DISCREPANCIES IN PERSONNEL STATEMENTS

Mr. TABER. Now, Mr. Ryder, I have been over these three documents that have been submitted here to the committee. They show proposed increases in staff in different categories and no two out of the three jibe. I do not know what the idea was or whether they were made up by three different people independently, or what; but it almost makes anybody wonder if you have any idea of just exactly what you do want down there.

Mr. RYDER. I do not know of but two lists, and I think you will find

I do not know That came from them,

Mr. TABER. Well, here is one list [exhibiting). where it came from, but I just got hold of it. did it not?

Mr. MOORE. That list was hastily prepared to show classification titles of the additional positions.

Mr. TABER. And here is another one, and here is page 4 of your statement. Now, I do not know which is which, or whose is whose, but they do not any of them jibe one with the other.

Mr. RYDER. The last one I had not seen, but I think you will find that they do agree. I think if you will talk with Mr. Moore, who made them up, you will see they agree.

Mr. MOORE. I do not understand in what way they do not agree. The statement that came along with the justifications is a break-down showing the number of employees in the principal organizational groups in the Commission. The second statement is a further breakdown showing the number of employees in each unit of the Com

mission.

Mr. TABER. One of them asks for 56 over-all now. Mr. RYDER. I notice two of them here agree. The total Commodity Division given on this table agrees with the table on this [indicating]-91; and the economists, and so on. Those two I can see do agree. I have not that third one before me, but these two here apparently agree.

Mr. TABER. Now, let's see. We will go down the list and see. This paper I have here [exhibiting] shows 12 commodity specialists. For the commodity group your statement shows 7 and it also shows 7 on this other sheet that was given to us.

The economists show 12 on this special sheet and in both of the other set-ups they show 15.

The lawyers show one increase in each place.

The statistical clerks show 11 in your statement, this paper here [exhibiting], and they show 8 on this paper that was furnished the committee.

The stenographers show nine on the second paper that was furnished us and they show seven in the others.

The general clerks show four on the paper that is furnished us, and I would say they show four in the other ones.

that.

The draftsmen show one in each place.

I may be wrong on

The library assistants show 3 on one paper and 2 on another.
Now, it kind of makes one wonder whether you have a definite idea

over at the Commission as to what you really want.

Mr. MOORE. There are too many break-downs that we have here.

Mr. TABER. That is the idea, exactly.

Mr. LUDLOW. Suppose you try to reconcile those figures and insert a new statement.

Mr. RYDER. I am sure there is just a difference in the break-down. Mr. MOORE. These two [exhibiting] are the ones that should be considered. The other I brought up hoping it would be helpful, but apparently it is not.

Mr. TABER. It just shows the Commission does not know what they do want to do.

Mr. RYDER. Yes; we do know what we want to do and those figures can be reconciled very easily.

(The statements respecting personnel are as follows:)

Comparison of positions by organizational units on June 30, 1939, today, and those required for balance of this year

A corrected break-down of the additional positions is as follows

Mr. LUDLOW. Unless you have something more to say to us, I think we are through.

Mr. RYDER. No; except that I do want to impress upon you the importance of permitting us to have a staff in the last quarter of this year that will allow us to do the work that we are called upon to do. It is work which we are by law required to do and which it is important to American industries that we do.

WASHINGTON, D. C., FEBRUARY 28, 1946. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

STATEMENTS OF JOHN W. GIBSON, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF LABOR; JAMES E. DODSON, BUDGET OFFICER; AND ROBERT BARNETT, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, UNITED STATES EMPLOYMENT SERVICE

SALARIES, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

Mr. LUDLOW. Mr. Gibson, we have before us an estimate in House Document 428 for an additional amount for salaries for the office of the Secretary of Labor in the amount of $31,600.

There has been appropriated for the fiscal year 1946, $395,611.
Will you tell us why you need this $31,600?

INCREASED WORK LOAD

Mr. GIBSON. This deficiency appropriation of $31,600 that the Department is asking for is due to a tremendously increased work load upon the office of the Secretary. I am told that the work load is far in excess of the war-time work loads in our Department.

We have had to participate in planning over all Government policies, working with other Federal agencies where our Department ties in with the other Departments of the Government.

The present housing program is one of those, where four or five agencies of our Department are actively participating, and the Secretary's office has had to make someone available to coordinate with the work of other agencies to see that the job is done as expeditiously as possible. One example of how the work load has been piled upon the Secretary's office is because of labor disputes. It is necessary that the two Assistant Secretaries, and even the Secretary himself, spend a great deal of time in an effort to bring the parties together.

For instance, I spent an hour and a half this morning working on these matters before coming to the Committee on Appropriations,

because everybody has to make an effort to see if some way can be found to work out agreements.

Also, we have a vast amount of legislation pending for consideration by the various committees of Congress, which means that the Secretary and the Assistant Secretaries have to make frequent trips down here. As a matter of fact, almost every day somebody from the Secretary's office is here to testify on different phases of legislation.

Since Secretary Schwellenbach has been in the Department, both he and the two Assistant Secretaries have refused almost every outside speaking engagement, that is outside of Washington, because the pressure of work keeps us here on the job, and we have felt that we could not spend the time on outside engagements. Also, we have frequently to appear here to talk to you. I think that has naturally increased the pressure we have been under.

FUNCTIONS TRANSFERRED TO DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

We have had transferred to the Department of Labor the Retraining and Reemployment Administration which involves both veterans and war workers, and the people in the Secretary's Office have to assist in the formation of those policies.

Also, the apprenticeship training has now been returned to the Department of Labor. There are pressures on us to meet the demands of programs throughout the country, such as the housing program, and that has required the Secretary's Office to work closely with that

agency.

Then we have the United States Employment Service, which has also been returned to the Department and which has greatly increased the work of the Secretary's Office in that respect.

We have the Wage Stabilization Board, formerly the War Labor Board, but which has also been transferred to the Department of Labor. We have a vast amount of work with that Board in connection with its operations, working with it on policy questions.

The Shipbuilding Stabilization Commission, which was in the War Production Board, has also been transferred to the Department. That also has created additional work for the Department.

The Secretary has inaugurated some policies for pulling the Secretary's Office closer into the policy operations of the different bureaus and agencies in an effort to coordinate them more closely. He has felt that that was necessary in the operations of the Department.

INCREASES REQUESTED

That change in policy has also placed a greater work load on the Secretary's Office.

This item of $8,075 is for two assistants to the Assistant Secretary who has been placed in charge of all the administrative work of the Department, and one special assistant to work with the Secretary, directly. The two assistants to the Assistant Secretary will be engaged in administrative work carrying out the details, following the programs through the Department and seeing that they are properly carried out.

The Special Assistant Secretary is to take charge of the ILO work in our international relations, which has tremendously increased as a result of the United Nations Organization and various other activities, both within the Government and outside the Government.

He has to maintain an active relationship with the State Department, since they have a group of labor attachés attached to the various foreign offices.

The amount of $2,298 of this money is for three secretarial positions, CAF-7, one to serve with each of the Assistant Secretaries. We have 15 positions in the 1946 Budget for the immediate Office of the Secretary, and this would increase that number by 6 additional positions. These funds are for the filling of these positions between March 1 and June 30.

TERMINAL-LEAVE PAY

The balance of the request, $11,500, is for terminal leave of employees leaving the Department. In the first 7 months we had $8,031 actually paid out, the larger part as a result of the restoration of veterans to their former jobs, and we have 46 remaining in the Secretary's Office who are on military leave or have some type of reemployment rights in that Office or in the Department.

In the within-grade advances required by law we are asking for an additional $4,200.

DECREASE IN ESTIMATED LAPSES

As a result of the decrease in estimated lapses $7,825 is necessary to maintain in an active status jobs provided for in the 1946 Budget. The original estimate was on the basis of a 5-percent lapse, but the actual lapses have been 3.7 percent in the first 6 months. The leave records as of January 1 indicate that grade 1 to grade 6 personnel of the Office of the Secretary carried over an average of 23 days of annual leave and that grade 7 to grade 15 personnel carried an average of 43 days.

Five man-months of leave were canceled of employees who had it coming to them. They were in the Secretary's Office and we could not permit them to go on leave.

Mr. LUDLOW. That covers, in a comprehensive way, the estimate of $31,600.

Mr. GIBSON. Yes.

Mr. LUDLOW. With that additional amount you will have had in the Secretary's Office $427,291 for the fiscal year 1946.

APPROPRIATION FOR FISCAL YEARS 1944 AND 1945

What was the total appropriation for the previous fiscal year, 1945, and also the fiscal year 1944?

Mr. DODSON. It would be practically the same because there have been no material increases in the Secretary's Office in the number of positions in 1944 and 1945. I will be glad to place those figures in the record.