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Collections under the Federal Power Act and from other sources

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The Commission issued a new regulation, effective January 1, 1964, revising its method of assessing annual charges collected from nonpublic hydroelectric projects to cover the actual costs of administering part I of the Federal Power Act.

Under the new regulation the annual cost of administration of part I of the act for each nonpublic licensee will be assessed in the proportion of such costs that the annual charge factor (based on project capacity and energy generated) for each project bears to the total annual charge factors of all such nonpublic licenses for projects having an authorized installed capacity of more than 2,000 horsepower. The new regulation will insure that the Commission's activities for cost of administration under part I of the Federal Power Act will be selfsupporting, except for the statutory exemption to municipal and State licenses. Senator MAGNUSON. I think so, because we lose track of it otherwise.

STATEMENT OF THE CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMISSION

Mr. SWIDLER. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, this is the third year in which it has been my privilege to appear before you on behalf of the new appointees of the Federal Power Commission. We believe that funds appropriated to the Federal Power Commission during this period have paid large dividends to the consumers of gas

and electricity. It is on the basis of our past performance that we support our appropriations request for fiscal 1965.

The President in his budget message to the Congress requested a total appropriation of $13,335,000 for the Federal Power Commission during the coming year. The request is an increase of $1,485,000 over the $11,850,000 appropriated for fiscal 1964. It will provide funds for a total of 1,234 positions in fiscal 1965, an increase of 86 over the 1,148 maximum positions in 1964. A summary is attached as appendix A.

PURPOSE OF MAJOR PORTION OF INCREASE

The major portion of the increase is for our electric power work, "to enable the Federal Power Commission to step up its examination of interstate wholesale electric rates" as the President stated in his budget message. The urgent need for increased staff for our electric rate work is emphasized by the unanimous opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court on March 2, 1964, in the City of Colton case, removing any doubt as to the Commission's jurisdiction over all sales at wholesale in interstate commerce by public utilities.

1965 PERSONNEL REQUEST

The staff requested for natural gas work is only 664 positions, an increase of 26 positions over 1964 but a reduction of 13 from the 677 positions in natural gas which Congress made available to the Commission in 1963.

The Commission's appropriation for 1964 of $11,850,000 which became available in December 1963, required us to reduce the level of our staff. The number of permanent FPC employees actually on the payroll will not exceed 1,100 during the last 6 months of fiscal 1964. It has also been necessary to defer certain important work such as data processing for area rate proceedings and printing current opinions. We are now operating with far fewer people than we need.

The increase of $1,485,000 requested for 1965 consists of the following:

To provide a full year's salary for 48 positions filled in the first half of 1964 but unfilled in the second half due to force reductions, $219,000.

REDUCTION IN PERSONNEL

Senator ALLOTT. Where did that force reduction come from, Mr. Swidler?

Mr. SWIDLER. It came from the fact that the FPC appropriation made available in December of last year for the current fiscal year was not large enough to enable us to maintain the current level of staff. We had been spending up to December at the rate at which we wound up the previous fiscal year. We were not able to maintain that rate of expenditure for the current fiscal year. We have had to trim our staff so we could stay within the appropriation that the Congress finally allowed, which was far less than we asked for.

Senator ALLOTT. Well, do I understand that you now have less than you had the first part of this fiscal year?

Mr. SWIDLER. Yes.

Senator MAGNUSON. They were allowed to spend on the basis of the 1963 fiscal year for the first 6 months. Then when the appropriation was finally made in December, or available, you had to go back, then, to the 6 months within the-in other words, cut the cloth to fit that appropriation.

Mr. SWIDLER. Yes, sir. We were spending on the 1963 basis.
Senator MAGNUSON. On which basis you are now until July 1.
Mr. SWIDLER. Yes.

FUNDS AVAILABILITY

Senator ALLOTT. Let me ask a question. I meant to ask this of the people we had before us yesterday.

My recollection is that this committee got this bill last year on October 13 and that we passed it in the Senate somewhere around November 11, roughly, in the neighborhood of 30 days' later.

Senator MAGNUSON. That is right.

Senator ALLOTT. I would like to ask you a question just for my own information, but I want it in the record.

When were your moneys actually available to you as they were released by the Bureau of the Budget last year, or this current fiscal year? I do not want, necessarily, the exact date, Mr. Swidler, but when were you able to go ahead?

Mr. SWIDLER. Well, I am not sure I am answering the question you have in mind, but we received clarification as to the intentions of the Congress when the Senate acted, because then we knew the upper and lower limits of what we would get. We didn't know what would come out of

Senator ALLOTT. Maybe I am going on a mistaken idea. I thought that after these bills were passed, you then had to get clearance from the Budget to proceed. Is this wrong?

Mr. SWIDLER. The Bureau of the Budget does make apportionments but in our case, we are traveling on a larger amount than it was apparent we could sustain on the basis of the House and Senate action. We began to trim our sails as soon as the Senate had acted and we knew the limits that we could expect in the final congressional action.

BUDGET BUREAU PARTICIPATION

Senator ALLOTT. I still have not gotten my point over. Maybe I am extra sleepy this morning and cannot express myself very well. What I really want to know is, when the Congress passes the bill, whether it is up or down, do you then automatically go along on that level, that appropriation, without respect to any action of the Budget, or do you have to wait for action of the Budget?

Mr. SWIDLER. If new funds are made available. The answer is, we have to wait for a new approval from the Bureau of the Budget. But, of course, we are not restricted in reducing our expenditures and can proceed to do that without waiting for Budget action.

Senator MAGNUSON. The continuing resolution allows you, beginning July 1, last year, to expend approximately every month onetwelfth, is that correct, of last year's appropriation. You are frozen there.

Mr. SWIDLER. Yes.

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