(The statement referred to is as follows:) Summary of R-30, R-31, and R-32 (Naval Reserve personnel on active duty) Admiral SPEAR. Are you satisfied, sir, with the subsistence? Because ours is simply a mathematical calculation based on the increases. Mr. WOODRUM. Yes. Mr. TABER. Is there anything on the subsistence that results from a different method of figuring it than we had before? Admiral SPEAR. No, sir; except that the ration cost for subsistence in kind is increased to 50 cents. MAINTENANCE, BUREAU OF SUPPLIES AND ACCOUNTS Mr. WOODRUM. We now take up maintenance, Bureau of Supplies and Accounts, $22,000,000. Will you give us a statement on that, Admiral? Admiral SPEAR. The amount requested in this estimate under the appropriation "Maintenance, Bureau of Supplies and Accounts" is $22,000,000. This amount is required due to the progress of the national-defense program involving increases over prior estimates in both ships and personnel, and related services paid from this appropriation. TRANSPORTATION OF HOUSEHOLD EFFECTS OF NAVAL ESTABLISHMENT PERSONNEL Eight hundred and eighteen thousand dollars additional is required for the transportation of effects of personnel of the Naval Establishment. While the revised program provides for an increase of over 100 percent in the number of persons entitled by law to this service, only a 50-percent increase is here requested. This is in view of the estimate that large numbers of the additional personnel will be in the lower age groups, and that, consequently, the cost will be lower than the former average. TRANSPORTATION OF GENERAL FREIGHT Two million three hundred and three thousand five hundred and twenty-four dollars additional is required for the movement of general freight. It is estimated that a 90-percent increase will be required over the amount now appropriated. This is not only due to the enlarged program, but to the higher costs which will result due to the necessity of making coast-to-coast shipments by transcontinental rail, by reason of the nonavailability of oceangoing carriers. MAINTENANCE AND OPERATION OF SHORE STATIONS PAY OF GROUP IV (B) EMPLOYEES Seven million dollars additional are required for group IV (b) labor. This involves carrying on the rolls during 1942, 7,583 positions existing on June 30, 1941, and an increase of 2,871 positions in the navy yards and stations other than air activities at an annual cost of $4,626,695, and 1,334 new positions in air activities at a total annual cost of $2,099,000. The total over-all sum required has been reduced to allow for a 50-percent lapse, because many of the positions will not be carried for the full year. The analysis of the positions needed is given on pages 12 to 44 of the justification. PAY OF LABOR GROUPS I, II, III, AND IV (A) Four million four hundred and ninety-eight thousand dollars additional are required for labor in groups I, II, III, and IV (a). The amount requested is a 90-percent increase over the amount appropriated and is due to the need for a major enlargement of the labor force, not only because of the general increased demand at existing and new activities, but because of need for the availability of labor for three shifts at many places. Six hundred and nineteen thousand dollars of the sum requested are due to a 7.8-percent increase in wages through the action of the wage boards. One hundred and fifteen thousand dollars of the sum are for nonrecurring costs of labor for handling stores in new storehouses. Mr. TABER. Admiral, your increases so far indicate pretty nearly as much as the regular bill? Admiral SPEAR. That is true, sir. It is nearly a hundred percent increase. Mr. TABER. Why would you get a hundred percent increase there? Admiral SPEAR. You cannot work three shifts in labor without greatly increased costs. Mr. TABER. Is this for the maintenance of the shore stations? Admiral SPEAR. It is for the operation of our supply service at all yards and stations. Mr. TABER. Does this include the work that they do for the different bureaus, like Ordnance and the others? Admiral SPEAR. It is for supply, accounting, and disbursing service. Mr. TABER. Is it mostly construction or is it maintenance of the fleet? Admiral SPEAR. It is general supply service for the maintenance of the fleet, sir. Mr. TABER. That is going up a great deal faster than the enlisted strength? Admiral SPEAR. Yes, sir; because in order to get this work out we have had to put on shifts, and in many cases we have had to put on three shifts. Mr. TABER. Why should there be more than double as much to provide for a 20-percent increase in personnel? Admiral SPEAR. It is over a 67-percent increase. The rule of applying the increase due to increase in personnel requires adjustment in view of this program that we have now. That does not give us a completely accurate guide. It used to, when everything was static, and we were going from year to year with about the same work load; you could apply a percentage of the increased personnel; but you cannot adhere strictly to it now. Mr. JOHNSON of West Virginia. It costs you a good deal more when you have an increase during an emergency than it does in ordinary times, does it not? Admiral SPEAR. I do not suppose it costs us much more in proportion to the volume of work. It is the volume of work that is causing the increase, the introducing of the time factor and the necessity for overtime or shift work. Mr. JOHNSON of West Virginia. If you have to do a thing within a certain limited time, it costs you more than if you were doing it in the ordinary way? Admiral SPEAR. I dare say that is true; yes, sir. May I continue the statement, unless there are some further questions? Mr. WOODRUM. Yes; continue your statement, Admiral, please. MATERIALS AND SERVICES Admiral SPEAR. One million five hundred and eighty thousand dollars additional is required for materials and services other than personal. This need is computed on the basis of need for additional labor, $1,489,000 being in that category and representing a 90-percent increase over the amount already appropriated; $50,000 of the sum is for travel expenses of employees, and $50,000 is for nonrecurring expenses in connection with the occupancy of new storehouses. MISCELLANEOUS OPERATING CHARGES One million eight hundred thousand dollars additional is required for miscellaneous operating charges. This is made up of $1,583,000 for rental of buildings and offices including storage, warehouses, and piers, $103,000 for the increased cost of food-inspection service, and a percentage increase based on expansion of naval personnel of about $113,000 for other miscellaneous items. ADDITIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS TO SHORE STATIONS-WAREHOUSE AND OFFICE EQUIPMENT Four million dollars additional is required for nonrecurring expenditures for warehouse and office equipment. Of this amount $2,880,000 is required for warehouse and freight handling equipment and $1,119,000 for office equipment, the details of which are shown on page 56 and subsequent pages of the justification. That covers all of the headings under Maintenance. Mr. WOODRUM. That makes a total of $22,000,000 in this bill, plus the $20,475,000 in the regular bill, making a total of $42,475,000; and it is due, I judge from your statement, to two principal causes: First, the increased time that you work your people in additional shifts, which increases the cost of the labor; and, second, the general expansion of the naval program requiring expansion in all these different bureaus? Admiral SPEAR. That is correct, sir. We are a service bureau, and we must provide this service. DISTRIBUTION OF ESTIMATE FOR MAINTENANCE Mr. WOODRUM. We will put in the record this page 2, which shows the itemization. (The statement referred to is as follows :) Maintenance, Bureau of Supplies and Accounts, 1942-Statement of supplemental estimate, 1942 DISTRIBUTION OF ESTIMATE FOR ADDITIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS TO SHORE STATIONS Mr. TABER. I think we had better put in page 55 also. Mr. WOODRUM. All right. (The statement referred to is as follows:) Object 32-Additions and improvements to shore stations This object covers the cost of equipment for purchasing, supply, accounting, disbursing, and cost inspection officers, such as typewriters, adding machines, calculators, bookkeeping machines, billing machines, pay-roll machines, check writers, dictating machines, mimeographs, multigraphs, addressographs, graphotypes, time clocks, safes, filing equipment, etc., in offices; and scales, electric trucks, hydraulic trucks, trailers, cranes, stacking machines, hand trucks, box-making machines, saws, shelving, etc., in storehouses. 869, 260 (A) Recurring items--The amount of $232,960 allocated for this item of expenditure is considered sufficient. (B) Additional or increased nonrecurring items: 1. Storehouse equipment--. 2. Office equipment---. 1942 total estimated requirement_. Less: 1942 appropriated___ 1942 supplemental estimate-title III_ $2,880, 094 4, 000, 000 4,869, 260 869, 260 4, 000, 000 DISTRIBUTION OF ESTIMATE FOR MISCELLANEOUS OPERATING CHARGES Mr. TABER. On what page are these miscellaneous operating charges broken down? Admiral SPEAR. Miscellaneous is on pages 51 and 52. Mr. TABER. I think those ought to be in the record. Mr. WOODRUM. That is a break down of the $1,800,000? (The statement referred to is as follows:) OBJECT 16. MISCELLANEOUS OPERATING CHARGES This object covers charges under this appropriation not assignable to any yard or station and includes such items as rental of offices and buildings outside of navy yards, food inspection service rendered by the Department of Agriculture and the Federal Security Agency, and other miscellaneous items. 1941 appropriated.... 1942 appropriated_. (a) Additional (or increased) recurring items: 1. Additional or increased rental of buildings and offices outside of navy yards. 1942 estimated requirements (pp. 53-54). Less 1942 allocation for rentals. Additional required__-. $1,941, 787 1,583, 272 2. Increase in cost of food inspection service rendered by the Department of Agriculture due to increase in naval personnel of 67.37 percent. 1942 allocation for this purpose, $153,000-$153,000×67.37 percent additional required or- 3. The amount of $2,000 allocated for the cost of food inspection service by the Federal Security Agency is considered sufficient. 4. Increase for other miscellaneous items: 1942 allocation for this purpose_. Increase in naval personnel 67.37 percent-$168,846×67.37 1942 total estimated requirement (object 10). Less: 1942 appropriated__ 1942 supplemental estimate (title II). 103, 076 168, 846 113, 752 2,483, 361 683, 361 1, 800, 000 1 $207,800 and $245,204 for 1941 and 1942, respectively, were transferred for accounting purposes from this object to object 14-Consumable supplies and services. FUEL AND TRANSPORTATION Admiral SPEAR. The next item is fuel and transportation. FUEL OIL Under the appropriation "Fuel and transportation," an additional sum of $10,121,000 is required. This is made up of $8,741,000 needed for fuel oil. The increase in this item is due to about 1,800,000 barrels of oil at a considerable increase in price over former estimates. The 1942 appropriation price was 78.67 cents per barrel. Prices recently obtained on bids show that the general average price will be in the neighborhood of $1.17 per barrel. Mr. THOMAS. What was the date of that price of 78.67 cents? Admiral SPEAR. That was made up at the time we prepared the 1942 regular estimates, in July of 1940. |