Mr. TAYLOR of Colorado, from the Committee on Appropriations, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 9306] The Committee on Appropriations submit the following report in explanation of the accompanying bill making appropriations to supply deficiencies in certain appropriations for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1938, and prior fiscal years, to provide supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1938, and for other purposes: ESTIMATES AND APPROPRIATIONS The estimates upon which this bill is based were submitted in House documents of the present session, as follows: Nos. 469, 475, 478, 481, 486, 487 to 492, inclusive, 494, 495, 496, 498, 499, 500, 502, 503, 506, 507, 508, 509, 512, and 513, aggregating $27,847,559.12. In addition, there is transferred to this bill from the appropriation submitted in the Budget for the fiscal year 1939 for rivers and harbors the sum of $280,000. The total of the estimates, therefore, considered by the committee in connection with the bill is $28,127,559.12. The amount recommended to be appropriated by the bill is $27,638,524.92, a decrease of $489,034.20 in the amount of the Budget estimates. The appropriations recommended in the bill are classified by fiscal years as follows: Fiscal year 1938.. Fiscal year 1937 and prior years._ Total.. $22, 134, 019. 84 91, 249. 62 5, 413, 255. 46 27, 638, 524. 92 The distribution of the appropriations by major purposes is as follows: Payments on account of reductions in interest rates on farm mortgages: To Federal land banks. To the Federal Farm Mortgage Corporation.... Interstate Commerce Commission (motor-transport regulation) Railroad Retirement Board, salaries and expenses (new law)_ -- River and harbor work (Savannah River, Ga.) (transfer). Deficiencies for Federal establishments accrued for the fiscal year 1937 and prior years.... Supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year 1938 due to new laws for Federal activities... Other supplemental appropriations for existing Federal activi- Judgments and authorized claims on account of the Federal Total $16, 700, 000. 00 2, 500, 000. 00 300, 000. 00 500, 000. 00 214, 693. 92 1, 279, 417. 00 280, 000. 00 57, 996. 44 90, 625. 97 260, 850. 00 5,454, 941. 59 27, 638, 524. 92 The bill contains items of appropriation of an emergent nature falling into three general classifications: (a) Those for activities, which, because of their emergent situations, either require funds for operating expenses immediately or will require them within the next few months; (b) those for activities under new laws enacted in the first session of this Congress too late to receive an appropriation at that time; and (c) those for payment of judgments and authorized claims, many of which have already been delayed awaiting appropriations and in some of which further interest payments by the Government will be saved by their inclusion at this time. Of the total of the bill ($27,638,524.92), the sum of $5,454,941.59, or 20 percent, is for the payment of judgments and authorized claims and of the remainder of the total ($22,183,583.33), the sum of $19,200,000 is due to reductions in the interest rate on farm mortgages. The sum of $19,200,000 recommended on account of reductions in interest rates on farm mortgages is composed of $16,700,000 on that account for payments to Federal land banks and $2,500,000 for payments to the Federal Farm Mortgage Corporation. Under the provisions of Public Act No. 209 of the Seventy-fifth Congress, the interest rate on Federal land-bank loans was reduced from an average rate of 5.05 to 3%1⁄2 percent and the rate on Federal Farm Mortgage Corporation loans was reduced from 5 to 4 percent for the fiscal year 1938. Partial appropriations for the fiscal year 1938 on this account were made in the Third Deficiency Act, 1937, in the sum of $15,000,000 for the Federal land-bank loans and $5,000,000 for the Federal Farm Mortgage Corporation loans. These sums, together with the amounts recommended in the bill, will bring the total for the year for the Federal land-bank loans to $31,700,000 and the Federal Farm Mortgage Corporation loans to $7,500,000. In the opinion of the committee these amounts will be ample to meet the statutory decrease in rates and in the case of the Federal land-bank appropriation, a reduction of $500,000 has been made in the Budget estimate. The sum of $300,000 is recommended for expenses of the regulation of motor transport by the Interstate Commerce Commission. The appropriation for this purpose for the fiscal year 1938 is $2,450,000. The committee is advised that under existing funds the Commission is unable to keep pace with the handling of applications and the disposition of cases arising under the Motor Carrier Act and that an arrearage of work is rapidly accumulating. The Commission estimates that there are roughly 100,000 common and contract motor carriers subject to the act operating approximately 400,000 vehicles, and that private carriers of an unknown number are operating some 750,000 trucks and busses. Thus far the Commission has been unable to undertake the regulation of private carriers as contemplated by the act. The amount of $300,000 will enable the Commission to expedite the work of regulation and build up its force in contemplation of the larger organization that can be maintained under the appropriation of $3,500,000 provided in the independent offices appropriation bill for the fiscal year 1939. A total of $500,000 is recommended for salaries, printing and binding, and other expenses for the Railroad Retirement Board for the remainder of the present fiscal year. For this fiscal year the administrative appropriation for the Board is $2,325,000. That appropriation was passed to provide for the administration of the 1935 Railroad Retirement Act. Near the close of the first session of the Seventy-fifth Congress the Railroad Retirement Act of 1937 was passed. This act materially changed the 1935 act and also required the Board to take over from the carriers a large number of private pensions cases which had theretofore been handled by the carriers. Since no additional appropriation had been granted to administer the 1937 act, the Board had no alternative except to administer the two acts with the administrative appropriation granted for handling the one act. In order to adjudicate claims for pensions and annuities and to make payments promptly, it became necessary to increase very materially the personnel of the Board. The situation now is such that the Board has been compelled to dismiss 367 temporary employees and unless the additional funds are made available it will be necessary to dismiss an additional 400. The appropriation of $500,000 will retain the present personnel and permit the restoration of approximately 80 of those recently dropped. Accumulation of work is such, the committee was advised, that unless this personnel is available it will be impossible to handle the tremendous number of applications that are already on hand or in anticipation or to pay pensions and annuities and claims without unreasonable and inexcusable delay. The committee considered a request for the appropriation of $50,000 additional for the work of the United States Constitution Sesquicentennial Commission and in addition thereto the appropriation as a revolving fund, of any receipts heretofore or hereafter received by the Commission from the sale of publications and material issued by the Commission; such sums to be available until December 31, 1939. By the public resolution approved June 1, 1936, as amended by the public resolution approved August 19, 1937, direct appropriations of $475,000 were authorized for the Commission, of which the sum of $350,000 was intended for the work of the Commission and $125,000 was to enable the Commission to procure for Congressional distribution certain of the Commission's publications. None of the $125,000 has been appropriated and the budget estimate submitted to the committee did not include any allocation for that purpose. Of the $350,000 for the work of the Commission, the sum of $300,000 has already been appropriated, leaving the $50,000 unfulfilled authorization requested in this bill. By the public resolution approved August 19, 1937, all past and future receipts of the Commission from the sale of publications and materials were authorized to be appropriated as a revolving fund for the acquisition of additional publications and material. No appropiation of this revolving fund has yet been made. Of the total appropriations heretofore granted, $300,000, the sum of $289,459.96 has been expended as of January 31, 1938, leaving a balance unexpended on that date of $10,540.04. The committee was advised that there was owing by the Commission for material, supplies, publications, and so forth, a total of $87,580.43, which expense had been incurred in anticipation of the appropriation of the revolving fund authorized to be appropriated by the public resolution approved August 19, 1937. A list of these unpaid obligations will be found on pages 30 and 31 of the committee hearings. The Commission has received from the sale of publications and materials heretofore a total of $89,687.47, which has been deposited in the Treasury and is unavailable for use until appropriated for that purpose pursuant to the authorization in the public resolution of August 19, 1937. The Commission also has on hand stocks of material and publications to the sale value of $116,857.23 and in addition book charge accounts subject to collection of $4,290.98. The committee recommend the direct appropriation of $50,000 to enable the Commission to complete its work and has fixed the date for such termination as December 31, 1938, instead of December 31, 1939, as contemplated by the Budget request. Instead of providing for a revolving fund consisting of all past and future receipts from sales, the committee has made provision for the appropriation of $87,580.43 from the total of receipts heretofore deposited in the Treasury and specifies such sum for the payment of the unpaid obligations of the Commission listed on pages 30 and 31 of the hearings. It is the committee's opinion and recommendation to the House that the appropriation of $50,000 and the use of the receipts as recommended should place the Commission on a liquidation basis and that the existing stocks of publications and materials should be disposed of and no further stock should be purchased. It will be necessary for the Commission to reduce the present staff which requires a monthly roll of $6,000. Under the appropriation of $50,000, plus the unexpended balance of $10,000, a total of $60,000 will be available for all salaries and expenses for a period of 11 months. For the municipal government of the District of Columbia, there is recommended a total of $214,693.92, the amount of the Budget estimates. A large proportion of this sum is for personal services and other expenses of various municipal offices concerned with the administration of the new taxes levied by the District of Columbia Revenue Act of 1937. This act went into effect too late for additional appropriations to be secured before the present fiscal year began. Several new revenue features not theretofore in effect in the District of Columbia were instituted by the act, and the duty of assessment and collection of these taxes was mandatory upon the administrative offices concerned. Aside from incurred deficiencies for the fiscal year 1937 for institutional maintenance, general advertising, and for payment of judgments, there are two important items of a supplemental nature for the fiscal year 1938. The sum of $69,000 is carried for the pay ment of the share of the District of Columbia toward the improvement of the Washington channel of the Potomac River. This project has been authorized by Federal rivers and harbors legislation and will proceed under the direction of the Chief of Engineers of the United States Army. The authorizing act provides for a proportional contribution from the District of Columbia, and the $69,000 is the first increment due from the District. The total cost of the project is $1,650,000, and the first year's expenditure is estimated at $285,000, of which the District of Columbia is required to contribute $69,000. Work on the project will commence as soon as the District of Columbia's share for the first year, 1938, is made available. An item of $27,600 is recommended for increasing the boiler capacity at the reformatory at Lorton, Va. This increase is made necessary by the additional load resulting from the new mess hall, warehouse building, and increased laundry equipment. The sum of $1,279,417 is recommended for fighting forest fires under the jurisdiction of the Forest Service. It has been the practice of Congress for many years past to make only a nominal annual appropriation of $100,000 for this purpose in the regular act and to let the Department draw upon current operating funds to meet the fire emergencies and reimburse those funds by deficiency appropriation. The number of fires in the 1937 season was approximately 2,000 in excess of the annual average number for the previous 5-year period, while the cost for 1937 is somewhat less than the average annual cost for the previous 5-year period. The total national-forest area is approximately 226,000,000 acres, or about one-third of the total forest area of the United States. The cost for 1937 in contrast to the total area protected is not relatively a large item. The total amount recommended for the Department of Justice is $61,003.48, the amount of the Budget estimates. This sum includes $2,355 for an additional circuit judge for the Territory of Hawaii. Under existing law the Federal Government pays the salaries of these judges and the Territory defrays all other expenses of the courts. The additional office has been established by enactment of the Territorial legislature and investigation discloses that the business of the circuit courts is such as to justify early provision for the additional position. The other items under the Department of Justice comprise expenses for the fiscal year 1937 and prior fiscal years for obligations already incurred in the transaction of business of the United States courts. These deficiencies are caused by a character of expenditures that are not susceptible of administrative control due to the requirements of the judiciary. The committee recommends a provision under the Navy Department providing for the increase from $4,570,000 to $5,235,000 in the amount that may be expended for draftsmen, clerks, and other civilian employees in the field during the fiscal year 1938 from the appropriations for construction and machinery for the replacement of naval vessels. This change is made necessary because of the fact that since the original limitation was established two battleships are to be constructed in the navy yards instead of one as was originally contemplated and also because of the expedition of work at the Portsmouth, N. H., Navy Yard, in connection with the building of submarines which had been delayed due to the preparation of plans. |