To authorize the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution to plan, design, and construct a vehicle maintenance building at the vehicle maintenance branch of the Smithsonian Institution located in Suitland, Maryland, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3224) to authorize the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution to plan, design, and construct a vehicle maintenance building at the vehicle maintenance branch of the Smithsonian Institution located in Suitland, Maryland, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on the consideration of H.R. 3224.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3224 would authorize $4 million in fiscal year 2010 for the Smithsonian Institution to plan, design and construct a vehicle maintenance building at its facilities in Suitland, Maryland. Our committee ordered the bill reported unanimously.

The new building would absorb the vehicle maintenance functions for the entire Smithsonian complex in the Washington area. These are currently performed in a constricted and increasingly dysfunctional space at the General Services Building within the National Zoo in northwest Washington, D.C.

The vehicle maintenance functions, which cover the maintenance, repair and fueling of about 780 Smithsonian-owned vehicles and pieces of equipment, are not compatible with the surrounding environment at the zoo and would be better served at the Suitland facility, which has more space and is isolated from public access. The space being vacated at the zoo would be converted to other uses.

The bill authorizes the planning, design and construction of this project, which would give the Committee on House Administration primary jurisdiction. The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, which has an additional referral, also reported this bill. The fiscal year 2010 Interior appropriations conference report, which has been enacted into law, contains the necessary funding for this bill, and I urge the approval of the legislation.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I would like to thank Mr. Lungren, too, for his cooperation on this and for hurrying over just a second or two late.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3224, a bill to authorize the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution to plan, design and construct a vehicle maintenance facility at the vehicle maintenance branch of the Smithsonian Institution located in Suitland, Maryland.

Currently the bulk of the Smithsonian's vehicle maintenance is conducted from the National Zoo's General Services Building. The Vehicle Maintenance Branch is responsible for maintenance, repair, and fueling of more than 780 Smithsonian vehicles and pieces of equipment valued at over $17 million. However, the vehicle maintenance operations over the years have become incompatible with the other needs of the General Services Building. After researching the potential of leasing a facility, the Smithsonian Institution determined the most economical method of housing its fleet management and maintenance operations was to request authority to build a facility on government-owned property located in Suitland, Maryland.

Transferring the vehicle maintenance operations to a new site will increase the ability of the Smithsonian to use alternative fuels in its vehicles. The proposed site at Suitland currently has both a compressed natural gas fueling station and a gasoline fueling station. Furthermore, the Smithsonian plans to install E-85 and bio-diesel above-ground fuel tanks at the facility. The Zoo's General Services Building does not have the space available to accommodate these alternative fuel tanks.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 3224.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill, which will provide for the construction of a vehicle maintenance branch at the National Zoo to benefit the zoo and larger Smithsonian Institution operations. The course of action prescribed by this bill is the result of a careful analysis of alternatives, which has demonstrated that the onsite construction of a vehicle maintenance facility would prove to be, roughly, 40 percent cheaper than developing an offsite facility. Additionally, this bill will provide for the better environmental stewardship in the operations of the National Zoo and of the Smithsonian Institution.

I want to thank Mr. Becerra for bringing this forward. Accordingly, I request that my colleagues on this side of the aisle support this suspension.

Mr. Speaker, I just want to thank Mr. Lungren for his efforts on this measure, and I yield back the balance of my time.