151 



ARS facilities are not operating at full capacity. ARS has 



more than 12 million square feet of facility space, a total of 

 1,500 square feet per employee. Such capacity may be more than 

 necessary and is certainly more than can be utilized unless the ARS 

 staff is increased. 



That many ARS facilities are not operating anywhere near full 

 capacity was the subject of a 1983 GAO report cited earlier. The 

 chart below compares the 1983 findings with the Fiscal Year 1990 

 data submitted by USDA to the House and Senate Agriculture 

 Committees. 



CHART 1 



PERCENT 

 OF USE 



Under 50 

 50 to 59 

 60 to 69 

 70 to 79 

 80 to 89 

 90 or more 



The chart indicates little improvement was made during the 

 years between the two reports. In Fiscal Year 1990, 18 states had 

 at least one facility operating at less than 75 percent capacity, 

 and five states had more than one facility operating at less than 

 70 percent capacity, including one state with two facilities 

 operating at less than 50 percent capacity. 



B. Problems with New Facilities 



Despite the crying need to reinvest in existing facilities, 

 the current spending trend is to build new facilities. And it is 

 an accelerating trend. From 1960 to 1986, the average number of 

 newly funded facilities projects was 6 per year. From 1987 to 



