"Free." That is an interpretation of the law by the Joint Committee on Printing. Mr. HORAN. Off the record. (Discussion off the record.) Mr. STEED. In connection with the increase in this item, I believe last year we had 113 million items for a cost of $3,836,000, and this year we have about 88 million items for a cost of $3,986,000, indicating last year we had more mailings for less money. What accounts for this difference? Has there been a change in the type of mail or what could account for that? Mr. ROBERTS. We do not have any information, Mr. Chairman, other than that included in the letter from the Assistant Postmaster General. I did not explore that angle. Mr. MEGILL. The last paragraph of the letter of Mr. Ralph W. Nicholson, the Assistant Postmaster General, says: The entire amount of the increase in reimbursement requested this year over last year is due to the increase in unit cost during 1961 over 1960 from salary increased at the beginning of the fiscal year 1961 by Public Law 86-568 effective July 9, 1960. Mr. STEED. In the bill the language of last year that provided for "patron" or "occupant" mailing has been stricken, and I assume that is because it has become permanent law and it is not required to be repeated this year. That is my understanding, that since it already has become permanent law there is no use to repeat it. Mr. HARPER. I think that is correct, Mr. Chairman. Mr. STEED. Before we leave this subject, we have a news release from the Post Office Department, General Release No. 134, dated October 4, 1961, dealing with this subject of postal patron mail, and I think due to the attention this item has received it is proper to point out that the Department has found that the cost of handling patron mail is actually less than the same mail when addressed under the specific address system. I think we will include the whole news release in the record at this point. It ought to help bring a wider understanding of this matter and I hope clear it up. (The news release follows:) [General release No. 134, Oct. 4. 1961] POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT INFORMATION SERVICE The Post Office Department announced today that mail directed only to "Postal Patron" without street address, for delivery on city carrier routes and through post office lockboxes, under the congressional frank, will be accepted in post offices throughout the country beginning October 16. The new regulation has been drafted by the Department in conformance with the intent of Public Law 87-332 passed by the Congress and signed into law by the President. The Post Office Department explained that it is reimbursed by the Congress as well as by other Government departments for its costs in handling franked mail. The per piece handling cost of congressional mail, addressed to "Postal Patron" without street address on city carrier routes and post office boxes will be less than the same mail fully addressed to each householder according to the Department. During the fiscal year 1961, the Congress reimbursed Post Office Department costs totaling $3,828,000. The delivery of postal patron mail carrying the congressional frank on city routes extends a similar delivery method long used on rural routes and for boxholders in offices without city carrier service. The delivery of postal patron mail without street address on city routes applies only to Members of Congress. HOW TO WRAP AND MAIL: ADDRESSES 123.4 SIMPLIFIED ADDRESS 123.44 .41 Style .411 General Mailings. When general distribution of mail is desired for each boxholder on a rural or star route or for each family on a rural route (at any post office) or for all post office boxholders at a post office that does not have city or village carrier service, mailers may use the simplified address: Postal Patron, Local A more specific address such as Rural Route Boxholder followed by Local or by the name of the post office and State may be used. .412 Congressional Franked Mailings. When general distribution of mail under congressional frank is desired for each post office box or for each stop on a city or village letter carrier route, the name, box number or street address, post office, and State may be omitted provided each piece is addressed to: Postal Patron, Local (The name of the post office and State may be used instead of the word Local) See 123.42 for the requirements involving the preparation of this type of mail See 123.411 for rural or star route mailings. 42 Preparation requirements .421 All pieces for the same post office must be tied, so far as practicable, in packages of 50 and a facing slip must be attached showing the distribution desired, such as: rural route, post office boxholder, etc. If the pieces are put up in quantities other than 50 for each separation, the number of pieces must be shown on the facing slip. .422 If selective distribution is desired, a sufficient number of pieces must be presented to cover the route or routes selected and the route numbers must be shown on the facing slips. .423 For other than official mailings under frank, penalty or Postage and Fees Paid imprint (see part 137), postage at the proper rate must be fully prepaid by a method that does not require cancellation: by permit imprints, second-class imprints, meter stamps, or by means of precanceled stamps, precanceled stamped envelopes, or precanceled postal cards. .424 Designations such as Farmer, Food Buyer, Voter, etc., are not permitted. 43 Number of patrons On request, postmasters will furnish without charge information as follows (see also 123.53) : a. Number of post office boxholder patrons (only at post offices that do not have city or village carrier service). b. Route numbers, and number of boxholders on each rural and star route. c. Route numbers, and number of families on each rural route. 44 "Occupant" mail To address mail to a specific street number without addressing the occupant by name, or to a post office box without addressing the boxholder by name, the following style may be used: Postal Patron (or Occupant, Householder, Resident, etc.) (Street and Number, Including Apartment Number, if Any, (Post Office and State, or Local, and Zone Number, Post Office Service Transmittal Letter 108. 2-20-62 81771-62- -14 SIMPLIFIED FORM OF ADDRESS FOR CONGRESSIONAL FRANKED MAIL Pursuant to a provision in the Supplemental Appropriation Act, 1962, effective October 16 mail sent under the congressional frank bearing a simplified form of address without a name, the street name and number or post office box number will be delivered to each stop by city and village letter carriers or through post office boxes at city and village delivery offices. This service will be provided only for franked congressional mail. Section 123.4, Postal Manual, will be amended by the addition of a new section reading as follows: Congressional franked mailings. When general distribution of mail under congressional frank is desired for each post office box or for each stop on a city or village letter carrier route, the name, box number or the street address may be omitted provided each piece is addressed in the appropriate following style: Postal Patron See section 123.43 for the requirements involving the preparation of this type mail. See section 123.41 for rural or star route mailings.-Bureau of Operations, October 2, 1961. Mr. STEED. You may continue, Mr. Roberts. COMPILING TESTIMONY IN CONTESTED ELECTION CASES Mr. ROBERTS. The act entitled "An act relating to contested elections," approved March 2, 1887 (2 U.S.C. 201-226), requires the Clerk of the House to perform certain functions relating to such cases. $2,000 is requested for fiscal 1963 for the 85th, 86th, and 87th Con gresses. Mr. Chairman, on that item, there is nothing new. It is an item the Appropriations Committee has appropriated for 75 years or more. The only time they failed to was in 1952 and last year. In 1952 they passed a resolution from the floor of the House. Certainly for 75 years the committee and the Congress could not have been wrong about this item. It is for additional services just like the next item in the bill. Mr. STEED. Do you have any itemized statement of this account that you could provide us to help support your position and clear it up? Mr. ROBERTS. I have before me now just what appears in the committee print, for additional services in compiling, arranging for the printer, reading proof, indexing testimony, stenography and typewriting, supervision of the work, and expenses incurred in the contested-election cases as authorized by the act of March 2, 1887. Our testimony on this was in the hearings of last year. Mr. STEED. I think by reference you should mention the places in the testimony. Mr. MEGILL. The Clerk testified last year and his testimony on this subject appears on pages 274 and 275 of the hearings on the legislative branch appropriations for 1962. Mr. STEED. And the same arguments prevail now as did then? STATEMENT OF APPROPRIATIONS Mr. ROBERTS. United States Code, title II, section 105 requires the preparation of statement of appropriations; $8,000 is requested for fiscal year 1963. GENERAL PROVISIONS Under the heading of "General provisions" of the committee print, we have inserted the numbers of the resolutions which I have placed in the record at the beginning of my general statement, so that the provisions of these resolutions shall become permanent law. To repeat, these resolutions are House Resolutions Nos. 331, 341, 348, 402, 449, 487, and 509 of the 87th Congress. This, Mr. Chairman, concludes our statement covering the various items in the budget estimates, for the operation of the House of Representatives, for the fiscal year 1963. We will be glad to answer any questions or supply any additional information the committee may desire. Mr. STEED. Any questions? Mr. HORAN. No questions. Mr. Bow. No questions. Mr. STEED. Well, gentlemen, I guess that brings us to the conclusion of this phase of the hearings. Mr. MEGILL. It is a novelty to appear in this manner and have the officers come in and give their testimony. It is rather refreshing to have it that way because the whole story develops as you go along. Mr. STEED. Thank you, gentlemen. THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 1962. HOUSE RECORDING STUDIO WITNESS HON. J. VAUGHAN GARY, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF VIRGINIA Mr. STEED. The committee will be in order. We are very pleased this afternoon to have our very warm and esteemed friend from Virginia, the Honorable Vaughan Gary, who is chairman of the House Recording Committee. Mr. Gary, we are more than delighted to have you here and hope you can give us some information in connection with this item that will be helpful to us. You may feel free to proceed in whatever manner you wish. Mr. GARY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am delighted to have this opportunity to appear before your committee. As you know, Mr. Chairman, the House Recording Committee was set up by Public Law 624 of the 84th Congress. I might add that this particular legislation was drafted by one of the members of your committee, Mr. Frank Bow, who is also a member of the House Recording Committee. This law provides, among other things, that: The House recording studio shall be operated by the Clerk of the House of Representatives under the direction and control of a committee which is hereby created (hereinafter referred to as the committee) composed of three Members of the House. Two members of the committee shall be from the majority party and one member shall be from the minority party, to be appointed by the Speaker. The committee is authorized to issue such rules and regulations relating to operation of the House recording studio as it may deem necessary. The members of the House Recording Committee are Mr. Bow, Representatives Leo W. O'Brien, and myself. We adopted rules and regulations in conformity with the law in September 1959 shortly after the committee was appointed and the studio has been operating under those rules and, frankly, we have had practically no complaint about the operation. The committee has felt all along that the actual operation was under the Clerk, but the direct supervision is placed in no uncertain terms in the committee, because the law provides that the House recording studio shall be operated by the Clerk "under the direction and control" of the committee. Then, again, another provision reads as follows: The Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized, subject to the approval of the committee, to appoint and fix the compensation of a director of the House recording studio and such other employees as are deemed necessary to the operation of the House recording studio. We found recently there had been some appointments made and the committee was not apprised of the vacancies or of the appointments, and therefore the committee had no opportunity to approve them. So our committee met this past week and amended the rules and regulations to read in part as follows: All staff appointments, promotions, increases in pay, and separations by the Clerk of the House shall first be submitted to the committee for approval. We feel that since it is our responsibility under the law to approve them all of them ought to be brought to our attention. I can assure you that there is no intention on the part of any member of the committee to secure any patronage out of this. Most of the jobs require technical skill, but we do feel that since the law so provides we ought to know when these appointments are made and who are appointed and whether they are capable. We therefore have changed the regulations accordingly. We have two directors of the studio. That was set up by the Clerk. One is the technical director and the other is the administrative director. Under the regulations as they were, the directors reported to the Clerk, which they will continue to do, but the regulations provided they could only report to the committee with the Clerk's approval. We felt, since we have the responsibility of supervising, that the directors and the other employees should be able to come to the committee with any problems they might have; so we changed that regulation to read: The two directors, singly and jointly, and all staff employees will have the privilege of direct contact with the Clerk and with the committee. Then another change that we made was: The Clerk of the House will administer all affairs of the operation and will have such reports submitted to him by the directors as he deems necessary. That is the old regulation. We added: Copies of all such reports shall be delivered to the committee by the directors. In other words, when these reports are submitted to the Clerk, copies of them should be sent to the committee so that we will keep informed and can properly perform our duties as provided by statute. There is no desire on the part of the members of the committee to take on any additional duties, but we do wish to have the necessary information on which to act. |