proposal must reinforce, not weaken, the urban and State governments of the United States.

Senator HUMPHREY. I hope that you men representing the National Association of County Officials will keep a good eye on this record because I know you will be helpful to us. I know you are not obstructionists. I know that you are trying to be helpful in terms of the basic intergovernmental relationships that are required.

If you will, when the hearings are concluded, examine the record and give us some views on the statements of the other witnesses, we would appreciate it.

Mr. MICHAELIAN. Thank you. I want to thank you for the opportunity and to assure you, Senator, that we are not, neither we nor our association, interested in the preservation and continuation of an archaic government nor do we wish to be obstructionists or wish to be presumptive in trying to tell the President or Congress or the Senate how to organize executive functions in the executive branch or legislative functions within the legislative branch and their relationship at the Federal level. We are greatly concerned over the format of the bill, particularly with section 2.

If a department is established we think that safeguards should be incorporated in the bill, in the measure, so that Congress can say specific functions of the future may be allocated or legislated into the new department when, as, and if it is established and when this has been accomplished.

We will work with whatever agency the President or the Senate and Congress set up. We promise our cooperation and will do our best to make it a success. We did want to present our point of view. We were alarmed about this, particularly the present form of the bill, and we want to be sure that we still will have the right of self-determination in county and local and municipal levels and that our rights will not be abridged.

Senator HUMPHREY. I want to see those rights preserved. I want you to know that because I have a great respect for local government that I can't think of anything worse than centralizing this Government any more than the present trend seems to be. It is very big right now. You have put your finger on it. It can get to be unmanageable.

I gather from your statement that whatever action is taken you are hopeful that it will be a limited action, that we will try to feel our way in this matter rather than to try to preempt new territory without the experience that lends itself to solid evidence that we are doing the right thing, is that it?

Mr. MICHAELIAN. That expresses it very thoroughly and I would say I agree with that. That is the way I personally feel about it and I am sure Mr. Frosh and others share that point of view with me. Senator HUMPHREY. Thank you very much for your testimony and thanks to your association.

The next witness is Mr. Nathaniel S. Keith, president of the National Housing Conference.

Mr. KEITH. Senator, I would like to submit my statement for the record and to summarize briefly our principal points of view on this. Senator HUMPHREY. Very well. Your prepared statement will be placed in the record at the conclusion of your remarks.

STATEMENT OF NATHANIEL S. KEITH, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL HOUSING CONFERENCE

Mr. KEITH. Mr. Chairman, I am appearing on behalf of the National Housing Conference in strong support of the President's proposal for the establishment in the executive branch of a Cabinet-rank Department of Urban Affairs and Housing.

As you know, Senator, the National Housing Conference is a national organization of public-minded citizens who have had the distinction of having you on our Board of Directors for a number of years.

Senator HUMPHREY. I want to say it is one of the organizations that I am proud to belong to and I feel it has done a good job. Mr. KEITH. Thank you very much.

Senator HUMPHREY. Without any particular guidance from the State of Minnesota.

Mr. KEITH. Our interest, as you know, covers the whole field of housing and community development and, for that reason, we have a very strong insterest in this proposal for establishment of a Cabinet department to represent the broad interests of the country in the field of community development and housing.

We feel that the importance of achieving such a stature for this broad range question has been greatly accentuated by developments over the past decade.

At the time that the Housing and Home Finance Agency was first established by reorganization plan in 1947, its interest entirely focused on the housing problem. At that time, the maximum objectives that were advanced in the field of housing as the desirable national goal for housing production was in the neighborhood of 1,200,000 units per year.

As of today, with the very marked increase of population and the migration of the population and with the tremendous further growth of population that is definitely in prospect in the coming decade, the national goal for housing production alone has just about doubled. I think it is generally accepted that a construction rate of about 211⁄2 million units a year will be essential if we are to make substantial progress.

At the same time the interrelationship between an adequate and satisfactory progressive housing program when considered with the other fiscal needs of the community in the sense of community facilities, money for streets, water supply, sewers, mass transportation facilities and so on has been greatly emphasized.

In partially reflecting on this, as you know, there is a considerable range of acitivities outside of housing, of activities assigned by legislation to the HHFA. Of primary importance is the urban renewal program which was authorized in 1949 and which is now represented by programs of more than 500 communities throughout the country covering the whole range of city sizes including, I might add, quite a number of counties which are participating directly in the urban renewal program. Likewise, the need for Federal assistance in the field of community facilities was recognized by Congress in a somewhat rudimentary form some years ago.

I might add there was assigned to the Housing and Home Finance Agency the college housing program to meet the acute need in that

field. And now community planning assistance and current proposals that are now before Congress in the form of Federal assistance for mass transit, programs like these, would be assigned to the Housing and Home Finance Agency. Consequently, we have in existence in the form of the HHFA an already existing focal point for many important activities of the Federal Government in this field. But certainly, its functioning on the highest plane of influence and effectiveness within the Federal structure has been greatly handicapped by the fact it is being administered by an agency rather than a department and has no direct voice at the Cabinet table. It is in a relatively weak position vis-a-vis the established departments of the Government.

Consequently, we feel that it is of the utmost importance, not only under the existing conditions but looking forward to the tremendous future expansion and the demands of communities throughout the country for Federal assistance in this whole broad field that these functions be recognized as an important Federal responsibility which they are in fact.

As I understand it, Mr. Chairman, this committee has before it four bills touching on the subject-S. 289, S. 375, S. 609 and S. 1633. We have examined each of these bills and, in our opinion, the provisions of S. 1633 are best designed to create the Department and establish the principles for its administration and operation.

We place particular importance on the broad declaration of national housing and urban affairs policy contained in S. 1633 as a most significant guideline for Federal activities and assistance in these crucial fields.

We are also very strongly in support of the provisions of section 3(b) of S. 1633 which would charge the Secretary of the new Department with responsibility to "exercise leadership at the direction of the President," and I would like to underline those words, "in coordinating Federal activities affecting urban affairs."

We also strongly support the statement that the new Secretary would conduct continuing, comprehensive studies and make available findings with respect to the problems of housing and urban development, and to "encourage comprehensive planning by the State and local governments."

In closing, I would like to say that the National Housing Conference is fully in accord with the broad statement of policy contained in section 2 (a) of S. 1633 which we consider to eloquently and accurately state the problems and objectives in urban affairs and housing.

We have one suggestion to advance for the consideration of this committee; namely, the inclusion in this policy statement of the following clause, and I quote, "The promotion of orderly, efficient, and economic land uses."

This objective is implied in many of the other objectives which are cited in the policy statement. We believe it is of sufficient importance to sound community development to merit the consideration of that. In summary, Mr. Chairman, the National Housing Conference is fully in support of the provisions of S. 1633 and strongly recommends favorable consideration of that bill by the subcommittee.

Senator HUMPHREY. Thank you very much, Mr. Keith, particularly for the emphasis that you placed on certain sections of the bill, par

ticularly section 3(b), which I think represents a very important activity of the proposed Cabinet office.

We thank you and the housing conference.
Mr. KEITH. Thank you very much.

NATIONAL HOUSING CONFERENCE

Senator HUMPHREY. Your complete statement will be placed in the record at this point.

(The prepared statement of Nathaniel S. Keith follows:)

STATEMENT OF NATHANIEL S. KEITH, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL HOUSING

CONFERENCE

Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, the National Housing Conference welcomes the opportunity to express to this committee its strong endorsement and support of the President's proposal that there be established in the executive branch a new Cabinet-rank Department of Urban Affairs and Housing. The National Housing Conference is a national citizens organization with an active and long-standing interest in housing and all phases of community development. The conference is now in its 31st year of operation. It was founded by a group of public-spirited citizens in the midst of the catastrophic depression of the early thirties to focus public interest and support for the provision of decent, safe, and sanitary housing for families of low income. We were, I believe, of some influence and help in securing the enactment of the Housing Act of 1937 which established the present low-rent public housing program.

As recognition grew of the breadth and depth of the complex problems and needs in the field of housing and community development, the position of the National Housing Conference kept pace with this broadening horizon. We were in the forefront of the public organizations pressing for the enactment of the broad legislation which eventually was embodied in the Housing Act of 1949 and which established the national goal of "a decent home and a suitable living environment for every American family." Our frame of reference is today, as it has been for many years, the whole range of issues involved in the creation of healthy and rewarding communities for the American people.

It is for this reason that the National Housing Conference believes there is great urgency in establishing the most effective governmental machinery for leadership and assistance in our program toward this goal. The establishment of Cabinet rank for our approach toward the problems of housing and community development is fully justified by the critical status of these problems today and by the dimensions and complexity of the necessary Federal programs already underway or proposed. The justification for this action becomes even more compelling when we consider the implications of the advance in our population toward the 200 million level and probably to the 300 million level by the year 2000, less than four decades from now.

We have witnessed over a period of years the emergence of the programs and organizations in the Federal Government established to meet the expanding problems of urbanization. The several programs that were born of the depression-notably the Federal Housing Administration and the U.S. Housing Authority-existed as entirely separate entities. With the advent of World War II, these and a group of widely scattered defense and war housing programs were temporarily consolidated in 1942 into the National Housing Agency. Establishment of the Housing and Home Finance Agency in 1947 was a recognition of the permanent nature of the Federal Government's responsibilities for housing. During the 14 years since the establishment of HHFA there has been a dramatic growth in the size and scope of the needs and problems of American communities, in pace with our unprecedented population expansion and increasing urbanization. In housing, which initially was the exclusive focus of HHFA, national production objectives to meet foreseeable needs have risen from 1.2 million dwelling units a year in the late 1940's to double that level for the late 1960's. The Housing Act of 1949 established the vastly significant slum clearance and urban renewal program which by now has become the central vehicle for revitalization of almost 500 cities and towns throughout the country. In 1950 the college housing program was enacted and delegated to HHFA and the program

of the Community Facilities Service was transferred to the Agency. In 1954, the urban planning assistance program was established.

In keeping with the broadened functions of HHFA, the time has come for the next, long-needed step. The President has said that among the problems standing near the top of our national priority list are restoring to health and vigor the urban areas that now contain 70 percent of our people and insuring the availability of adequate housing and a healthy environment for all segments of our population. The various complex and interrelated activities of the Federal Government in support of these great objectives require Cabinet-level consideration and guidance for their most effective administration. We shall attempt to summarize briefly the reasons why we believe this to be so.

Ours is now a predominantly urban society. More than two-thirds of our people live in urban areas, and the proportion is growing steadily. The effects of headlong urbanization in the form of overcrowded and blighted cities, of sprawling suburban areas, of disappearing open space, of traffic congestion, of waste through uneconomic land use and unplanned development of community facilities these constitute a national problem of major proportions. To gain some degree of leadership and direction over the processes of urbanization and prepare for sound growth in the years ahead will tax the resources of government and of civic leadership at every level. The interests of the city dweller must be represented at the highest level in the executive branch of the Federal Government, which means through a Cabinet-level Department. The welfare of the Nation demands that this degree of consideration be given to urban affairs hereafter.

Within the family of programs now grouped for supervision and coordination under the HHFA, there is not even now the degree of integration that would make possible the best administration. There are programs that have developed under different circumstances, some of which are carried out under direct responsibility of the Administrator, others subject only to his general supervision. The vesting of statutory authority for these closely related programs in the Secretary of the new Department would be an immediate gain in efficiency and consistency of policy and operations. Moreover, the existence of the Department would afford an organization to which the Congress could assign new programs in this field which might otherwise to be given independent status, further dispersing responsibility.

This subcommittee has before it four bills dealing with establishment of such a Department, namely S. 289, S. 375, S. 609, and S. 1633. We have examined each of these bills and, in our opinion, the provisions of S. 1633 are best designed to create the Department and to establish the principles for its administration and operation. We place particular importance on the broad declaration of national housing and urban affairs policy contained in S. 1633 as a most significant guideline for Federal activities and assistance in these crucial fields.

Not all activities of the Federal Government affecting housing and urban affairs are now found in the HHFA, nor would they all be placed in the new Department. Other Departments and agencies would continue to have responsibilities in other but closely related fields.

However, the provisions of section 3(b) of S. 1633 very wisely would charge the Secretary of the new Department with the responsibility to "exercise leadership at the direction of the President in coordinating Federal activities affecting urban areas," thereby enabling the Federal Government to act under consistent policies and with most efficient uses of its resources.

We also strongly support the directives to the Secretary of the new Department to "conduct continuing comprehensive studies, and make available findings, with respect to the problems of housing and urban development" and to "encourage comprehensive planning by the State and local governments."

In closing, I would like to state that the National Housing Conference is fully in accord with the broad statement of policy contained in section 2(a) of S. 1633; this is an eloquent and accurate statement of the problems and objectives in urban affairs and housing. We have one suggestion to advance for the consideration of this committee, namely the inclusion in this policy statement of the following clause: "the promotion of orderly, efficient, and economic land uses." While this objective is implicit in many of the other objectives recited in the policy statement, we believe it is of sufficient importance to sound community development as to merit specific mention.

Throughout the country there is mounting concern over the condition of our cities and the unplanned course of urbanization. There is evident a willingness