United States Government Accountability Office

GAO Testimony

Before the Subcommittee on the 

Legislative Branch, Committee on 

Appropriations, House of Representatives 

CAPITOL VISITOR 

CENTER 

Update on Status of 

Project's Schedule and Cost 

as of June 27, 2007 

Statement of Terrell G. Dorn, Director, 

Physical Infrastructure Issues 

For Release on Delivery

Expected at 9:00 a.m. EDT

Wednesday, June 27, 2007 

 

GAO-07-897T 
Capitol Visitor Center

Madam Chair and Members of the Subcommittee: 

I appreciate the opportunity to be here today to assist the Subcommittee in 

monitoring progress on the Capitol Visitor Center (CVC) project. My 

remarks will focus on (1) the Architect of the Capitol’s (AOC) construction 

progress since the last CVC hearing on April 24, 2007; and (2) the project’s 

expected cost at completion and funding status.1

Today’s remarks are based on our review of schedules and financial 

reports for the CVC project and related records maintained by AOC and its 

construction management contractor, Gilbane Building Company; our 

observations on the progress of work at the CVC construction site; and our 

discussions with the CVC team (AOC and its major CVC contractors), 

AOC’s Chief Fire Marshal, and representatives from the U.S. Capitol 

Police. We also reviewed AOC’s construction management contractor’s 

periodic schedule assessments, potential change order log, and weekly 

reports on the progress of interior wall and floor stonework. In addition, 

we reviewed the contract modifications made to date. 

Since the April 24, 2007, CVC hearing, the project’s construction has 

progressed, and AOC is still projecting a June 27, 2008, completion date.2

Although the CVC team has avoided further delays in the project’s critical

path (i.e., the work on the fire alarm system), activities on most of the 

project’s near-critical paths have fallen behind schedule, and further 

delays are possible.3

 During the past 2 months, the CVC team has made 

progress on the project’s heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) 

system, interior wall stone and ceiling installation, and other interior and 

exterior construction work. However, problems have occurred in such 

near-critical activities as the ceiling close-ins in the upper level security 

and orientation lobbies and elements of the House and Senate expansion 

spaces, and a number of risks to the project’s schedule remain. These 

include potential problems in completing the installation, integration, 

Summary 

 1

GAO, Capitol Visitor Center: Update on Status of Project’s Schedule and Cost As of April 

17, 2007, GAO-07-755T (Washington, D.C.: Apr. 24, 2007).

2

This date does not allow time for installing artifacts in the exhibit gallery or preparing for 

operations. 

3

The critical path is the single longest path of activities through a project’s schedule. Each

day of delay in the critical path could delay the completion of the entire project. Nearcritical paths are the next longest paths through the project’s schedule. 

Page 1 GAO-07-897T
Capitol Visitor Center

operation, and testing of complex, major building systems, including the 

fire alarm, security, and HVAC systems. For example, the subcontractor 

that is installing the fire alarm system told AOC in April that the 

installation may not proceed as scheduled because of cash flow issues and 

delays in other subcontractors’ work. The subcontractor’s cash flow issues 

are, in turn, related to another risk to the project’s schedule—unsettled 

change order requests. Finally, a new risk emerged this month, when 

problems with the HVAC automated control system delayed the 

completion of efforts to test and balance of the HVAC units. Given these 

and other risks to the project’s schedule, we believe that AOC will be able 

to meet or come close to meeting its scheduled construction completion 

date only if the CVC team promptly makes significant improvements in its 

execution of the project and the project’s schedule. 

At the November 15, 2006, CVC hearing, we reported that the total cost of 

the entire CVC project at completion is likely to be about $592 million 

without an allowance for risks and uncertainties, and over $600 million 

with such an allowance. Because the project’s expected completion date

remains uncertain, we have not updated these estimates. To date, about 

$538.4 million has been approved for CVC construction, including about 

$7.4 million in fiscal year 2007 appropriations. For fiscal year 2007, AOC 

has also received an additional appropriation of $36.4 million for the CVC 

project, which AOC has not yet received approval to obligate. AOC has 

indicated that of this amount, approximately $23.8 million will be used for 

construction and $12.6 will be used for operations. AOC has also requested 

$20 million in fiscal year 2008 CVC construction appropriations to cover 

remaining costs, and we estimate that AOC may need further

appropriations in future fiscal years for construction claims. 

According to AOC’s construction management contractor, in dollar terms, 

the overall CVC project is 95 percent complete, compared with 93 percent

reported complete at the April 24 CVC hearing. Twenty-one of the CVC’s 

23 air handling units were reportedly operating full time as of June 21, and

work has progressed in the East Front. 

Construction Is 

Progressing, but 

Delays in Work on 

Near-critical Paths 

and Other Risks 

Could Affect the 

Scheduled 

Completion Date 

Page 2 GAO-07-897T
According to AOC’s construction management contractor, there have been

no delays in the critical path shown in the project’s May 2007 schedule, but 

there have been delays in 13 of 17 near-critical paths. As we noted at the

April 24 hearing, this schedule includes about 3 additional months for 

slippages, risks, and uncertainties. Despite this additional time, further 

substantial delays in some near-critical paths could affect the project’s 

completion date. For example, delays in ceiling installation, a near-criticalpath activity, could limit the installation of fire alarm devices, a criticalpath activity. Work on 5 near-critical paths fell at least 3 weeks further 

behind in May. For example, according to the construction management 

contractor, the schedule for the ceiling close-ins in the upper level security 

and orientation lobbies slipped by 22 days, or 4.4 work weeks. 

Project’s Completion Date 

Remains Unchanged, but 

Delays in Near-critical 

Paths Could Jeopardize 

Progress on Critical Path 

While the date for completing the CVC’s construction remains unchanged, 

the sequence 2 contractor extended the schedule for completing the 

construction of the House and Senate expansion spaces because of delays 

in the House hearing room and in several near-critical-path activities, 

including testing and balancing the HVAC system, mounting fire alarm 

devices, and framing ceilings. As a result, the schedule for completing the

expansion spaces slipped by about 1.5 weeks—to November 20, 2007—

according to the project’s May 2007 schedule. 

One indicator of construction progress we have been tracking—the 

completion date for certain work activities—shows that the project is not 

progressing as well as planned. For example, as shown in table 1, the 

sequence 2 contractor completed 6 of 16 scheduled completion dates on 

time and completed 3 others late. 

Page 3 GAO-07-897T Capitol Visitor Center
Capitol Visitor Center

Table 1: Activities Being Tracked for the Capitol Visitor Center, April 11 through 

June 22, 2007

Activity Location 

Scheduled

completion

Actual 

completion

Fabric ceiling panels West lobby & assembly 4/23/2007 3/23/2007

Security furniture installed Security 6/7/2007 3/27/2007

Stone stairs #29 East Front ground 5/23/2007 4/05/2007

Front stage millwork Visitor auditorium 6/18/2007 5/8/2007

Wall stone Area #2 East Front principal 5/29/07 5/25/2007

Testing & balancing AHU #7 Securitylobbies 6/11/2007 6/5/2007

Receive pretest plan Life safety 5/01/2007 5/08/2007

Plaster walls Library of Congress 

tunnel 

6/1/2007 6/5/2007

Testing & balancing AHU #1 Exhibit gallery 5/28/2007 6/11/2007

Complete glass floor 

installation 

Exhibit gallery 5/22/2007

Ceiling stone East Front principal 5/29/2007

Stone stairs East Front principal 5/29/2007

Carpet Visitor auditorium 5/30/2007

Floor stone East Front basement 6/9/2007

Wall stone Area #2 East Front gallery 6/9/2007

Testing & balancing AHU #20 South circulation 6/21/2007

Source: AOC and its construction management and sequence 2 contractors. 

Project Continues to Face 

Risks and Uncertainties 

Problems in completing the installation, integration, operation, and testing 

of complex, major building systems, including the fire alarm, security, and 

HVAC systems, remain the most significant risk facing the project’s 

schedule. Delays continue, and technical problems remain a risk until 

these systems have been installed, integrated, and successfully tested. 

Moreover, problems with these systems may not be evident until their final 

acceptance testing. 

In April the subcontractor responsible for installing the fire alarm system 

told AOC that the system’s installation may not proceed as scheduled

because of contractual issues affecting the subcontractor’s receipt of 

payments and delays in other subcontractors’ work that must be 

completed before the fire alarm system can be installed. They attribute 

these payment issues to unsettled change order requests. AOC and its 

construction management contractor have worked to settle these change 

Page 4 GAO-07-897T
Capitol Visitor Center

order requests, which were intended to increase the funds available to the 

subcontractor. This month, the same subcontractor told AOC that there 

are additional issues to be addressed. AOC officials told us they are 

investigating the issues. 

Problems in commissioning the project’s HVAC system remain a risk even

though, as of June 21, 2007, 21 of the CVC’s 23 air handling units were 

reportedly providing conditioned air to their designated spaces full time. 

According to AOC, the 2 remaining units were ready to operate as soon as

additional ductwork could be completed. However, all 23 units still require 

some work, such as final air flow testing and balancing, connection to the 

fire alarm system, punch-list work, and commissioning.4

 The CVC team 

still expects the HVAC system’s commissioning to be completed by 

October 2007, but some activities are taking longer than planned, and the 

achievability of this time frame is not certain. Risks to completing this 

work on schedule include insufficient manpower, technical problems that 

could arise given the sophistication of the system (e.g., stair 

pressurization), coordination problems among subcontractors, and delays 

in preparing spaces for the remaining units. Recent problems with the 

automated controls for these units demonstrate some of these risks. 

The number of outstanding proposed change orders for sequence 2 work 

also poses a risk to the project’s schedule. Although this number fell in 

March for the first time in several months, it continued to grow in April 

and May, increasing from 376 in March to 451 in May. The increases 

occurred even though AOC settled almost twice as many proposed change 

orders during the past month—49 for May—as it averaged over the last 

year (about 25 per month). Proposed change orders that result in contract 

modifications for new work or rework could delay the project’s scheduled

completion, as well as increase the project’s costs. Even though the dollar 

values of recent proposed change orders have been relatively small 

compared with the project’s total cost, unsettled change order requests are 

a cause for concern. They can, for example, contribute to payment delays 

such as those affecting the subcontractor that is installing the fire alarm 

system. Figure 1 compares the number of outstanding proposed change 

orders with the number settled each month. 

 4

Commissioning is a systematic process to ensure, by verification and documentation, that

all of a facility’s systems perform interactively as designed and intended to meet the 

owner’s operational needs. 

Page 5 GAO-07-897T
Capitol Visitor Center

Figure 1: Outstanding and Settled Proposed Change Orders by Month, March 2006 

through May 2007

Because the project’s expected completion date remains uncertain, we 

have not updated our cost-to-complete estimate since the November 15, 

2006, CVC hearing—$592 million without provision for risks and 

uncertainties and over $600 million with such provision. To date, about 

$538.4 million has been approved for CVC construction, including about 

$7.4 million in fiscal year 2007 appropriations. AOC also received an

additional $36.4 million in fiscal year 2007 appropriations for the CVC 

project, which AOC has not yet received approval to obligate. AOC has 

indicated that of this amount, approximately $23.8 million will be used for 

construction and $12.6 will be used for operations. AOC has also requested 

$20 million in fiscal year 2008 CVC construction appropriations to cover 

remaining costs. In addition to this requested fiscal year 2008 funding, we

estimate that AOC may need further appropriations in future fiscal years 

for construction claims. 

Cost Estimate 

Remains Unchanged, 

but Additional Funds 

Have Been Provided 

and More Are Likely 

to Be Needed 

Page 6 GAO-07-897T
Capitol Visitor Center

Madam Chair, this completes my prepared statement. I would be pleased

to answer any questions that you or Members of the Subcommittee may 

have. 

For further information about this testimony, please contact Terrell Dorn 

at (202) 512-6923. Other key contributors to this testimony include Shirley

Abel, Lindsay Bach, Maria Edelstein, Elizabeth Eisenstadt, Jeanette 

Franzel, Jackie Hamilton, Bradley James, David Merrill, and Joshua 

Ormond. 

Page 7 GAO-07-897T

Contacts and 

Acknowledgments 

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