Betty McCollum

Mr. Chair, I will be 105. I might be there, but I will not be serving in Congress, I can guarantee that.

I can certainly appreciate it because my staff is overstretched and we haven't seen except for security any raises or anything going in to our staff in that.

But part of the challenge that we are struggling with is four acting directors since 2015 does not allow for a whole lot of continuity.

So right now you have a contractor who is doing that part-time and that is going to be a full-time, plus a part-time contractor, or is that part-time contractor going to be full-time?

I think from the chair's statement, and you will hear from my statement, there is something that we 100 percent agree on, and that is the Smithsonian has a special place on the Mall and in our Nation.

I just wanted folks on the other side of the aisle to know my question did have a $250 million attachment to it of money that, in my opinion, would be wasted.

And I think what we would save in the long run would be saving taxpayers money in the long run by doing this and getting through the list.

So, I do believe that we have some numbers that we can share with you now, and Admiral Hartz has them at his fingertips in terms of backlog of essential maintenance, and alterations, repairs, and also M&I.

what are the next steps for the Arts and Industries Building, and are you having fundraising campaigns? What can we do to lend our voice and support as you build enthusiasm for this very special museum to make sure it is not forgotten on…

I am glad Ms. Pingree asked about the creativity aspect of it because we talk about a lot about STEM here in Washington, D.C. But when I am at home in Minnesota, we talk about STEAM because we add the arts.

Furthermore, the Smithsonian's overall facilities condition index rating from the National Research Council is considered poor, and the Smithsonian's backlog of deferred maintenance and repair is estimated at $890 million.

As Ranking Member Ryan said, healthcare will be in your future.

I have lost all confidence in the way that you handled some of the questions and the way that you said you took responsibility but then, in fact, deflected the responsibility.

And I just want to again commend all the workmanship, all the work that you did outside of the United States Capitol.

Just to be clear, the Library's internal process does not go away. It is still available to employees.

If we do not look at the big picture about what is happening in some of these other agencies where there is collaboration and there are further reductions in cuts, we won't know what this means to Indian Country and the work that we are…

My question specifically, the President in his budget has a cut to this. So, it is not going to get any better, right?

Members often return money from their accounts. It goes back into the U.S. Treasury.

Well, the tax bill was pretty big, so I think I can come up with a piece of legislation smaller than that, Mr. Chair.

Our aquifers are disappearing, too. USGS is helping us.

the fiscal year 2019 EPA budget is reckless, it is irresponsible, and it is unrealistic.

Are you ever allowed to figure out how much money you would actually be saving if we could bring these facilities up?

We are not looking to purchase anything new.

We are here to discuss President Trump's second budget.

I really appreciate it. But what prompted this change?