Mr. HORAN. What is your opinion concerning the way to correct this in the future, Mr. Kennamer? Would you suggest that this matter be turned over to the Government Printing Office; do you think that is a sound and reasonable suggestion?

Mr. KENNAMER. Here are the bids I received-I sent out notices to all wastepaper people that this contract is terminating as of such a date, and asked them for bids. Such bids were submitted by three paper companies, the Kline Paper Co., the Thomas Co., and the District Waste Material Co. on February 14, 1953. And the Kline Paper Co. made a bid of $8.36 per ton; the Thomas Paper Co. bid $3; the District Wastepaper Co., $5.20 per ton; so naturally I had to give it to the Kline Paper Company as they were the highest bidder. Mr. HORAN. Are you requiring the return of a receipt, so that you know the receipt is not disposed of?

Mr. KENNAMER. You mean from

Mr. HORAN. The Kline paper people.

Mr. KENNAMER. No. Their driver signed the receipt for the wastepaper, Mr. Chairman, at the time it is picked up, and those receipts are kept in the folding room, and each month Mr. Minnix, Superintendent of the folding room, sends me a statement showing how much paper has been taken out that month by the Kline Paper Co., and that has to tally with the account.

Mr. HORAN. Mr. Ballard apparently must have had some figures, or else he could not have come up with these figures.

Mr. KENNAMER. They do have records, but they do not have the receipts.

Mr. HORAN. They do not have the receipts.

Mr. KENNAMER. Yes, that is right.

Mr. HORAN. The question that is uppermost in my mind is how can we make sure that the situation will be corrected so we will not have this experience in the future? The auditor suggests that the Government Printing Office take over the disposal of the wastepaper here, but in the absence of any suggestion or activation on the part of the Congress, you have gone ahead and let a contract which will run to the middle of August?

Mr. KENNAMER. No; I changed the contract to run from February to December 31, that is, the contract now runs from January 1 to June 30. This was a split of the contract in the middle of the year, and I have learned through dealings with wastepaper people that that is a bad time to let a contract. The best time to let a contract, to get the most for the wastepaper, is from January to June and from July 1 to December 31.

Mr. GARY. One question regarding the way to correct this: You stated that a report is turned over to you every month; is that correct? Mr. KENNAMER. Yes.

Mr. GARY. If it were done each day, he could tell you each day's sales, and whether he got a receipt or not, for any wastepaper?

Mr. KENNAMER. I might explain that in April we did have a discrepancy in our account with the Kline Paper people, and thereby they did not pay for the full amount they received. I called them and I called their attention to it, and they said they would be most happy to correct it.

Mr. GARY. But as I see it they should never let a lapse of 10 days occur, but what someone should call up the Doorkeeper or the Superintendent.

Mr. HORAN. The Superintendent of the folding room should check on it.

Mr. KENNAMER. They do; we are staying right on top of it.

Mr. GARY. Two years afterwards there is nothing we can do about it. Mr. HORAN. Any further questions? Is there anything else you would like to bring to the attention of the subcommittee, Mr. Kennamer?

Mr. KENNAMER. That is all, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. HORAN. Thank you, gentlemen.

TUESDAY, JUNE 2, 1953.

PARKING PERMITS AND SPACES

WITNESS

WILLIAM F. RUSSELL, SERGEANT AT ARMS

Mr. HORAN. The committee will come to order.

We have Mr. William Russell, Sergeant at Arms of the House of Representatives, before us.

Do you have a general statement?

Mr. RUSSELL. No, Mr. Chairman, except the parking situation, I would like to go into in detail. There is no general statement.

I might say at the outset, when we took over at the beginning of the year we had a pretty critical situation as to the issuance of stickers. Stickers had been issued over several years, and they were never returned or lost. When a person would leave he would give his sticker to a friend. The result was there were over 5,000 stickers issued at that time.

Mr. HORAN. How many available parking spaces are there?

Mr. RUSSELL. I have the number of parking spaces available and the number of stickers issued for the record, if you wish.

Mr. HORAN. Yes, I would like to have that for the record. Do you have copies for the members of the committee?

Mr. RUSSELL. No. These are the permits we have issued to date. We have overissued on the assumption that people do not use their cars every day and park every day. The actual stickers issued were over 1,000, and we have requests for 130-some more, people using their cars every day.

Mr. HORAN. You have tried to correct this situation and to limit the parking permits to those who have a bona fide right to parking space?

Mr. RUSSELL. Only people who are certified by a Member of Congress or the head of a department have a sticker today. There may be 1 or 2 exceptions.

Mr. HORAN. Does this list show the spaces reserved for the press? Mr. RUSSELL. It shows the press spaces.

Mr. HORAN. And it indicates some spaces available for public parking?

34523-53- -5

Mr. RUSSELL. Seventy-two on the Plaza.

Mr. HORAN. I would like to have this for the record. (The matter referred to follows:)

Space reserved for public parking (tourists, 21⁄2 hours) on Plaza.
Space reserved for press (60 permits issued for 40 spaces, since all newsmen
are not here at same time, as a rule)..

Parking space for committees

Permits issued to

date

63

90

118

108

33

280

98

32

7

ងនិងខ

99

174

434

32

711

1,023

72

40

Requests for additional parking permits which have not been filled

From miscellaneous offices (clerk, doorkeeper, stationery room, library, custodian, liaison offices, etc.).

50

Total to date. _ _

128

(NOTE.-Each day calls come in from new employees for a parking permit; these average about 3 a day.)

Mr. HORAN. It has been found necessary to issue a total number of permits in excess of 1,000. There are apparently some folks, including the Members, who live close enough to walk to their offices, I

assume.

Mr. RUSSELL. We have increased the Members' parking facilities by taking over Delaware Avenue, and the District of Columbia has marked those for Members of Congress only.

Mr. HORAN. That is a help. We have in excess of 1,000 bona fide permit holders, and about 711 spaces?

Mr. RUSSELL. Yes, and requests for 130 additional.

As to a general statement, when I found the situation was out of my hands, I sought the advice of the House Administration Committee, and they appointed a subcommittee composed of Mr. Schenck, of Ohio, Mr. Cole of Missouri, and Mr. Deane, of North Carolina. They made a survey, and if you would like to have that for the record, I have a copy of it. They set up the procedure and so forth.

Mr. HORAN. Without objection, it will be placed in the record. (The matter referred to follows:)

Hon. KARL M. LECOMPTE,

Chairman, Committee on House Administration.

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The subcommittee appointed to assist in seeking a practical solution to the critical parking situation on the House side of Capitol Hill, having devoted considerable time, effort, and thought to the problem, herewith submits its report and recommendations for consideration of the committee. The subcommittee has thoroughly canvassed the situation. The study has included a complete survey of parking facilities both within the area jurisdictionally under the Architect of the Capitol and surrounding privately owned areas. We have met on three occasions to discuss the problem among ourselves and with representatives of the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, the Architect of the Capitol, the Sergeant at Arms of the House, officials of the Capitol Police force and others.

The subcommittee found a situation that may be described as harassing but not overwhelming, provided that the fullest and friendliest cooperation is manifest by each Member and employee who seeks to park his automobile in the areas designated for the use of the House.

The subcommittee wishes to emphasize that its efforts were directed entirely toward serving the membership, the House employees, and the visiting public in an equitable, honest manner. The task of pleasing every individual is practically impossible under the circumstances. Nevertheless, we have sought a workable plan that will improve a chaotic situation to the maximum extent within the physical limitations that we face.

We cannot emphasize too strongly the necessity for complete cooperation on the part of all Members and employees. Without full cooperation, any suggestions that we offer for the solution of the problem will be useless. Specific measures of cooperation are described subsequently in this report.

Generally speaking, the situation should be improved significantly by the adoption of several procedures and regulations which are presented below.

ADDITIONAL PARKING FACILITIES

Through the excellent cooperation of the Metropolitan Police of Washington, we have obtained approximately 58 additional parking spaces for the use of Members. These are as follows:

C St. alongside House Office Buildings (2 blocks) -
C St. alongside House parking lot (1 block)..
Delaware Ave. alongside House parking lot (1 block).

22285

26

12

20

The Metropolitan Police have agreed to erect signs reserving the curbs on 1 side of the street of the above 4 blocks for the exclusive use of Members of Congress.

District regulations require that such spaces can be used only by Members of Congress whose vehicles must carry the official congressional automobile tags. All vehicles not equipped with the congressional tags will be ticketed, summoning owners to traffic court, or towed away. This, of course, prohibits the use of these areas by employees of the House. This is similar to the regulation that obtains in regard to parking along other curbs surrounding House Office Buildings already designated for Members of Congress only.

In this connection it is important that Members cooperate by using these areas to the fullest extent. By using the newly designated areas, which are for Members only and not employees, pressure on other areas previously used by Members will be relieved, thus providing additional parking space for the use of employees.

PROPOSED NEW CONSTRUCTION

The subcommittee considered several proposals for new construction to provide additional parking spaces. In each such consideration we were assisted by the Architect of the Capitol in appraising the advisability of such proposals.

One minor construction project is recommended for immediate consideration. By extending the House parking lot to the edge of the South Capitol Street sidewalk-a distance of 7 feet, angular parking may be used, thus increasing the parking facility by 10 spaces. The Architect of the Capitol has agreed to accomplish this if so directed. The cost will be negligible because regular Capitol workmen can be employed on the project.

Consideration was given to similarly extending the edge of the parking lot to the sidewalk of Delaware Avenue, providing for angular parking and an increase of 16 additional parking spaces. The Architect informed the committee that the project would cost approximately $5,000 because a retaining wall would have to be constructed to restrain vehicles from dropping onto the sidewalk of Delaware Avenue, some 2 to 3 feet below the parking lot level.

The Architect presented plans, considered for several years by the House Office Building Commission, for constructing a parking lot in the court of the old House Office Building. Estimated cost is approximately $45,000, providing an estimated 154 parking spaces. The subcommittee has no specific recommendations in the

matter and offers this proposal for the consideration of the full committee.

The Sergeant-at-Arms has been negotiating with officials of the Baltimore & Ohio Railway in an effort to lease a lot behind the Congressional Hotel capable of accommodating approximately 70 automobiles. Tentatively, the Sergeant-atArms was informed that the lease might be granted for $1 a year, provided the House assumed the tax responsibility of approximately $800 a year.

The subcommittee recommends that the Architect of the Capitol be urged to paint parking spaces on all areas designated for the use of Members and House employees, as well as erect signs designating the reserved use of these facilities. Only by requiring that all vehicles be parked within the painted limits of these individual spaces will it be possible to utilize all of the parking facilities designated for the House.

OFFICIAL CONGRESSIONAL AUTOMOBILE TAGS

The law provides that each Member of Congress, the elective officers (Clerk of the House, Sergeant-at-Arms, Doorkeeper, Postmaster, and Chaplain), the disbursing clerk and the Parliamentarian shall be issued official congressional automobile tags, not to be assigned to or used by others.

A list of holders of these official congressional automobile tags is on file in the office of the Sergeant-at-Arms and is available for review by members of the committee.

It is recommended by the subcommittee that in order to be parked in areas designated for the exclusive use of Members, automobiles driven by Members must carry official congressional automobile tags issued for their personal, exclusive use on their own vehicles.

It is recommended that Members be cautioned that the transfer of official congressional automobile tags to an unauthorized user not included in the provision of the act of February 27, 1931, S. 4123, sec. 6 (c), approved December 19, 1932, is a violation of the subject act. Furthermore, it is recommended that Members be advised that the act provides for only a single congressional automobile tag per Member.

It is recommended that Members who use their personal automobiles in Washington and desire parking space in one of the areas designated for Members only be advised to obtain their congressional automobile tags immediately and attach said tags to their vehicles. Police have been alerted not to honor the congressional automobile tags issued in the 82d or prior Congresses and further, to confiscate all such unlawful congressional tags in evidence.

The committee's attention is invited to the fact that some States issue special congressional license plates to Members of Congress, e. g., Indiana and Louisiana. The subcommittee recommends that these special State issuances not be honored for parking in areas designated for Members unless accompanied by the official congressional automobile tags of the 83d Congress.

It is recommended that police officers be fully instructed to prohibit the parking of a vehicle in any area designated for Members unless said vehicle carries the official congressional automobile tag; further, that all Members be so informeci of the duty of police officers to refuse admission into these areas to vehicles not equipped with the official congressional automobile tag.