COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS EIGHTY-THIRD CONGRESS FIRST SESSION Printed for the use of the Committee on Appropriations 53 SECOND SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATION BILL, 1953 HEARINGS BEFORE SUBCOMMITTEES OF THE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS EIGHTY-THIRD CONGRESS FIRST SESSION 4.3. Congress, House Printed for the use of the Committee on Appropriations, HJ10 COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS JOHN TABER, New York, Chairman RICHARD B. WIGGLESWORTH, Massachusetts H. CARL ANDERSEN, Minnesota JOHN PHILLIPS, California ERRETT P. SCRIVNER, Kansas FREDERIC R. COUDERT, JR., New York NORRIS COTTON, New Hampshire BENJAMIN F. JAMES, Pennsylvania HAMER H. BUDGE, Idaho CHARLES R. JONAS, North Carolina OTTO KRUEGER, North Dakota SAM COON, Oregon MELVIN R. LAIRD, Wisconsin ELFORD A. CEDERBERG, Michigan CLARENCE CANNON, Missouri J. VAUGHAN GARY, Virginia JOHN E. FOGARTY, Rhode Island ANTONIO M. FERNANDEZ, New Mexico OTTO E. PASSMAN, Louisiana LOUIS C. RABAUT, Michigan ALFRED D. SIEMINSKI, New Jersey GEORGE Y. HARVEY, Clerk KENNETH SPRANKLE, Assistant Cierk II F 213 SECOND SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATION BILL, 1953 SUBCOMMITTEE ON TREASURY-POST OFFICE APPROPRIATIONS E. L. KILBY, COMMISSIONER OF THE PUBLIC DEBT D. M. MERRITT, ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER R. A. HEFFELFINGER, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER R. E. OBERG, BUDGET AND ACCOUNTS OFFICER H. B. COLE, ASSISTANT BUDGET AND ACCOUNTS OFFICER Mr. CANFIELD. Gentlemen, we are met today to consider a supplemental appropriations request forwarded to the committee under date of January 10, 1953, by the President and Mr. Lawton, Director of the Bureau of the Budget. This particular request has to do with the Bureau of the Public Debt. It is for an additional amount for administering the public debt. The amount is $2,300,000. In the request received by the committee it is stated: Additional funds are required to cover the cost of prospective redemption on demand of 16 million more savings bonds than were contemplated when the appropriation was made. The earlier estimates of issuance appear to be reasonably accurate, but the redemptions are exceeding expectations and are expected to increase still further during the latter part of the year as larger numbers of bonds reach maturity. When our committee acted on the Bureau's request last year, the committee recommended $52,500,000. This was reduced to $51 million by action of the House. The Senate committee recommended $52,500,000, and that was reduced to $51,117,000 by action of the Senate. As a result of the conference between the comittees of both Houses, the figure of $51,000,000 was the amount finally allowed. In the report of this committee on the amount recommended in the bill for 1953 the committee stated: The amount recommended in the bill should be adequate for all normal activities of the Bureau. Testimony indicated that the estimated increase in savings bond issuance was based on a highly optimistic promotion campaign directed at the less likely purchasers. Furthermore, the projected volume of redemptions. after maturity was estimated at a rate considerably in excess of experience, and testimony was given to the effect that current redemptions were probably in (1) 79 |