under the same basis is substantially the same, $378.8 million, an increase of $900,000, which is about one-fourth of 1 percent of the program. Perhaps it might be considered not significant.

If we do not build El Djema Sahim we will save around $29 million in cash, although we will lose between $10 million and $11 million of nonrecoverable costs due to mobilization and demobilization charges, procurement of plant and equipment, overhead cost and design,

et cetera.

If we do not build Rabat there will be another approximate $5 million saving, and we will lose $800,000 of nonrecoverable costs and add $1 million to the idle materials account. They had procured over there against a larger program and as the program now is scaled down material on hand designed for these bases will become excess to their needs.

I should go back and state that at El Djema Sahim there will be approximately $4 million of idle materials added to the excess.

You had mentioned the POL system. If we do not extend the line and put in the offloading facilities and the pump saving en route, there will be cash savings of approximately $6 million and we figure about $1.3 million of materials added to the idle account.

So that by building a four-base complex over there it would cost in the neighborhood of $338.8 million. That funding is within our capability without additional appropriations from the Congress.

I would like to emphasize again that this $338.8 million is the base complex as was discussed here on the 4th of August; and on top of that there is, as a matter of interest, $22.3 million of these package items. The total program in French Morocco under this concept of 4 operating bases, a "bobtailed" POL and the package program would be $361.1 million.

Mr. DAVIS. I think that brings us up to date. Are there any questions?

Mr. RILEY. Does that include all the repair work?

Colonel LEONHARD. It does. The repair work to Nouasseur and Sidi Slimane is included in this estimate.

Mr. RILEY. Would it be possible to use these excess materials and equipment over on the Spanish bases?

Colonel LEONHARD. We definitely plan, and have started operations already, to screen this list of idle materials and surplus equipment excess to the needs of the Moroccan program by the construction project engineers in Spain, and maximum use will be made of those.

Mr. FERRY. Let me go a little further to develop that thought. We are sending some inspection teams over to Morocco so that they can make a physical inspection of idle materials and earmark those which seem in such condition and such volume that they would be usable in Spain.

(Discussion off the record.)

Colonel LEONHARD. I would like to make one other observation, if I may, please. This is on the basis that the Air Force headquarters from Rabat can be accommodated at Nouasseur, either on the base or in contractors' or engineers' camps without the construction of additional facilities. That matter, as I understand it, is under study. We do not at the moment have a firm fix on it.

BOULHAUT

Mr. DAVIS. I would like to ask you, General Tully, as to what you can tell us about being able to give assurance with respect to Boulhaut, that Secretary Douglas mentioned earlier.

General TULLY. First, I take it, Mr. Chairman, you are interested. in the criticism that has been directed at the site?

Mr. DAVIS. Secretary Douglas told us that there were two things he wanted to be satisfied on. One of them was that $20 million additional out-of-pocket costs would cover the complete facility at Boulhaut; and the other was, as I recall it, assurance with respect to the soil conditions at that site.

General TULLY. Well, the estimates which were given to you by Colonel Leonhard, sir; are our estimates. We are fully back of them. They include all these adverse site conditions. They were made at that particular site as a result of a survey by our architect-engineer organization. We stand back of those estimates.

Mr. DAVIS. Have you made all of the soil studies you feel are necessary in order to make that kind of a commitment?

General TULLY. Very thorough studies; yes, sir. Those estimates are based on a thorough study of conditions at Boulhaut.

Mr. HAND. And the estimate is approximately $16 million?

General TULLY. The estimate is approximately $16 million, as I recall it.

Mr. FERRY. Additional out of pocket.

General TULLY. That is right.

(NOTE. A letter re construction at Boulhaut received subsequent to the hearings, appears on p. 566.)

CAMP BEALE, CALIF.

Mr. DAVIS. Very briefly we have a matter of inquiry which has been referred to us with respect to the use of facilities at Camp Beale, Calif., which I understand is now being used by the Air Force. There appears to be a segment of local opinion which is opposed to that use. would like to have the Air Force give us an explanation of that situation.

General WASHBOURNE. Mr. Chairman, Beale Air Force Base, Calif., consists of approximately 87,000 acres of Government-owned land used as a bombing range in support of the training program at Mather Air Force Base, Calif., and for the training of aviation-engineer and airbase defense units. When acquired by the Army in 1942, 5 percent of the area was irrigated farmland, 15 percent was dry-farming land, and the remainder varied from good grazing land to land unsuitable for grazing. The owners of the property were compensated at the then fair market value which ranged from $4 to $75 per acre. The mineral rights to about 72,000 acres were not taken by the Government and the fair compensation paid to the owners was computed accordingly.

The bombing safety area, required for safe use of the range by student bombardiers practicing various types of day and night bombing, covers the entire reservation except for the cantonment area and still does not provide desirable safety standards for this type of operation. The optimum target range for this type of practice bombing would consist of 112,000 acres. In addition, a requirement for 37,000 acres for the aviation-engineer school and 35,000 acres for the air-defense school is met by scheduling the joint use of ground ranges and ma

neuver areas during periods when bombing is not being conducted on those portions of the base.

Areas of lesser danger in which human habitation cannot be permitted and which are not required for use of the schools except for maneuver purposes are made available by outlease for grazing purposes. This area involves approximately 58,000 acres.

The use of Beale Air Force Base as a bombing range in lieu of the next closest range at Las Vegas, Nev., results in a yearly savings of approximately $2,500,000, plus a savings of 117 personnel and 23 aircraft. Approximately $13 million has been obligated for improvements at this station since acquisition by the Air Force from the Army. The continued use of the installation is necessary in the accomplishment of the Air Force mission.

Mr. DAVIS. You do not consider there is any suitable alternate site. to perform the mission now fulfilled at Beale?

General WASHBOURNE. No, sir; not a suitable alternate. That reservation there is serving a joint purpose at the present time. We do not know where we could go and lay our hands on a similar area, already under Government ownership and paid for, that would do the job.

Mr. DAVIS. Of that 87,000 acres, General Washbourne, how much do you consider suitable for agricultural purposes?

General WASHBOURNE. Twenty percent is suitable for farming. The remaining 80 percent is partly usable for grazing and partly not. It is hard to say exactly how much could be used for any type of farming. If I had to make an informal guess I would say you could not possibly get more than 50 percent of the acres that are usable for any kind of agriculture.

Mr. DAVIS. There is some land in California that is unsuitable for agriculture, and, of course, that raises the question as to whether there might not be some comparatively useless area which could be used in lieu of this land at Beale.

General WASHBOURNE. Mr. Chairman, no such area has been suggested to us. Certainly the Government does not, to my knowledge, own or have control of any similar area in the State of California or within a better reach of the Sacramento area that would do the job. Mr. DAVIS. You have leased some of this land back to farmers for agricultural purposes?

General WASHBOURNE. Yes, sir; that is correct. Approximately 58,000 acres are in the out-lease contracts at the present time.

Mr. DAVIS. You feel that all use for agricultural purposes is now being made that could be made even if this were to be made available to private ownership, or if it reverted to private ownership?

General WASHBOURNE. No, sir. No, sir. If this entire reservation were returned to the owners who had it before the war, they would undoubtedly make more use of it for agriculture than the Air Force is making of it at the present time.

Mr. DAVIS. Can you tell us how aggressive an effort has been made by the Air Force to determine if there might be a suitable alternate site in California?

Colonel PRICE. Mr. Chairman, during the 7 years that this has been a matter of some unhappiness, there has been a series of exhaustive surveys on the part of the governmental agencies. The San Francisco Chamber of Commerce and the Nevada Landowners Asso

ciations and various other associations interested have been invited to suggest areas that we might not be able to locate ourselves. Every suggestion, of which there have been very few, has been followed down to the last detail. We have searched all records that are available to us, and there are no areas available to us which would serve the mission without a great deal more expense and inconvenience than is involved at Camp Beale.

Mr. DAVIS. Are you stationed in the California area?
Colonel PRICE. No, sir; I am here in Washington.

Mr. DAVIS. What is your position?

Colonel PRICE. I am Chief of the Real Estate Division, Directorate of Installations, Air Force Headquarters.

Mr. RILEY. Colonel, the Government owns all of this 87,000 acres of land?

Colonel PRICE. The land is owned except for mineral rights. On a considerable portion of the area the mineral rights are not owned by the Government.

Mr. RILEY. Except for the mineral rights, 87,000 acres belongs to the Government?

Colonel PRICE. Yes, sir.

Mr. RILEY. How long has it owned the land?

Colonel PRICE. It was purchased during the year 1942 by the Army. Mr. RILEY. So that the Government has owned it over 10 years? Colonel PRICE. Yes, sir.

Mr. RILEY. What farming or grazing is on it has been by sufferance of the Government; is that right?

Colonel PRICE. During that time; yes, sir.

Mr. RILEY. During that period?

Colonel PRICE. Yes, sir.

Mr. RILEY. Do you have all necessary facilities on there for the mission you have in mind, or are you going to have to spend some money on them?

General WASHBOURNE. The improvements of the $13 million in buildings and utilities and the like that we have put in there in the last 3 years are substantial satisfaction of the requirements; yes.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 1953.

Mr. DAVIS. The subcommittee will resume this morning with the consideration of requests by the Department of the Air Force for a number of line items on installations in the continental United States, Alaska, and the Far East.

We have General Washbourne and Mr. Ferry of the Air Force with their assistants with us this morning, and we shall be happy to hear such comments as you might care to make prior to our discussion of the details of the various line items.

REVIEW OF 1954 CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM

(See also p. 563)

General WASHBOURNE. Mr. Chairman, the Air Force representatives are here today to seek this committee's agreement on an area of urgent construction funds.

The fiscal year 1954 construction program of base facilities for the Air Force is embodied in Public Law 209 for $269 million of authorizations. Section 805, Public Law 207, authorizes the Air Force to place available funds against the Public Law 209 authorizations, but

requires that the Secretary of Defense come into agreement with the Appropriations Committees of the House and Senate prior to such utilization of appropriated funds.

The Air Force has clearance from the Secretary of Defense to present this program of construction funds to this subcommittee. Prior to the authorization hearings last June and July, the OSD review of this particular program was thorough. The items on which the Air Force is requesting authority to place its construction funds are in strict accordance with the authorization of Public Law 209.

The "coming into agreement" with this committee is the first of a series of four clearances that are required before construction directives and fiscal documents can be issued by the Air Force to construction agencies. Assuming that the Air Force is able to reach agreement with this committee on the program, it is then able to seek the apportionment of the funds from the Treasury. This apportionment may not be requested pending congressional approval of the program by this subcommittee, and it usually requires a minimum of 45 days to process the apportionment request.

The third clearance is that necessary on the real-estate items in this program. This clearance may not be sought from the Armed Services Committee until the construction funds have been released; that is, the apportionments have been approved by the Bureau of the Budget. The fourth and final clearances necessary are those required under section 638 of Public Law 488, more frequently referred to as 4000.8 clearances. Not all of the line items in this program require both real estate and 4000.8 clearances, but a substantial portion of this program is dependent upon successfully obtaining both of these clearances. It is estimated that it will require an elapsed time of 3 months to complete these steps.

The discussions we are about to undertake involve not the appropriation of construction funds, but the first of a series of four additional clearances that are, by law and regulation, required before designated appropriations may be converted into construction contracts. Until this and following clearances have been obtained, this area of public-works funds, theoretically available to the Air Force, will lie unused although the urgent need for the completed facilities is not lessened.

Although Public Law 209 authorized a $269 million program, the Air Force does not at this time request clearance on the full amount. Appropriately $47 million worth of construction is not presented for clearance at this time, and it is the intention of the Air Force to reappear before this committee after Congress has reconvened, to discuss appropriate clearances for such part thereof as may appear to be ready for processing at that time. The committee will, therefore, find that the line items in the current request aggregate approximately $222 million, rather than the $269 million contained in Public Law 209.

(Discussion off the record.)

MEMORANDA OF SECRETARY FLOETE

Mr. DAVIS. In order that we may have a complete record of our status at this time, we will insert Secretary Floete's memoranda on this matter in the record at this point.

(The matter referred to is as follows:)