PART TWO. REPORT OF COMMITTEE ACTIVITIES

Matters of Interest, Full Committee

Pursuant to the direction of the chairman, the staff of the full committee handles a large number of matters alone or in cooperation with subcommittee staffs. Many of these have been referred to the committee by Members of Congress or by others. Some of the matters are in the nature of followups on committee reports or studies of General Accounting Office reports. Among the more significant are the following:

1. Federal Highway Administration-Reimbursement for Costs Not Yet Repaid by States.

Summary.-Department of Transportation comments on the Comptroller General's report, "Opportunity to Increase Highway Trust Fund Investment Income by Revising Federal Reimbursement Policy, Federal Highway Administration, Department of Transportation' (B-162919; September 17, 1968), prompted a meeting of a full committee staff member, staff of the Executive and Legislative Reorganization Subcommittee, and representatives from the GAO.

The report had criticized the FHWA for reimbursing States for costs which had not yet been paid by these States (contractor retents). After the Comptroller General's study had been issued, the Congress approved the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act of 1968. Section 203 of the act requires Federal agencies to schedule transfer of grant-inaid funds "consistent with program purposes and applicable Treasury regulations so as to minimize the time elapsing between the transfer of such funds from the U.S. Treasury and the disbursement thereof by a State, whether such disbursement occurs prior to or subsequent to such transfer of funds ****

The committee asked DOT on February 27, 1969, for further comments which would develop this point. The Department of Transportation's April 17, 1969, letter responded that the Department's present cash-management program was consistent with the intent of section 203, that the Comptroller General's statement of loss of interest to the trust fund was actually dealing with "minimal" loss, and that the States were performing reciprocal services so that the Federal Government was receiving voluntary benefits conferred voluntarily by the States in substantial amounts so as to offset the benefit obtained through the reimbursements to the States for contractor retents.

Because of this response and DOT's indicated opposition to a GAO suggestion that DOT conduct a study of potential savings and other probable effects from a change in reimbursement policy, it was determined at the above meeting that further committee review was required.

On August 29, 1969, the Bureau of the Budget issued Circular A-96 relating to implementation of sections 202, 203, and 204 of the Inter

governmental Cooperation Act. Questions raised by this circular are being explored with the GAO.

2. Department of the Interior-Public Participation in Planning for Roads in National Parks.

Summary. The Chairman of the full committee wrote to the Secretary of the Interior, on February 7, 1969, concerning newly adopted procedures designed to insure effective public participation in determining the location and design of road projects in the National Park System. The procedures, approved January 18, 1969, appeared at 34 F.R. 1405-06 (January 29, 1969) and were not in a codified format as additions or amendments to an appropriate title of the Code of Federal Regulations for easier general public reference and accessibility. Interior replied on March 20, 1969, that codification of the proce dures for inclusion in the CFR would require their resubmission to the Office of the Federal Register by the Secretary of the Interior in the appropriate format and that this would be sent to the Office of the Federal Register for publication in title 36 of the CFR.

On April 25, 1969, Interior wrote the committee that after a review of the matter the procedure approved on January 18 had been revoked, because the location and design of park roads is only one of several important factors in the planning process, and all phases should be subject to comment from the public.

On May 1, 1969, the chairman again wrote to the Secretary requesting that he advise the committee as to the action to be taken relating to publication of any revised procedures in permanent form for inclusion in the Code of Federal Regulations. The committee is awaiting the Department's action.

3. Former Files of the Committee in National Archives-Availability to the Department of Justice.

Summary.-On March 20, 1969, the Assistant Attorney General (Civil Division) wrote to the committee chairman requesting access to certain records of the House in the National Archives which were formerly part of the files of the committee during a prior Congress. The records in question are those relating to a subcommittee investigation and are described in the letter as essential to the Department's defense of a pending civil case.

The records were examined by the committee staff and a memorandum was prepared covering the Department's reasons for desiring the material and pertinent rules and practices of the House. An arrangement was worked out which essentially would have provided the Department what it needed; however, the Department has not found it necessary to pursue its request further.

4. Bureau of the Budget-Presidential Advisory Committees.

Summary.-On March 24, 1969, the committee chairman wrote the Director of the Bureau of the Budget concerning subsection 2(f) of Executive Order No. 11458, March 5, 1969 (prescribing arrangements for developing and coordinating a national program for minority business enterprise), which subsection provides: "For the purposes of Executive Order No. 11007 of February 26, 1962, the Council shall be deemed to have been formed by the Secretary." The chairman asked whether it was now administration policy in general to extend the

standards of Executive Order No. 11007 to presidentially established advisory committees, boards, commissions or similar groups. In his reply of May 21, 1969, the Director stated:

We believe that the intent of the Executive Order No. 11007 is to promote the responsible management of the multitude of advisory groups created by Federal agencies. We do not believe that all of the Executive Order's guidance is necessarily appropriate to each presidential advisory committee ***. It is, on the other hand, the President's intent to subject certain future presidential advisory committees to the terms of the order when he deems it appropriate * * *. 5. Bureau of the Budget.-Illegible Signatures on Agency Correspondence.

Summary.-At the request of the committee, the Bureau of the Budget took steps to insure that in all departments and agencies the names of all signing officers be typed or stamped immediately below their signatures. The committee had been receiving from various agencies letters bearing illegible signatures without a typed or stamped name beneath them.

The problem was handled by the Bureau and the Archivist of the United States (GSA). Steps to be taken included an immediate change in the U.S. Government Correspondence Manual, issuance of an amendment to the correspondence management portion of the Federal Property Management Regulations, and a conference with all agency records management officers.

On August 21, 1969, GSA Bulletin FPMR B-19 was issued to heads of Federal agencies to bring to their attention the approved procedure for indicating the signature element on Government correspondence. The matter was also placed on the agenda for a September 15 meeting of the Federal records officers group to promote a positive agency response to the Bulletin.

6. Corps of Engineers-Review of Policies and Practices for Acquiring Land for Reservoir Projects.

Summary.-The Comptroller General's report, "Review of Policies and Practices for Acquiring Land for Reservoir Projects, Corps of Engineers (Civil Functions), Department of the Army" (B-118634, February 3, 1969), proposed, inter alia, that the Secretary of the Army consider revising corps policies and procedures to provide for identifying the additional costs incurred in acquiring, in fee, reservoir project land designated for recreational uses and for obtaining from other agencies definitive planning as to the use of the land.

Responding to the committee's request for comments, the Department of the Army stated that its 1962 land acquisition policy should be continued and that allocation procedures now in use are consistent with the stated purposes in the various public laws covering project authorization, fish and wildlife and recreation.

In a letter to the Secretary of Defense, the committee chairman noted that the views expressed in Mr. Jordan's letter were consistent with the position of the committee as stated in House Report No. 1185, 85th Congress, dated August 16, 1957. The chairman also stated that the committee has not since changed its position.

7. Enforcement of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act-Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.

Summary.-Because of concern that the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was not adequately enforcing title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 since January 1969, Chairman Dawson on June 30, 1969, sent a letter to President Nixon. In the letter, he advised the President that the Department of HEW keeps the committee informed of its actions pursuant to title VI. The chairman pointed out that in the year prior to the President's inauguration, HEW had notified the committee of action in 61 cases and that in the 5 months since the inauguration, the Department had notified of action in only

seven cases.

On July 2, 1969, in reply to the chairman's letter, Bryce N. Harlow, Assistant to the President, stated:

You may be sure that the Administration shares your concern about the fair and firm enforcement of all civil rights programs, including those related to education. Your specific comments will be drawn to the attention of the officials charged with responsibility for formulating and enforcing administration policy in this area.

8. Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1969-Transfer to the President of Function of Designating Chairman of the Interstate Commerce Commission.

Summary. The plan provides for transferring from the ICC to the President the function of choosing one of the ICC members to be the Chairman. At the request of a member of the committee, the full committee staff prepared a detailed memorandum on the authority of the ICC to appoint its own chairman of the ICC, as it relates to section 3(a) of the above plan. The question arose because the Interstate Commerce Act does not contain language which states precisely that the ICC or anyone else is authorized to appoint its Chairman. The Reorganization Act of 1949, as amended, prohibits the creation of new functions by reorganization plan (5 U.S.C. 905 (a) (4)).

Following a review of precedents dealing with this problem, the memorandum concluded that the Interstate Commerce Act, as originally enacted on February 4, 1887 (24 Stat. 379), gave the Commission authority to select its chairman. Therefore, the function of selecting a chairman was "expressly authorized by law" at the time Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1969 was transmitted to Congress and properly subject to transfer by reorganization plan.

9. Department of the Interior-Death Valley National MonumentLand and Water Rights in the Furnace Creek Area.

Summary.-In House Report No. 193, 89th Congress, the committee dealt with land and water rights problems and Park Service operations in the Furnace Creek area of Death Valley National Monument. The report found that the Death Valley Hotel Co., owner of the principal resort properties in the area, was using much of the water supply there under a highly questionable claim of right.

After issuance of the report, the Department of the Interior advised the committee that the hotel company was interested in negotiating the sale of its Furnace Creek properties to the United States.