Your committee might wish to consider whether the civil-service retirement and disability fund should not be reimbursed from the general fund of the Treasury in the amount of $722.70 since enactment of the bill would prevent recoupment of the erroneous annuity payment from the fund. Sincerely yours, FRANK H. WEITZEL, CHARLES P. REDICK JUNE 29, 1961.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House and ordered to be printed Mr. LANE, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H.R. 5182] The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the bill (H.R. 5182) for the relief of Charles P. Redick, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with amendments and recommend that the bill do pass. The amendments are as follows: Lines 6 and 7, strike out "four hundred and eight" and insert "two hundred and forty". Line 9, strike out "July 21" and insert "August 1". Line 10, strike out "20" and insert "18". The purpose of the amendments is to conform the bill to the factual situation as determined by the committee. PURPOSE The purpose of the proposed legislation as amended is to recredit to the leave account of Charles P. Redick, Chevy Chase, Md., 240 hours of annual leave which he lost during the period between his unlawful separation from employment in the Office of the Housing Expediter (August 1, 1947) and the date of his restoration to Government employment (October 18, 1947). STATEMENT The beneficiary of this legislation, then employed as Director of the Building Material Branch, Office of Production, was placed on involuntary annual leave beginning August 1, 1947, in connection with a reduction in force in the Office of the Housing Expediter, Department of Commerce, which was later determined, by the Civil Service Commission, to be erroneous. Inasmuch as there was proved error on the part of the Government in effecting such leave, the committee is of the opinion that fairness and equity require that there be restored to Mr. Redick the additional annual leave he would now have to his credit if the erroneous reduction in force had not taken place and he had never been placed on annual leave because of it. Therefore, the committee recommends that this legislation as amended be considered favorably. The report of the Department of Commerce, which interposes no objection to a bill amended in the manner recommended by the committee, is as follows: Hon. EMANUEL CELLER, THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE, Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: This is in response to your request of March 6, 1961, for the views of this Department on H.R. 5182, a bill for the relief of Charles P. Redick. The bill would authorize and direct the Secretary of Commerce to recredit to the leave account of Mr. Charles P. Redick, an employee of the Department, some 408 hours of annual leave which, according to the bill, he lost as a result of unlawful separation from employment in the Office of the Housing Expediter for the period beginning July 31, 1947, and ending on October 20, 1947, the date of his restoration to Government. The Department does not recommend enactment of H.R. 5182 in its present form. Mr. Redick was placed on involuntary annual leave beginning August 1, 1947, and ending October 18, 1947, in connection with a reduction in force action later determined to be erroneous. It is considered that the most that is required to provide equitable treatment in this matter is to restore to him the additional annual leave which he would now have to his credit if the erroneous reduction in force action had never been taken and he had never been placed on annual leave because of it. A reconstruction of Mr. Redick's annual leave record from the beginning of 1947 to date, in accordance with all laws and regulations applicable to the accrual and use of leave in the meantime, indicates that if Mr. Redick had never been adversely affected in 1947 by reduction in force action, his accumulated annual leave balance would now be 240 hours greater than his present balance. If the bill were amended to provide for recredit of 240 hours of annual leave instead of 408 hours of annual leave, the Department would have no objection to enactment of the bill. We have been advised by the Bureau of the Budget that there would be no objection to the submission of this report to your committee. Sincerely yours, EDWARD GUDEMAN, Under Secretary of Commerce. O ROBERT KNOBBE JUNE 29, 1961.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House and ordered to be printed Mr. LANE, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H.R. 5320] The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the bill (H.R. 5320) for the relief of Robert Knobbe, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass. PURPOSE The purpose of the proposed legislation is to pay Robert A. Knobbe, of 5300 South Christiana Avenue, Chicago, Ill., $365 in full settlement of his claims against the United States for damages to his automobile which was struck by an Army staff car on April 9, 1960, driven by an Army private. STATEMENT Mr. Knobbe's car was parked at the time it was struck by the Army vehicle. The driver of the Army vehicle had been assigned to drive the car on a trip scheduled for 6:45 a.m. the day of the accident. However, since the driver was able to drive the car from Fort Wadsworth the previous evening due to lax Army supervision, he was operating the vehicle outside the scope of his employment at the time of the collision. As a result, this claim could not be settled under the Federal Tort Claims Act, and Robert A. Knobbe, who was totally without fault, must seek relief through an appeal to Congress. The information supplied the committee establishes that at approximately 3:30 p.m., on April 8, 1960, an Army sedan was dispatched to Pfc. Robert W. Brennan, Army serial No. RA11355022, at Fort Wadsworth, N.Y., for the purpose of transporting an officer on the following day at 6:45 a.m. from Miller Field to the St. George ferry. Permission was given to Private Brennan to park the Government vehicle in his company area at Fort Wadsworth because of the early morning hour of the trip to be made the next day. It was standard procedure at Fort Wadsworth to dispatch a vehicle the night before under such circumstances, inasmuch as the motor pool was locked and unattended at the early morning hour when the trip in question was to be made. It was understood and was the practice that the operator would park the vehicle in the company area until required to use it for the designated trip. At approximately 7:30 p.m., on April 8, 1961, Private Brennan left Fort Wadsworth in the Army car without authority, accompanied by two enlisted men. When departing from the post, he displayed to the gate guard the trip ticket which authorized the trip he was to make the following morning. The guard knew Brennan personally, and did not question him or examine the trip ticket closely, believing that the vehicle was being used for an emergency run. After leaving the post, Private Brennan and his companions drove to the Shore Tavern located on Bay Street, Staten Island, commenced drinking, and continued to do so until about 3:30 a.m. on April 9, 1960. During the time spent at the tavern, Private Brennan was in the company of a woman companion and two other enlisted men, in addition to the two enlisted men whom he had brought in the Government vehicle. At approximately 4 a.m. on the date in question, Private Brennan was driving down McLean Avenue, Staten Island, N.Y., in the Army vehicle with the four enlisted men and the woman. While driving at a fast rate of speed and under the influence of alcohol, Private Brennan drove the Army car into a parked sedan, careened off and crashed into the rear of another sedan, parked approximately 175 feet ahead, and knocked this one into the rear of a third one, which, in turn, crashed into the rear of a fourth parked car. The force of the impact caused gasoline tanks to rupture and fire ensued which enveloped the vehicles. All injured persons were rushed to the Staten Island Hospital by ambulance. Private Brennan died of head injuries on arrival at the hospital. The surviving military members were released from the Staten Island Hospital and transferred to the Fort Wadsworth dispensary where they were checked and returned to duty. The woman passenger in the Army car sustained fractures of both legs and was admitted to the hospital where she remained until April 14, 1960. Damage to the various automobiles involved in the accident was as follows: The U.S. Army sedan, a total loss; two of the civilian cars, total losses; one, the entire left side damaged; and the fourth had the entire rear damaged. The report furnished the committee by the Department of the Army outlines the circumstances regarding the claims arising from the accident. The Army observed that the only statutory basis for payment of such claims is to be found in the Federal Tort Claims Act as now codified in title 28 of the United States Code. The tort claims provisions of that title require that the employee of the United States involved be acting within the scope of his employment. The Army has taken this fact as a basis for opposing relief in this instance, and points out that there is no legally enforcible claim of the sort enforcible in a court under that particular act. However, the committee has concluded that such a position fails to take into account the obvious failure of the Army to properly supervise its vehicles and its drivers and control their movement from |