Stories and, as a matter of fact, the air and space museum happens to be my twin boys favorite. Theyve been there numerous times, much to the chagrin of my wife who usually walks there with them. But we do need to tell the history of our country and the history of our air and space program. My concern is less with what your plans are in the future and more with how are you going to address in todays current environment that youre asking for appropriations from the federal government, what if the federal government is unable to give you what you think you need to keep the project of this magnitude moving from year to year . I want to commend you for the possible private Sector Investment you mentioned. Are you going to be able to Leverage Private Sector Investment if were not able to get the appropriations level youve requested for any given year . That has happened on other Major Projects before or will you take it from other existing revitalization projects . We need to have federal funding of that portion i mentioned, the 676. The reason i say that strongly is that i have a very long history of Nonprofit Fund raising in multiple institutions and its been my experience that its very, very difficult to raise private funds for replacement of mechanical systems, replacement of an envelope of a building, those sort of things. Its very difficult to do that. We do intend to raise funds completely from private sources to change the interior and bring it into the 21st century. If as i hope does not happeo co back and making our case in a more convincing way but if those eventualities dont occur and if were unable to get federal funding that i believe the day will come where we will have to begin to reduce the public experience of the national air and space museum. If there are areas that become dangerous to Public Health and safety we may have to close those particular areas and the day may even come where the entire museum would have to be closed to the public if we never have a chance to do this now, that day isnt today, it isnt tomorrow and we want to do the project in a thoughtful way over the period of seven years, including the design phase as was mentioned . Ive got a couple more questions so let me reclaim my time. Speaking of the Hazardous Materials, has anybody done a study about the potential of any Hazardous Materials that could add to the cost or potentially shut the museum down during this ren administration . Yes, and thats part of the estimate you have. Okay. One other question i have. I know your Retail Operations generate significant revenue. Theres nothing like space ice cream back at your hotel. It doesnt really taste as good as the package says it does. I apologize, i hope i dont cut down on your Revenue Generation by saying that. How are you going to mitigate the loss of any revenue during this renovation process . Its a very, very important question and were going to do that by judicious use of this phased or zoned project so that were going to try to maintain as much of the Retail Operation by careful use of zoning or phasing. Can we offer flavor requests for the space ice cream . You can send us requests of any type you like. Ill take the pop flies and mr. Horvath will take the line drives. All right. Again, we do sincerely appreciate what you do. People take for granted the experience they can get while going to the different smithsonian use mmuseums. Thank you for explaining the reason why youve chosen this project. I have your spreadsheet versus the cost of a new building, well look into that and if i have further questions i would mope we can get together. Were at your service. Thank you, sir. Gentleman yields back and i now recognize congresswoman comstock for any questions she may have. Thank you, mr. Chairman and thank you for the opportunity to visit. Ive been out to the dulles facility in particular, obviously, like my colleagues, ive been to the facility on the mall but i particularly appreciate the dulles facility in my district and i certainly did see from the presentation the viz set we had there the challenges that you have the storage and i know the storms over the years have taken their toll on the facilities to where some of the buildings are literally falling down. It really is a problem and then you have some very historic planes and space items that are in a precarious situation and if we lose them we lose that history forever so i do appreciate the difficulty of the challenge and i if folks havent been out to the dulles facility, whats great is to see the work being done on right there, seeing all the complex programs you have. I want to ask for first, thank you for the good work youre doing there. Are there naming opportunities or things here from the Aerospace Industry where they can obviously as you do the private fundraising they will, i assume, probably be a target for the fundraising and obviously people interested in preserving that history that theyre very much a part of. But are there naming opportunities there throughout the facilities where we can use that in some kind of respectful way that works with the Overall Mission . Yes, there definitely are and the fact the facility in shan kili is called the udvarhazy center is a good example of that. In pursuing the 250 million to transform 22 galleries, well look at those opportunities as well and if i might offer a comment still as a relative new comer to the smithsonian i believe theres a beautiful balance and synergy between congresss stad fast support and the ability to raise private funds. I think people in the public are more likely to give flill lann tlopally and our ability to raise private funds, making this a Public Private partnership will make it more likely that you see us as a very careful steward of the precious funds you give us. So yes there will be opportunities and my colleagues, especially general daley, is already looking into some of those options. Is there anything we in congress are doing that holds back those opportunities . If there are, i know we always run into ethics things about how we can legally promote and help in any of these ways and so are there ways were holding you back in any way that might that we might need to know about so you can advance those . No, i think you do an enormously effective job of two very important things, that youre very generous with us and at the same time you help us maintain the highest ethical standards because the currency that allows us to be what the American Public wants us to be is our integrity and you help us very much everyday to maintain our integrity as we assertively try to raise funds in every fashion we can so i have nothing but praise and gratitude for the congress throughout these areas. I should know. What the is ability to use the facility for private events or people to come in to hold events that they can again you can charge for, obviously. And how is that utilized . Is there more lieutenanopportun . Are we able to do things in a way thats profitable for you . We do have a very welldeveloped system of going that and it would be acceptable to you and to the chairman, what i could do is get that policy to you to explain how we handle that situation but we do that in a very rebowobust way throughoue smithsonian family and very happy to give you details. I know you do have good advertising at Dulles Airport when youre riding around. You get information on visiting there but ive been bugging our local airport, dulles to do more advertising and promotion there so if there is video opportunities, more signage because dulles is so huge and big and they need to be advertising local things that are going on so if thats an area where it might help drive more traffic there as well as more support, Corporate Support as people come in and is see that i think that might be another way we can be promoting and protecting your effort there is. So let me know if we can whatever were legally allowed to do i would be happy and do appreciate the good work youre doing there. Thank you very much. I think thats a very interesting idea. I personally will follow up on that after the hearing. Thank you very much. I yield back my time. The gentlelady yields back. You know, one final question if i may ask. You had said earlier that 35 of design completion had been achieved. Is that was that correct on what your answer was . Yes. And when we will get to 100 of design completion and what might we anticipate on the effect that would have on projected cost . Thank you. Im going to turn in a moment to the undersecretary to tell you the exact date for 100 completion. But anticipating the question. I went back and looked at our track record of predictability once we get to the 35 design level and i found in about half the cases i looked at we ended up a bit above budget and half the cases we ended up below budget. In general, about 10 of the 35 prediction. And where it exceeded in a substantial way it was usually because of a change in the scope in the project so im more confident that 35 that were 90 certainty that this is where well end up and undersecretary. Can you remind us the date of 100 completion . It will be about a year from now. The next big milestone will be at the end of this calendar year when we expect to hit 65 completion and then virtual completion of design would be the summer of 2017. And when you hit that 65 mark, if you could inform us of changes in the cost estimate that would be helpful. As we look at the prioritization and the costs we have, one of the concerns is how we take care of this deferred maintenance how we address those issues and prioritize them and come up with the right funding. At the heart of this, what the smithsonians mean to americans and to our visitors, its its our goal to always keep this free for admission where people can come and enjoy this regardless, Large School Groups or families always keep this open. You have a great team. You should be thankful far and for all the support they have. Without objection, all members will have five legislative days to submit to the chair additional written questions for the witnesses which we will forward and ask the witnesses to respond as promptly as they can so their answers may be made a part of the record. Without objection, this hearing is adjourned. Thank you. Thank you very much. [ indistinct conversation ] [ indistinct conversation ] [ indistinct conversation ] [ indistinct conversation ] [ indistinct conversation ] book tv has 48 hours of nonfiction books and authors every weekend. Here are some programs coming up this weekend. Saturday at 1 00 p. M. Eastern, the annual roosevelt reading festival takes place at the fdr president ial library and museum in hyde park, new york. The festival includes author discussions about the 32nd president , roosevelts politics and personalities as well as histories of the oval office. Featured authors include paul brandus discussing his book under this roof, the white house and the presidency, 21 president s, 21 rooms, 21 inside stories. Walter borneman with mccarthy at war, world war ii and the pacific. David priess, author of the president s book of secrets. The unfold story of president ial secrets. Marlene trestman with fair labor lawyer. The remarkable life of new deal attorney and Supreme Court advocate bessie margolin. Marc wortman, his book is 1941. And alonzo hamby with man of destiny, fdr and the making of the american century. Then at 10 00 p. M. Eastern, afterwards, historian pamela haag traces the history of guns and when and how they became part of American Culture in her book the gunning of america, business and the making of american gun culture. She also looks at the business end of manufacturing and selling arms. Shes interviewed by william doyle, author of american hunter, how legendary hunters shaped america. I think it strains credulity to believe the element of our gun culture that had the very most to gain by selling and promoting and celebrating their product is the very most invisible when we think about guns, instead much of the political talk today is exclusively about interpreting the second amendment. The gun industry has become almost invisible in that history. On sunday at 10 30 p. M. Eastern, marcia clark, lead prosecutor in the o. J. Simpson trial weighs in on the legal system and discusses her second career as a novelist. Shes the author of the book blood defense. We spoke with ms. Clark at the publishing industrys annual trade show book expo america in chicago. Go to booktv. Org for the complete weekend schedule. General David Goldfine has been nominated to be the 21st air force chief of staff. He testified at a Senate Arms Services Committee Hearing last
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