We have with us Mr. Jennings, the Clerk, and his assistants. We will also hear from other officers and certain others. I want to say this is the first time our former colleague, Mr. Jennings, has appeared before this committee in his capacity as Clerk. I have been in close touch with Mr. Jennings since he was elected to the office of Clerk of the House of Representatives and I want to say he is doing what I consider to be an excellent job. I have never known a Clerk to have the welfare of the Members of the House more at heart than he has. I personally know of some excellent work he has done in connection with organizing his staff. He has shown the same degree of courage as Clerk that he did as a Member of the House where he served with distinction for 12 years. Looking at page IV of the committee print, it appears that the requests for the House for 1968 total $81,456,670, as compared to 1967 appropriations to date of $78,094,145, an increase, for the moment at least, of $3,362,525. But there are certain 1967 supplementals pending that, if granted, would probably result in showing a small reduction in 1968 as compared to 1967 rather than an increase. Mr. Jennings, suppose you start with your statement. We want to cover each item as we go along, so when you finish an item if there are any questions we will ask you to wait for them before you go to the next item. All right, Mr. Jennings, you may proceed. GENERAL STATEMENT OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE Mr. JENNINGS. First, Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, I am delighted and honored to have this opportunity to appear before your Subcommittee on Legislative Appropriations to present the proposed budget for the House of Representatives for fiscal year 1968. I have with me, Mr. Chairman, my administrative assistant who has just joined the staff, Mr. Bill Hollowell. He is the legal adviser in the Clerk's office as well as my administrative assistant. I have combined those two jobs. Mr. Hollowell is a former member of the Texas Legislature for some 10 years. He was also a candidate for Lieutenant Governor. He has a bachelor's degree in law from Baylor University and a master's degree in law from Texas University. I am delighted to have him aboard and I am certain he will render yeoman service to me personally and to the House of Representatives. I also have with me Mr. Harry Livingston, the chief of our finance office; and our budget analyst, Mr. Don Gibson. Both of these gentlemen have appeared before this subcommittee in previous years. Mr. Chairman, you and your colleagues, as members of the Appro priations Committee, are continuing to render faithful and dedicated service to the House and our great Nation. There is no committee mor respected and revered than your Committee on Appropriations, and under the able leadership of the distinguished gentleman from Texas Hon. George Mahon, the committee has won and continues to win th admiration of all because of your fairness in dealing with others. I am deeply grateful for the confidence and trust which has been ex tended to me as Clerk of the House, first by the caucus of the majorit party and then by ratification of the House. In all frankness, I mus say that this job is much greater than I envisioned. However, I find extremely challenging and am enjoying it tremendously. I still hav much to learn and am sure that I will make some mistakes, but I can assure you that they will only be made in an honest effort to improve and up date the operations of the House. Based on my 12 years of service as a Member of Congress, I feel that I understand the needs and desires of the membership of this great body and I am attempting to meet these needs. I have made some changes in the Clerk's office and will be making other in the future. In filling my staff, I have attempted to hire qualified and knowledgeable people. Some of them, like myself, must learn the new responsibilities and obligations associated with the Clerk's office. We are all, however, making a meaningful effort and hope that we will be able to be of increasing use to your committee and to the House. In this connection, Mr. Chairman, I have delegated a great deal of responsibility to the various department heads. In talking with all employees under the Clerk, I have impressed upon them the fact that they are employees of the department, accountable to the chief of the department. In turn the department chiefs are responsible and accountle to the Clerk, who is aware of his responsibility and accountability the Members of the House. In short, a chain of command has been established and lines of reSonsibility have been assigned, and at all times I will request and welme the counsel and advice of this committee and the Members of the House. DETAILED ANALYSIS OF ESTIMATE FOR 1968 Mr. Chairman, we have a detailed analysis of the estimates for 1968. For the information of the committee, I desire to insert in the record Tabulated statement in support of the estimates (both original and reed, as submitted through the Bureau of the Budget, for the operaon of the House of Representatives, fiscal year 1968. This statement es a complete picture covering all estimates by paragraphs as aparing in the committee print. Each member of the subcommittee has before him a copy of this itement, which breaks down and itemizes each position, or title -reof, by offices and departments, and reflects the number of emyees involved; their basic and gross annual salaries, including inased or additional compensation as authorized by law. Mr. ANDREWS. We shall insert these pages numbered 1 through 15 the top of page 16 at this point in the record. The pages follow :) |