While this bill would in no way affect the substance of the work the Board does, it would have a very beneficial effect on the expedition with which the Board performs that work. Although there is no specific prohibition in the present Civil Aeronautics Act against delegations of authority by the Board, there is no express provision permitting this to be done.

Despite the lack of express statutory power of the Board to delegate authority, we of necessity have been forced in recent months to make certain delegations to our bureau heads to act in routine cases. The results have been distinctly beneficial and the work of the Board has been expedited. If formal authority as set forth in H. R. 4082 were adopted, the Board could utilize this power with greater freedom and undoubtedly would increase the expeditious results.

So far as we are aware, this legislation is not controversial, and we strongly urge its enactment.

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

In compliance with paragraph 2a of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the bill, as introduced, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is printed in italics, existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman):

CIVIL AERONAUTICS ACT OF 1938

*

CONDUCT OF PROCEEDINGS; ASSIGNMENT OF FUNCTIONS

Proceedings of the Board

SEC. 1001 (a) The Authority [may] shall conduct its proceedings in such manner as will be conducive to the proper dispatch of business and to the ends of justice. No member of the Authority shall participate in any hearing or proceeding in which he has a pecuniary interest. Any person may appear before the Authority and be heard in person or by attorney. Every vote and official act of the Authority shall be entered of record, and its proceedings shall be open to the public upon the request of any interested party unless the Authority determines that secrecy is requisite on grounds of national defense.

Assignment of Work, Business, or Functions

(b) (1) The Board may direct that any of its work, business, or functions under any provision of this Act (except final orders predicated upon notice and hearing under sections 401 (d), 401 (h), 401 (î), 401 (k), 401 (n), 402 (b), 402 (g), 402 (h), 406 (a), 1002 (d), 1002 (f), 1002 (g), 1002 (h), 1003, and this subsection) be assigned to an individual member or members of the Board, or to an eligible employee or employees of the Board designated by such order for action thereon. The Board may

by order at any time amend, modify, supplement, or rescind any assignment. (2) Eligible employees for purposes of this subsection shall include the general counsel, the Secretary, any bureau director, any division or section chief, and any employee having responsibilities of comparable importance. When any member or any employee is unable to act upon any matter so assigned because of absence or other cause, the Chairman of the Board may designate another member or employee, as the case may be, to serve temporarily until the Board otherwise orders.

(3) Individuals to whom assignments are so made shall have authority to perform the work, business, or functions assigned to them under this subsection and for such purpose shall have all the jurisdiction and powers conferred by this Act upon the Board, and be subject to the same duties and obligations. The Secretary and seal of the Board shall be the Secretary and the seal of each such individual. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection (b), any order or other action of any such individual or individuals with respect to any matter assigned to him or them shall have the same force and effect and may be made, evidenced, and enforced, and shall be subject to judicial review, in the same manner as if taken by the Board.

(4) Any party affected by an order or other action taken by any such individual or individuals with respect to any matter assigned to him or them under this subsection may apply for consideration by the Board of such order or other action, subject to such reasonable limitations as may be established by the Board. Such application shall be

passed upon by the Board, and the Board may grant such application and reconsider suck order or other action if it has reason to believe that such order or other action was issued or taken in error. The Board, upon its own initiative, may reconsider the order or other action of such individual or individuals either before or after it has become effective. If upon reconsideration by the Board it shall appear that the order or other action in question is in any respect unjust or unwarranted, the Board shall reverse, change, or modify the same accordingly; otherwise the Board shall affirm such order or other action. The making of such an application for reconsideration shall not excuse any person from complying with or obeying the order or other action or operate to stay or postpone the enforcement thereof unless the Board shall otherwise have provided by rule or order.

AIR STAR ROUTES

MAY 11, 1949.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

Mr. HERLONG, from the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service, submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany H. R. 4498)

The Committee on Post Office and Civil Service, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 4498) to amend section 6 of the act of April 15, 1938, to expedite the carriage of mail by granting additional authority to the Postmaster General to award contracts for the transportation of mail by aircraft upon star routes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.

STATEMENT

It is the purpose of this bill to remove certain restrictions in the law which authorize the Postmaster General to contract for the transportation of mail of all classes by air in areas where no air-mail service exists and where, because of the nature of the terrain or impracticability or inadequacy of surface transportation, the airplane is the most practical medium for transporting the mail.

The present law limits length of routes to 200 miles between termini, limits the amount which may be paid for such service to 20 cents per mile except for circuitous routes, and limits the number of contracts which may be awarded to five. This bill removes the restriction as to lengths of such routes, prescribes that the cost be reasonably compatible with the service to be provided, and eliminates the restriction as to number of contracts which may be made.

This legislation was introduced at the request of the Postmaster General. It is substantially the same as the draft submitted by the Postmaster General. There are the following exceptions:

(1) An amendment suggested by the Civil Aeronautics Board, which provides that the Postmaster General shall publish in the Federal Register a description of the proposed air star route with

respect to which bids are to be advertised, has been incorporated in H. R. 4498.

(2) Language has been included in H. R. 4498 to make it entirely clear that the mail to be carried under contracts to be awarded under the bill includes all classes of mail and is not restricted to air mail and air parcel post.

(3) As originally proposed by the Postmaster General, the laws applying to the carrying of mail on star routes with respect to eligible bidders would apply. Hence, bidders would have to live in the county or counties over which the route travels. Because of the unique type of equipment air star routes require, it was the opinion of the committee that bidders on these routes should not be so limited and H. R. 4498 permits bidders to be drawn from the State or adjoining States over which the route travels. The letter of the Postmaster General requesting this legislation follows:

Hon. SAM RAYBURN,

OFFICE OF THE POSTMASTER GENERAL,
Washington 25, D. C., March 23, 1949

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

DEAR MR. SPEAKER: I am submitting herewith, for consideration by the Congress, a proposed bill to amend and liberalize the law (sec. 6 of the act entitled "An act to provide for experimental air-mail services to further develop safety, efficiency, and economy, and for other purposes"; 39 U. S. C. 470), approved April 15, 1938, which authorizes the Postmaster General to award contracts for the transportation of mail by airplane upon star routes when surface transportation is impracticable. As embodied in section 470 of title 39, United States Code, the law

reads as follows:

"Whenever he shall find it to be in the public interest, because of the nature of the terrain and the impracticability of surface transportation, the Postmaster General may award contracts for the transportation of any or all classes of mail by airplane upon star routes not over two hundred airplane-miles in length by direct flight between termini, payment for such service to be made from the appropriation for inland transportation by star routes: Provided, That all laws and regulations not in conflict with this section governing star routes shall be applicable to contracts made under the authority of this section: Provided further, That the base rate of pay which may be allowed in awarding such contracts shall not exceed 20 cents per airplane-mile for a load not exceeding two hundred and fifty pounds of mail, and not exceeding 1 cent per airplane-mile for each twenty pounds of mail carried in excess of the two hundred and fifty-pound limit, except that in the discretion of the Postmaster General a higher base rate of pay may be allowed in awarding contract for carrying mail over circuitous routes of less than seventy-five miles in length: And provided further, That the provisions of sections 463, 469, 469f of this title shall not apply to the transportation of mail under this section: And provided further, That the Postmaster General shall not award more than five contracts for the transportation of mail under the authority of this section."

The provisions of the statute, as presently worded are so restrictive as to render the authority of the Postmaster General, which the Congress obviously intended to convey, practically inoperative:

(a) It, in effect, limits such contracts to cases where surface transportation is virtually impossible.

(b) It limits the length of routes to 200 miles between termini.

(c) It limits the amount which may be paid for such service to 20 cents per mile, except for circuitous routes.

(d) It limits the number of contracts which may be awarded to five. There are a number of areas throughout the United States where the present postal service by surface transportation could be expedited and improved by the use of light aircraft to move all classes of mail. In some of these areas, because of the nature of the terrain, a light aircraft is the most practical vehicle for transporting mail under star-route contracts. Since World War II many small operators of privately owned aircraft have established flying schools and charter-plane service throughout the country. Landing strips for light planes are almost everywhere available. It is believed that such operators would submit reasonable bids for the transportation of mail under star-route contracts.