Post Office Department, Bureau of Facilities. Department of Transportation, U.S. Coast Guard. Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration, the [COMMITTEE PRINT] FEDERAL REAL AND PERSONAL PROPERTY INVENTORY REPORT (CIVILIAN AND MILITARY) OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT, COVERING ITS PROPERTIES, LOCATED IN THE UNITED STATES, IN THE TERRITORIES, AND OVERSEAS, AS OF JUNE 30, 1968 PART I INTRODUCTION This Federal property inventory report represents a compilation of assigned values of real and personal property owned or controlled by the Federal Government, located throughout the world, as of June 30, 1968. This comprehensive recording of assets of the Government is the 12th such report issued by the House Committee on Government Operations. The committee has issued, on an annual basis, inventory reports of federally owned real and personal properties, on a fiscal year basis, from June 30, 1955, through June 30, 1964. Early in 1965 it was determined by the chairman of the committee that future inventory reports of the committee would be issued on a biennial basis. Consequently, reports were not issued as of June 30, 1965, and June 30, 1967. The committee staff assigned to this project, aided by the experience of Government department and agency representatives, has explored inventory accounting systems employed by the Federal Government in an effort to include all assets of a department and to bring records covering such assets under accounting control. A comparison of our previous inventory reports, as listed below, shows clearly the great progress which has been made in improving accounting methods and recordkeeping operations employed in recording the amounts of real and personal property owned or controlled by the Federal Government. Constant attention is being focused on accurate and complete accounting of these assets. The utilization of up-to-date accounting systems, motivated by stimulated interest in property inventories, has strengthened the efforts of Government departments and agencies in bringing inventories under accounting control. This progress, which is being observed by the public, Members of the Congress, and especially by the membership of this committee, has been most encouraging. COMPARISON OF REPORTED INVENTORY VALUES, WORLDWIDE In this report, as has been done previously, Capitol Hill realty is recorded at estimated present-day evaluations; also public domain is recorded at estimated present-day evaluations. Federal realty listed on Government records as "zero value" or at "$1 for accounting purposes" is listed in the report at estimated present-day evaluations. In June 1960 the committee published a document entitled "The Federal Property Inventory Undertaking of the House Committee on Government Õperations: An Endeavor To List Real and Personal Assets of the Federal Government on a Worldwide Basis-A Long Overdue Accomplishment." The document records, in narrative history form, preparations involved in recording real and personal assets of the Federal Government, on a worldwide basis, as well as the accomplishments of the Committee on Government Operations from 1955 until 1960. The document is designed to be helpful to Members of Congress and others who are interested in studying and analyzing the improvements which have been made in real property management and accounting control over an investment aggregating billions of dollars which is represented in real and personal property of our Government located throughout the world. The document also described how the inventory undertaking was conceived and the steps taken to obtain data for inclusion in the inventory report. FEDERAL PERSONALTY Most Federal personalty figures in this report are furnished directly by the Department of the Treasury, on request of the committee chairman. The Department of Defense reports all its inventories, real and personal, directly to the committee for inclusion in the report. These figures cover assets of the three military departments and the Corps of Engineers, civil functions. Personalty inventories of the Architect of the Capitol, the Sergeant at Arms of the U.S. Senate, the Clerk of the House of Representatives, the Library of Congress, the Supreme Court of the United States, the U.S. courts of appeals, U.S. district courts, and special U.S. courts are reported directly to the committee. Federal personalty (exclusive of cash and related cash items) is reported herein at acquisition cost. This manner of reporting these assets has been discussed with, and approved by, officials of the General Accounting Office and the Department of the Treasury. It is the consensus that this approach represents a realistic method of recording personal property, especially when comparing replacement costs and amounts received for such items when they are declared surplus and offered for sale by the Government. In recording values of paintings, portraits, statues, numerous publications, and volumes of books where records are unavailable as to the known costs, an estimated value has been recorded. Numerous personalty assets of the Federal Government are listed on its inventory records at "no value" inasmuch as some such items were donated to the Federal Government (at no cost) and in many instances it is impossible to place a realistic value on these properties because of their patriotic or sentimental value rather than intrinsic value. Such is the case of numerous items to be found in the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Institution, the National Archives, and in other storehouses of the Nation. The famous Hope diamond, which was donated to the Government, has a value ranging from something like $200,000 to $2 million. This particular asset is worth a considerable sum of money, yet its value is not included in the committee's inventory report for it was obtained at no cost to the Government. The increase in personalty figures in our reports during the past few years represents refinements in improved recordkeeping activities within the Government or improvements resulting from inventories having been brought under inventory accounting control. The Department of the Treasury has been instrumental in furnishing personalty data which reflect refinements in many areas of accounting throughout the Government. FEDERAL REALTY (EXCLUDING PUBLIC DOMAIN) Federal realty is listed herein, for the most part, at acquisition cost-with usage categories and number of acres noted. In 1960 the committee requested departments and agencies which had realty under their jurisdiction which had been donated to the Government, or obtained at no cost, listed on the books of the Government at "no value" or recorded at "$1 (for accounting purposes)" to affix thereon an estimated present-day value of such realty. Cooperation was received in this endeavor from each department and agency concerned. Methods employed in the evaluation of public domain lands were used in the establishment of current evaluations of "no value" lands. This practice has been followed again this year and up-to-date figures on such properties are recorded herein. This additional refinement has been accomplished by the efforts of experienced and qualified personnel within the departments, thus making unnecessary the expense of engaging outside appraisal firms for the undertaking. The committee is gratified with its accomplishment of having the property inventory report reflect either estimated present-day values or acquisition cost of all Federal realty. At the request of the committee, the Architect of the Capitol has again furnished realty figures for inclusion in this report which reflect estimated present-day evaluations of properties under his control. Construction work-in-progress figures for all Government departments and agencies, including the Department of Defense, are again. recorded in the realty portion of this report. The accepted procedure of recording the value of a Federal building project (on the books of the Government) is to await its completion. When the Government actually takes possession of a building project, the title thereof is then recorded on the books of the Government. It is felt that a realistic manner of recording the Government's investment in a project which is in the process of construction is to record the actual investment at the close of the fiscal year, rather than await the completion of the project to record its value. Our manner of recording constructionin-progress figures is in keeping with our objective of providing a comprehensive and complete listing of all Federal assets in all areas at a given time. This is also consistent with good accounting principles. It should be borne in mind that the acquisition costs recorded for some buildings and facilities may also represent present-day evalua tions. This is true when considering the value of buildings and facilities which have been constructed or purchased during the past few years. Recorded in the realty portion of the report this year is a listing of Federal realty, excluding public domain, by departmental jurisdiction and general location (whether located in the United States, in the territories, or overseas), as well as a breakdown of acreage in the various States. This additional information is of particular interest not only to the congressional offices, but to the general public as well. A further breakdown of real property by State, county, and department, as well as cross-indexed listings of federally owned realty, is available in the offices of the Committee on Government Operations, House of Representatives or from the General Services Administration. PUBLIC DOMAIN PROPERTIES The term "public domain land" embraces all the areas, title to which was vested in the U.S. Government by virtue of its sovereignty. The term, "public domain lands," includes original public domain lands which have never left Federal ownership and lands still within Federal ownership which were obtained by the Government in exchange for public lands or for timber on such lands. It also includes original public domain lands which have reverted to Federal ownership through the operation of public land laws. Public domain acreage is listed in this report at estimated presentday evaluations. In some instances, Federal departments and agencies have been able to place an estimated present-day evaluation on buildings, structures, and facilities located on public domain lands. However, these estimates are included for information purposes only in the public domain summary table. In order to avoid duplication and for the sake of clarity, all buildings, structures, and facilities are recorded in the realty section of the inventory report at acquisition cost. The method used in this report has been adopted so as not to confuse the reader and at the same time so as to avoid the overlapping of figures and properties. In some instances, because of the nature of the property and the location of the installation itself, it has not been possible to determine, because of intermingling, whether some structures are located on public domain or other Federal property. Estimated present-day evaluations of public domain have been determined by field representatives employed in real property field offices of the departments. As a result of their assistance, evaluations have been determined without having to engage the services of private professional appraisers. Methods used in the appraisal of public domain lands have been determined by qualified field representatives, based on long experience in the property appraisal field and on evaluation criteria employed in the evaluating of adjoining federally or privately owned properties. The Department of the Interior is responsible for determining overall values of mineral resources for all Government departments and agencies. Estimated overall values of timberlands, grazing lands, and grazing rights are included in public domain data furnished the committee directly by the department or agency controlling such property. Since its Federal property inventory report, as of June 30, 1956, the Committee on Government Operations has listed public domain lands |