Page images
PDF
EPUB

JUSTIFICATION

The extension of time is required because the election campaigns in 1964, both here and in Puerto Rico, prevented the Commission from getting to work as quickly as had been hoped. After the elections, the composition of the Commission changed. Two Senators, a Congressman, and the former Governor of Puerto Rico were appointed to replace outgoing members of the Commission.

The additional funds are required partly because of the extension in time, but largely because the scope of the program of studies finally adopted by the Commission is broader than originally estimated. Sixteen major studies have been adopted by the Commission. They reflect the deep interest of the three contending status viewpoints represented on the Commission (commonwealth, statehood, and independence) in a comprehensive study of all major factors affecting the present and future relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States. Of the $215,000 requested: $113,000 is for economic, legal, and studies in other fields; $66,000 for salaries and personnel, including full-time staff, consultants, intermittent employees, and Commission members per diem; and $36,000 for general operating expenses, including office space, rent, printing, transportation, and miscellaneous supplies and services.

GENERAL STATEMENT

Mr. DENTON. We will also insert in the record at this point the prepared statement of Mr. James H. Rowe, Jr.

(The statement referred to follows:)

Mr. Chairman, I appear today on behalf of the United States-Puerto Rico Commission on the Status of Puerto Rico. This Commission was established on February 20, 1964, pursuant to Public Law 88-271, which invited Puerto Rico to participate in a joint effort to study the political status of Puerto Rico. The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico on April 13, 1964, adopted Law No. 9, which provided for Puerto Rican participation and for the equal financing of the Commission. Thus, pursuant to both statutes, we are composed of 13 members; 7 from the mainland and 6 from Puerto Rico; and are financed $250,000 from Congress and $250,000 from the Government of Puerto Rico. The Commission is supported by a small professional staff of nine members headed by an Executive Secretary.

The Commission is charged with the task of studying "all factors *** which may have a bearing on the present and future relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico" and to submit a report to the President, the Congress of the United States, the Governor, and the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico. This report was due in January 1966. The election campaigns in 1964, both here and in Puerto Rico, prevented the Commission from getting to work as quickly as had been hoped. Furthermore, the composition of the Commission changed as a result of the elections. Two Senators, a Congressman, and the former Governor of Puerto Rico were newly appointed to replace outgoing members of the Commission.

After formulating its program of studies early in 1965, the Commission members unanimously agreed that, in view of the scope of its program as well as because of the initial delays, an additional 9 months and an increase in funds would be required to complete its report. The scope of the studies required the Commission to hold hearings in the legal, social-cultural, and economic fields and to authorize about 10 special studies in these areas by contractual consultants.

Therefore, the Commission requested both the Congress and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico for an extension of time until September 30, 1966, and an additional $215,000 from each. The additional time and funds were authorized by Congress in Public Law 89-84. A similar bill is now pending adoption by the Puerto Rican Legislature. We have been assured by high governmental officials in Puerto Rico that the necessary legislation will be passed this week.

Thank you.

Mr. DENTON. We will ask you at this time, Mr. Rowe, to give the committee a brief oral summary of your written statement.

Mr. Rowe. I will do that Mr. Chairman. First, may I introduce Mr. Ben S. Stephansky, our Executive Secretary, and Mr. Paul C. Krusekopf, our Administrative Officer.

The United States-Puerto Rico Commission on the Status of Puerto Rico was created by the Congress in February 1964 to study, in the language of the statute, "all factors which may have a bearing on the present and future relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico" and to report to the President, the Congress of the United States, and the Governor and the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico.

Originally this report was due in January 1966. Essentially, Mr. Chairman, what we are studying is the problem of whether Puerto Rico should be a State, should be an improved Commonwealth, or should be independent.

We were to report in January 1966, but by the time the Puerto. Rican Legislature had acted in April and the President and the House and Senate had made their appointments and the Puerto Ricans had made their appointments, we were not able to meet until June 1964. The problem then was that most members of the Commission had campaign problems-not only the Members of the Senate and House in the States, but they were also having an election in Puerto Rico for Governor and the legislative assembly. We thought we should not get fully organized until after the election. Then the two inaugurals of President and Governor of Puerto Rico came along, so we did not begin functioning until February 1965. Thus, we had the one organizational meeting in June 1964, and the staff had gone to work on noncontroversial studies until February 1965.

What we are asking for now is essentially the 9 months we lost. Mr. DENTON. When did you actually start operations? Mr. Rowe. The Commission was established in February 1964. We were to report in January 1966. Under new legislation passed by the Congress in July, we are to report in September 1966.

I may say that half of the money is put up by the United States and half by Puerto Rico, so we are asking for $430,000 more but $215,000 is from the Congress and $215,000 from the Puerto Rican Legislature. I might add this has passed the Senate in Puerto Rico today and we think it will pass the Legislative House down there

tomorrow.

INCREASE IN FUND REQUIREMENTS

Mr. DENTON. Public Law 89-84 extended your Commission for 9 months?

Mr. RowE. Yes.

Mr. DENTON. Yet the supplemental request you are presenting here today is only $35,000 less than the total appropriation originally approved for completion of the entire study. What is the justification for such a large increase in the funding requirements of this project?

Mr. RowE. The reason for the increase is this: The original figure, if I may say so, as we understand the history of it, was a guess, the $500,000 that was appropriated. It was based on a Bureau of the Budget figure for a different kind of commission then being proposed, a so-called compact commission. We did not take a careful look at our problem until March of 1965. The Commission had two meetings, one in Puerto Rico and one in Washington, in which we threshed out the problem of what studies to make.

We have three groups in Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth Party, the Statehood Party, and the Independence Party, and we also wanted some economic studies. There were 109 studies the 3 groups wanted and it took a number of meetings to cut this number down to those we have agreed on, some of which we have contracted out.

Mr. DENTON. How many do you have now?

Mr. STEPHANSKY. Seven basic economic studies and nine in other fields have been contracted out. I would say altogether it will add up to about 16.

Mr. RowE. So, in effect, we did not really know until February 1965 what the studies actually would be and what they would cost.

MEMBERSHIP OF COMMISSION

Mr. DENTON. How many people are on the Commission?

Mr. RowE. There are 13 members of the Commission, 3 appointed by the President; 2 appointed by the House; 2 appointed by the Senate; and 6 Puerto Ricans, 3 members of the Commonwealth Party, 2 members of the Statehood Party, and 1 member of the Independence Party.

Mr. DENTON. Are they paid a salary?

Mr. RowE. The Commissioners receive $75 a day and reasonable expenses and travel expenses when meeting. We have had five meetings, two in Washington and three in Puerto Rico.

Mr. DENTON. Please list the names of the Commissioners in the record.

[blocks in formation]

Mr. DENTON. In House Report No. 593 about 21 pages of studies are listed and you say there are only 7?

Mr. STEPHANSKY. The 21 pages include the detailed outlines not only of the 7 major economic studies, but also the detailed outlines of the 9 other major studies in legal, constitutional, sociological, and other fields.

Mr. DENTON. Each subheading is a different item is it not?

Mr. STEPHANSKY. No, sir. These are subheadings of the outlines of the major studies. There are 16 major studies. That is because you have a tripartite commission and when they get together and spell out what will be in the study they are presenting three different points of view.

Mr. DENTON. Off the record. (Discussion off the record.)

REDUCTION OF ESTIMATE

Mr. DENTON. Suppose the amount of funds you are requesting is reduced, what would be the result?

Mr. Rowe. It depends on how much you would cut it. If you took it all away, we have certainly not obligated ourselves yet to spend any money we do not have. If you cut us we would have to cut back.

POSSIBILITY OF ADDITIONAL FUND REQUESTS

Mr. DENTON. Do you anticipate that the funding requested in this supplemental will complete this project, or is there a probability that as you progress with this work more extensive studies will be found to be necessary, requiring additional funds for this project?

Mr. Rowe. No, sir. In fact, if I may go off the record. (Discussion off the record.)

Mr. DENTON. You will save money if you complete the project sooner?

Mr. Rowe. Yes, sir.

Mr. DENTON. How much?

Mr. Rowe. It depends on how soon we finish. Congressman O'Brien, sitting behind me, is more of a pessimist than I am. I think we run $26,000 a month on staff and overhead. So if we finish in July instead of September we would save about that much a month. Mr. DENTON. Mrs. Hansen.

CUBAN INFLUENCE IN PUERTO RICO

Mrs. HANSEN. May I ask to what extent Cuba has any influence indirectly in Puerto Rico?

Mr. Rowe. I do not think I could answer that question. I do not think I am expert enough to know that.

Mrs. HANSEN. Does part of the continuation of your study, or the direction of your study, have a direct influence that would preclude, perhaps, the acceptance by the leftist group of Puerto Rico of the Cuban philosophy?

Mr. Rowe. I think it would; yes.

Mrs. HANSEN. That is all.

Mr. DENTON. Mr. Marsh.

TRAVEL COSTS

Mr. MARSH. I notice in your request a portion of the increase is for travel and transportation of persons, which is an increase from $7,000 to $42,000, an increase of $35,000. Can you outline what that increased travel is and why there is that amount of increase?

Mr. RowE. Mr. Krusekopf can answer it in more detail but I think that is an estimate based on the experience we have had to date. What our practice has been is to have a meeting of the Commission usually in Puerto Rico, but to have several days of hearings on several subjects and therefore our meetings are running longer than we expected. We have had two long hearings, one on constitutional legal problems and one on cultural problems, and this fall we expect to have hearings on the economic problems relative to each of these three forms of government, and we have found the hearings take longer than we had expected.

Mr. MARSH. Where were these meetings of the Commission held? Mr. RowE. There have been two in Washington and three in Puerto Rico. The meetings in Washington were executive meetings. Only in Puerto Rico have we held hearings. Is that true?

Mr. KRUSEKOPF. Yes; we anticipate an increase in the number of meetings and this is to cover the transportation and subsistence of the Commissioners and staff. And when the Commission meets in Washington there are the Puerto Rican Commissioners and liaison people and staff.

Mr. Rowe. Our statute provides we have hearings and even though we have tried to limit the subject matter we find everybody wants to be heard down there. That is something you in Congress know better than I do. We estimate 3 days and by the time we finish it is 5 days.

Mr. MARSH. Of course that would increase your lodging more than your transportation.

Mr. Rowe. Yes.

Mr. MARSH. Is the bulk of the expenses people traveling from here to Puerto Rico or is a lot of it in-island expense?

Mr. KRUSEKOPF. It is either from here to Puerto Rico or Puerto Rico to here.

STUDIES UNDERWAY

Mr. MARSH. I notice you have "Other services" estimated at $7,000, and there is a revised figure of $119,000. How do you break that down?

Mr. KRUSEKOPF. These "Other services" categories are the contractual services that we will be making.

Mr. MARSH. Who will be making?

Mr. KRUSEKOPF. Some of the studies by the Commission are by .contracts with educational institutions and individuals. In our initial budget estimate we had not contemplated the extent of the studies we are now engaged in.

Mr. MARSH. Can you submit a list of some of the people doing this work and the cost of it?

Mr. KRUSEKOPF. Yes.

Mr. DENTON. Put it in the record.

Mr. Rowe. You want the names and the cost?

Mr. MARSH. Yes.

Mr. RowE. We have it two ways. Some are by contract and some are when actually employed consultants.

Mr. MARSH. I think it would be well to have it for the record because of the substantial increase over your estimate. (The information follows:)

« PreviousContinue »