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Dr. GALLOWAY. That would be for you to determine. That is a question of policy. But this is the only

Senator FERGUSON. When you take party responsibility-for how many committees?

Dr. GALLOWAY. Nine, including those that now are said to be taking a bipartisan approach to public problems.

Senator FERGUSON. I notice you said "are said to be taking." I think you would change the whole scheme of government if you had nine committees here with a party ratio of 4 and 4.

Dr. GALLOWAY. I am not recommending the scheme.

Senator FERGUSON. Oh, no. I am glad you gave me these figures because when it came to my mind I asked if you wouldn't try to figure it out.

Dr. GALLOWAY. I have figured out under what conditions it would be possible with the present party division of the Senate to reduce the number of committee assignments per Senator to one each, and I have stated that it would be necessary to reduce the number of committees from 15 to 12. This could be done by combining the Finance Committee with Banking and Currency, by combining the Expenditures Committee with the Civil Service Committee, and by dropping the Committee on the District of Columbia, which is slated to become a joint committee under Senate bill 1968 if approved.

Under the present party division in the Senate, 84 Senators could be limited to one standing committee assignment each provided (a) there were 12 committees instead of 15, and (b) 12 Republican Senators sat on two committees each. Under these conditions the party ratio on 3 committees would be 6 to 3, and on 9 committees it would be 5 to 4.

Mr. Chairman, I submit for insertion in the record at this point a table describing the suggested committee structure and party ratios with one committee seat per Senator.

Senator FERGUSON. Thank you. I appreciate your doing that work. The table will be inserted in the record.

(The table referred to follows:)

Suggested committee structure and party ratios with one committee seat per Senator

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NOTE. Under the present party division of the Senate, it would be possible to reduce the number of committee assignments to 1 for each Senator provided (a) the number of committees was reduced from 15 to 12; (b) the size of committees was reduced from 13 to 8 members each; and (c) the party ratio on 9 committees was 4 to 4, and on 3 committees was 5 to 3.

If the Senate were divided 60 to 36, and the number of standing committees was reduced to 12, with 8 Senators each, the party ratio on each committee would be 5 to 3 and the majority party would control each committee.

To reduce the number of standing committees from 15 to 12, it would be necessary to combine Finance with Banking and Currency, to combine Expenditures and Civil Service, and to drop the Committee on the District of Columbia which is slated to become a joint committee under S. 1968.

Dr. GALLOWAY. In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, as I review the impressive accomplishments of the first session of the Eightieth Congress, it seems to me that 1947 was a year of notable progress toward the modernization of our National Legislature. While some provisions of the act have not yet been carried out and others are working only partly, the leaders in both Houses and both political parties have been sincerely trying to carry out the act in good faith. The delay in the application of the new fiscal controls has been due, in large part, to the technical and procedural difficulties involved. Rome was not built in a day and it takes time to adjust old habits to new ways of doing things.

Viewed in the larger perspective of our times, the Legislative Reorganization Act is seen as part of a general effort to strengthen and adapt the machinery of American Government to the needs of the times in a dangerous age. At the local level 800 American cities had adopted the efficient manager form of government by the end of 1947-125 of them in the last 2 years. Four States have recently revised their constitutions and one-third of the States are now actively engaged in the effort to modernize their fundamental charters. Meanwhile, the Hoover commission, operating under authority of an act favorably reported by your committee, is tackling the task of reorganizing the executive branch of the National Government, greatly distorted and distended by the Second World War. In the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 Congress has gone far to strengthen its own machinery and methods, though the task is not yet finished.

In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, permit me to quote from the seventh intermediate report of the Select House Committee to Investigate Executive Agencies. [Reading:]

In nation after nation it has been proven that the freedom of the people and the continuance of democratic institutions depend directly on the vigor, the effectiveness, and the strong position of the National Legislature. Much of the criticism which has in recent years been heaped upon the Congress of the United States has been irresponsible and undeserved. But there has been also well-considered and constructive criticism which merits attention. No effort should be spared to make congressional organization, procedure, and functioning as nearly perfect as possible.

Thank you very much.

Senator FERGUSON. Dr. Galloway, I want to thank you for this able memorandum and, if you don't mind, could it be inserted in the record? I know there are some places you have left parts out. Did you want it inserted as an exhibit as a whole?

Dr. GALLOWAY. Consent was earlier given to that, and I should like very much to have the statement appear in full in the record.

Senator FERGUSON. Yes. It is so worth while that I want it all in. Dr. GALLOWAY. Thank you so much.

Senator HICKENLOOPER. Dr. Galloway, don't you think that we have an extraordinary factor in government at this time; that is, an unanticipated pressure of problems largely complicated by the still

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confused international situation that plague Congress at the moment that we didn't necessarily expect a year or two ago?

Dr. GALLOWAY. Yes; I think that is true.

Senator HICKENLOOPER. I have a feeling that perhaps the Reorganization Act and its arrangements, committee staffing and various other things, have not yet been given a reasonable opportunity to function as a peacetime organization of Congress. In other words, we have become fouled up by a lot of things; we thought we would have peace at this time and we could get to work on peacetime problems, but we find things in the past are still continuing and problems are piled up that we hadn't considered would be so enormous, for instance, in this year, 1948.

Dr. GALLOWAY. I agree with that observation.

Senator HICKENLOOPER. I think you have made a very fine statement. I like it very much. But I did want to suggest that I think it may be unwise at this time to start trying to adapt or readapt, if you please, the congressional organization system that has just gone into effect in what we hope, at least, are temporary situations with regard to so many of these problems. Now, if the international situation could be more satisfactorily adjusted in the next 2 or 3 years, it would take a tremendous load, perhaps, off the immediate work and we may be able to see whether this Reorganization Act can operate efficiently or not.

Dr. GALLOWAY. I agree with your thought, as I understand it, that no further fundamental reforms in the organization and operation of the Congress should be undertaken until the Congress has had an opportunity to digest and assimilate the rather sweeping changes that it has already approved.

Senator HICKENLOOPER. I feel this Reorganization Act was passed with the idea that after the return to normal peacetime, Congress could be made to function much more efficiently under this Reorganization Act. Well, I think it has been very helpful in many ways. It certainly is true that we are not able to do the volume of work that we thought we would do, but the volume has greatly increased in complexity and in amount since the war. Things that we thought and reasonably had hoped would be settled and out of the way so that we could turn more to peacetime things have just continued to be plaguing problems of great size. While I do not say that we should not revamp this Reorganization Act, I do have a feeling that we probably will have to go along with it a little bit longer to see how permanent some of these things are.

Dr. GALLOWAY. I am not recommending, Senator Hickenlooper, that we undertake to revamp this act.

Senator HICKENLOOPER. I understand that.

Dr. GALLOWAY. But if there are any suggestions which I would especially commend to the committee as worthy of its consideration at the present time, it would be that group of suggestions designed to reduce and handle more efficiently the onerous volume of congressional business which fills your days. I shall not repeat them. They appear in my statement.

Senator HICKENLOOPER. I presume one of the most practical ways to meet that would be to increase staffs of experts to some extent to serve the Congress here.

Dr. GALLOWAY. Yes. The expansion of legislative staff aides I would put pretty close to the top of any suggestions for enabling Congress to keep abreast of the rising burden of its business.

Senator HICKENLOOPER. Yes.

Senator FERGUSON. The fact, Dr. Galloway, that we have this act and we have had this hearing today is at least some evidence that the Congress has in mind that it should be continuously striving to create a better legislative body-that is, to do the work better and more efficiently because in the past day it was very difficult, was it not, to get such a hearing along this line due to the feeling that we couldn't change, we just had to be permanently in the same groove. Isn't that correct?

Dr. GALLOWAY. That is correct. And I think all the friends of a more effective and a stronger Congress are greatly encouraged by the hearings that your committee is currently conducting on this subject. Senator FERGUSON. Not that we might be able to change greatly anything that we are speaking about, yet we are studying and having it in mind and bringing it to the public's attention that they may become interested in this great human machine, let us call it, which is legislating for the people-that it must be a growth rather than just a new machine.

Dr. GALLOWAY. It is a gradual evolutionary process.

Senator FERGUSON. We thank you for giving us your aid.
Dr. GALLOWAY. Thank you very much.

(Dr. Galloway submitted the following paper:)

STATEMENT BY GEORGE B. GALLOWAY, SENIOR SPECIALIST IN LEGISLATIVE ORGANIZATION, LEGISLATIVE REFERENCE SERVICE, LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON EXPENDITURES IN THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS, UNITED STATES SENATE ON THE OPERATION OF THE LEGISLATIVE REORGANIZATION ACT, FEBRUARY 18, 1948

I appear here today at the request of the committee. Formerly I was staff director of the Joint Committee on the Organization of Congress. Presently I am senior specialist in legislative organization at the Legislative Reference Service, from which I am on administrative furlough serving as staff director of the Subcommittee on Home Rule and Reorganization of the House Committee on the District of Columbia. Any recommendations. Mr. Chairman, I may submit here are made in my personal capacity and do not reflect the views of the Legislative Reference Service, which makes no recommendations on matters of public policy.

I shall divide my testimony into four parts, as follows:

1. Gains achieved under the Legislative Reorganization Act.

2. Amendments of the act during the Eightieth Congress, first session.

3. Nonenforcement of the act during the last session.

4. Proposals for further reforms in the organization of Congress.

GAINS ACHIEVED UNDER LEGISLATIVE REORGANIZATION ACT

In committee structure and operation

1. The standing-committee structure of both houses has been streamlined and simplified. By integrating related areas of policy making, Senate standing committees have been reduced from 33 to 15; and House standing committees from 48 to 19. All minor, inactive committees have been abolished.

2. The number of select committees was reduced from 18 in 1946 to 11 in 1947. Of this number 3 were Senate committees, 5 were House committees, and 3 were joint committees. These 11 select committees had a combined membership of 112 members. (See table 1.)

3. There was a net reduction of 31 in the number of congressional committees of all types (standing, special, joint, and subcommittees) in 1947 compared with

1945. There were 47 fewer standing committees, 4 less special committees, 4 more joint committees, and 16 more standing subcommittees. Four Senate committees (Foreign Relations, Armed Services, Finance, and Commerce) and 5 House committees (Banking and Currency, Commerce, Post Office and Civil Service, Rules, and Ways and Means) have no standing subcommittees at the present time. (See table 2.)

4. The jurisdiction of the standing committees in both Houses has been defined and clarified in their rules. As a result, there has been a noteworthy reduction in jurisdictional conflicts between committees over the reference of bills. Only eight jurisdictional questions arose in the Senate in the last session, of which six involved real dispute. Twelve House bills were re-referred by unanimous consent during the last session, but none of these apparently involved conflict between committees. (See exhibits A and B.)

5. Under section 133 of the act, committee procedure has been regularized as regards periodic meeting days, the keeping of committee records, the reporting of approved measures, the presence of a majority of committeemen as a condition of committee action, and the conduct of hearings.

6. Conference committees have been limited (by sec. 135 of the act) in reporting new matter not committed to them. Only one point of order against a conference report was made in the House during the last session and this was overruled by the Speaker. No such points of order were made in the Senate last session. 7. Committee offices, staff personnel, and records are now kept separate and distinct from those of committee chairmen, under section 202 (d) of the act, an obvious improvement.

8. Open hearings were held by most congressional committees during the last session, with the exception of the House Committee on Appropriations, in accordance with section 133 (f) of the act.

9. Out of 26 special investigations authorized by the Senate during 1947, 24 were conducted by standing committees of the Senate and only 2 by select committees (Small Business and National Defense). (See table 3.)

10. Out of 27 special investigations authorized by the House of Representatives during 1947, 23 were conducted by standing committees of the House and only 4 by select committees (Foreign Aid, Newsprint, Small Business, and Commodity Exchanges). (See table 4.)

11. Party policy committees have been set up in the Senate to plan the legislative program, coordinate committee activity, and strengthen party responsibility. Although provided for in a separate act of the Seventy-ninth Congress, the creation of such policy committees was originally recommended by the Joint Committee on the Organization of Congress and approved by the Senate in passing the legislative reorganization bill. Noteworthy progress has been achieved by these over-all policy committees in the upper Chamber in the performance of their important functions. The Senate Majority Policy Committee now has a professional staff of seven persons under the able direction of Mr. George H. E. Smith, its staff director, and three clerks. The Minority Policy Committee, of which Leslie L. Biffle is staff director, has a combined staff or nine persons.

In the staffing of Congress

Additional staff aids have been provided for the Members and committees of Congress.

1. Ninety-one Senators are being aided by administrative assistants. Five Senators have not yet appointed such assistants (Barkley, Donnell, Langer, McKellar, and Wilson).

2. There has been a 33% percent increase in the staff of the Office of Legislative Counsel. Each of the two offices now has a staff of six counselors and six law assistants and clerks.

3. During the latter half of 1947 the standing committees of the Senate had a combined professional staff of 43 persons (out of an authorized 60) and a combined clerical staff of 90 persons. One hundred and two additional investigators and assistants were being employed by Senate subcommittees pursuant to special investigations. Only 3 out of 15 Senate standing committees had their fully authorized complement of professional staff members. Nineteen professionals, 23 clerks, and 8 others were employed by the Small Business and National Defense select committees of the Senate during the latter half of 1947. Altogether, 285 persons were assisting the committees of the Senate during the period under review. The gross annual salary of all Senate committee employees during 1947 aggregated $1,589,598.73. (See table 5.)

1 By Mr. Hoffman on June 4, 1947, against the conference report on the bill (H. R. 3020) to prescribe fair and equitagle rules of conduct to be observed by labor and management in their relations with one another, etc.

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