PRINTING AND BINDING FOR FISCAL 1949 Senator O'MAHONEY. I intended to ask you about that. Then last year your appropriation was $37,810,000, and you had $95,000 in addition to that? Mr. ULMER. For printing and binding; yes, sir. Senator O'MAHONEY. So that your total appropriation for operating expenses for the current fiscal year will be $38,652,000, which is 858,000 less than the appropriation recommended by the House for the fiscal year 1950. Mr. ULMER. That is right. CONTRACT AUTHORIZATION AMOUNT REQUESTED Senator O'MAHONEY. Have you any other items? You have a contract authorization, however. Mr. ULMER. Yes, sir, an appropriation and contract authorization for construction purposes. Senator O'MAHONEY. How much was that contract authorization last year? Mr. ULMER. $18,200,000, sir. Senator O'MAHONEY. You had a contract authorization for $18,200,000, and this year you had an estimate of $21,500,000 for that purpose, and the House allowed you $10,000,000. Mr. ULMER. Yes, sir. Senator O'MAHONEY. Do you know why that contract authorization was cut down? HOUSE ASKS FOR REVIEW OF ACTIVITIES Mr. ULMER. The House report, sir, stated that they felt the construction activities of the NACA should be reviewed by the appropriate legislative committees of the Congress prior to making appropriations. They allowed only enough money to start work on a few of the most urgent projects, as their report stated, and, in effect suspended the other projects until the matter could be studied by the appropriate legislative committees. Senator O'MAHONEY. The House report says: The committee considered budget estimates amounting to $15,000,000 in cash and an additional $21,500,000 contract authorization for use in construction and equipment. The committee has included in the bill a cash appropriation of 810,000,000, of which $7,277,200 is to liquidate prior-year authorizations, and has also included authority to enter into additional contracts in an amount not in excess of $10,000,000. The reduction in the cash appropriation recommended by the committee will leave $2,722,800 available to start a few of the most important projects requested in the estimates for 1950. As in the case of the request for salaries and expenses, the committee is of the opinion that the construction activities of NACA have reached a leveling-off point and that future appropriations for construction should be made as a result of previous authorizations originating in the appropriate legislative committees. Now, let me ask you, on the basis of last year's contract authorization how much remains unobligated? UNOBLIGATED BALANCE OF 1949 CONTRACT AUTHORIZATION Mr. ULMER. I do not have that figure with me. I would estimate approximately 10 or 12 million dollars. Senator O'MAHONEY. Will you get the exact figure? Mr. ULMER. I will be glad to, sir. (The figure is as follows:) National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics-status of fiscal-year 1949 construction appropriations and contract authority Senator O'MAHONEY. How does it happen that 10 or 12 million dollars has not been obligated? As years Mr. ULMER. I believe the majority of that will be obligated. you know, the contract authority is available for both the fiscal 1949 and 1950. Some of these projects involve very difficult engineering design problems, and it takes some time to get them out on contract and get satisfactory bids. Senator O'MAHONEY. What are they? PROJECTS UNDER CONSIDERATION Mr. ULMER. They involve several facilities. The major ones are a gas-dynamics laboratory and an internal-flow laboratory at Langley Field, Va., a propulsion-sciences laboratory involving large air-handling equipment at the Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory at Cleveland, and a new hangar for the Langley laboratory. Those are the major projects, and there are several other small ones. Senator O'MAHONEY. What is the status of those at the moment? STATUS OF PROJECTS Mr. ULMER. Several are under construction, several are being placed on contract now, and designs are being completed on the others. Senator O'MAHONEY. Are there any which have not yet been placed under contract? Mr. ULMER. Yes, sir; there are. Senator O'MAHONEY. What are they? Mr. ULMER. I believe the hangar is the major one of the larger facilities on which no contracts, other than the design contract have been let. Senator O'MAHONEY. Is it necessary? Mr. ULMER. I would like to have Dr. Dryden speak on that. Senator O'MAHONEY. I am trying to find out whether we can cut this out and save a little money, you see. RESPONSIBILITY FOR CONTINUING RESEARCH IN AERONAUTICS Dr. HUNSAKER. Could I beg your indulgence and talk to you on a more general subject, as to who is going to take the responsibility for calling off our research expenditure and say, "Now is the time to level off because we need to save money"? Senator O'MAHONEY. All right. Dr. HUNSAKER. I must speak on behalf of my colleagues who are, I believe, among the most thoughtful and expert and conscientious men in the world. They are appointed by the President because of his confidence. They asked me unanimously to come here and express their belief that a mistake is made if we go ahead and spend under the international situation we find ourselves in-we must spend many billions of dollars in the next few years to build up an air power to insist upon our national security, as we see it-if we build that and at the same time do not insure ourselves by adequate research into the very baffling and unknown questions which will be involved in the construction and evolution of this new air force. There are new types of airplanes. We are getting up into transonic and supersonic speeds, and we are getting into power plants that require strange kinds of fuel to keep them going. The dangers of such flight are frightening if we make them without knowledge. So that it is the research man that must lead the way. As we have new problems presented by the new requirements, there is research required; more people and more brains are required on the job, and we need more facilities and equipment to allow them to get the answers. That is our whole reason for asking to have the President's budget approved, and the cuts made by the House committee restored, and not to let this parliamentary question hold us up for a while. Senator O'MAHONEY. That is a very polite word, by the way. COMMITTEE HAS EXISTED 30 YEARS Dr. HUNSAKER. We have had 30 years' experience. I have not been on the committee 30 years, but the committee has existed 30 years. When the appropriations authorized us to build some equipment, we built it. But now the idea is that we had better go to the legislative committee and get legislation to build new equipment before asking for an appropriation, which we agree with. That seems like an orderly way of doing business. But we stand the risk of having a kind of research holiday coming at a time which I believe, and I think my colleagues believe, is a dangerous time to take a holiday on research. We would like to go forward and thresh out the revision in our basic legislation with the legislative people. In the meantime I think that leveling down research and not building the new types of devices and equipment to go on with the kind of research we see ahead of us, is a somewhat dangerous thing to do. MEMBERS OF NACA AND REPORT OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE I would like to put into the record the resolution of the executive committee of the NACA at their last meeting. Senator O'MAHONEY. Will you also put in the record the names of the members of the executive committee, and of the whole group? Dr. HUNSAKER. Yes, sir. I have the names here, and the resolution. Senator O'MAHONEY. That will be inserted in the record at this point. (The list of members is as follows:) MEMBERS OF NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR AERONAUTICS Dr. Jerome C. Hunsaker, Chairman, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Dr. Detlev W. Bronk, Johns Hopkins University Dr. Karl T. Compton, Research and Development Board, National Military Establishment Dr. Edward U. Condon, National Bureau of Standards Dr. James H. Doolittle, Shell Union Oil Corp. Mr. Ronald M. Hazen, Allison Division, General Motors Corp. Mr. William Littlewood, American Airlines, Inc. Rear Adm. Theodore C. Lonnquest, United States Navy Vice Adm. John D. Price, United States Navy Brig. Gen. Donald L. Putt, United States Air Force Mr. Arthur E. Raymond, Douglas Aircraft Co., Inc. Dr. Francis W. Reichelderfer, United States Weather Bureau Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg, United States Air Force Dr. Theodore P. Wright, Cornell University NACA OPPOSES LEVELING OFF OF APPROPRIATION Dr. HUNSAKER. They resolved That the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics is of the opinion that in view of the international situation and of the sums being expended for the development and production of new and advanced types of aircraft, the time has not come to level off in appropriations for scientific research in aeronautics, and that the funds for general expenses and for new research facilities and equipment in the NACA 1950 estimates as approved by the Bureau of the Budget are important to the national security and necessary for the maintenance of the Nation's supremacy in the air. That is really, in a nutshell, what all of the argument is about. If we could see into the crystal ball and see a peaceful world ahead of us, I, as an engineer and scientist, would be in favor of taking plenty of time, not having too many people on the job, and not trying to go too fast. We would then prefer to penetrate these mysteries more slowly and not to take the risk of test pilots flying in somewhat unknown apparatus. If it were a peaceful prospect ahead, then it would be desirable to go somewhat slowly and take more time for it. But we do not believe that we should gamble on that prospect. NAVY AND AIR FORCE AGREE WITH NACA I have with me, sir, the representatives of the Navy and the Air Force, and those two departments are primarily responsible for my somewhat pessimistic views of our national security and the world situation. With your permission, I would like them to speak to you now for the record. Senator O'MAHONEY. Sometime, at your convenience, I would like to have you put into the record some testimony with respect to what has been accomplished. We can judge the future only by the past. What have you done with the appropriations which have been made in the past, and what progress has been achieved, and what is the outlook for continued improvement? In other words, when this committee undertakes to defend its recommendation upon the floor, what can we say in positive and simple justification of what we are undertaking to give you? (The information requested appears on p. 130.) SUPERIORITY OF UNITED STATES AIRCRAFT Dr. HUNSAKER. I would appreciate that opportunity, because this is a long and very splendid record by this committee of volunteer people over the years. They have had the unfailing support of the Congress. I believe, in a few words, our aircraft in this war were superior to every category of aircraft that we were up against on the enemy side, largely as a result of this committee's forward research data which enabled our engineers to incorporate new scientific information in the designs of superior performance aircraft. The opportunity to continue in that position of leadership should stay with us. We see things that Dr. Dryden would like to point out to you, if we can have a few minutes, that are ahead of us, that we have to accomplish. By research we can assure their accomplishment; without research we can try experimentally and kill a good many young men, and perhaps make some progress or perhaps not. It is a question of doing things in a methodical, planned way, or to sit back and say, "What we have is pretty good, and maybe it will stay good and maybe the other fellows will not progress much." Senator O'MAHONEY. How is this related to the work of the United States Air Force and the Navy? COORDINATION WITH UNITED STATES AIR FORCE AND NAVY Dr. HUNSAKER. The head of the United States Air Force is a member of our committee, and he is a party to this resolution. Senator O’MAHONEY. How is the research coordinated? Dr. HUNSAKER. We do the research for them. They do the development and military evaluation, and they place the contracts with the industry to make experimental aircraft to accomplish certain performance and tactical requirements. The possibility of meeting those requirements comes from the research which is the result of our program. Our program is made by our committee, on which the Air Force and the Navy sit. They give their views as to what is needed, what ought to be done, and where the public money should be spent. NEGOTIATION OF CONTRACTS Senator O'MAHONEY. You say the contracts are given to the industry. You mean to the industry as a whole, or as a unit; or are these contracts given Dr. HUNSAKER. They are negotiated with individual firms in the industry. 90733-49 |