COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

CLARENCE CANNON, Missouri, Chairman

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INTERIOR DEPARTMENT APPROPRIATION BILL, 1947

HEARINGS CONDUCTED BY THE SUBCOMMITTEE: MESSRS. JED JOHNSON (CHAIRMAN), MICHAEL J. KIRWAN, W. F. NORRELL, JOHN J. ROONEY, ROBERT F. JONES, BEN F. JENSEN, AND HENRY C. DWORSHAK, OF THE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, IN CHARGE OF THE INTERIOR DEPARTMENT APPROPRIATION BILL FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 1947, ON THE FOLLOWING DAYS, NAMELY:

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1946.

EDITOR'S NOTE.-The general statement of Secretary Krug,who did not take office until after completion of the hearings, may be found on p. 1057).

STATEMENTS OF OSCAR L. CHAPMAN, ASSISTANT SECRETARY; VERNON D. NORTHROP, DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF BUDGET AND ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGEMENT; D. OTIS BEASLEY, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF BUDGET AND ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGEMENT, MRS. J. ATWOOD MAULDING, DIRECTOR OF PERSONNEL; ARTHUR GOLDSCHMIDT, DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF POWER; AND FREDERICK T. HOLLOWELL, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION

INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT

Mr. JOHNSON of Oklahoma. In keeping with the time honored custom established by a former chairman of the Interior Department Subcommittee on Appropriations, we usually have a brief statement at the beginning of each hearing on the annual appropriation bill. So what I shall say will be brief and I hope to the point.

As the members know, this is the beginning of the hearings on the annual Interior Department appropriation bill for the fiscal year 1947. All members of the committee having had previous service on this. committee, I feel it unnecessary to make any extended statement. In years past, we have emphasized the importance of making our observations and statements as brief as we can to secure the information Reeded, and to eliminate all unnecessary questions or arguments with witnesses and keep down, as far as possible, the size of the printed hearings. I want to reemphasize this year and despite some added matters to be considered, again express the hope that we can make our bearings shorter this year than usual if possible to do so.

The committee is faced with the largest budget in history. In fact, as one member of the committee, I am shocked at these budget esti

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mates in which the Department and the Bureau of the Budget ar asking for three times as much as they secured in the last Interio bill and nearly twice as much as they actually received including deficiency appropriations as during the current year. Therefore, am going to take the liberty to suggest that the committee weigh al of the evidence presented carefully and then use the so-called prun ing knife liberally, keeping in mind needed improvement and efficiency in all the respective agencies of the Department.

Last year I suggested that the witnesses be permitted to finish thei statements before being questioned by members of the committee That procedure seemed to expedite the hearing for the reason tha general statements offtimes would answer a lot of questions member may have had in mind. May I respectfully request that if we agai follow this procedure, we will again be able to save time and effort as well as valuable space in the hearings.

The first witness is the able Assistant Secretary of the Interior, th Honorable Oscar Chapman, who has been the Assistant Secretar since 1933. He has appeared before this committee on numerou occasions and I am pleased to say that in the past has always bee throughly familiar with the subject matter that he has discussed. Secretary Chapman, you may now proceed to make a general state ment.

GENERAL STATEMENT

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Mr. CHAPMAN. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, at th request of the Secretary, I appear before your committee in support o the appropriation requests for the Department of the Interior. year the Secretary expressed the hope that members of this committe would find an opportunity to examine operations of the Departmen in the field. I am pleased that most of the members of the committe were able to visit the west coast and Alaska last summer. In my judgment, these field investigations are of great value to members o this committee in making an appraisal of the program needs of the Department and I hope that you will be able to make another field trip during or after the present session of Congress.

ADJUSTMENTS IN DEPARTMENT OPERATIONS DUE TO THE CLOSE OF THE WAR

I will review briefly the steps we have taken to adjust the Depart ment's operations from a wartime to a peacetime footing. Thes adjustments involve the liquidation of war-created agencies and activities, the conversion of war-created activities to serve peacetim objectives, and the resumption of normal operations which were sus pended or placed upon a maintenance basis during the war.

As soon as the war ended plans were made to liquidate the wa agencies which were placed under the direction of the Secretary. Th Solid Fuels Administration for War will begin the liquidation of it program at the close of the present heating season. The Office o Fishery Coordination has been abolished and its fishery-control pro grams are being completed by the Fish and Wildlife Service during th current fiscal year. The War Relocation Authority will complete al of its relocation functions by June 30, 1946.

Members of this committee are familiar with the war record of th Department. It is a record that will grow in significance as mor

facts are made available concerning it. The effectiveness of the many measures that have been taken to make our natural resources available to the armed services, to the war industries, and to other essential consumers is amply attested by the results. Some of these war programs, such as the explosives-control program, the civilian defense program in Hawaii, and the civilian food-distribution program for the Territories, have been eliminated. Other wartime operations, such as the programs for the exploration and development of strategic minerals, the war-food-production program, and the power-distribution program, are being adjusted rapidly to serve continuing peacetime objectives.

For the past 4 years, activities which could not serve a wartime function were suspended or placed upon a maintenance basis. With the end of hostilities, plans were developed immediately by all bureaus and offices to convert their operation to a peacetime basis. In December, the Congress authorized additional appropriations to permit the Bureau of Reclamation to resume the normal operation of its expanded reclamation program and to assist the National Park Service in preparing for a greatly expanded use of the parks. Proposals for the adjustment of other programs of the Department were deferred for presentation to this committee in the 1947 appropriation requests.

APPROPRIATION REQUESTS FOR 1947

The Department is requesting annual appropriations for the fiscal year 1947 totaling $342,119,260. Of this amount, $101.183,610 are for the operating, maintenance, and administrative functions of the Department and $240,935,650 are for construction projects. Compared with the amounts appropriated or to be appropriated for the same purposes for the current fiscal year, we are asking for increases amounting to $149,552,872, consisting of $28,351,972 for operating, maintenance, and administrative functions and $121,200,900 for construction.

STATEMENT ON REVENUES OF THE DEPARTMENT

For 1945 the net revenues of the Department amounted to $92,470,506, including $12,847,469 in trust funds. This all-time-high revenue figure represents a steady growth during the past 12 years from the total of $12,401,153 collected for 1933. Exclusive of trust funds, the Department brought into the Treasury nearly $80,000,000 through its operations in 1945, instead of $69,165,350 as estimated a year ago. It is estimated that the Department's revenues will drop slightly in 1946 and 1947 due to the loss of business by the Alaska Railroad and the loss of power loads by the Bonneville Power Administration after the war. The upward trend experienced from 1933 to 1945 is expected to return in 1948.

The appropriations requested for 1947 are larger than the appropriations authorized during the war years or in the period immediately preceding the war. There are five major reasons which justify the marked increase in appropriation requirements for 1947. These increases are required:

(1) To prepare plans and surveys for a large backlog of projects; (2) To resume noncompetitive construction activities;

(3) To expand activities placed upon a maintenance basis during

the war;

(4) To convert war created activities to serve continuing peacetime objectives; and

(5) To provide for higher wage and material costs of operations.

PLANS AND SURVEYS

The Department is requesting funds to prepare plans and surveys covering deferred projects or new activities which should be undertaken as soon as economic conditions warrant and appropriations are provided. Last year your committee, in denying our request for funds to prepare plans and surveys, commended these proposals but indicated that such planning work should be deferred until the end of the Our future operations will be impaired if funds are not made available for completing the plans and surveys required for authorized activities. I hope the committee will approve our recommendation for funds for this planning work.

RESUMPTION OF NONCOMPETITIVE CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES

Your committee and the Congress, by its action on the first deficiency bill for 1946, Public Law 269, has passed favorably upon the question of resuming work upon the authorized program for the Bureau of Reclamation. The appropriation requests for 1947 propose continuation of this expanded construction program.

Construction activities of the Bonneville Power Administration have been financed for the past 3 years from the balance of funds appropriated in earlier years. These construction balances also have been used to finance operation and maintenance requirements during these years. As a result, the balance of prior year appropriations will be virtually exhausted by the end of this year. To finance operation and maintenance costs in 1947 and to provide for an enlarged postwar construction program, the President has recommended an appropriation of $19,701,000 for the Bonneville Power Administration. Under the authority placed in the Secretary by section 5 of the Flood Control Act of 1944, the Southwestern Power Administration has been designated by the Secretary as the agency to carry out power marketing functions for projects within the watersheds of the White, Arkansas, Red, Ouachita, Brazos, and Guadalupe Rivers. To carry out these power-marketing functions and to continue to market electric power produced by the Norfolk and Denison Dam projects, the Southwestern Power Administration has developed a comprehensive plan of power distribution and sales covering all authorized projects in the area. An appropriation of $23,323,000 is recommended to carry out the initial stages of the comprehensive plan and to provide for necessary operation and maintenance expenses during the fiscal

year 1947.

In addition to the funds requested for the Bureau of Reclamation, the Bonneville Power Administration and the Southwestern Power Administration; the appropriation requests for other bureaus and offices propose a resumption of some construction work. Most of these requests for construction funds are required for the construction or improvement of parkways, roads, and trails for the National Park