COMMISSION OF FINE ARTS QUESTIONS FOR THE RECORD 8 February 1989 The fiscal year 1990 request is an increase of $19,000 over the fiscal year 1989 appropriation. Discuss this change and the impact it will have on the operation of the Commission in fiscal year 1990. o The increase of $19,000 was to have covered estimated increases in operating costs, including $6,000 for personnel, $5,000 for potential increases in travel (seven members are up for appointment), $5,000 in other services, $2,000 for printing, and an extra $1,000 for equipment needs. However, the estimate for "other services" was based on '89 estimates and does not reflect a $5,000 increase in the Interior Departments service charge for that fiscal year, or an additional $11,000 increase in DOI charges for 1990. Thus our current request for "other services" is short by $11,000 in FY 1990. This does not reflect any costs associated with the National Capital Arts and Cultural Affairs program. Does the Commission's fiscal year 1990 request include sufficient funding to cover the cost of annualizing the fiscal year 1989 pay increase? o It does for GS and GM positions. It does not for SES position. The Chairman's statement highlights the fact that a great deal of the Commission's time is spent on site and design approval for war memorials. With approval of these memorials what spacing problems arise in the National Capital Region? o The current spate in memorial proposals is due, in part, to two things; (1) the great success of the Vietnam Memorial, which has kindled much interest in creating new memorials (2) all but one of these memorials were in process prior to the enactment of the Commemorative Works Act of 1986. With this new law in place, it will be increasingly difficult to locate a memorial in the monumental core of the capital. Thus it is not anticipated there will be increased space problems if the number of congressionally approved memorials drops off dramatically as is anticipated. NATIONAL CAPITAL ARTS AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS In fiscal year 1990, the Administration has not requested funding for this program. On what basis was this decision made? o The official administration position is that the program earmarks funds for Washington, D.C. organizations that can and should receive equivalent contributions from non-Federal sources and duplicates existing Federal competitive grants available on a national basis. If funds were appropriated in fiscal year 1990 for this purpose would the Commission have sufficient staff to handle the workload? Last year's program took about 250 man-hours to administer, of which approximately half was overtime, so this would not justify an additional staff person. What amount of funding would be necessary for the Commission to administer this program in fiscal year 1990? How does the Commission arrive at this estimate? o It is estimated that $11,000 would cover the administrative costs of this program. The estimate is based on overtime, costs of contracting out additional word processing needs, and a prorated share in overhead expenses. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1989. NATIONAL CAPITAL PLANNING COMMISSION GLEN T. URQUHART, CHAIRMAN WITNESSES REGINALD W. GRIFFITH, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR CONNIE M. HARSHAW, ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER ROBERT E. GRESHAM, ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS Mr. YATES. The hearing will come to order. This is the hearing on the Budget for Fiscal Year 1990 for the National Capital Planning Commission. Appearing in support_of the budget is Mr. Urquhart, Chairman; Mr. Griffith, Executive Director; and Ms. Connie Harshaw, Administrative Officer. There is a biography that may go in the record at this point. [The biography of Ms. Harshaw follows:] BIOGRAPHY-CONNIE MATTHEWS HARSHAW, Administrative OFFICER Connie Matthews Harshaw joined the National Capital Planning Commission staff on August 22, 1988. She worked previously for the Department of the Navy, Department of the Army, Department of the Air Force, National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health, and the National Bureau of Standards. She has over 12 years of federal service. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland with a BS degree in Business Administration. Mr. YATES. Mr. Urquhart's statement will be in the record. [The prepared statement of Mr. Urquhart follows:] (113) STATEMENT OF GLEN T. URQUHART, CHAIRMAN NATIONAL CAPITAL PLANNING COMMISSION FISCAL YEAR 1990 APPROPRIATION REQUEST SUBCOMMITTEE ON INTERIOR AND RELATED AGENCIES U. S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES February 8, 1989 Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for this opportunity to discuss our budgetary estimates for the 1990 fiscal year. I would like to begin by telling you about the Commission's accomplishments during the last 12 months. As you are aware, the National Capital Planning Commission is the planning agency for the federal government The Commission was established in 1924 as a park planning agency, and two years later its scope was expanded to include comprehensive planning. Although much of our time is spent on reviewing projects of federal agencies we have approval authority in the District and an advisory role in the region planning remains as one of our major functions. |