IMPORTANCE OF PROMPT ACTION ON SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDS Mr. FOGARTY. You indicate in the budget request that we have before us that you would like speedy action in this area and also on the appropriations for the Defense Education Act. Secretary FLEMMING. That is correct. Mr. FOGARTY. If that is so, why has it taken so long to get a supplemental request before Congress? Somebody apparently has been dragging their feet. Secretary FLEMMING. I am afraid that question would have to be directed to the Director of the Bureau of the Budget. I have no knowledge as to why the request was not submitted until last week. When I was told about this particular situation, I immediately asked whether it was possible to shift any funds from another purpose to this particular purpose on an emergency basis. I was told that that was not possible. I understand that it was not. I would hope that some time there could be an arrangement so that provision could be made, within reasonable limitations, for emergency situations of this kind. Mr. FOGARTY. I understand the Committee on Deficiencies and Supplementals is meeting this week on these requests, and I hope that there will be no delay and that Congress will take action as soon as possible so you will know where you stand and these people will know where they stand. I do not think it serves anybody or helps anybody to delay action. SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDS FOR OFFICE OF FIELD ADMINISTRATION, 1959 For the Office of Field Administration, Mr. Secretary, you are asking for a supplemental of $199,000 of direct appropriations and $161,000 more to be transferred from the old age and survivors insurance trust fund, of which $262,000 will go for pay increases and $98,000 for regional office employees needed to perform personnel payroll and voucher service for the Bureau of Old-Age and Survivors Insurance as a result of the added workload. These new employees are all going to be in the regional offices? Secretary FLEMMING. That is correct. Mr. KELLY. This request relates to enactment of the Social Security Act amendments and the resulting management services workload imposed on the regional offices. This appropriation is also apportioned on a deficiency basis. SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDS FOR GENERAL COUNSEL, 1959 Mr. FOGARTY. The salaries and expenses of the General Counsel are going up, too. That is because of the amendments to the act. Mr. KELLY. Both the Social Security Act amendments and the food additive amendments have imposed this additional legal workload. SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDS FOR WHITE HOUSE COUNCIL ON AGING, 1959 Mr. FOGARTY. For the White House Council on Aging you are asking for $846,000, of which $810,000 shall be available for grants to States and shall remain available until January 31, 1961. The Conference is to take place in January. Secretary FLEMMING. Yes, the law says the Conference is to be held in January, 1961. Mr. FOGARTY. This $800,000-plus provides the maximum amount to each State under the law, $15,000 to each State? Secretary FLEMMING. That is right. Mr. FOGARTY. The remaining is for personnel to help in preparing for this Conference? Secretary FLEMMING. That is correct. Mr. FOGARTY. Mr. Secretary, how is work toward this Conference proceeding? Have you had a chance to go into it? I noticed in your opening statement you said you would ask the Under Secretary to talk at greater length on this program when we get to that item in our detailed discussions. Secretary FLEMMING. I asked Miss Adkins to take responsibility for preparing for this Conference. Mr. FOGARTY. Just tell us something about this request. When we get into the 1960 request, we will ask her. Secretary FLEMMING. As you can see, this is primarily, of course to provide for the grants to the States. We are beginning the process of developing a small staff in her office to do the central staff work. At present we are working on the matter of appointing the committee which is authorized by the law. ADVISORY COMMITTEE Mr. FOGARTY. The Advisory Committee? Secretary FLEMMING. The Advisory Committee. Mr. FOGARTY. When do you expect that committee will be appointed? Secretary FLEMMING. I think we will be in a position to announce that within a period of about 30 days. Mr. FOGARTY. Within 30 days? Secretary FLEMMING. Yes. Mr. FOGARTY. It has taken quite a bit of time. Secretary FLEMMING. Yes, but we are getting good nominations for membership on the committee. My philosophy is that once the committee has been established, primary responsibility for planning for the Conference and also operating the Conference should vest in that committee. In other words, I hope that it will be a genuine Citizens' Conference on the Aging. Mr. FOGARTY. I think that would be the wishes of Congress also. We do not want this to become a political football. I have been complaining about the lack of activity in this field for 10 years or 12 years, from Mr. Ewing's time on down through the years. I complained just as much in those days as I have in the last 3 or 4 years, because of lack of activity. I have talked to many groups in the last 4 or 5 years that have a real interest in this problem of the aging, which I think everyone will agree is a very difficult one, when you take in all aspects of aging. These groups agreed that the White House Conference seemed to be the most logical approach to such a tremendous problem as we have. It is my hope, as the person who sponsored this legislation, that you will select the best possible people you can get on this Advisory Committee, who will go out and do a real good job. That is all we care about. Then when the recommendations are made in January, 1961, we hope they will be carried through and that these people will have some hope for the future. I do not know about you, but I have been receiving a tremendous amount of mail on this White House Conference. It seems to have generated a great deal of interest in all groups working in this and related fields, also labor and management and the American Medical Association and everyone else who has problems in this general area. They want a really high class conference, and so do we. Secretary FLEMMING. Mr. Chairman, I share your conviction as to the importance of this problem. I also share your feelings relative to the opportunity that is presented to us by the fact that the Congress has passed the law providing for this White House Conference on the Aging. I can assure you we will do everything we can to get topflight people on the committee and we will try to give them whatever staff help we can give them. We will, however, make it very clear to the committee that this is going to be their Conference and that we are not going to attempt to dictate what the agenda should be or anyhing else in respect to the Conference. This is the philosophy we are trying to follow in connection with the White House Conference on Children and Youth also. I think this is the strongest position for the Government to take. Then, when the Conference has made its recommendations, to the extent that those recommendaions are directed to the Federal Government, the Government is in a position to evaluate them. It can decide whether or not it can accept the recommendations, modify them, or, in some instances, reject them. In other words, the Government is a free agent then to look at the recommendations from the Citizens' Conference and decide what it is going to do. At the same time we will have on the record a genuine expression of opinion from an outstanding group of citizens. I share fully your hopes in the outcome, and I can assure you I will personally do everything I can to make this conference an outstanding success. SPECIAL STAFF ON AGING Mr. FOGARTY. How many people do you have on the staff on aging in your department? Mr. KELLY. Ten positions are on that staff. Out of the funds authorized this year we have allocated the funds so that six additional people can be hired to augment that staff in connection with the Conference on the Aging. Four positions were used to employ a technical director and a secretary in the Housing and Home Finance Agency and a technical director together with a secretary in the Department of Labor. These people will develop the necessary staff papers for the overall Conference on Aging, both for use by the States and for the National Conference. In the supplemental we are asking for three additional positions this year, and we are also asking for Mr. FOGARTY. What are those for? Mr. KELLY. I could not give you the specifics of the individual jobs but they are designed to expand the staff that will do the coordination work and counseling with the States on this Conference on Aging. In 1960 we ask that that staff be increased so that we can provide a specialist on aging and an additional man in each of the nine regional offices. Secretary FLEMMING. I think that is very important. I think if each of our regional directors can be provided with a person of real competence in this area it will improve to a considerable extent our liaison with the States in those regions. It is difficult to have effective liaison with the States working from Washington. If we could get this liaison through the regional offices I think it would mean the relationship between the Federal Government and the States in this field would be much better. Mr. FOGARTY. If you get the funds I hope you will get the best possible people for those jobs because I think they would be very important positions in the regional offices. Secretary FLEMMING. Very. Mr. FOGARTY. And they should be people everyone would have confidence in. Secretary FLEMMING. I will say very frankly it would be my hope that after the conference it would still be possible to retain these people in each of the nine offices. I think we will need all the help we can get in the field of aging, and they could play a very important role. That is just an expression of hope on my part. AMOUNTS OF SUPPLEMENTALS AT VARIOUS STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT Mr. FOGARTY. We will place in the record the table we asked you to submit regarding action so far on your supplementals. |