ESTABLISHING THE MINIMUM PERMANENT AUTHORIZED ENLISTED STRENGTH OF THE ACTIVE LIST OF THE MARINE CORPS SEPTEMBER 19, 1940.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed Mr. VINSON of Georgia, from the Committee on Naval Affairs, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 10224] The Committee on Naval Affairs, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 10224) to establish the minimum permanent authorized enlisted strength of the active list of the Marine Corps, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass. The purpose of the bill is to fix the permanent authorized enlisted strength of the active list of the Marine Corps at a minimum of 50,000 men, or not less than 20 percent of the authorized enlisted strength of the Navy. Present law provides that the authorized enlisted strength of the Marine Corps shall be at all times 20 percent of the total authorized enlisted strength of the Navy. This gives the Marine Corps a permanent peacetime enlisted strength of 27,497, which the President is authorized to increase in an emergency to a maximum of 39,400. Pursuant to this authority, the President has increased the enlisted strength of the Marine Corps to 38,600 men. The task of the Marine Corps in a major emergency, even with a Navy of the present size, will require considerably more than 50,000 enlisted men. The main reasons for increasing the authorized peacetime strength of the Marine Corps from 27,497 to 50,000 are: (a) To provide a striking force adequate in strength for its assigned tasks, to accompany the fleet. (b) To provide additional personnel for Marine Corps aviation necessitated by the expanded naval aviation program. (c) To provide additional personnel for the security of new naval activities, particularly air bases, and increased protection for existing activities. (d) To provide marine detachments for new ships in the fleet under the contemplated expansion. The following table shows the number of men required for the various activities of the Marine Corps based on an authorized strength of 50,000 and the present shortage of men for these activities based on 38,600 men: When the Marine Corps reaches the strength authorized by the President, that is, 38,600, it will still be 11,400 men short of what are considered to be the present minimum requirements. The committee therefore feels that expansion to a minimum of 50,000 should be authorized at once. In compliance with clause 2a of rule XII of the Rules of the House of Representatives there is printed herewith (1) the text of the provision of existing law which this bill would amend and (2) the bill itself. EXISTING LAW (52 Stat. 952; U. S. C., title 34, Supp. V, Sec. 691-1) THE BILL Hereafter the authorized enlisted That the authorized enlisted strength strength of the active list of the Marine of the active list of the Marine Corps Corps shall be at all times 20 per centum of the total authorized enlisted strength of the active list of the Navy, exclusive of the Hospital Corps, prisoners undergoing sentence of discharge, enlisted men detailed for duty with the Naval Militia, and the Flying Corps. is hereby permanently established at a minimum of fifty thousand: Provided, That the authorized enlisted strength of the active list of the Marine Corps shall be at all times not less than 20 per centum of the total authorized enlisted strength of the active list of the Navy, exclusive of the Hospital Corps, prisoners undergoing sentence of discharge, enlisted men detailed for duty with the Naval Militia, and the Flying Corps. 76TH CONGRESS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 3d Session REPLACEMENT OF FISHING VESSELS SEPTEMBER 19, 1940.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed Mr. BLAND, from the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 10501] The Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 10501) to amend section 509, as amended, of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, having considered, the same, report favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill, as amended, do pass. The amendment is as follows: Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu thereof the following: That section 509 of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, as amended, is amended by inserting after "Sec. 509" the letter "a" in parentheses, and by adding at the end of such section the following new subsections: "(b) Any citizen of the United States may make application to the Commission for aid in the construction of a new vessel to be engaged in the fisheries of the United States. If such application is approved by the Commission, the vessel may be constructed under the terms and conditions of this title, but no construction-differential subsidy shall be allowed. The Commission shall pay for the cost of national-defense features incorporated in such vessel. The applicant shall be required to pay the Commission not less than 12 per centum of the cost of such vessel (excluding from such cost the cost of national-defense features); the balance of such purchase price shall be paid by the applicant within 20 years and in not less than 20 equal installments, with interest as prescribed in subsection (a) of this section, and with payment secured by a preferred mortgage on the vessel and otherwise secured as the Commission may determine. In case of any such vessel, the cost of which, as determined by the Commission, does not exceed $100,000, the Commission may waive, to the extent that it deems necessary or desirable in view of the size and type of the vessel and any national-defense features involved, and other facts deemed pertinent by the Commission, any or all provisions of this title otherwise applicable except the provisions of section 503 and section 505 (a) other than the requirements as to competitive bidding which may be waived if the Commission deems the construction price to be fair and reasonable. The Commission is authorized to sell, at not less than the amount of the unpaid principal and the accrued interest, any mortgage acquired under this subsection to a mortgagee eligible under section 1104 of Title XI of this Act, and to insure any such mortgage so sold subject to the following sections of Title XI: H. Repts., 76-3, vol. 6-17 1104 (c), 1105, 1106, and 1107. The Commission is authorized and directed to prescribe such rules and regulations as it may deem necessary or appropriate to carry out the provisions of this subsection. "(c) The provisions of section 505 (b) of this title with respect to the payment to the Commission of profit of the shipbuilder shall not be applicable to any contract made pursuant to the provisions of this section where by the terms of such contract the total compensation payable to the shipbuilder thereunder may in no event exceed the total cost of performing the contract as determined by the Commission plus an amount not in excess of 11% per centum of such cost." GENERAL STATEMENT The Navy Department has recently acquired, or is planning to acquire by purchase, some 31 fishing vessels, trawlers and draggers, which have been in use in the New England fisheries. These purchases are for national-defense purposes but the loss of 31 vessels to the New England fishing fleet through their purchase by the Navy seems likely to cause substantial disruption of the industry. Several of the large trawlers, which contribute greatly to the catch, are included. The production of the three New England ports, Boston, Gloucester, and Portland, which play so prominent a part in our fisheries, will be diminished some 15 to 20 percent. The returns to the fishing companies, the wages of the fishermen, and the income of all interests supplying labor or materials to the fishing, fish-processing, and fishstoring organizations, will be considerably reduced. In addition, the loss of some 75,000,000 pounds of fish annually will affect the consuming public seriously. The New England catch is distributed very widely over the country and contains some of the staple fishery commodities such as haddock and cod, rosefish, mackerel, and pollock. A diminution in the supply of these important species will undoubtedly affect the ability of our people to purchase them. It is not well, in these critical days, that our consumption of these protective foods should be decreased. It is likely that the purchases of fishing vessels for national-defense needs may be extended to other sections of the United States and result in further disturbances of the fishing and allied industries. It is important, therefore, that the legislation should cover not only the immediate, but also possible future, problems. The fishing fleets should be replaced rapidly, as the new vessels in turn may be needed to serve their country. They are, at the least, good insurance, from the point of view of national defense, beside being important to our food supply. Under the liberal terms of financing made available by this bill, there will be an opportunity for local interests to become owners of vessels. In particular, cooperative ownership by fishermen, a practice which has been widely prevalent in the past, would be facilitated. It appears that neither the existing authority of the Maritime Commission nor that of any governmental lending agency available to the fishing industry is adequate to enable those desirous of constructing the new fishing vessels to finance such construction. For instance, the equities of the owners of the old vessels sold to the Government are in general insufficient to make the down payment which would be required under section 509 of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, as amended. While this section permits a down payment as small as 121⁄2 percent of the construction cost, this is applicable only in cases where the vessels are of a size and speed which are greater than the |