Mr. ANDREWS. Your workload is shifting to Manila? Mr. CLEARY. The point of origin of the claim is shifting to Manila, and the place where the work is being performed is remaining where it is. Mrs. LUSK. We have the qualified personnel here to do the work, we would have to move them out there and the expense of sending them out would be very great. It would be expensive to ship even a skeleton commission out there. It is cheaper to ship the claim forms to be adjudicated here with information that could be sent to us by mail than to try to set up any kind of a staff out there to do the work required. UNFILLED POSITIONS Mr. THOMAS. How many unfilled positions do you have out of your 24 in the Philippines as of January 1? I presume you are about liquidated. Mr. CLEARY. We have 24 there now and propose to reduce it back to 2, effective July 1. Mr. THOMAS. What is the Army going to be doing all of this time for you? Mr. CLEARY. We only have provision for paying the Army for 12,000 claims this year. Mr. THOMAS. How much is there to pay the Army this year? Mr. THOMAS. No, you have an estimate set up for $66,000, have you not? Mr. CLEARY. No, sir. The sum of $66,000 will be used to reimburse other agencies, including the Army for fiscal year 1952 for services. Mr. THOMAS. What is it for 1953? Mr. CLEARY. We propose to pay the Army $30,000 for this fiscal year, and $157,300 for fiscal year 1953. Mr. THOMAS. How much have you actually paid them to date? Mr. CLEARY. Nothing yet. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Mr. THOMAS. How many unfilled jobs do you have in the District of Columbia? Mr. CLEARY. Twenty. DATE OF TERMINATION OF PROGRAM Mr. COTTON. I just want to get one fundamental fact straight. You asked last year and you are asking again this year for the inCreased transfer of funds so that you can terminate your work on March 31, 1955. Mr. CLEARY. Yes, sir. Mr. COTTON. But, at the same time, according to your statement, the Commission pursuant to section 8 of the War Claims Act and the President's request is completing a study to bring into this session of Congress. This will reveal a new field of claims to continue the Commission or create a new commission to go on with this work, so that it is just a beautiful dream for us to even think that you are going to wind this thing up in 1955. Is that a true statement? Mr. CLEARY. I would like to break that up into two parts. Th law as it now stands authorizes and directs the Commission to adjudi cate three types of claims and to complete that program not late than March 31, 1955. The law also directed us to make a study and report to Congress as to any other types of claimants which the Con gress might ultimately determine should be compensated. We, o course, have no way of determining or even guessing as to whether o not any additional types of claimants will be recognized by the Con gress in 1955. Mr. COTTON. Not only does the law direct it but the President ha requested this study? Mr. CLEARY. Yes, sir. At the time we transmitted the first repor to the President he forwarded it to Congress with a letter indicating his desire that a further and more complete study be made. Mr. COTTON. And you are discovering, naturally, a large number o types of claims and possible claims of a new type? Mr. CLEARY. Yes, sir. Mr. COTTON. You are investigating these groups, cataloging them and putting them in the record, is that correct? Mr. CLEARY. Yes, sir. Mr. COTTON. Those are Americans largely? Mr. CLEARY. Oh, yes, sir. Mr. COTTON. So that actually, no matter how fast we go in winding this program up in 1955, and I understand all of your answers are absolutely technically correct, to be perfectly frank and candid, the likelihood is that we have just opened up a new field and in 1955 we will start in anew and go on, is that right? Mr. CLEARY. If any further classes of claims are declared by Congress to be compensable then there will necessarily be another date fixed for the termination of that additional claims program. Mr. COTTON. But you are finding out and going to report a large number of claims, are you not? Mr. CLEARY. Yes, sir; we are likely to do so. Mr. COTTON. Doubtless with the recommendation that many of them should be compensated and that the claims appear to be legitimate? Mr. CLEARY. We will list the categories in the orders we feel should be considered by the Congress on a merit basis. Mr. COTTON. And the chances are that you will recommend that steps be taken to take care of them? Mr. CLEARY. Yes, sir; we probably will. FUTURE STATUS OF WAR CLAIMS FUND Mr. COTTON. In the meantime, as far as you know, has the Alien Property Custodian returned any of the assets, so sooner or later the impact will hit the Treasury? It has been my experience in dealing with insurance claims and other claims in the practice of law-and I am not blaming you, as you are acting under the request of the President and in compliance with it-that when you go out and look for new claims it encourages new claimants and you always find plenty of them. Mr. CLEARY. Undoubtedly we have received a very large number of claims, yes, sir. Mrs. Lusk. I think it would be well to state that we have not certainly solicited any types of claims. They have come to us mainly because they thought that the present War Claims Act covers those claims, and we have included them in the report. Mr. COTTON. I believe you testified your representatives go into Texas and other States of the country to meet these groups of people. Mrs. Lusk. Yes, to meet people who claim under sections 5, 6, and 7. We have dealt with but we have had no meetings at all with potential claimants under this other statute. Mr. COTTON. Future claimants will of course depend upon whatever action is taken by Congress, but it boils down to the fact that no matter how much money is authorized to you, no matter what we do, March 31, 1955, is just the end of one phase? Mrs. Lusk. Yes. Mr. CLEARY. If there is a second inning, then that will be up after We have no way of knowing whether there will be a second 1955. inning. AMOUNT OF BUDGET REQUEST Mr. PHILLIPS. For how much did you ask the Bureau of the Budget? Mr. CLEARY. We asked them for $1,200,000. Mr. PHILLIPS. In taking off $235,000, did they indicate where you should take it off? Mr. CLEARY. No. That was done on the basis of a revision we made in our estimate of the number of Filipino claims we would receive. Between the time we transmitted the request for $1,200,000 and the time the Bureau finally made the revised estimate for $965,000, we reexamined the situation with respect to the Filipino claims and concluded, instead of receiving 200,000, we would probably receive only 140,000. So that reduction in the figure reflects the revised estimate of receipt of claims we made and furnished to the Bureau. Mr. PHILLIPS. The difference between 200,000 and 140,000 is 60,000. Mr. CLEARY. Yes, sir. Mr. PHILLIPS. So when you reduced it 60,000, the Bureau of the Budget reduced the amount $235,000? Mr. CLEARY. That was a reduction of 60,000 claims, and they reduced the request for administration expenses by $235,000. NUMBER OF AUTOMOBILES Mr. PHILLIPS. How many automobiles does your Commission have? Mr. CLEARY. None. We have an automobile which we purchased Second-hand over in Manila; none in the District. Mr. PHILLIPS. It is used over there? Mr. CLEARY. It is used over there; yes, sir. We were authorized to buy one at $1,500, but we elected, instead to purchase one for $400 second-hand in Manila, where one is really necessary. Mr. PHILLIPS. I notice some of the allegedly temporary agencies the District of Columbia have blossomed out since we have been xay this summer with automobiles. I saw one with "Displaced Persons Commission" on the side. SOURCE OF FUNDS TO COMPENSATE ADDITIONAL CLAIMANTS Mr. COTTON. In this proposed report you will in due time make to the President, do you contemplate suggesting that proper action be taken by Congress, if necessary, to prevent the Alien Property Custodian from surrendering assets before we get to the bottom or somewhere near the bottom of these war claims? Mr. CLEARY. The act specifies that in our report we indicate the source of the funds that might be used to compensate such additional claimants as may be recognized by Congress, and the funds presently in the control of the Alien Property Custodian would come within that classification. Mr. COTTON. You are apprehensive about that situation; are you not? Mr. CLEARY. Oh, yes, sir. Mr. YATES. Apprehensive about what? Mr. COTTON. Apprehensive that the Alien Property Custodian is going to return and surrender assets in his hands and then we would open up a new field of claimants, and they would have to be paid out of the Treasury of the United States. Mr. PHILLIPS. Mr. Cotton wants them to impound the funds. Mrs. LUSK. We have done everything we can do to protect those assets for our purpose. Mr. PHILLIPS. They are deposited in the Treasury as trust funds? Mrs. LUSK. That is my thought. Mr. COTTON. I am very much interested in this point. I would like to know what the Commission here and our former colleague are doing. It seems to me a pretty serious problem. Mrs. LUSK. It is a serious problem and one you should watch, because those assets are morally bound, if not legally so, to pay first the claims of persons who were victims of World War II under the terms of the Geneva Convention. Before that money is used for anything else, I think it should be applied on those various types of claims as far as it will go. Mr. COTTON. But it has not been tied up heretofore? Mrs. LUSK. Not as far as I know. Mr. COTTON. I mean it is in the discretion of the Alien Property Custodian to restore these assets to their former owners, whenever he deems proper? Mr. CLEARY. He is restricted under the act as to the extent to which he can do that, and he is directed by the War Claims Act, section 12, which amended the Trading with the Enemy Act, that— The net proceeds remaining upon the completion of administration, liquidation, and disposition pursuant to the provisions of this Act of any such property or interest therein shall be covered into the Treasury at the earliest practicable date. Earlier in this section is a specific injunction that No property or interest therein of Germany, Japan, or any national of either such country vested in or transferred to any officer or agency of the Government at any time after December 17, 1941, pursuant to the provisions of this Act, shall be returned to former owners thereof or their successors in interest, and the United States shall not pay compensation for any such property or interest therein. Mr. COTTON. Then it is really safeguarded, and it is actually impounded? Mr. CLEARY. The Alien Property Custodian is operating under the restrictions of section 39 of the Trading With the Enemy Act, which was part of the original War Claims Act. Mrs. Lusk. I think the most serious thing we have to face is the danger of amendment from time to time that would change this act one way or the other and effect the return of property. really the most serious thing we are facing. That is Mr. CLEARY. It constitutes much of the testimony we have to give, testifying with respect to amendments to the Trading with the Enemy Act which would relieve the Alien Property Custodian of this obligation I cited in section 39 of the Trading With the Enemy Act. There have been many amendments, for instance, which would permit the return of property to former alien owners, and, if such amendments were enacted, then neither the present claimants under sections 5, 6, and 7 nor prospective claimants could look with much hope to the Alien Property Custodian as a source of funds. If he were required by an amendment to the law under which he operates to return the property, he would have no option. Mr. COTTON. Thank you. Mr. THOMAS. Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. Happy New Year to all of you. TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 1952. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION WITNESSES DR. ALAN T. WATERMAN, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION DR. CHESTER I. BARNARD, CHAIRMAN OF THE NATIONAL SCIENCE BOARD DR. DETLEV W. BRONK, CHAIRMAN OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, NATIONAL SCIENCE BOARD DR. JOHN FIELD, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR BIOLOGICAL AND MEDICAL SCIENCES DR. PAUL E. KLOPSTEG, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR MATHEMATICAL, PHYSICAL, AND ENGINEERING SCIENCES DR. HARRY C. KELLY, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR SCIENTIFIC PERSONNEL AND EDUCATION WILSON F. HARWOOD, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR ADMINISTRATION FRANK C. SHEPPARD, BUDGET OFFICER |