make the award based on a competitive bid, received under the present contract.

There are a few more items in the original program to be advertised. The advertising date is imminent on those, and some of these could be added to that if we could get the release and get the funds. Mr. DAVIS. You have had a little over $31 million to date. Mr. MCCLOUD. Yes, sir.

Mr. DAVIS. What is the present status of your funding at Plattsburg?

Mr. McCLOUD. Of that $31 million we have actually under obligation $20,249,000 with additional items ready for advertising almost immediately.

When I talked with them yesterday, they wanted to know the status of this particular program. They are ready to write the advertisement and place it in the newspaper in the New York district now. It consists of the airmen's barracks, which were not included in the original program, and the communication building, and several navigational aids, and these dates are all good, and they will all be completed between January and April. There is only one date that is as far away as April. Between now and April we could place all of this program under contract.

Mr. DAVIS. You could place the $11 million that you now have unobligated, plus the additional $7 million that you are requesting?

Mr. McCLOUD. Well, the total of $10,581,000 which is now unobligated is largely represented by very large savings in the contract which we have taken-in the three contracts we have taken. It is that savings that we plan to use to fund these items, which we are trying to get cleared.

What I am trying to say is that the entire $10 million unobligated does not represent programs which have not been placed under

contract.

The only portion of the previous program at Plattsburg that is not under contract, involves the airmen's barracks, the communications buildings, and 2 or 3 little navigational aids. The entire program was placed under contract except for those items in January.

Mr. DAVIS. I would suggest that you furnish to the committee a statement showing the estimates which you previously submitted to this committee, and the actual contracts now under award.

Mr. McCLOUD. Do you mean the estimates as of November, and as of the date of taking the bids?

Mr. DAVIS. The last time that you presented the estimate to the committee.

Mr. McCLOUD. Yes, sir.

Mr. DAVIS. And then, a comparative listing showing the actual contract awards.

Mr. McCLOUD. Yes, sir.

We have them, and in nearly every case, it will show a lesser amount. The barracks amount to $1.3 million, and the value of the work yet to go to contract amounts to about $1.5 million, and the difference is arrived at by taking that from the approximate $10 million.

The amount which we have unobligated is represented, largely, in savings, and we have a program showing the original estimates before bids, and after bids, that we can furnish.

I think 1 reason that they were able to get such good bids is because it was such a large, attractive contract in 3 schedules, and that only 3 prime contractors are on the entire job.

(The following information was later supplied:)

The attached tabulation indicates engineers' estimates of the line items at Plattsburg versus the present estimates based on low bids received.

It should be explained that the $21 million plus-minus of contract awards made represents only the amounts of the low bids. Total working estimates of all contract items plus land acquisition and including Government costs and contingencies is $25,015,000 as indicated on the attached tabulation. This difference is a part of the unobligated $10,581,950 as of February 1. Work yet to be awarded has a total estimated value of $2,218,000 for a total of $27,233,000. The surplus, therefore, in the program as a result of low bids received is the difference between the programed cost of $30,831,000 and $27,233,000 which represents the estimated cost of all work under contract plus work yet to be awarded. This surplus can be applied against the additional items in Public Law 209 on which we are requesting committee clearance at this time.

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, DEL.

Mr. DAVIS. General Asensio's letter of February 4 mentions another group of items that was denied by the committee in November, pending further justification.

I take it from the letter that you are now prepared to furnish us with further justification this morning.

The first of those items is an item at the Dover Air Force Base, for a hospital.

I believe at that time the committee questioned you on this project the clearance that you needed from the large number of groups that seem to be involved every time we discuss a hospital for the armed services had not been received. I wonder if you can tell us just what has happened since the time of your previous appearance before the committee that requires or justifies you presenting this item to us at

this time?

Mr. McCLOUD. I think so. Some of those clearances had been obtained, and we were not sure of ourselves in November.

General WRAY. I can read a list of the clearances which we have received which involve the Secretary of the Air Force, the Assistant Secretary of Defense, for properties and installations; the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Medical; the Secretary of Defense Office, itself, because Mr. Wilson has to approve them, and the Bureau of the Budget.

For your information, we do have to clear hospitals through all those people.

Mr. McCLOUD. The Office in the Bureau of the Budget is the Executive Office of the President.

Mr. DAVIS. This specific hospital at this particular place has now been cleared?

Mr. McCLOUD. That is right, because OSD will not clear us on a hospital until it passes their medical board, which checks the hospital requirements for all three services. They furnish us a schedule of what we can put into the program.

Mr. DAVIS. I am aware of that, but we need to have the specific assurance that all of this has been done, because we do not want to appropriate the money and then have it go back and have to be cleared later. That is what has been done in the past.

General WRAY. This has been done.

Mr. DAVIS. At the time of your testimony in November, Mr. McCloud, you stated, I note here, that it had not been finally cleared by the joint hospital board.

Mr. McCLOUD. Yes, sir.

Mr. DAVIS. So, that has been cleared since that time?

Mr. McCLOUD. Yes, sir.

General WRAY. We have a complete justification, if you would like for us to furnish it for the record.

Mr. DAVIS. This appears to be a fairly complete statement, so we will insert it in the record at this point.

(The matter referred to is as follows:)

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE

ADDITIONAL JUSTIFICATION FOR HOSPITAL

This project provides for the construction of a new permanent hospital so as to provide for 100 beds for military patients and other authorized personnel, with provisions for possible future expansion of an additional 100 beds at minimum cost. This item has been cleared by Secretary of the Air Force; Assistant Secretary of Defense for Properties and Installations; Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health and Medical; Secretary of Defense; Bureau of Budget and the President.

This is a permanent Air Force base. There are 15 buildings of the temporary cantonment type existing which were once used as a small hospital. They were constructed in 1941 with a life expectancy of 5 years. The hospital has been inactive since 1946. The roofs, floors, and walls are in various stages of advanced deterioration. Rehabilitation of these structures would be very expensive and still produce only a temporary structure with completely inadequate clinical areas and a very unsatisfactory functional arrangement. A temporary 50-bed hospital addition was authorized in the fiscal year 1952 public-works program but has been canceled in view of the present condition of this facility.

The proposed 100/200 permanent hospital at Dover Air Force Base is based on a projected military strength of 6,105 permanent party personnel plus 884 personnel who represent an average transient load. These permanent party personnel will man 9 air-transport squadrons, 2 fighter interceptor squadrons, a PAE, and the other base activities necessary to support the flying squadrons. The hospital will also provide care for approximately 7,000 dependents of military personnel who are expected to reside in the immediate area. There is no other military hospital in the vicinity of the base. The base is expected to develop a patient load of approximately 81 military patients plus 21 dependent patients for a total of 102 patients. Of these approximately 10 will be transferred off-base because of the specialized nature of their illnesses.

The nearest military medical facilities are: Naval hospital, Bainbridge, Md., a distance of 75 miles; naval hospital, Philadelphia, Pa., a distance of 95 miles; and Valley Forge Army Hospital, Phoenixville, Pa., a distance of 115 miles. Civilian medical facilities are located at Dover and Milford, Del., which have a capacity of approximately 75 beds which are taxed to the maximum.

Mr. HAND. What amount of money is involved for the hospital at Dover Air Force Base?

Mr. McCLOUD. The present working estimate is $2,309,000.
Mr. HAND. And that is for 100 beds; is it?

General WRAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. MCCLOUD. It is 100 on 200 basis.

Mr. HAND. I do not know that it would serve any purpose by any reexamination, but it is my impression that the committee, or at least myself, had the feeling at the prior hearings that the expense involved in the construction of this proposed hospital at Dover was very, very high, compared to the size of the hospital.

General WRAY. This amounts to $23,000 a bed. That is generally just about what they run, sir. Hospitals are expensive.

Mr. HAND. I am not going to pursue the point now, since we can refresh our recollection from the previous record.

Mr. RILEY. This is a standard hospital which is now authorized for all services; is it not?

Mr. McCLOUD. That is correct.

LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, TEX., AND ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S. DAK.

Mr. DAVIS. We have 2 items that appear to be subject to discussion together, the 2 swimming pools, 1 of them at Ellsworth Air Force Base, and the other at the Laughlin Air Force Base.

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Will you tell us what has occurred with respect to them that would justify the committee in changing the decision which it made in November?

Mr. MCCLOUD. We feel that the additional justifications submitted by the commander in the field who operates these 2 bases-1 in the training command and 1 in the Strategic Air Command-has submitted a sufficient need for the swimming pools at these two locations to warrant construction of them.

In addition, since our November appearance before you here, the Office of the Secretary of Defense has come to an agreement on the provision of recreational facilities at all military installations.

We have a paper here, approved by Mr. Wilson, and signed by Mr. Floete, and Dr. Hanna, approved by Mr. Wilson on the 18th of February, which sets forth the yardstick by which they plan to program hospitals in future programs.

General WRAY. It applies to officers' clubs, NCO clubs, swimming pools and gymnasiums.

Mr. McCLOUD. It covers all recreational facilities.

In applying this yardstick, based on the population, it provides for pools at posts of smaller size than would be allowed in the Army regulation which they cited as the official yardstick for providing these facilities. We have 10 of them in the 1955 program, which will be approved by the Secretary of Defense under this new criteria.

General WRAY. This pool at Laughlin Air Force Base is located at Del Rio, Tex. It is in a very isolated locality and it is very warm in Texas.

Mr. DAVIS. Will you please tell us about the situation at Ellsworth? Are you going to tell us it is very cold in South Dakota?

General WRAY. No, sir; but it does get hot in South Dakota. I have been on the ground in South Dakota when I would say the temperature was in the vicinity of 100 degrees, and at Ellsworth, I have seen this to be true: The storms normally track in out of the northwest, there is an uplift due to the Black Hills, and I was out there in November or December when there was a tremendous amount of snow east of there-say, from the Chicago area all the way west to about 30 miles from Rapid City-and then you come out, and there is no snow on the ground. It is cold, but the storms lift over them, and you get the flow of hot air.

As it comes down, it is heated. So, it is quite hot next to the Black Hills.

Mr. DAVIS. What have you done on the costing of these pools since we discussed it in November?

Mr. McCLOUD. In looking through this article which was gotten up in the Engineering Office, we found that our cost was not out of line with pools built at country clubs, and municipal pools, and other types of pools.

Mr. DAVIS. You mention in the justification that the President's Committee on Religion and Welfare in the Armed Services had particularly recommended the pool at Laughlin.

Why do you not have a similar statement in your justifications with respect to Ellsworth?

General WRAY. Their recommendation was for facilities and installations in isolated areas, or where extreme climatic conditions existed.