APPENDIX U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON INTERSTATE AND FOREIGN COMMERCE, Hon. ERNEST GRUENING, Chairman, Subcommittee on Donable Property, May 26, 1960. DEAR SENATOR: S. 3288, a bill to amend the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, to permit the disposal of certain surplus property to State fishery agencies, is of great importance to my State, Washington. I introduced this proposal at the request of the director of the Washington State Department of Fisheries. They are in need of vessels, equipment, materials, or other supplies which could be used for exploratory fishing, the enforcement of State conservation laws in coastal waters, or in the propagation and rearing of migratory fish. The enactment of S. 3288 will be of great assistance to the department in securing this surplus property and equipment. It is my hope that the subcommittee will give favorable consideration to S. 3288. Sincerely yours, WARREN G. MAGNUSON. STATE OF WASHINGTON, COMMITTEE ON INTERSTATE AND FOREIGN COMMERCE, Washington, D.C. DEAR SENATOR MAGNUSON: Regarding our problem of obtaining a higher priority for surplus supplies and materials that can be used in facilities for the production of high protein, uncontaminated food in the event of a national emergency, we feel our activities in this field place us in an equal position with schools, institutions of higher learning, and the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries as being important to the civil defense program. We need steel building materials, trucks, pipe and fittings, but find schools are allocated these items because of higher priority. The Bureau of Commercial Fisheries has a high priority for allocations through the General Services Administration, but this department must take the leavings after the more desirable low-cost items have been allocated to higher priority using agencies. Surplus materials help us to produce salmon at a much lower cost, and it is only through our efforts that the stocks of anadromous and marine fishes are being maintained in this State. The Bureau of Commercial Fisheries has very little to do with the actual perservation, utilization, and production of marine fisheries resources in any of the States, and we believe our civil defense potential is far greater than the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries on the Pacific coast. We feel the State fisheries agencies have control over the only sources of high protein, uncontaminated food in event of nuclear attack and that we contribute to these marine fisheries resources through our hatcheries, fish farms, and management techniques which provide for optimum production without impairment of supply. Federally financed irrigation, reclamation, and power projects have deleted and reduced fishery values. Indian tribes under Federal jurisdiction have depleted salmon-producing streams which contribute to this reservoir of available marine fishery resources. In order to assist in bringing this pool of protein food to fullest possible levels of availability, the Federal Government should make low-cost surplus materials available to us on a high priority. It is our belief that only State fisheries agencies such as ours can make this high protein, uncontaminated food available in event of national emergency. Certainly our efforts and contributions will be equal to the health, welfare, training, and stockpiling efforts of schools, institutions of higher learning, and the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries. Sincerely, MILO MOORE, Director. STATE DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES, SENATE INTERSTATE AND FOREIGN COMMERCE COMMITTEE, Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. (Attention: Mr. Harry Huse). The Washington State Department of Fisheries heartily requests your support of the Senate bill 3288 (surplus property for State agencies) at the June 1, 1960, hearings. We urge Senator Magnuson to assist in its passage. MILO MOORE, Director, State Department of Fisheries. AMERICAN ORT FEDERATION, Hon. JOHN L. MCCLELLAN, Chairman, Senate Committee on Government Operations, (Attention: Mr. G. K. Shriver). DEAR SENATOR MCCLELLAN: We are grateful that you have kept the record open on the proposed bills on surplus property overseas to afford an opportunity to the American ORT Federation to present its statement. The American ORT Federation is a Jewish voluntary agency organized for the purpose of establishing, supporting and maintaining programs of vocational training throughout the world. ORT stands for organization for rehabilitation through training. The aim of our agency is to provide education in modern industrial skills and trades to people who would not, because of their circumstances, otherwise have access to such training facilities. This purpose is implemented through a network of vocational high schools for youth, adult courses, training activities for refugees, much of it in conjunction with the U.S. refugee and migration section and similar programs. At present, such activities are carried on in 19 countries, chiefly in North Africa, the Middle East and Europe. Financial support to these training activities depends primarily on voluntary philanthropic contributions. We are affiliated with the American Council of Voluntary Agencies for Foreign Service, Inc., and registered with the Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid. We strongly favor the constructive utilization of Government excess property as outlined in S. 2725 and S. 2732. We regard the proposed legislation to be a valuable extension of the U.S. excess property disposal program. We believe that making such overseas excess property available to American voluntary agencies with overseas programs could be undeniably helpful in the operation of such programs. In addition to this excess property in overseas countries, we are aware that there exists in the United States stockpiles of excess property, including tools and machinery of a type that would be useful in vocational training schools. We respectfully request that consideration be given to finding some way to make such supplies available to voluntary agencies for use in their overseas activities. Such action would provide welcome assistance to the work of these agencies and redound to the greater welfare of the individuals and the communities they serve. Sincerely yours, PAUL BERNICK, Executive Director. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE Personal property received by State surplus property agencies for distribution to DEAR SIR: This letter is submitted on behalf of the Electronic Industries Specifically, S. 3154 is designed to amend the existing procedure which insures that foreign excess property disposed of overseas by the U.S. Government is not imported and dumped on the American market to the injury of the economy of this country. Frankly, we are at a loss to understand the reasoning behind a proposed relaxation in present law. As administered, the law appears to have worked well and has prevented the dumping of foreign excess property disposed of overseas on the American market to the detriment of American industry. The Government certainly has nothing to gain by permitting foreign excess property to be returned to this country by the purchaser. The price received by the Government will be the same whether the item sold remains overseas or is returned to this country. The profit to the purchaser might easily be increased if he can sell in this country foreign excess property which he has acquired, but it is hardly reasonable to expect him to pay more to the Government in anticipation of receipt of approval to sell the property in the United States. The Government presently has authority to return to the United States for disposal foreign excess property which, in its opinion, will bring a larger return here. If a more favorable market is available in this country, we feel the Government should be the beneficiary. You are aware of the fact that the Government already disposes of billions of dollars worth of surplus property in this country each year. Much of this enters the distribution system in competition with normal commercial suppliers, representing both small businesses and large. Some degree of control is maintained over the domestic surplus disposal program through consultation with the Department of Commerce. Although S. 3154 provides a degree of control over the importation of foreign excess property, we feel that it will be considerably more difficult for the Secretary of Commerce to make a logical determination that the importation will be "injurious to the economy of this country" than the present criteria that the importation "relieve domestic shortages or otherwise be beneficial to the economy ***." Even if it is not conceivable that importation would be “injurious to the economy of the country," it is easy to picture the importation of specific products which might be highly injurious to one industry or segment thereof. Many American industries already are facing severe competition from inported products produced in countries with low wage levels. This situation can only be aggravated by opening our ports to an unknown quantity of foreign excess property. It is the feeling of the Electronic Industries Association that the provisions of S. 3154 are contrary to the best interests of the economy of the United States. We urge defeat of this legislation and continuation of the present procedures relating to the disposal of foreign excess property in this country. It is respectfully requested that this letter be made part of the records of the hearings on S. 3154. Sincerely, L. BERKLEY DAVIS, President. STATEMENT OF REV. OVE R. NIELSEN IN BEHALF OF LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF 1 Lutheran World Relief is concerned about one section of a bill (S. 2732) before your committee which would amend the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 to permit the donation of foreign excess property to medical institutions, hospitals, clinics, health centers, schools, colleges, and universities. Specifically, LWR favors deleting the priority stipulation listed on page 3. lines 1 to 6, of S. 2732. Lutheran World Relief favors the deletion of the priority stipulation because of its conviction that the primary criteria should be the need for the excess property and the facilities for its proper utilization, in the best interest of education or public health services. An added reason for this point of view is the fact that 1 Lutheran World Relief is an incorporated agency that has served the National Lutheran Council and its participating churches in the field of oversea material aid since its inception in 1945. Since 1953 it has had the active cooperation of the Board of World Relief of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. The General Relief Committee of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod encourages Wisconsin Synod congregations to channel gifts of clothing and other articles to Lutheran World Relief warehouses. The baptized membership of the churches mentioned above was 8,023,905 in 1958, the most recent statistical year. in a number of countries the selection of groups under the priority stipulation would quite possibly lead to the awarding of property to minority groups, even if they cannot use it most effectively. This could easily result in manifest resentment on the part of comparable majority groups within the country, which, at this point in our Nation's affairs, would be very undesirable. U.S. SENATE, Washington, D.C., June 3, 1960. Hon. JOHN L. MCCLELLAN, Chairman, Government Operations Committee, DEAR JOHN: A number of manufacturing concerns in my State have written me concerning H.R. 9996, the foreign surplus property bill which was recently reported from the House Government Operations Committee. I understand the bill would relax present controls on Public Law 152 and will release a flood of foreign-generated Government surplus construction equipment on the domestic market. This would have a damaging effect on business and incomes in eastern Iowa, and for this reason I wish to register my vigorous objections to the bill, if it comes over from the House. With best wishes and best personal regards, I am, Sincerely yours, THOS. E. MARTIN. STATEMENT OF REV. FREDERICK A. MCGUIRE, C.M., EXECUTIVE SECRETARY OF THE MISSION SECRETARIAT, NATIONAL CATHOLIC WELFARE CONFERENCE Mr. Chairman, my name is Frederick A. McGuire, and I am the executive secretary of the Mission Secretariat at the National Catholic Welfare Conference. The Mission Secretariat is a bureau established by the Roman Catholic Bishops of the United States to coordinate the work of all Catholic U.S. foreign missions. I wish to speak in favor of S. 2725, introduced by Senator Humphrey, and S. 2732, introduced by Senators Hart and Bartlett. I believe these bills which seek to amend the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 would benefit U.S. foreign policy and would make possible a definite increase in educational and health services now provided in many oversea areas by missionary groups of many denominations. It is well known that private nonprofit organizations, operated by a variety of religious denominations and other charitable but nonaffiliated organizations, conduct extensive educational and health activities among the indigenous peoples of many lands. Financial aid for the maintenance of these operations comes in great part from the voluntary donations of the American people. There is, obviously, a limitation to the amount of funds available for such work. Any additional help to these agencies will not only expand the scope of these charitable endeavors but most certainly will create a reservoir of good will for our country. Under the law as presently written and despite the disposal program of the Department of Defense, very little in the way of surplus property has been made available to these charitable agencies. If these bills S. 2725 and S. 2732 should be passed into law, I believe a significant increase in donations of surplus property would come about and as a result there would be a significant enlargement of services to the needy without regard to race, color, or religion. I would like to relate to the subcommittee some practical experiences wherein surplus American property would greatly benefit health and educational activities in foreign countries. I spent 18 years in the Far East, in China mostly, and traveled widely. During the past 10 years I have visited Africa, South America, and the islands of the Pacific. So I happen to know what the problems are not only of Catholic missionaries but all other religious denominations. It was my privilege to direct the Catholic welfare activities in China from 1946 through the takeover of Shanghai in 1949. I worked in close coordination with United China Relief, the Mennonite Service Committee, the American Red Cross, and so forth. |