HON. JOHN A. GRONOUSKI, POSTMASTER GENERAL WILLIAM M. McMILLAN, ASSISTANT POSTMASTER GENERAL, BU- FREDERICK E. BATRUS, DEPUTY ASSISTANT POSTMASTER GENERAL, BUREAU OF TRANSPORTATION AND INTERNATIONAL SERVICES RALPH W. NICHOLSON, ASSISTANT POSTMASTER GENERAL, BUREAU OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION RICHARD J. MURPHY, ASSISTANT POSTMASTER GENERAL, BUREAU OF PERSONNEL A. C. HAHN, DEPUTY ASSISTANT POSTMASTER GENERAL FOR FIELD OPERATIONS, BUREAU OF OPERATIONS PETER A. DEL GROSSO, FISCAL CONTROL OFFICER, BUREAU OF OPERATIONS EUGENE B. CROWE, DEPUTY ASSISTANT POSTMASTER GENERAL AND CONTROLLER, BUREAU OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION CLARENCE N. BRUCE, ASSISTANT CONTROLLER FOR BUDGET AND REPORTS, BUREAU OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION IRA KAPENSTEIN, SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE POSTMASTER GENERAL FOR PUBLIC INFORMATION (387) Mr. STEED. The committee will be in order. The committee is in session today to consider the request in House Document No. 278 for supplemental funds for fiscal year 1966 for postal operations. The justification material will be inserted at this point in the record. JUSTIFICATION OF THE ESTIMATES OPERATIONS, 1966 Analysis of additional funds required Annual appropriation, 1966_-. Functional transfer, net to "Administration and regional oper ation" Transfer from "Transportation". Total funds available__. Estimated obligations---. Additional amount required_‒‒‒‒‒ $4, 304, 900, 000 -112, 000 +5, 000, 000 4,309, 788, 000 4,351, 288, 000 41, 500, 000 A supplemental appropriation request of $41.5 million consists of two elements. For "Operations, 1966," $32 million is required to meet the growing demands on the postal service which are currently exceeding by substantial amounts the original estimates upon which the budget was based. Mail volume increase is projected at 3.5 percent. Public Law 89-116, approved August 9, 1965, provides for the 5-day workweek for postmasters effective January 1, 1966. This supplemental appropriation includes a request for $9.5 million to cover the cost of this legislation in fiscal year 1966. Productivity goal The current appropriation provides an 0.8-percent increase in manpower to handle a 3-percent increase in mail volume requiring a 2.2-percent increase in productivity. The Department has never reached a 2.2-percent improvement in productivity without resorting to a major service curtailment. Such a goal, required by our present funds, is unrealistic. This goal is being made more unattainable as volume increases, while our fixed appropriation provides an increase of only 0.8 percent in employment. Our regional directors indicate that reports from postmasters throughout the country strongly emphasize that the present level of postal service cannot be maintained with the man-hours available in the presently authorized funds. On the basis of these reports and information available, the maximum efficiency gain We can attain in fiscal year 1966 is 1.8 percent. This is an improvement of 0.5 percent over our original request, which provided an efficiency gain of 1.3 percent. Mail volume Mail volume for the third and fourth quarters of fiscal year 1965 was up 4.5 and 4.9 percent, respectively. Volume for the first accounting period of fiscal year 1966 was up 5.6 percent. Although these figures may be subject to minor adjustments when the final cost ascertainment figures are available, the trend does indicate that the volume increase for fiscal year 1966 will approximate the 3.5-percent increase forecast on which this supplemental request is based. This unanticipated high volume of mail has resulted in postal receipts in excess of those anticipated in our budget. For period 1, we estimated revenue at $307.7 million. Actually, we collected $313.8 million-an increase of $6.1 million over that on which the budget was based. For the second period we budgeted $311.5 million and collected $313.5 million-a difference of $2 million. Thus, for the two periods we have collected revenue of over $8 million in excess of that on which the budget was initially based. Expenditures to date To state more graphically the fiscal problem facing us, we initially apportioned the $4,309,788,000, which includes the $5 million transferred from "Transportation," into the four quarters of the fiscal year. For period 1, which ended July 16, we apportioned $322.2 million. Our actual expenditures for that period were $325.8 million-a shortage of $3.6 million for that one period. For the period ended August 13, we apportioned $318.6 million. Actual expenditures for that period were $321.2 million-a shortage of $2.6 million. Thus, for the two periods alone, we are already running in arrears of over $6 million. Five-day workweek for postmasters Public Law 89-116 provides that postmasters, except at fourth-class offices, shall work a 5-day week. In some second-class post offices and in all third-class post offices, the postmasters at present are working 6 days a week. In order to provide for the 5-day workweek, it is necessary to provide each postmaster with additional clerical assistance to work on the sixth day of the week. The cost of providing such assistance is estimated at $19 million annually. Public Law 89-116 provides for a January 1, 1966, effective date resulting in fiscal year 1966 cost of $9.5 million. This supplemental of $41.5 million, augmented by the administrative transfer of $5 million from "Transportation," will provide for 6,784 additional man-years of employment over the amount appropriated by the Congress. This will give the Department the additional man-years to handle the anticipated mail volume increase now estimated to be 3.5 percent and clerical assistance to implement the 5-day workweek. Personnel ceilings The committee established a fiscal year 1966 ceiling on employment amounting to 597,716 positions. Because of the extra man-years required for the additional workload and the clerical hire necessary to provide a 5-day week for postmasters, 13,200 additional positions will be needed. Our program to reduce overtime is producing positive results. Overtime hours during the first accounting period were down 14.5 percent from the same period last year. We have issued an order on July 29 reducing the hours that employees may work and have modified the quotas of employees for the regions. We expect that this will result in a substantial further reduction in the use of overtime hours by regular employees and in the use of excess work hours by substitute employees. |