Madam Chairman and Members of the Committee, my name is Johanna Hardy, sitting to my left is James McKay. We are part of the Governmental Affairs Committee’s legal and investigative staff. Over the last 8 months, the Committee has been conducting an investigation into the management of federal real property. As part of the investigation, we focused on St. Elizabeths Hospital as a case study. The West Campus of St. Elizabeths is owned by the Department of Health and Human Services. St. Elizabeths, of course, is right here in the Capitol’s backyard. In fact, we are the same distance from St. Elizabeths as we are from the Lincoln Memorial. Yet, despite the proximity, what we found during our five visits to St. Elizabeths could not contrast more from the well-maintained Capitol complex.

The St. Elizabeths property includes over 300 acres of land, 182 of which compose the federally-owned West Campus. The television monitor shows an overhead picture of St. Elizabeths, which is bounded by the red. There are 61 buildings, with approximately 1.1 million square feet of space on West Campus alone. In addition, the campus contains a civil war cemetery, sweeping views of the downtown and monumental core of the city, as well as a park-like landscape. In addition, the West Campus of St. Elizabeths is designated as a National Historic Landmark.

In 1987, pursuant to an act of Congress, the Hospital’s East Campus was transferred to the District. Shortly thereafter, HHS entered into various agreements with the District to allow the District to use the federally-owned West Campus.

St. Elizabeths Hospital, the first and only national federal mental health facility, began its operations in 1855. For more than a century, the Hospital was a world premiere mental health and research facility. Since the District assumed responsibility for the D.C. mental health functions, St. Elizabeths’ patient population has significantly decreased, as has the District’s need for the facilities. During the 1990s, the District began moving personnel and property from the federal West Campus to the East Campus. While all personnel have been relocated to East Campus, considerable District property still remains in vacant West Campus buildings, owned by HHS.