Hearings, Reports and Prints of the Senate Committee on Armed Services

DISPOSALS FROM NATIONAL STOCKPILE

THURSDAY, AUGUST 19, 1965

U.S. SENATE,

SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE NATIONAL STOCKPILE

AND NAVAL PETROLEUM RESERVES OF THE

COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES,

Washington, D.C.

The subcommittee (composed of Senators Symington (chairman), Cannon, Young of Ohio, Inouye, Miller, and Tower) met, pursuant to notice, in room 212, Old Senate Office Building, at 9:30 a.m. Present: Senators Symington (presiding), Cannon, and Miller. Also present: William H. Darden, chief of staff; Charles B. Kirbow, chief clerk; and H. S. Atkinson, assistant chief clerk.

Senator SYMINGTON. We will call the meeting to order.

The subcommittee is meeting this morning to consider five resolutions and bills authorizing disposals from the national stockpile. These are:

(1) House Concurrent Resolution 453, which would authorize the disposal of about 21,500 short tons of magnesium;

(2) House Concurrent Resolution 454, which would authorize the disposal of 36,580 pounds of bismuth and 8,734 pieces of subgrade diamond dies;

(3) House Concurrent Resolution 455, which relates to 2,100 ounces of hyoscine;

(4) H.R. 9544, which would authorize the disposal of 620,000 long tons of natural rubber and waive the normal 6-month waiting period; and

(5) H.R. 10305, which would authorize the disposal of 124,200,000 pounds of nickel and waive the 6-month waiting period.

(The bills, H. Con. Res. 453, H. Con. Res. 454, H. Con. Res. 455, H.R. 9544, and H.R. 10305, referred to, follow:)

[H. Con. Res. 453, 89th Cong., 1st sess.]

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That the Conress expressly approves, pursuant to section 3(e) of the Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act (50 U.S.C. 98b (e)), the disposal from the national stockpile of approximately twenty-one thousand five hundred short tons of magnesrum contained in primary pigs and alloys.

Passed the House of Representatives August 16, 1965.
RALPH R. ROBERTS,

Attest:

Clerk.

[H. Con. Res. 454, 89th Cong., 1st sess.]

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That the Congress expressly approves, pursuant to section 3(e) of the Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act (50 U.S.C. 98b(e)), the disposal from the national stockpile of approximately eight thousand three hundred seventy-four pieces of subgrade small diamond dies and approximately thirty-six thousand five hundred eighty pounds of nonstockpile grade bismuth alloys.

Passed the House of Representatives August 16, 1965.
Attest:

RALPH R. ROBERTS,

Clerk.

[H. Con. Res. 455, 89th Cong., 1st sess.]

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That the Congress expressly approves, pursuant to section 3(e) of the Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act (50 U.S.C. 98b(e)), the disposal of approximately two thousand one hundred ounces of hyoscine from the national stockpile. Passed the House of Representatives August 16, 1965. Attest:

RALPH R. ROBERTS,

Clerk.

[H.R. 9544, 89th Cong., 1st sess.]

AN ACT To authorize the disposal, without regard to the prescribed six-month waiting period, of approximately six hundred and twenty thousand long tons of natural rubber from the national stockpile

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Administrator of General Services is hereby authorized to dispose of approximately six hundred and twenty thousand long tons of natural rubber now held in the national stockpile. Such disposal may be made without regard to the provision of section 3(e) of the Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act (50 U.S.C. 98b(e)) that no disposition of materials held in the national stockpile shall be made prior to the expiration of six months after the publication in the Federal Register and the transmission to the Congress and to the Armed Services Committee of each House thereof of the notice of the proposed disposition required by said section 3(e). Passed the House of Representatives August 16, 1965. Attest:

RALPH R. ROBERTS,

Clerk.

[H.R. 10305, 89th Cong., 1st sess.]

AN ACT To authorize the disposal, without regard to the prescribed six-month waiting period, of approximately one hundred and twenty-four million two hundred thousand pounds of nickel from the national stockpile

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Administrator of General Services is hereby authorized to dispose of approximately one hundred and twenty-four million two hundred thousand pounds of nickel now held in the national stockpile. Such disposal may be made without regard to the provision of section 3(e) of the Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act (50 U.S.C. 98b(e)) that no disposition of materials held in the national stockpile shall be made prior to the expiration of six months after the publication in the Federal Register and the transmission to the Congress and to the Armed Services Committee of each House thereof of the notice of the proposed disposition required by said section 3(e). Passed the House of Representatives August 16, 1965. Attest: RALPH R. ROBERTS,

Clerk.

Senator SYMINGTON. Mr. Maurice J. Connell, Commissioner of the Defense Materials Service in the General Services Administration, present to testify on these measures.

Mr. Connell, we are glad to have you here. You may proceed th your testimony.

HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 453

STATEMENT OF MAURICE J. CONNELL, COMMISSIONER, DEFENSE MATERIALS SERVICE, GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION; ACCOMPANIED BY JOHN G. HARLAN, JR., DEPUTY COMMISSIONER

Mr. CONNELL. Mr. Chairman, I have with me members of my staff and my Deputy Commissioner, Mr. John Harlan, and we are ere to testify on the bill which you specify we should take up first. Senator SYMINGTON. You might start off with the magnesium bill H. Con. Res. 453), inasmuch as there is no controversy about that, wish just to file your statement for the record. Mr. CONNELL. That is what we had in mind, Mr. Chairman. I will file my statement for the record. We favor House Concurrent Resolution 453 for the disposal of magnesium, inasmuch as there is 10 controversy about this disposal.

and

You may

The statement referred to follows:)

Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, I am Maurice J. Connell, Commissioner, Defense Materials Service, General Services Administration. I have with me Mr. John G. Harlan, Jr., Deputy Commissioner, and other staff members of GSA who are knowledgeable concerning the Government's stockpile program.

On behalf of the Administrator, Mr. Lawson B. Knott, Jr., who asked me to represent him at the hearings this morning, I want to thank you for the opportunity to appear before your subcommittee for the purpose of expressing the Views of GSA on House Concurrent Resolution 453.

This concurrent resolution would, as you know, approve the disposal by GSA of approximately 21,500 short tons of magnesium contained in primary pigs and alloys in the national stockpile. GSA strongly urges approval of this disposal. The revised stockpile objective for magnesium, which was established by the Office of Emergency Planning on February 28, 1964, is 145,000 short tons. The 2.500 short tons of magnesium proposed for disposal are the total excess in the national stockpile which is not covered by previously authorized disposal pro

grains.

Prior to 1963, consumption of primary magnesium in the United States was at a level of 35,000 to 45,000 short tons per year. However, starting in 1963, U.S. consumption increased markedly with consumption for 1963 reaching 51,000 short tons and consumption for 1964 reaching 55,000 short tons.

Continued growth in demand, both domestically and abroad, is expected as a resalt of the increased use of magnesium castings, the increased use of aluminum alloys, and the shortage of high-quality magnesium scrap.

A has bearing mate

rials from the stockpile since 1960.

grade alloy bomb scrap, containing about 95-percent magnesium, were sold from During the period 1960-62, approximately 2,722 short tons of nonstockpile the national stockpile. In February 1961, GSA sold 4,413 short tons of cadmiummagnesium alloy bomb scrap, with deliveries spread over a 3-year period. This material contained about 2,780 short tons of recoverable magnesium.

for the disposal of a total of 12,500 short tons of excess magnesium from the Beginning in November 1962, GSA has sold 9,135 short tons under a program

national stockpile.

It is proposed to dispose of the total excess of magnesium including any portion remaining unsold from the prior authorization over a period of from 4 to 5 years.

All of these disposals have been made with minimum impact on the market.

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