80TH CONGRESS 2d Session } SENATE { REPORT No. 1726 CONSTRUCTION AND FINANCING OF TOLL BRIDGES OVER THE DELAWARE RIVER JUNE 16 (legislative day, JUNE 15), 1948.-Ordered to be printed Mr. MALONE, from the Committee on Public Works, submitted the following REPORT (To accompany S. 2667] The Committee on Public Works, to whom was referred the bill (S. 2667) to amend and supplement section 2 of the act approved August 30, 1935, relating to the construction and financing of toll bridges over the Delaware River by the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the State of New Jersey, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with amendments. with the recommendation that the bill do pass. The amendments are as follows: Page 2, line 18, after the word "however" strike out the remainder of that line down to and including the word "further" of line 25. Page 3, line 3, after the word "tolls" change the comma to a period and strike out the remainder of page 3 The purpose of the bill is to amend section 2 of the act approved August 30, 1935, which authorized the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission of the States of New Jersey and Pennsylvania to construct, maintain, and operate a toll bridge across the Delaware River between Easton, Pa., and Phillipsburg, N. J.; to authorize that agency to fix and charge tolls for transit over any bridge heretofore or hereafter constructed by it across the Delaware River in accordance with the provisions of the original compact, and to unite or group any such bridges into a single project for financing purposes and to continue to fix and adjust the tolls for the use of the bridges in such project, in accordance with the terms of the original compact. provided; that after the cost of any such bridge or of the bridges in any such project shall be amortized such bridge or bridges shall thereafter be maintained and operated free of tolls. Section 9 of the act of August 30, 1935, gave approval to a compact which had been entered into by said States with respect to the construc tion and operation of bridges across the Delaware River by the Dela ware Joint Toll Bridge Commission north of the Pennsylvania Railroad Bridge on the line from Morrisville to Trenton. The compact between the two States as then approved provided that any such bridge should be operated as a free bridge after the proceeds of tolls collected from traffic thereover shall have amortized the cost of its construction. Section 2 of said act, however, with reference to the Easton-Phillipsburg Bridge provided that after the tolls should amortize the cost of its construction it should be maintained and operated free or the rates of toll should be so adjusted as to provide funds sufficient only to meet maintenance, repair. and operation costs. The compact between the two States relating to bridges across the Delaware River applies only to those bridges that may cross the river north of the boundary line between Mercer and Burlington Counties N. J., which would be north of the point near Bordentown, a short distance south of Trenton. The river above this point is not large, and the bridges that would be required would not be of such size and cost that their continued operation would be economically justified. It appears desir able that after any bridge has been constructed and the cost of its construction has been amortized by the collection of tolls it should become a part of the highway systems of the States and be maintained free of tolls the same as any other highways in the State highway system. The Federal Works Agency and the Department of the Army report no objection to this legislation. The report of the Federal Works Agency to the original bill is as follows: Hon. CHAPMAN REVERCOMB, Chairman Committee on Public Works, FEDERAL WORKS AGENCY, United States Senate. DEAR SENATOR REVERCOMB. Receipt is acknowledged of your letter of May 17, 1948, to which was attached a copy of S. 2667 with request for a report thereon. The bill would amend section 2 of the act approved August 30, 1935 (49 Stat. 1051) which authorized the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission of the States of New Jersey and Pennsylvania to construct, maintain and operate a toll bridge across the Delaware River between Easton, Pa., and Phillipsburg, N. J. Section 9 of said act gave approval to a compact which had been entered into by said States with respect to the construction and operation of bridges across the Delaware River by the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission north of the Pennsylvania Railroad bridge on the line from Morrisville to Trenton The compact between the two States as then approved provided that any such bridge should be operated as a free bridge after the proceeds of tolls collected from traffic thereover shall have amortized the cost of its construction. Section 2 of said act, however, with reference to the Easton-Phillipsburg Bridge, provided that after the tolls should amortize the cost of its construction it should be maintained and operated free or the rates of toll should be so adjusted as to provide funds sufficient only to meet maintenance, repair and operation costs. During the Eightieth Congress, a bill (H. R. 4140) was introduced to grant the consent of Congress to an amendment of the original compact between the two States with respect to the construction of bridges across the Delaware River by the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission. This latter bill was enacted and approved August 4, 1947, Public Law 355, Eightieth Congress. In reporting thereon to the House Committee on Public Works under date of July 24, 1947, this agency suggested that because of the extensive changes proposed in Article X of said compact, provision should be inserted in said bill to require that any bridge constructed and operated as a toll bridge pursuant to said compact Before should become free after amortization of the cost of its construction. passage of the bill, therefore, it was changed so as to provide "That after the cost of the bridges in a single project shall have been amortized, such bridges shall thereafter be maintained and operated free of tolls", and our approval was given to the bill with this change. The bill now pending, however, would appear to alter the whole situation and eliminate any provision whatever designed to assure that any of such bridges ever will be made free. While S. 2667 proposes to amend section 2 of the act of August 30, 1935, which merely related to the bridge across the Delaware River between Easton and Phillipsburg, it goes much further in its broad terms and would authorize the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission to charge and to continue to charge tolls on any and all bridges heretofore or hereafter constructed by it across the Delaware River and would provide that any such bridges may be grouped into a single project and that after the cost of any single bridge or of the bridges in any such project shall be amortized from tolls, the collection of tolls may continue to provide sufficient funds each year for maintenance and operation costs including the maintenance, repair, and operation of any bridge or bridges now operated by said commission free of tolls. This broad extension of the authority to collect and continue to collect tolls would be granted by the bill notwithstanding the provisions of any other act of the Congress. This bill, therefore, presents again the whole question which was considered by this Agency in submitting its report to the House Committee on Public Works on H. R. 4140, July 24, 1947, wherein an amendment was suggested to insure that after each bridge, or the bridges included in one project, shall have amortized the cost of construction they shall be maintained and operated as free bridges. From the foregoing it appears that the only purpose of the pending bill is to modify the previous legislation to the extent at least of eliminating any provision on the part of the Congress for the ultimate maintenance and operation of any of the bridges 38 free bridges. The compact between the two States relating to bridges across the Delaware River, as amended, applies only to those that may cross the river north of the boundary line between Mercer and Burlington Counties, N. J.. which would be north of a point near Bordentown a short distance south of Trenton. The river above this point is not large and the bridges that would be required would not be of such size and cost that their continued operation as toll bridges could be economically justified. It certainly would seem that after any such bridge has been constructed and the cost of its construction has been amortized by the collection of tolls, it should become a part of the highway systems of the States and be maintained free of tolls the same as any other highways in the State highway systems. In view of the foregoing, this agency, therefore, can find no justification for the egislation proposed by the pending bill and recommends against favorable action thereon. A similar report is being made to the House Committee on Public Works on H. R. 6465. In order to comply with request from the committee that report on the bill be sent directly to it as promptly as possible time was not available for transmitting this report through the Bureau of the Budget in accordance with the usual procedure. However, copies of the report have been forwarded to the Bureau of the Budget for its consideration and advice as to whether or not it meets with approval of that Bureau. Sincerely yours. PHILIP B. FIMING, Major General, United States Army, Administrator. A later report by the Federal Works Agency to a companion bill in the House of Representatives is as follows: Hon. GEORGE A. DONDERO, FEDERAL WORKS AGENCY, Chairman, Committee on Public Works, House of Representatives. DEAR MR. DONDERO: Please refer to the report of June 1 from this agency on H. R. 6465 which would amend and supplement section 2 of the act of August 30, 935 (49 Stat. 1051), relating to the construction and financing of a toll bridge over the Delaware River by the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission of the States of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Mr. Thomas H. MacDonald, Commissioner of Public Roads, has advised me with respect to the conference in your office the afternoon of June 4 at which amendments to meet the objections to the bill expressed in said report were discussed. I, therefore, wish to supplement my report of June 1 by suggesting, in line with what was agreed to at this conference, that the bill be amended by striking therefrom all of the language beginning with the word "That", line 20, page 2, down to and including the word "further", line 2, page 3, and by changing the comma to a period after the word “tolls”, line 5, page 3, and striking out all of the remainder of the language beginning with the word "or", line 5, page 3, down to and including the word "tolls", line 9, page 3. I am advised also that at the above-mentioned conference a question was raised as to the desirability of inserting in the bill a provision against the expenditure of any Federal-aid road funds in the construction, maintenance, repair, or operation of any such bridge. However, it is believed inadvisable to include such inhibition in the bill, as no such expenditure will be made anyway and its inclusion might operate to prevent Federal participation on roads that might lead to some of the bridges that may be constructed over the Delaware River which it might be advisable to develop as part of the Federal-aid system in order to facilitate the accessibility of such bridges to the traveling public. If the bill is amended as suggested above, it then would be without objection so far as this agency is concerned. This supplementary report was not submitted to the Bureau of the Budget before being forwarded to the committee as time did not permit of following the usual procedure. However, a copy has been forwarded to the Bureau of the Budget for its consideration and advice as to whether or not it meets with the approval of that Bureau. Sincerely yours PHILIP B. FLEMING, O 80TH CONGRESS 2d Session } SENATE { REPORT No. 1727 AUTHORIZING STATES TO DISREGARD CERTAIN INCOME RECEIVED BY BLIND PERSONS IN NEED FOR ASSISTANCE DETERMINING JUNE 16 (legislative day. JUNE 15), 1948.-Ordered to be printed Mr. MILLIKIN, from the Committee on Finance, submitted the following REPORT To accompany H. R. 6818 The Committee on Finance, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 6818), to amend title X of the Social Security Act (relating to aid to the blind) so as to provide greater encouragement to blind recipients thereunder to become self-supporting, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass. GENERAL STATEMENT Under the provisions of title X of the Social Security Act, as mended, one of the standards to which a State plan for aid to the lind must conform to qualify for a Federal grant-in-aid is that the State agency administering the plan in determining need for assistance must take into account any other income and resources of the individual claiming aid. This bill provides an exception to this requirenent which will permit any State desiring to modify its plan of assistnce to the blind to disregard the first $40 of monthly income for personal services by a recipient of such aid. The purpose of the bill is to provide an incentive to blind individuals o pursue gainful occupations. The bill was reported favorably to the House of Representatives by he Committee on Ways and Means and a copy of its report follows: This bill is designed to liberalize existing law with respect to payments, by the tates, to the needy blind. Any State operating an approved plan of aid to the lind pursuant to title X of the Social Security Act, as amended, would be peritted, under the bill, to disregard the first $40 of income received for personal ervices by a recipient of such aid in any calendar month in determining such indiidual's income and resources and hence his relative need for assistance. Existing w now requires that a State in determining such need, shall "take into conderation any other income and resources of an individual claiming aid to the |