Although BARC is successful in its mission of research on the Nation's most 

 difficult agricultural and nutrition problems, it is an increasingly difficult strug- 

 gle to maintain an infrastructure adequate to the challenge. 



The majority of BARC's research facilities were built in the 1930s and 

 1940s. Since then, investments in upgrading our facilities have been con- 

 strained by budgetary limitations. This has resulted in deterioration and obso- 

 lescence in many of these facilities, which in turn hampers our ability to 

 provide the quality of research expected of us and to fulfill our national mis- 

 sion. 



We are just able to meet that minimum 2 percent investment in repair and 

 maintenance each year. But, in spite of that, we have about a $32 million 

 backlog in R&M projects. 



I'd like to illustrate the magnitude of the problem with several examples 

 that I believe will give you an indication of the intimate relationship between 

 research facility conditions and scientific progress. 



Over the past 30 years, 54 barns or nonlaboratory buildings have been con- 

 verted to makeshift laboratories because of the press of urgent research as- 

 signments. These poorly designed buildings are a severe financial burden. The 

 costs associated with retrofitting ventilation systems are extremely high, and in 

 some cases, we must consider carefully whether we can justify the resources 

 needed to retrofit certain of those buildings for some types of research. 



In another example, our Beltsville Human Nutrition Center suffered a ca- 

 tastrophe recently when back-up generators failed during one of our frequent 

 power outages, causing freezer milures. The freezers contained the blood, 

 urine and stool samples from a major human nutrition study, most of which 

 were lost. 



The original cost to conduct that study was $240,000, and we're not sure at 

 this point if we have the resources to repeat that trial. 



We also have a particular concern at BARC regarding our animal housing. 

 To many of our current facilities do not give us the flexibility to change re- 

 search direction without costly physical facility changes. 



BARC is a world leader in transgenic animal research and is making impor- 

 tant advances in the control of parasitic diseases and in animal reproduction 

 and nutrition. However, these programs are dependent upon animal-care fa- 

 cilities that are optimal for animal well-being and health. To maintain that 

 level of animal care, considerable modernization and repair and maintenance 

 of our 50-year-old buildings is required. 



Over the past four years, in our germplasm evaluation and mapping re- 

 search, thousands of cow embryos have been lost because of electrical out- 

 ages. Each power outage lasting over an hour destroys two weeks of work. 



The interim solution has been to purchase numerous back-up generators. 

 Upgrading these electrical systems is among our highest priorities for moderni- 

 zation. 



One of the unique capabilities at BARC is an abattoir which allows us to 

 carry out on the campus a variety of projects on reducing the fat content of 

 meat, on meat quality, and on meat safety. However, the deterioration of this 

 building is raising concern about whether we risk the loss of our federal li- 

 cense to operate the facility without major upgrades. 



