DEPARTMENT OF URBAN AFFAIRS AND HOUSING WEDNESDAY, JUNE 7, 1961 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, EXECUTIVE AND LEGISLATIVE REORGANIZATION SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE The subcommittee met, pursuant to recess, at 10:05 a.m., in room 1501-B, New House Office Building, Hon. William L. Dawson (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Present: Representatives William L. Dawson, Dante B. Fascell, Clarence E. Brown, and John B. Anderson. Also present: Elmer W. Henderson, subcommittee counsel; James A. Lanigan, general counsel; J. Philip Carlson, minority counsel; and Dolores Fel Dotto, acting clerk. Chairman DAWSON. The subcommittee will come to order. Mr. Anderson has arrived and we can now open the meeting. Our first witness will be Congressman Toll of Pennsylvania. We had Mrs. Martha Griffiths listed as our first witness. She was one of the first to file this year on this subject, H.R. 962. She has given way to Mr. Toll who has a very important engagement. We will hear from Mr. Toll now. STATEMENT OF HON. HERMAN TOLL, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA Mr. TOLL. I appreciate the opportunity, Mr. Chairman, of presenting some oral remarks this morning. And, Mr. Chairman, if you will permit, I would like to revise and extend my remarks, and the statement will be submitted in a day or two. Chairman DAWSON. Without objection that may be done. (The statement follows:) STATEMENT OF HON. HERMAN TOLL, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA The creation of a Department of Urban Affairs is one of the most vital issues facing the Nation today. Metropolitan area problems have long been under discussion and investigation. From these discussions we can see the necessity to find a more efficient way to solve the problems of the large urban centers. Seven reasons stand out which prove that the most efficient way to handle the problem would be to create a Department of Urban Affairs. (1) The United States today is a predominantly urban country. In the 1860's 80 percent of the population was rural but today 70 percent of the population is urban and 30 percent is rural, farm and nonfarm. The problems of the cities today are much greater than the problems that faced the rural areas and which eventually led to the creation of the Department of Agriculture. These are not simply local difficulties but, rather, are problems of extreme national signifi 89 cance. One must also remember that the urban areas are drastically underrepresented in both the State legislatures and in Congress. (2) The rapid urbanization process has left the cities with major problems in the areas of water supply, water and air pollution, sewage disposal, transportation, crime and fire protection and prevention, highways, streets, housing and slum control, education and recreation, planning and zoning, and general public health and welfare. These difficulties are increased due to the fact that most local governments simply do not have the resources to cope with the problems. Further complications arise when it is realized that the problems are not confined within one governmental jurisdiction; there is an overlapping of social and economic boundaries. Twenty-four of the largest metropolitan areas contain territory in two or more States. The problems must, therefore, be solved by coordinated governmental action and the most efficient method of coordination would be under a Department of Urban Affairs. (3) The Federal Government has taken an interest in many of the problems of the metropolitan areas. Federal authorities have begun programs in air pollution, airport construction, educational facilities, civil defense, disaster relief, hospital and medical facilities, housing and urban renewal, water pollution control and water supply facilities, highways, and public welfare assistance. If the Government is doing all of this for the metropolitan areas then why, you ask is there a need for a Department of Urban Affairs? The answer lies in the fact that these services are provided by numerous and uncoordinated agencies. In order to achieve the necessary coordination of activities affecting urban centers, we must have a Cabinet-level department. (4) Extensive research is being conducted today on the problems of urban growth and development. It is necessary that the fruits of this research be made available to the local government officials. The proposed bill takes cognizance of this need and provides for the collection of information by the Department which would be analyzed and disseminated to the municipal officials; this would enable the local governmental units to more effectively strive toward the solution of their problems. The Department would become, therefore, a reliable source of technical advice. (5) There is a great need for State effort in attempting to solve urban problems. The new Department would enable the State and county governments to more effectively meet the needs of the local units of government. State efforts would be simplified and an incentive to provide more assistance would be established. (6) Governmental units would be encouraged to change their structures in order to take full advantage of areawide assistance which would become available under legislation to be administered by the new Department of Urban Affairs. Until now, little Federal legislation has been directed toward interstate and other cooperative efforts. We have previously seen how the problems of the urban areas have little regard for conventional political boundaries and there is overlapping of the problems into different jurisdictions. The new Department will enable these jurisdictions to solve their difficulties jointly rather than singly. (7) The needs of the urban centers require great financial resources. It is the Federal Government that has the machinery to collect the necessary revenue and to distribute it equitably without being hampered by State and local boundaries. When we add to this situation the fact that local resources are limited and restricted geographically, one can see that Federal assistance administered through a Department of Urban Affairs is a logical step to the solution of urban problems. The creation of a Department of Urban Affairs is further justified when one looks at the reasons for the creation of some of the existing Departments. The Department of Labor, first organized as a Bureau under the Interior Department in 1884, was created March 4, 1913. It was pointed out at that time that the "purpose of the Department of Labor shall be to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners of the United States, to improve their working conditions, and to advance their opportunities for profitable employment." Today there is another interest which must be protected-the interest of the urban dweller. Never before have the inhabitants of our cities been plagued with so many problems; never before have the solutions proved so difficult. A Department of Urban Affairs would be the boon to the urban dweller that the Department of Labor was to the wage earner. The Department of Agriculture was created in 1862 and raised to cabinet status in 1889. At the time of the creation of the Department, Congress stated that the general purpose of the Department would be to "acquire and diffuse among the people of the United States useful information on subjects concerned with agriculture." In a like manner the new Department of Urban Affairs will disseminate information to local units of government in order to provide assistance in the solution of their difficulties. Another reason for the creation of the Department of Agriculture was to "procure, propagate, and distribute among the people new and valuable seeds and plants." Surely the Department of Urban Affairs will perform services for the urban dweller which are as important to him as the distribution of seeds was to the farmer. The newest Cabinet-level Department, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, will provide us with another example. When the reorganization plan was submitted to Congress on March 12, 1953, it was stated that, "The purpose of the plan is to improve the administration of the vital health, education, and security functions now being carried on in the Federal Security Agency by giving them departmental rank. Such action is demanded by the importance and magnitude of these functions, which affect the well-being of millions of our citizens." Functions of similar scope and magnitude in regard to our great cities are being carried on by numerous Federal agencies today. Just as it was vital in 1953 to elevate functions of health, education, and security to departmental status, so it is necessary today to elevate the functions of these other agencies to the Cabinet level in order that they be most efficiently administered. As a final example, let us look at the Department of Commerce. In the middle of the 19th century there was much agitation for the establishment of a Department of Commerce in order that the rapidly increasing volume of capital invested in commerce and manufactures could be the subject of Government supervision. In 1900 it was noted that "the same arguments advanced for the Department of Agriculture were applicable to one for the commercial and industrial life of the country; that the manufacturing interests in the United States exceeded in volume and in importance the industrial interests of any nation in the world, and yet there was no Government office specially charged with any duties relating directly to them, and in this respect the United States was almost alone among the nations of the world. Just as the Department of Commerce was created to aid and supervise the commercial interests of the Nation, so must a Department of Urban Affairs be organized in order that the resources of our cities be fully developed. A new Department would enable the urban centers to provide the best lives for their inhabitants and contribute to the general welfare of the entire Nation. The city of Philadelphia is intensely interested in the establishment of a Department of Urban Affairs. We are proud of the pioneering role which Mayor Richardson Dilworth played to bring this new idea to the attention of municipal officials throughout the Nation, and then to the Nation at large. The idea of a Department of Urban Affairs was first brought to the official attention of municipal officials of the country in 1955 when Mayor Dilworth proposed it at the National Congress of the American Municipal Association. Because the idea was then novel it was not immediately accepted, but, in 1958 the American Municipal Association unanimously adopted a resolution calling for the creation of a new Department of Urban Affairs headed by a person of Cabinet rank. In 1959 the U.S. Conference of Mayors followed suit. In 1960, Mayor Dilworth, representing both the American Municipal Association and the U.S. Conference of Mayors, appeared before the Democratic platform committee in Los Angeles and requested on behalf of both organizations that the Democratic Party endorse the idea of a new department. They did, and subsequently President Kennedy, then a Senator, added his personal endorsement and made a campaign pledge that he would work for the creation of the Department. After the election, Mayor Dilworth, as president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors met with President-elect Kennedy in New York to discuss with him the drafting of the legislation which is now before you. Philadelphia, as most of you know, is currently engaged in a far-reaching civic renaissance. The problems of housing, urban renewal, mass transportation, airport improvement, water pollution, purification of water and improvement of sewage facilities, in fact all of the myriad municipal problems which beset modern cities are being attacked with vigor and imagination. But te more vigorously Philadelphia attacks its problems, the more obvious it becomes that the Federal Government must assume a more positive role of leadership in the area of urban affairs. One of the most vital problems that plagues our metropolitan areas is that of "human relations." Never before have so many different races, religions, and 71873-61- nationalities been brought so close together. Unfortunately, this close proximity of so many divergent groups breeds friction and the cities are saddled with another problem. The proposed Department of Urban Affairs is in a position to help in this area. The bill calling for the establishment of the Department includes a section which calls for the establishment of a Federal Bureau of Intergroup Relations. This would be a great stride in fostering better relations among the many diversified peoples who make up our Nation. This is a problem which cannot be ignored; it must be attacked and the proposed Department includes the means to help solve this problem. The problems of the urban areas can be solved. The cities themselves have taken great strides in this path toward progress. But, there is a limit to the abilities and to the financial resources of the metropolitan areas. The solution lies not in the hands of the cities, not in the hands of uncoordinated Federal agencies, but, rather, in a Department of Urban Affairs. Mr. TOLL. I greatly appreciate the courtesy extended to me by the gentlewoman from Michigan so that I can attend an important commencement of one of the Government agencies this morning involving my community. I would like to state that I also introduced a bill-not as early as the Congresswoman, Mrs. Griffiths, but I presented my bill along the line with the others to show my support of this program for the creation of this Department. I believe that some testimony has already been received and that the testimony generally falls into, I would say, seven major categories with regard to the importance of the subject matter and which requires the creation of this Department. No. 1 is the fact that today a very large part of our population lives in cities, whereas many years ago 80 percent of the population was rural. Secondly, the problems which affect the Congress involve matters that are of such difficulty and that are so great in their consequence that they really need Federal attention in order to solve them. For instance, in the field of water supplies, water and air pollution, sewage disposal, transportation, crime and fire prevention, highways, streets, housing and slum control, education and recreation, and zoning, and general public health and welfare. Thirdly, the Federal Government has already assumed jurisdiction in a number of these areas, such as in air pollution, airport construction, educational facilities, civil defense, disaster relief-and in the Hill-Burton Act, hospital and medical facilities. They have already recognized the housing and rural area, water pollution and water supply facilities and other public works such as highways and the public welfare assistance. Now, the fourth item involves the field of research and urban growth and development, and the advice which is offered through Government agencies for the solution of these problems to local government agencies. In the fifth class, the State and county governments have applied for some governmental assistance, although in a State category the Association of State Governments, the Governors, representatives of State agencies, have not made their final statement yet. I understand every indication has leaned in that direction on a broad scale of the 50 States of the Union. There may be some States that would not join, but I think the majority of them would make the request. And sixth, the illustrations have been given-I reviewed much of the material which you have already had-showing how these con |