Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1969, had as its purpose to (a) transfer to the Chairman of the ICC the executive and administrative functions then conducted by the Commission as a whole; (b) give the Chairman authority to delegate functions transferred to him to any officer, employee, or administrative unit under his jurisdiction; and (c) give the President of the United States the power to select the Chairman of the ICC from among its members, was transmitted to the Committee on July 22, 1969. Inasmuch as no disapproval resolution was filed in either the House or the Senate, the Plan became effective October 11, 1969. Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1970, to (a) establish a new Office of Telecommunications policy in the Executive Office of the President, which would perform telecommunications functions vested in the President by the Communications Act of 1934 and other statutes delegated in the then existing Office of Telecommunications Management, and (b) to abolish the Office of Telecommunications Management in the Office of Emergency Preparedness, was transmitted to the Committee on February 9, 1970. The Plan became effective April 20, 1970. Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1970, to (a) redesignate the Bureau of the Budget as the Office of Management and Budget, and (b) create a Cabinet-level domestic council to be directed by a White House assistant, was transmitted to the Committee on March 12, 1970. The Plan became effective on May 16, 1970. The Plan itself, however, contained a provision that it would not become operative until July 1, 1970. Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1970, to create an independent Environmental Protection Agency, was transmitted to the Committee on July 9, 1970. The Plan became effective on October 3, 1970. The Plan itself, however, stipulated that the provisions of this reorganization would take effective sixty (60) days after the date they would take effect under the Reorganization Act. Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1970, to create within the Department of Commerce a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, was transmitted to the Committee on July 9, 1970. The Plan became effective on October 3, 1970. E. COMMITTEE ACTION ON REPORTS OF THE COMPTROLLER GENERAL Rule XI, 8(c) (1), of the rules of the House, imposes the duty upon this committee to receive and examine reports of the Comptroller General referred to it and to make such recommendations to the House as it deems necessary or desirable in connection with the subject matter of the reports. In discharging this responsibility all reports of the Comptroller General received by the committee are studied and analyzed by the staff and referred to the subcommittee of this committee to which has been assigned general jurisdiction over the subject matter involved. The committee has received a total of 330 General Accounting Office audit reports for processing during the 91st Congress (December 31, 1970). After preliminary staff study, these reports were referred to subcommittees of this committee as follows: Military Operations_. Government Activities.. Intergovernmental Relations.. 132 42 46 Executive and Legislative Reorganization. Conservation and Natural Resources. Total. 24 30 22 24 10 330 Periodic reports are received from the subcommittees on the action taken with respect to individual reports, and monthly reports are made to the chairman on the status of all reports received. During the session, the subcommittees used the reports to further specific investigations and reviews. In most cases, additional information concerning the findings and recommendations of the Comptroller General was requested and received from the administrative agency involved, as well as from the General Accounting Office. More specific information on the action taken on these reports is included in part two, below. The committee maintains complete files of all the Comptroller General's reports received. A record is kept showing the subcommittee to which referred, the date of referral, and the actions taken. All the reports received during the Congress are reviewed by the committee in the light of additional information obtained and action taken by the subcommittees, and determinations are made whether specific recommendations to the House are necessary or desirable under rule XI. PART TWO. REPORT OF COMMITTEE ACTIVITIES I. Investigations A. INVESTIGATIONS RESULTING IN FORMAL REPORTS MILITARY OPERATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE 1. "Government Procurement and Contracting (Commission on Government Procurement)." House Report No. 91-468, August 12, 1969. (a) Summary.-Preparatory to reporting out H.R. 474, the bill to establish a Commission on Government Procurement (see II below), the Military Operations Subcommittee conducted extensive investigations into Government procurement. Problem areas considered in the hearings and summarized in the report were the following: Modernizing the procurement statutes Simplifying the regulations Training of procurement personnel Promoting more competition Incentive contracting Total package procurement Source selection and performance evaluation Truth in negotiations Cost estimation Profits and risks Reduction of paperwork Small business Procurement against poverty Fair employment and public contracting Patents and proprietary data Conflicts of interest Bid protests Contract appeal board structure Resolution of contract disputes Role of the contract auditor Architect-engineer services Rights of the subcontractor Financial risks of catastrophic accidents Contracts versus grants (b) Benefits.-The extensive hearings had these beneficial results: (1) to lay a solid fact base for successful consideration of H.R. 474, 53-695-70- -3 PURCHASED THROUGH DOC. EX. PROJECT the bill to establish a Commission on Government Procurement; (2) to identify important problem areas and promising lines of investi gation for consideration by the Commission; and (3) to encourage remedial action of a more immediate nature, where appropriate, by the Government departments and agencies. Considering that total Government expenditures each year for the procurement of goods, services, and facilities approximate $55 billion, we estimate conservatively that the short-term and long-term committee investigations and the work of the Commission on Government Procurement will yield savings of $550 million a year, which requires only a 1-percent increase in procurement efficiency. (c) Hearings.-For hearing dates, see II below. The hearings required more than 30 separate sessions and the appearance of more than 100 expert witnesses. The hearings were directed along these lines: 1. To hear from the Government departments and agencies which account for the great bulk of procurement spending. These include the Department of Defense, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Atomic Energy Commission, and General Services Administration. Since the Department of Defense is preeminent in the spending of procurement dollars, the subcommittee examined procurement at the Defense level in terms of policy, funding controls, contracts administration, and contract auditing. Procurement functions and activities of the Defense Supply Agency and the several military departments also were reviewed. There was considerable discussion of problems associated with selected weapon programs, such as the Air Force's C-5A cargo aircraft, the Army's Cheyenne helicopter, and the Navy's shipbuilding. 2. To get a cross-section view of civil agency procurement, with particular attention to those departments and agencies which have a potential for substantially increased procurement as efforts are made to solve pressing urban problems. The subcommittee took testimony from the Departments of Health, Education, and Welfare, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, and Post Office and from the Veterans' Administration. Significantly, some of the strongest endorsements of the bill in the executive branch came from heads of the newer departments-HEW, HUD, DOT. 3. To examine the procurement process from the standpoint of those agencies whose regulatory, investigative, administrative or adjudicative functions are important in guiding or controlling this process. In this category prepared and oral presentations were made by the Bureau of the Budget, General Accounting Office, Small Business Administration, and the Departments of Justice and Labor. The Renegotiation Board submitted a written statement. 4. To examine in more depth and detail selected functional or problem areas which cut across agency lines or are common to several or all of them. Here the subcommittee examined such problem areas as support service contracting, procedures for resolving contract disputes, and financial risks to the public and contractors arising from catastrophic accidents. |