November 1968, had been partially accomplished with the assistance of a foundation known as The Nature Conservancy through a revolving fund of $5 million provided by the Ford Foundation. The Nature Conservancy advanced $375,000 as the consideration from the United States pursuant to the above memorandum of understanding. The Park Service assigned its rights to 7,600 acres under the memorandum of understanding to the foundation, keeping an option to repurchase for the same figure plus interest.

Thus, the foundation temporarily took the legal title to this land, but with no right whatever to the use of any water. The Appropriations Committee has knowledge of this agreement, and the Department's fiscal year 1971 budget request carried a line item representing the $375,000 repayment to the Nature Conservancy for its conveyance of the land to the United States. The committee was also advised that there were no present plans for Park Service development in this

area.

10. Identical Bidding in Public Procurement and Property Disposal. Summary. The committee has been concerned with this matter since 1961, when it considered legislation to provide for public information on identical bids to public agencies, a measure subsequently passed by the House.21

Under Executive Order 10936, April 24, 1961, the purpose of which is to make enforcement of the antitrust laws more effective, agencies must report to the Attorney General identical bids in advertised procurement and property sales for more than $10,000. State and local governments are invited to transmit identical bid information to the Attorney General. Eight reports to the President have now been issued by the Attorney General on identical bidding in public procurement and property disposal.

The eighth report, dated July 31, 1969, showed that in 1968 identical bidding affected $32.2 million of advertised Federal, State, and local government procurement. This was a decline of 8.6 percent from the $35.2 million reported in 1967 and was the smallest volume of procurement yet reported for 1 year. On the other hand, identical bidding in the disposal of Federal property increased during 1968, when 60 reports were submitted involving $95.5 million in sales. This compares with the 1967 totals of 37 reports involving $34.6 million in sales. In all reported cases the reporting disposal agency has been the General Services Administration. The 1968 increase appears to be attributable to larger disposals of silver and mercury by GSA. Questions raised by the report are now under study.

The Department of the Interior advised the Committee in the 89th Congress that it favored the requirement of noncollusion certificates in connection with property disposals within the Department and procedures would be adopted to carry out this policy. In January 1970, the Department published new regulations in the Federal Register with respect to the sale of personal property and real property.

An outgrowth of this committee's interest was adoption by GSA and DOD in their respective procurement regulations of requirements for certifications of independent price determination in Federal procurement contracts (41 CFR 1-1.317 and 1-2.201(a) (28); 32 CFR 1.115 and 2.201 (a) (33)). With respect to property disposals, see 41 CFR 10145.4926.

These regulations include provisions concerning noncollusive bids and proposals, with procedures for reporting to the Attorney General evidence of collusion or other conduct in violation of law. (See 41 CFR 114-45.317 and 144-47.304-51, appearing at 35 F.R. 293 and 299, January 8, 1970. The latter section was amended slightly in 36 F.R. 221, January 7, 1971.)

The ninth report, dated July 31, 1970, showed that in 1969 identical bidding affected $32.2 million of advertised procurement, the same amount reported for 1968. However, the Federal share of this total diminished by 6.7 percent, while the State and local government share rose by 16.5 percent. The drop in the Federal share is, in part, a reflection of a 9.2 percent decline in all advertised procurement by the Government in 1969. (Advertised Federal procurement for 1969 maintained approximately the same ratio to other procurements— 13.7%-as in 1968.)

Identical bidding in the disposal of Federal property increased during 1969, when 66 reports were submitted covering $132.7 million. Once more much of this increase is associated with large disposals of federally owned silver by the General Services Administration.

11. Special Automatic Data Processing Activities.

Summary.-A number of the Committee's activities related to automatic data processing. The Committee considered and took favorable action on II.R. 10791, a bill to amend the Budget and Accounting Act to direct the Comptroller General to establish information and data processing systems. (See II, infra, under the heading "Government Activities Subcommittee".) Other such activities at the Full Committee level included the following:

(a) Pursuant to a request of the Committee on House Administration, the Committee established a staff liaison team to cooperate with the Working Group of the Administration Committee's Special Subcommittee on Electrical and Mechanical Office Equipment. Members of the team conferred several times with the Working Group and with representatives of the Administration Committee's current contractors toward assaying information needs and developing long-range plans to create a major information and analysis capability for the House.

(b) The Committee continued to follow operations of the Air Force's LITE activity, a computerized information retrieval system for legal research in certain Federal legal materials (e.g., the U.S. Code), whose full texts are stored as data bases on direct access disk files. This was the subject of a 1968 Committee report (H. Rept. 1133, 90th Congress). Following a Government-wide briefing session in February 1970, a memorandum was prepared concerning trends and developments in the LITE system. During 1970, LITE changed from a contractor-supported to an "in-house" development, with conversion to another more powerful computer system. The Committee also made its first actual use of the system to search the U.S. Code regarding subpenas duces tecum in connection with the Committee's report "Unauthorized Bureau of Land Management Subpena

Regulations" (H. Rept. 91-916). The Committee has been advised that the Air Force has decided to render LITE search services to the Congress free of charge.

(c) The Committee has begun a test project that may lead to production of its legislative calendar in part through use of automatic data processing equipment, subject to final concurrence of Committee on House Administration. On February 6, 1969, the chairman and ranking minority member of the House Committee on Banking and Currency invited the Committee's attention to the Banking and Currency Committee's initiation of a pilot project for a computerized bill-status and summary service. An administrative terminal system (ATS) is located in the committee office. This is a typewriter-console providing remote data entry and output. The terminal is linked with a computer, data-storage devices, and a high-speed printer in the Library of Congress. The result is the capability of maintaining and storing a committee's legislative calendar in continuously updated and corrected form. Access is immediate, and output is automatically returned in typewritten form. It was pointed out also that production of the printed calendar, using offset printing of high-speed printouts, would effect great savings in printing costs.

The committee staff studied this project and, by memorandum dated February 14, 1969, recommended that the Committee advise the Committee on House Administration of its interest in such a service and of the staff's preliminary conclusion that it could probably effect substantial savings and improved efficiency for the committee. After the committee staff had met with staff members of the Joint Committee on Printing, the Committee on House Administration, and the Library of Congress, the Chairman requested, on May 14, 1970, the Legislative Reference Service to study the feasibility of using computers to assist the Committee in production of its calendar. The completed study, dated October 16, 1970, indicated that the largest portion of the calendar, namely the bill, author, and subject sections, was particularly suited to ATS because the information in those sections is repetitive and subject to frequent change and addition. The study also affirmed that sizable savings and increased efficiency would ensue.

In November 1970, following clearance by the Committee on House Administration, the Committee commenced a two-months' trial run for training and test purposes. Preliminary figures, based in part on experience of the Banking and Currency Committee suggest that computerized calendar production, as proposed, would reduce the overall Government cost of producing the Committee's calendar by at least 50 percent, in addition to improving speed and accuracy of recording and retrieving calendar data. The ATS and related storage service could be used for applications other than calendar production, for example, reproducing form letters and merging them with mailing lists.

At the same time, the Committee Chairman, voicing also the interest of the Chairman of the Government Activities Subcommittee, has urged to the Library of Congress and to the Committee on House Administration the importance, from the standpoint of the Committee's responsibilities and policies in procurement and ADP matters, of the Library's making strong efforts to insure use of com

petitive procurement techniques in the acquisition of ADP devices such as terminals. The Librarian of Congress advised the Committee Chairman that it was in accord with this principle and was preparing formal invitations to obtain competitive proposals.

12. Outside Disclosure of Draft GAO Reports.

Summary. In 1970, the Committee noted from press stories two apparent disclosures (not attributable to GAO personnel) of information from draft audit reports to the Congress by the Comptroller General. The Committee became concerned because such disclosures purport to give findings and conclusions of the Comptroller General, when in fact the report has not yet received his final approval and may be changed substantially before such approval. The Committee reviewed the matter with the Comptroller General; and by letter to him dated February 5, 1970, suggested that the GAO consider additional steps against improper disclosure of the draft reports beyond the measures already being employed.

The Comptroller General responded on February 20, 1970, that, while he did not think that the given instances of premature disclosure were attributable to lack of knowledge of the restricted nature of the information, GAO nevertheless planned to adopt additional measures to reemphasize this restricted nature. The correspondence is printed in the Congressional Record for April 23, 1970, at page E3540.

13. Information on Industrial or Commercial Activities of the Federal Government.

Summary. As a result of a request from a Member of Congress, a study was prepared and transmitted May 22, 1970, on industrial or commercial activities of the Federal Government. It included some data on revenues and expenses and a collection of 24 documents bearing on the subject. The study noted that there seems to be no consolidated list of such information in the Federal Government.

14. Committee Practices Regarding Federal Tax Returns It Has Requested.

Summary.-At the request of the Chairman of the Joint Committee on Internal Revenue Taxation, an analysis was prepared and transmitted November 22, 1970, concerning the Committee's practices and experience in requesting and inspecting Federal tax returns, including protection of the information from unnecessary disclosure. It was pointed out that Committee requests for such returns have been relatively infrequent and that access to the information within the Committee is on a "need to know" basis, the returns at no time being discussed in public hearings or routine correspondence. The returns are requested pursuant to biennial Executive Orders specifically directed to the Committee and general procedures set out in 26 CFR 301.6103 (a)-101.

OTHER MATTERS

Special action at the full committee level was taken with respect to a variety of additional matters:

A. Several special matters of legislative character required considerable activity of the Full Committee and staff. These included:

1. In response to requests from the Majority Leader, there were prepared (a) a review of pending legislation under active consideration and (b) a summary and analyses of the extent and mode of Executive agency responses to Committee requests for views and comments on pending measures.

2. An analysis was prepared of the history of the Employment Act of 1946 from the standpoint of the Committee's jurisdiction. 3. A study was prepared of alternate procedures under the Reorganization Act of 1949.

4. Following the President's Message of February 27, 1970, on reduced budget outlays for Federal programs and the subsequent referral to the Committee of H.R. 16264 (an omnibus economy bill to implement the Message), the Chairman requested the President to provide information on savings mentioned in the Message as achievable through administrative action. The requested information was provided. The Chairman had new legislation drafted in the form of nine separate bills which he introduced so as to be referable to the various Committees of substantive jurisdiction.

5. Work, including correspondence with the Committees on Rules and Interior and Insular Affairs, was done relating to differences between H.R. 18275 and H.R. 15913. The former bill was reported favorably by the Committee, and the latter, by the Interior Committee. Both measures had as an objective achieving greater utilization of surplus Federal real property for public park and recreation purposes by allowing price discounts up to 100 percent. The differences were resolved, so that H.R. 15913 incorporated most of the features of H.R. 18275 relating to the Federal Property Act of 1949. (See II, infra, under the heading "Government Activities Subcommittee".)

6. A memorandum was prepared and forwarded to the Government Activities Subcommittee concerning a provision of S. 2864, the Housing Act of 1969. The section in question dealt with transfer of Federal excess real property to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development for sale or lease for low or moderate income housing. Thereafter, that section of the bill (sec. 414 as enacted by Public Law 91-152) was modified to change "excess" property to "surplus" property and to give the Administrator of General Services discretion whether specific real property should be transferred. In 1970, amendments offered to section 414 were reviewed by the Committee because of their relationship to property disposals under the Federal Property Act. The Committee Chairman proposed adding to the amendments language to require that the Administrator join the Secretary in approving any change of property use restrictions and that notice of any surplus