The following table indicates the costs incurred by the Commission during the last 4 fiscal years for the purchase of newspapers, together with the estimated cost for the current fiscal year:

As the cost of obtaining the day-to-day information required in the administration of the statutes assigned to the Commission may be increased if current issues of the previously mentioned newspapers are not available to the staff, it is urgently requested that favorable consideration be given this request.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1942.

NATIONAL HOUSING AGENCY

STATEMENTS OF JOHN BLANDFORD, ADMINISTRATOR, COLEMAN WOODBURY, ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR, LEON KEYSERLING, GENERAL COUNSEL, NATIONAL HOUSING AGENCY; HERBERT EMMERICH, COMMISSIONER, JOHN N. EDY, ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER, FEDERAL PUBLIC HOUSING AUTHORITY; AND EARL DRAPER, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER, FEDERAL HOUSING ADMINISTRATION

The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Blandford, we have an estimate before us in House Document No. 861 for the appropriation of $600,000,000 for war housing.

We have invited the chairman of the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds, Mr. Lanham, and the ranking member of that committee, Mr. Holmes, to sit with us. We are glad to have you gentlemen with us this morning.

Mr. LANHAM. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

STATUS OF PENDING HOUSING LEGISLATION

The CHAIRMAN. The Lanham bill, which was introduced by Mr. Lanham, has passed the House and Senate, but has not yet been signed. However, I take it for granted that it will be signed shortly.

Mr. LANHAM. The President sent a message down requesting the bill or the legislation.

The CHAIRMAN. We feel very sure that it will be signed. The $600,000,000 provision pending before us, if agreed to, will be agreed to provided it will be effective upon the enactment of the law.

Mr. BLANDFORD. I am inclined to believe that it will be signed by the President within the next few days.

The CHAIRMAN. He sent his message down here in May.

Mr. LANHAM. Yes; requesting this very amount of $600,000,000. The CHAIRMAN. The bill had been on the calendar for quite a while, and Mr. Lanham secured a rule for its consideration. It has passed both Houses of Congress.

Mr. LANHAM. It passed the Senate on Wednesday and the House on Thursday.

The CHAIRMAN. You may proceed, Mr. Blandford.

GENERAL STATEMENT

Mr. BLANDFORD. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, we have made available to each member of the committee a copy of the justification and a considerable number of supporting tables and exhibits. Rather than read the justification, it might be more agreeable to the committee if I summarized it.

The CHAIRMAN. You do not have a prepared statement?

Mr. BLANDFORD. Yes, sir; I have a prepared statement in the form of a summary justification.

The CHAIRMAN. Of what length is it?

Mr. BLANDFORD. It is 2 pages. It could go into the record.

The CHAIRMAN. Suppose you go ahead and give us the substance of it, if you will.

Mr. SNYDER. You might insert the full statement in the record. The CHAIRMAN. Yes; the full statement may go into the record at this point.

(The statement referred to is as follows:)

SUMMARY JUSTIFICATION

Since the reorganization of the housing agencies on February 24, 1942, the war housing program, both private and public, has proceeded under a unified command to develop simpler procedures, more uniform policies, and more direct results. The organization chart of the National Housing Agency is included under table 1, and the Executive order of February 24, under table 2.

Unification in housing has made it easier to integrate the war housing program with the work of the War Production Board in charge of the allocation of critical materials, and with the work of the War Manpower Commission in charge of estimates of the size, location, and nature of manpower needs.

On April 15, 1942, the War Production Board and the National Housing Agency promulgated a joint declaration of war housing policy. This policy is set forth under table 3. The central features of this policy are that war housing shall be provided only for the indispensable minimum of in-migrant war workers; that maximum use shall be made of existing facilities before new construction is resorted to; that full opportunities shall be afforded private enterprise before public construction is resorted to; and that, in order to save money and critical materials, public construction shall include dormitories and dormitory apartments of temporary type.

The request for $600,000,000 to meet the housing needs of war workers inmigrating to centers of war production activity during the fiscal year 1943 rests (except for the indicated amount required for civilian employees of the Army at camps, posts, and stations) upon a basic estimate of the War Manpower Commission. This estimate is to the effect that, although about 12,000,000 additional people will be employed in war-production industries during fiscal 1943, reliance upon conversions, use of local labor and women in industry will reduce the number of in-migrant war workers to 1,600,000.

The chart and table under tab 4 indicate how it is proposed to house these 1,600,000 war workers in 1,320,000 dwelling units (with more than 1 war worker in some units). Due to extensive reliance upon existing facilities, new private construction, and private and public war housing already programmed, the portion of the total need to be met by new public construction is reduced to a total of 205,000 units, comprising 55,000 dormitory accommodations for single persons, 55,000 dormitory apartments for 2-person families and 95,000 family dwellings for larger families. The variation between this proposed program of public construction as of August 28, and the earlier program as of May 2 presented at the time of the June hearings on the Lanham bill (100,000 dormitories, 75,000 dormitory apartments, and 85,000-family units), is based upon additional programming

77595-42-16

during the intervening months with funds made available through savings, recaptures, cancelations, e.c. The change is not based upon any differences in the estimate of need, in the total amount of housing to be provided during fiscal 1943, or in the policies applied in arriving at that total. A reconciliation of the financial situation of the National Housing Agency as of May 2 and as of August 28 is provided in the three tables (two numbered 8 and one numbered 8A) under tab 15. As a useful countercheck upon the conservative nature of the program based upon the War Manpower Commission's estimate of in-migration, the National Housing Agency has made an independent estimate of housing need based upon its own locality surveys, reports, and studies. This National Housing Agency appraisal of need by States (and in about 200 war production areas not in the States' estimates) as shown under table 5 (a). A number of illustrative plant reports of need are shown under table 5 (b). The estimate of war housing need based upon these National Housing Agency studies varies somewhat in detail from the one based upon the War Manpower Commission figures, coming to about 35,000 dormitories for single persons, about 71,000 dormitory apartments for 2-person families, and about 109,000 family dwellings for larger families. The fund requirements based upon this National Housing Agency appraisal (together with Army needs) would be considerably higher than the $600,000,000 requested. Under table 6 is set forth the funds required for the proposed program of public construction. These funds would come to $614,500,000, based upon the War Manpower estimate of 1,600,000 in-migrants. They would come to about $677,146,900, based upon the surveys, reports, and studies of the National Housing Agency. In either alternative, the total cost includes $58,000,000 to be used by the War Department for civilian workers at Army posts, camps, and stations, and about $15,000,000 to be used for purely stop-gap housing in the form of trailers. It may be useful to reiterate or summarize the conservative character of the request for public funds as follows:

(1) The $600,000,000 request is based upon an estimate of need derived from the War Manpower Commission data on in-migration. This estimate of need is considerably lower than the independent estimate of the National Housing Agency, based upon actual local surveys, reports, and studies.

(2) The $600,000,000 request is based upon provision of only 205,000 units through public construction out of a total of 1,320,000 dwelling units needed to care for 1,600,000 war workers in-migrating to war-production centers during fiscal 1943. (This $600,000,000, as indicated, will also provide $58,000,000 worth of housing for civilian employees of the Army at posts, camps, and stations, and about $15,000,000 worth of stop-gap housing in the form of trailers).

(3) The estimate of 1,600,000 in-migrant war workers must be weighted in relation to a total of about 12,000,000 new employees in war-production industries during fiscal 1943, thus reflecting intensive efforts to keep in-migration to a minimum.

The National Housing Agency has reasonable assurances that the necessary materials will be made available for this conservative amount of war-housing construction. These assurances are based in no small measure upon the progress already made toward reduction of the use of critical materials in housing construction. The material under tab 7 shows that, while the pre-war permanent family-dwelling unit used about 9,712 pounds of critical materials, the wartime permanent family dwelling unit uses only about 2,717 pounds, or about 28 percent as much, while the wartime temporary family dwelling unit uses only about 2,070 pounds, or about 21 percent as much. It is shown also that the temporary dormitory apartment uses only about 1,266 pounds of critical materials and the dormitory for single workers only about 423 pounds. Under tab 8, it is shown that the proposed $600,000,000 construction program will use less than half as much critical materials as the present $600,000,000 construction program under the Lanham Act. When it is considered that, in addition, the new program will provide for about 344,000 war workers contrasted with about 172,000 war workers under the present program, there results a saving of about 75 percent in the amount of critical materials per war workers housed. The table under tab 9 places the amount of critical materials required for war housing in proper perspective by showing that the proposed $600,000,000 program would require less than one-half of 1 percent of the annual supply (excluding stock piles) of the various types of critical materials available for the fiscal year 1943.

A large factor in these savings, both in materials and in money, is the trend toward temporary as against permanent construction, and toward a relatively large number of dormitories and dormitory apartments as against family-dwelling units. Under tab 10, the chart and table show the very pronounced swing in this direction.

There are enclosed also certain materials reporting upon various phases of the public war housing program already authorized and under way. Under tab 11, the chart and table show the amount of war housing already programmed. Under tab 12, the chart and table give the composite picture for war housing already programmed and now proposed. Under tab 13, there is a table which shows the general progress of public war housing already programmed, and another table which gives the occupancy record. Under tab 14, the table shows the sources of funds for war housing already programmed and the apportionment of such funds for the various types of accommodations. Finally, the three tables under tab 15 show (1) the status of funds already made available as of August 28, 1942, (2) as of May 2, 1942, and (3) reconcile the differences between the financial situations as of these two dates.

Not included among these materials, but to be referred to in the statement before the committee and offered for insertion in the record, are letters from the War Manpower Commission, the War Production Board, the War Department and the Navy Department, all supporting the $600,000,000 request and further reinforcing the need for that amount as set forth by the President's special message to the Congress on May 27, 1942 (H. Doc. 743) and by the favorable reports from the House Committee on Public Buildings (No. 2355 on H. R. 7312), July 20, 1942, and from the Senate Committee on Education and Labor (No. 1612 on S. 2725), September 22, 1942. The authorization for the proposed $600,000,000 program has now been approved by both Houses of the Congress.

Mr. BLANDFORD. Mr. Chairman, as has been indicated, the President sent a message to the Congress on May 27 strongly urging the appropriation of $600,000,000 to meet critical war housing needs. The House committee held extensive hearings, from June 9 to June 26, having before it representatives from agencies of the Federal Government and other interested organizations, notably the War Manpower Commission, the War Production Board, the War and Navy Departments, the National Association of Real Estate Boards, the A. F. of L. and the C. I. O., and others. I think the record indicates that there was no substantial opposition but rather pretty general agreement as to the need for this $600,000,000 for war housing. Then, on July 20, the House committee reported the bill favorably, as you know and subsequently the Senate committee held hearings on the bill, which has now been passed in both Houses and is awaiting the signature of the President. The hearings before the House committee were very comprehensive, and contain a good many exhibits, which, of course, are available for reference.

Mr. LANHAM. May I say, Mr. Chairman, that our hearings, as Mr. Blandford has stated, were quite extensive, containing 335 printed pages. We had everybody before us on everything that was in any way pertinent to the legislation. Urgent need for the housing provision was clearly shown, I think.

ORGANIZATION OF NATIONAL HOUSING AGENCY

Mr. BLANDFORD. In our rather extended appearance before the Public Buildings Committee, we outlined our organizational set-up, and I question whether you would wish that repeated here, other than to indicate generally that the National Housing Agency consists of the Administrator's Office, the Federal Housing Administration, the Federal Home Loan Bank Administration, and the Federal Public Housing Authority.

Mr. TABER. Where is the United States Housing Authority? Are they out?

Mr. BLANDFORD. They are out, or, rather, consolidated into the Federal Public Housing Authority. The Federal Public Housing

Authority includes the former functions of the United States Housing Authority and the Defense Homes Corporation, as well as the work previously done by the Farm Security Administration for the housing of war and other nonrural workers, and a half-dozen or more other administrative units that had been set up for war housing.

Mr. LUDLOW. Were any of them eliminated?

Mr. BLANDFORD. They were all eliminated, since the Federal Public Housing Authority represents a consolidation of all of them. Mr. LUDLOW. Do they have any personnel here?

Mr. BLANDFORD. We had an inventory prepared a month or two after the consolidation, and at that time some 750 employees had not been taken over as of that period.

Mr. TABER. Is the set-up of the United States Housing Authority practically operating those set-ups, or is Mr. Keyserling with them? Mr. BLANDFORD. He is not now with the FPHA, having come to the Administrator's Office as general counsel. Mr. Herbert Emmerich is Commissioner of the Federal Public Housing Authority. Mr. TABER. What about Mr. Straus? Is he still in it?

Mr. BLANDFORD. No, sir; he resigned previous to the reorganization

RELATIONSHIP AND COOPERATION WITH THE WAR PRODUCTION BOARD AND WAR MANPOWER COMMISSION

The CHAIRMAN. Have you completed your statement?

Mr. BLANDFORD. No, sir. I indicated to you that the Administrator's Office has responsibility for the war housing programming job, and I think it would be of interest to point out in this connection the very close relationship we have with the War Production Board and the War Manpower Commission. The War Production Board has a good deal to do with the location of plants and has a good deal of control over the materials situation. The War Manpower Commission is the agency that we have to look to for information respecting local labor supply and in-migrant war workers, which is a point of departure in our housing program for war workers. Because of our close relationship with the War Production Board, which included the labor-supply function prior to the creation of the War Manpower Commission, we acted jointly with them in developing a War Housing Policy. We inventoried the statutes, practices, and regulations, and prepared a statement of the war-housing policy that seemed to us proper.

PROBLEM OF MEETING IN-MIGRATION OF WAR WORKERS

Briefly, the policy which we are following today is based on the assumption that we will provide housing only to meet the need created by the minimum in-migration of war workers. This is due to the fact that critical materials are short, and that manpower is needed for other things. This policy assumes that we will get the maximum use of local labor supply.

As you know, the War Manpower Commission is constantly evolving plans to use every available bit of local labor, by employing women, converting plants, and so forth, and by doing everything feasible to reduce the in-migration of workers. Correspondingly, the War Production Board, so far as it is within their control, does every