PUBLICATIONS ISSUED BY BOARD Mr. DIRKSEN. Let me, for the edification of the gentleman, present to you what the National Resources Planning Board got out in November of 1942. It has its imprimatur on it. It is headed "Post-War Agenda-National Resources Planning Board." Now, here is the agenda: 1. Plans for Demobilization: That is broken down into A. Release of men from the armed forces. B. Release of men from war employment. C. Use of war-plant and war development areas. 2. Plans with private enterprise: A. Encouragement of private initiative. B. Government aids and controls. 3. General plans for public activity: A. Improvements in physical facilitics; (2) Rural public works. (3) Conservation of national resources. B. Development of service activities: (1) Health, nutrition, and medical care. (2) Education, including youth activities. Unemployment. Old age. Sickness and accident (direct wage loss and costs of medical care). Loss or depreciation of property. War dislocation and enemy action. B. Improvement of low levels of income from gainful employment: Agricultural employment. 5. Population and manpower: A. Internal population trends. B. Labor force. C. Migration problems. D. Immigration problems. E. Control of working conditions. F. Prevention and reclaiming of wastage of human resources. 6. Plans for financing and fiscal policy: A. Over-all fiscal policy. B. Government revenue. C. Inter-governmental fiscal relations. 7. Plans for regional, state, and local participation. 8. Plans for effective administration. 9. Plans for international collaboration. There you have a great blueprint, an agenda, in connection with plans for international cooperation. I am curious to know whether that is within your domain. I notice, for instance, in this booklet that you got out in October 1942, "International Economic Development," you have a list of public projects approved by the committee of the League of Nations. In appendix B you have a "Resolution adopted by the International Public Works Committee," of the International Labor Conference. Also, "Public Works under way or planned in selected South American countries;" "Public works under way or planned in Central America and Mexico;" "Inter-American Public Works Projects;" and "Developmental Projects and Public Works in China." You see, we are taking in pretty nearly the whole world. I am curious, I will say to my friend from Alabama, to know how far we are going into this thing. It disturbs me, as it does you. Mr. WOODRUM. This commission obviously cannot do more than to make studies and recommendations. They would have to have congressional approval before they could be put into effect. You and I, other members of Congress, everybody else, agree that somebody should be giving some serious thought to this question. Mr. DIRKSEN. That is right. Mr. WOODRUM. So as to have some starting point for legislation. STATEMENT OF MR. BEARDSLEY RUML Mr. WOODRUM. Dr. Ruml, we are glad to have you at this hearing, and we should be glad to have a short statement from you, if you care to make one. Mr. RUML. I have been associated with this board and predecessor agencies for 6 years. I have observed the work within the board. and also outside of the board in other relationships. It seems to me that the work of the board is highly desirable in bringing about the best possible situation in the prosecution of the war, and in the use of our resources. I think its functions are as a correlating agency and not as an operating agency. I think all these threads need to be brought together so we will know what they are and where they are. Mr. WOODRUM. Thank you very much, gentlemen. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 1943. INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION STATEMENTS OF CHARLES D. MAHAFFIE, COMMISSIONER; JOHN L. ROGERS, COMMISSIONER; CARROLL MILLER, COMMISSIONER; J. MONROE JOHNSON, COMMISSIONER; W. P. BARTEL, SECRETARY; AND J. B. SWITZER, DIRECTOR, BUREAU OF PERSONNEL SUPERVISION AND MANAGEMENT GENERAL STATEMENT Mr. WOODRUM. We will take up this morning the items for the Interstate Commerce Commission. Mr. Mahaffie, do you wish to make a statement for the Commission? Mr. MAHAFFIE. I should like to make a very short statement, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Bartel, our secretary, is our budget officer, and he bas handled this matter of the appropriations requested with the Bureau of the Budget. He is present and is prepared to furnish the committee with a rather elaborate statement outlining the work that the Commission does and undertaking to explain the justification for the appropriation estimates approved by the Bureau of the Budget. I shall ask Mr. Bartel to go into detail to the extent that the committee desires on that statement. I will say generally that while the Commission has had added to its work very considerable tasks in recent years, we have attempted, and are still attempting, to absorb them in the regular activities and as little as possible to ask for any additional funds to take care of it. For instance, the part III work which was added late in 1940, as to that we have found it necessary to add only a small force to the Commission's employees. We have a small bureau with a total employment at the moment of 18 or 20, I believe, on that work. We found it possible, when part IV was recently passed, giving us the duty of regulating freight forwarders, by changing the name of that bureau and distributing the work generally elsewhere in the Commission, to absorb that additional work without adding to the force materially. I think we are in shape to go on, on that same basis, of attempting without building up additional forces, to absorb such things as we can see being added to our activities. Mr. Bartel, as I say, has prepared a statement, and is more familiar with the actual details of the appropriation than I, and I shall ask him to go on from here. GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES Mr. WOODRUM. We will take up the various items of appropriation. The first item, for general administrative expenses, is as follows: General administrative expenses: For salaries and expenses necessary in the execution of laws to regulate commerce, including one chief counsel, one director of finance, and one director of traffic, at $10,000 each per annum, field hearings, traveling expenses and contract stenographic reporting services, $2,852,000, of which amount not to exceed $2,565,000 may be expended for personal services in the District of Columbia, exclusive of special counsel, for which the expenditure shall not exceed $50,000; not exceeding $5,000 for purchase and exchange of necessary books, reports, newspapers, and periodicals. Mr. WOODRUM. The estimate for 1944 is $2,852,000. Your appropriation for the current year is $2,898,528, showing a reduction of $46,528. Mr. BARTEL. That is right, sir. May I submit the following justification of this item? JUSTIFICATION OF ESTIMATES FOR 1944 The work of the Commission for the last year is covered in its annual report to Congress, which was transmitted to the new Congress on January 7, 1943. This report shows in more detail than this communication the work of the Commission and separate paragraphs are devoted to each activity. The statistics of appropriations are for the fiscal year, while the statistics of work performed for the most part cover the year ended October 31, 1942, to correspond to the period covered by our annual report. In column 1 of figures below is the amount of our appropriation for the 1942 fiscal year including supplemental appropriations for 1942. In column 2 our appropriations for 1943 and in column 3 the amount approved for inclusion in the 1944 Budget estimates. 1 Approximately $10,000 additional expended from the 1943 appropriation. 2 Includes $10,000 expended during fiscal year 1942. As to each appropriation following, in column 1 will be found the actual obligations for the fiscal year 1942, in column 2 the estimated obligations for 1943 and in column 3, the amounts included in the Budget estimates for the 1944 fiscal year. General administrative expenses It will be noted that the estimate for 1944 is $46,528 less than the appropriation made for the fiscal year 1943, and is accounted for by reductions in the following items as follows: and an increase of $380 for the transportation of things. No changes are proposed in the number of personnel. At the present time we have a large number of vacancies--caused principally by persons being called into the armed services or transferred to other agencies with reemployment rights. As of October 31, 1942, the number of employees on the pay roll in pay status totaled 788. The estimates for the current fiscal year and estimates for the next fiscal year call for 906 employees. We do not propose to fill these vacancies except where found absolutely necessary. The savings thus effected will be set up as a reserve. For the current fiscal year we have set up a reserve of $100,000. This appropriation is essential for the exercise by the Commission of the powers delegated to it under the general sections of the Interstate Commerce Act. It includes the salaries of the Commissioners and secretary, and other officers and employees necessary in the execution of the laws to regulate commerce. In addition to its specific duties under the Interstate Commerce Act, there are duties under other and related acts which the Commission is required to perform upon occasion, but these additional duties are taken care of by the Commission's personnel as a part of their regular work and do not require any additional employees for their performance. For the purpose of carrying out the general duties delegated to the Commission under the Interstate Commerce Act, particularly parts I, III, and IV, the Commission has created various bureaus to administer different functions, all expenses of which are paid for out of this appropriation. The Bureau of Administration, which reports directly to the secretary, is charged with the carrying out of the administrative work of the Commission. For this purpose the Bureau has been subdivided into sections: (1) The Section of Audits and Accounts makes a final check and audit of all vouchers covering expenditures from the Commission's appropriations, prior to payment, and performs the administrative accounting for all of the Commission's various activities and appropriations, both in Washington and the field. It also assists the secretary in preparing the annual budget, and prepares many monthly and special reports for the Bureau of the Budget, and the Treasury Department. (2) The Section of Mails and Files receives and distributes all mail, telegrams, and express matter in Washington and records, dockets, and files those items not handled in certain individual bureaus and sections. (3) The Section of Dockets examines, dockets, and keeps a record of all proceedings in formal complaints which come before the Commission, and investigation and suspension dockets and other formal investigation and ex parte proceedings instituted by the Commission on its own motion, except applications for certificates, permits, and licenses under part II. In collaboration with the chief examiner this section assigns cases for hearing before examiners and sets dates for oral arguments before the Commission or a division thereof and fixes the time allowed for such arguments. (4) The Section of Stenography is the Commission's stenographic, typewriting, and stencil cutting pool. (5) The Section of Supplies and Publications arranges for the purchase and delivery of all supplies and equipment for all activities of the Commission both in Washington and the field and the keeping of a record thereof. It attends to the editing and proofreading of material sent to the Government Printing Office for printing and makes distribution of publications when issued. This section likewise is in charge of our telephone switchboard and maintains a record of the assignment of office space in the building and is in charge of the mimeographing, photostating, and the printing, as well as the force of laborers. The other bureaus, the expenses of which are paid for out of this appropriation, are Finance, Formal Cases, Informal Cases, Inquiry, Law, Personnel Supervision and Management, Service, Traffic, Transport Economics and Statistics, Water Carriers and Freight Forwarders. REGULATING ACCOUNTS Mr. WOODRUM. The next item is for regulating accounts, as follows: Regulating accounts: To enable the Interstate Commerce Commission to enforce compliance with section 20 and other sections of the Interstate Commerce Act as amended by the Act approved June 29, 1906, the Transportation Act, 1920 (49 U. S. C. 20), and the Transportation Act of 1940, including the employment of necessary special accounting agents or examiners, and traveling expenses, $795,000, of which amount not to exceed $176,700 may be expended for personal services in the District of Columbia. JUSTIFICATION OF ESTIMATE Mr. WOODRUM. Your appropriation for the current fiscal year is $835,247 and the estimate for 1944 submitted is $795,000. Mr. BARTEL. That is correct, sir. The justification of that item is as follows: |