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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 imported 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 RELIEF1

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 incep tion 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,
U.S. Senate.

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.

At the end of the war, the Army had great supplies of attabrine and antimalarial drugs in Ghana which they did not want to return to this country. They turned these over to the missionaries. That attabrine actually kept the young men and the young women in school for the next 5 years, because malaria was almost 100-percent endemic in that part of the world among the young people. I received a letter in 1950 asking me to provide some antimalarial drugs so that these people could continue to go to school. If they did not have that drug, they would be absent at least 3 out of 5 class days.

In the islands of Oceania and New Guinea, which suffered so badly in the last war as a result of bombings and invasions, a great deal of surplus was left on the bases. The metal from the old airplanes and old quonset huts forms the support for the concrete schools which have been built since that time.

In the Carolines and Marshalls, an area which would be benefited by the enactment of these bills, missionaries, Protestant and Catholic alike, are carrying the burden of education and health services. Presently it is not possible to hand over the surplus which exists on Guam to these islands for these services; these bills would provide for that.

Any surplus property donated to voluntary agencies would be given the best of care and would be used over and over again for the benefit of the poor and distressed of these less-developed areas. May I repeat what I stated in the beginning; that is, the prestige of the American people and their Government would be greatly enchanced by using these voluntary agencies as a "people to people" approach. The voluntary agencies already have won the confidence and respect of these people. They understand the culture of the areas and, therefore, are careful to treat the people with respect, permitting them to retain their dignity, no matter how poor they are.

This concludes my statement, Mr. Chairman. I hope I have been of some assistance to the subcommittee in its deliberations on the proposals which would provide good, usable property for health and education activities abroad. Thank you.

DIVISION OF FOREIGN MISSIONS,

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF CHURCHES OF CHRIST IN THE U.S.A.,

Senator ERNEST GRUENING,

Chairman, Subcommittee on Donable Property,
U.S. Senate Committee on Government Operations,
Washington, D.C.

New York, N.Y., May 31, 1960.

MY DEAR SENATOR GRUENING: I wish to acknowledge with thanks your letter of May 24, which reached my desk just before the long weekend of Memorial Day.

For your information and inclusion as a part of the record of the hearings of your subcommittee, I am enclosing herein the statement which the executive board of the division of foreign missions of the National Council of Churches has approved. This statement, as you see, gives views that such a distribution of excess foreign property should be on a government-to-government basis; that the recipients should be judged on the basis of need by the institutions for this property; that the need to be met and the quality of the services rendered should be determining factors; and that all institutions established and sup ported by U.S. citizens should receive equal treatment with other "nonprofit, charitable, or eleemosynary public or private institutions."

The bill S. 2725, is in line with the basic considerations indicated above, namely, that such property donations should be on a government-to-government basis and no discriminatory provisions should be made in favor of Institutions established and supported by U.S. citizens.

On the other hand, it is our opinion that bill S. 2732 contains certain restric tions on the donation of foreign excess property which the executive board of the division of foreign missions cannot support.

For your information, the foreign missions boards of the division of foreign missions in 1958 expended overseas $53,634,876. The total U.S. Protestant missionaries serving overseas in 1958 numbered 24,284, of whom 10.977 were related to boards of the division of foreign missions of the National Council of Churches.

May I request that this letter and the enclosed statement be incorporated in the record of the hearings on these bills.

Yours respectfully,

LUTHER A. GOTWALD,
Executive Secretary.

A STATEMENT BY THE EXECUTIVE BOARD OF DIVISION OF FOREIGN MISSIONS, NATIONAL COUNCIL OF THE CHURCHES OF CHRIST IN THE U.S.A.

Subject: Bills proposed in the Senate and House of Representatives regarding the donation of foreign excess property for educational and health purposes. The executive board of the division of foreign missions of the National Council of Churches deems it commendable that steps be taken by the U.S. Government to donate foreign excess property where it can effectively meet the needs of the peoples in the lands concerned.

In many lands institutions, such as "hospitals, clinics and health centers, schools, colleges, and universities," have been established by mission and church organizations of American origin and supported by American funds. In this connection, it should be noted that many Protestant missionary organizations are transferring more and more such institutions to organized bodies on the field, which bodies are controlled by a church or a church board in the foreign land.

We believe, therefore, that distribution of excess foreign property should be on a government-to-government basis-the recipient government designating an agency for the purpose of distribution, and the U.S. Government prescribing minimum standards of operation for such a foreign agency. Every recipient of such donated excess foreign property should be judged on the basis of need by the institution for this property. Distribution should be made equitably on the basis of needs. Thus, both the need to be met and the quality of the service rendered by the institution should be final determining factors. Therefore, all institutions established and supported by U.S. citizens through mission or church organizations should receive equal treatment with other "nonprofit, charitable, or eleemosynary public or private organizations" in the country where excess foreign property would be donated for such use by the U.S. Government.

We further believe that no preferential treatment should be shown to institutions on the basis that they are "directly or indirectly founded, sponsored, or supported by American citizens."

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HONORABLE SIR: Your office is respectfully requested to make the following statement a matter of record in the matter of H.R. 9996 which will permit the importation of oversea surplus property for sale on the domestic market.

The National Electronic Distributors Association, of which I am the executive vice president, is opposed to the passage of this legislation. The membership of our association is composed of wholesalers of electronic equipment, components, and replacement parts.

Wholesalers of electronic products are, in effect, extensions of manufacturers' warehouses and thereby represent a reservoir of vital material that could be, in a national emergency, commandeered or purchased by the U.S. Government. Vast stocks of vital electronic products were obtained from wholesalers by the Government at the beginning of World War II. It has been authoritatively stated that the availability of those products gave the war effort a 6-month advantage in the production of electronic equipment.

It is imperative that the position of wholesalers, also known as distributors, be guarded against legislation which would lessen their ability to be of service in a national emergency. H.R. 9996 opens the door to the reimportation of electronic

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products which could harmfully effect the ability of wholesalers in the electronic industry, to successfully operate their businesses.

There are approximately 2,000 wholesalers (distributors) of electronic equipment, components and replacement parts. They do not distribute radio and television receiver sets. These wholesalers employ approximately 50,000 persons and have investment in inventory of approximately $300 million.

Wholesalers of electronic equipment, components, and replacement parts are presently facing extremely harmful competition from imports of electronic products from Japan and other low-wage, long-hours industrial nations. The addition of a Federal law, such as proposed in H.R. 9996, would further tighten the belt of strangulation of their business enterprises.

There are only a very few importers of surplus electronic products who would gain from the passage of H.R. 9996, while the 2,000 wholesalers of such products would suffer. The importers' inventories, if a national emergency should occur, would be of no value to the U.S. Government; whereas the inventories of the wholesalers of electronic products would be immediately available, if necessary, to the Government.

We have been informed that H.R. 9996 as reported by the full committee of the House of Representatives has been changed to read:

"*** it shall be unlawful to import such property into the United States *** unless the Secretary of Commerce determines that the importation of such property would not result in undue loss of production or employment in the United States."

We are further informed that the Department of Commerce neither submitted nor approved the foregoing provision of H.R. 9996. It is obvious that the Department of Commerce would find it difficult to determine when and where there was "undue loss of production or employment in the United States” covering the importation of 1, 100, or 1,000 units of surplus electronic units.

The watering down of the provisions of existing laws provided in H.R. 9996 changes administration by the Department of Commerce from an active nature to procedures of passiveness.

The foregoing statement of attitude by the wholesalers of electronic equipment, components, and replacement parts is not based upon a selfish premise. It is submitted on the basis that a high inventory of electronic products by wholesalers, located throughout the United States, is essential to the defense of the Nation in the event of a national emergency.

The National Electronic Distributors Association respectfully submits this statement in the hope that it will be carefully read and seriously considered by Members of the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives.

Respectfully,

GAIL S. CARTER, Executive Vice President.

MAY 27, 1960.

Hon. ERNEST GRUENING,
U.S. Senate,

Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C.

DEAR SIR: The full implications of H.R. 9996, the foreign excess property bill, are of considerable concern to the members of this association. I feel sure that several associations dealing with the type of goods that can be declared surplus overseas have objected to the bill and they have done so with good reason.

The Sporting Goods Jobbers Association is seriously concerned especially about the prospect of the importation of any quantity of tents and sleeping bags. We do not know what influence such importation may have on employment in the manufacture of such goods but the influence on both price and profit in the line of distribution could be tremendous. Consider the release for sale to sporting goods dealers of a quantity of sleeping bags. The bags would undoubtedly be offered at a lower wholesale price than that for sleeping bags of like grade and quality now being manufactured or now in stock in wholesalers warehouses. As the lower prices are publicized, dealers will stop buying and will cancel orders for the domestic sleeping bags. These dealers will cancel regardless of the quantity imported.

This means that an offer to sell even 100 sleeping bags at a reduced price in a single metropolitan area could freeze several thousand sleeping bags on the shelves of wholesalers within several hundred miles of where the imported merchandise is offered. The stock turnover of several dozen wholesalers of

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