[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1593-E1594]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

EARMARK DISCLOSURE

______

HON. STEVE KING

of iowa

in the house of representatives

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Mr. KING of Iowa. Madam Speaker, I wish to make the following
disclosure in accordance with the new Republican Earmark Transparency
Standards requiring Members to

[[Page E1594]]

place a statement in the Congressional Record prior to a floor vote on
a bill that includes earmarks they have requested, describing how the
funds will be spent and justifying the use of Federal taxpayer funds.

Requesting Member: Congressman Steve King.
Bill Number: H.R. 6599, the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs
and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2009.
Account: MilCon, Air National Guard.
Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Iowa Air National Guard.
Address of Requesting Entity: 7700 NW Beaver Drive, Johnston, Iowa,
50131.
Description of Request: Appropriation of $5.6 million for the
construction of a new Vehicle Maintenance Facility and remodeling of
the existing Communications Facility located at the 133rd Test Squadron
in Fort Dodge, Iowa. Updating facilities at the 133rd Test Squadron is
of the utmost importance and highest priority for the Iowa National
Guard. This project is approved on the U.S. Air Force Future Year
Defense Plan (FYDP), and has been assigned the number HEMT039066. The
facility is significantly short of space due to the expansion of the
unit's mission, manning and resources. Since it is the only unit
designated to test future Command and Control (C2) projects for the
U.S. Air Force, the performance of the 133rd Test Squadron is vital to
Air Force missions. A detailed financial plan based on form DD 1391
required by the Department of Defense for military construction
projects follows.

COST ESTIMATE
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unit Cost
ITEM U/M Quantity cost ($000)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vehicle maintenance/comm training facility..... SF............................... 32,369 ...... 4,171
Vehicle maintenance area................... SF............................... 7,000 210 ( 1,470)
Age addition to comm area.................. SF............................... 2,600 186 ( 484)
Upgrade communications area................ SF............................... 22,769 91 ( 2,072)
Anti-terrorism/force protection measures... SF............................... 32,369 2 ( 65)
LEED Certification......................... LS............................... ......... ...... ( 80)
Supporting facilities.......................... ................................. ......... ...... 864
Pavements.................................. LS............................... ......... ...... ( 115)
Utilities.................................. LS............................... ......... ...... ( 150)
Site improvements/parking.................. LS............................... ......... ...... ( 100)
Communications support..................... LS............................... ......... ...... ( 100)
Pre-wired work stations.................... LS............................... ......... ...... ( 130)
Temporary trailers......................... LS............................... ......... ...... ( 220)
Demolition/asbestos removal................ SF............................... 3,270 15 ( 49)
----------
Subtotal....................................... ................................. ......... ...... 5,035
Contingency (5%)............................... ................................. ......... ...... 252
----------
Total contract cost............................ ................................. ......... ...... 5,287
Supervision, inspection and overhead (6%)...... ................................. ......... ...... 317
----------
Total request.................................. ................................. ......... ...... 5,604
Total request (rounded)........................ ................................. ......... ...... 5,600
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

10. Description of Proposed Construction: New Construction:
Reinforced concrete foundation and floor slab with steel-framed masonry
walls and sloped roof structure. Includes overhead crane/hoist, all
utilities, pavements, fire protection, site improvements, and support.
All interior wall, ceilings, interior finishes and pre-wired work
stations. Alteration: Rearrange and extend interior walls and
utilities. Provide anti-terrorism force protection measures. Demolish
three buildings (304 SM) and landscape the site. Air conditioning: 60
Tons.
11. Requirement: 32,369 SF Adequate: 0 SF Substandard: 22,769 SF
Project: Vehicle Maintenance and Communications Training Facility
(Current Mission).
Requirement: The base requires an adequately sized, properly
configured, and environmentally safe vehicle maintenance facility for
operations and training. Vehicles to be repaired and maintained include
cars, trucks, sweepers, and snowplows. Functional areas consist of
maintenance bays, paint bay, office area, parts/tool storage, battery
shop, vehicle dispatch, fuel dispensing facility and wash rack. An
adequately sized and properly configured facility is required for the
operations, maintenance, and training in support of a 132-personnel
combat communications squadron responsible for tactical
communications--electronics systems. Functional areas include the
command section, communication systems (i.e. satellite, base, and
network), communications center, combat support, secure storage,
deployment control center, classrooms, physical fitness center, dining
area, and medical training.
Current Situation: The vehicle maintenance functions are accomplished
in a facility that has reached the end of its useful life. Facility
maintenance and repair of the mechanical and electrical systems are no
longer cost effective due to the lack of replacement parts. The
facility is significantly short of maintenance, office, and training
space due to the expansion of the unit's manning and resources over the
years. Maintenance and repair operations on larger vehicles must be
done outside because they do not fit in the small bays. The facility
has numerous safety, health, and environmental hazards. The
communications and electronics facility portion of this project will
reconfigure and renovate existing spaces while adding to the complex to
alleviate facility shortfalls. Mission accomplishment and Status of
Readiness and Training System (SORTS) levels are degraded as there is
no adequate space to properly store civil engineering equipment,
generators, and equipment assets to be deployable within response time
criteria given winter conditions. The 133rd is accomplishing part of
the test mission requirements in a facility on the other side of the
airport driveway. This requires them to take valuable time and manpower
to get to the support functions such as medical and supply items. The
area is 12 percent short of the required space needed to support the
mission. Several Control and Reporting Center (CRC) testing events have
been located in building 102, which has been identified to be
demolished. This facility requires roof repairs and electrical and
mechanical upgrades to meet code requirements. The space is not
functionally setup to house a test squadron, which causes interruptions
in training/testing requirements. They do not have the space to test,
maintain, train and repair equipment that they are required to support.
The office space is not properly configured. The Aerospace Ground
Equipment (AGE) facility (building 101) is not functionally efficient
as an AGE shop with its current layout. Equipment is stored outside due
to lack of covered storage space. The administrative area is congested
and not properly configured. The existing forced air heat system is
inefficient and requires repair. The existing floor drains are not
connected to an oil water separator. The majority of the base
infrastructure system is over 40 years old and has been upgraded only
as part of new construction. Parts of the system that have not been
upgraded are deteriorated due to age.
Impact If Not Provided: Operations and training suffer from lack of
up-to-date and adequate facilities. The overcrowded and antiquated
facility seriously degrades the unit's capability to maintain a safe,
operationally ready fleet, and severely limits the unit's ability to
train. Continued safety and environmental problems with possible
violations of Federal and State environmental statutes. Quality of life
is negatively impacted affecting morale, recruiting, and retention.
Additional: This project meets the criteria/scope specified in Air
National Guard Handbook 321084, ``Facility Requirements,'' and is in
compliance with the base master plan. These facilities are
``inhabited'' buildings and meet the standoff distance requirements.
There is minimal threat and the level of protection is low so minimum
construction standards have been applied. All known alternatives
options were considered during the development of this project. No
other option could meet the mission requirements; therefore, no
economic analysis was needed or performed. The following buildings will
be demolished as a result of this project: 101 (214 SM), 104 (45 SM),
and 105 (45 SM) for a total of 304 SM.
Vehicle maintenance area: 7,000 SF = 650 SM.
Age addition to comm area: 2,600 SF = 242 SM.
Upgrade communications area: 22,769 SF = 2,115 SM.
Demolition/asbestos removal: 3,270 SF = 304 SM.

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