83 



What do these facilities do? 



ARS is the "in-house" agricultural research agency of USDA 

 (although much of ARS's research is conducted in direct 

 cooperation with state agricultural experiment stations) . ARS 

 has 8,300 full-time equivalent staff, of which 506 serve in the 

 Washington headquarters. The ARS fiscal year 1993 budget totals 

 $746,262,000 and the agency researches a broad range of topics 

 critical to the agricultural sector. 



PROBLEMS WITH THE CURRENT SYSTEM 



The UAB has seen facilities that are outdated, understaffed, 

 and/or in serious disrepair. Many facilities remain in operation 

 despite evidence that the they should be closed or consolidated 

 with other facilities. Moreover, new facilities are being built 

 with no planning and little regard for national scientific 

 priorities. 



Mr. Chairman, allow me to highlight seven facility problems 

 identified by the UAB that may raise eyebrows around the 

 Committee table. But before I do so, I want to stress that these 

 problems alone may not add up to a mandate for closing a 

 facility. For example, our premier national laboratory in 

 Beltsville, Maryland suffers many of the problems I will discuss. 

 Yet the UAB feels strongly that Beltsville should remain in 

 operation and additional funds should be designated to improve 

 this facility. In other words Mr. Chairman, I present these 

 seven problems as red flags, waved to summon the Committee to 

 further investigation and to indicate the need for overall 

 strategic planning . 



Problem One; Facilities are in severe disrepair. 



In 1990 a USDA panel reported on the physical decay of the 

 ARS Plum Island Animal Research Center in New York. In 

 November 1992 the New York Times published a front page 

 story about this facility entitled "Unit for Animal-Disease 

 Study Trims Safeguards". It was pointed but in the article 

 that staff cutbacks made by the private management company 

 had undermined the traditional safety precautions at the 

 island and that the center's plant and equipment have 

 deteriorated to the point that repairs are expected to cost 

 $60 million. 



In fiscal year 1990, USDA estimated the necessary repair, 

 maintenance, and renovation costs for its domestic ARS 

 sites. Almost every site — 106 out of 124 — were scheduled 

 for some work. In total, ARS's 1990 needs for repair 

 totaled $348,434,000. That amount is staggering compared to 



