Any unexpended balance of funds appropriated for any purposes to any agency of the Government performing activities under this joint resolution are hereby made available to carry out such activities and deficiency appropriations are hereby authorized, subject to the limitation specified in this section, to reimburse in full the appropriation to such agency for any expenditures made hereunder. Sums appropriated pursuant to the authorization contained herein shall be available to reimburse in full the appropriation to any such agency for any expenditure made or obligation incurred, prior to the date of designation of the coordinating agency, if such expenditure or obligation is certified by the head of such agency to have been necessary in accomplishing the purposes of this joint resolution. SEC. 4. Any agency performing activities under this joint resolution is authorized to employ additional personnel without regard to the civil-service laws and the Classification Act of 1923, as amended, and to incur obligations on behalf of the United States, by contract or otherwise, for the acquisition, rental, or hire of equipment, services, materials and supplies, for shipping, drayage, travel, and communication, and for the supervision and administration of its activities under this joint resolution. Such obligations may be incurred in excess of any appropriations available to such agency, but the aggregate amount of such obligations and any other expenses incurred pursuant to this joint resolution shall not exceed the amount authorized to be appropriated under section 3. Neither section 3709 of the Revised Statutes (41 U. S. C., sec. 5) nor section 3679 of the Revised Statutes (31 U. S. C., sec. 665) shall be applicable to any action taken pursuant to this joint resolution. The provisions of section 607 of the Federal Employees Pay Act of 1945, as amended, shall not be applicable to additional personnel employed hereunder. SEC. 5. The authority conferred by this joint resolution shall not extend beyond April 15, 1949. Hearings were held by the committee on this resolution at which representatives of the Interior and Agriculture Departments, armed services, Forest Service, Public Roads Administration, and the American Red Cross were heard. It was pointed out that the snowstorms and extremely cold weather which have occurred in certain Western States are without question worse than western winter conditions in the memory of any living man. The admitted dire results are impossible to estimate. Senators and Congressmen from all the snow-bound States have been receiving frantic telephonic and telegraphic requests for Government action and assistance. The resolution aims to provide immediate emergency relief in the areas affected by the continuing serious winter storms by cooperating with the governors of the States to the fullest extent possible with the money authorized to be appropriated herein. Such cooperation will take the form of furnishing, among other things, road-breaking equipment to open and keep open the roads in the devastated areas so that livestock now isolated by the storms may be fed. The resolution also legalizes expenditures of, and provides for reimbursement to, Federal agencies which have already engaged in relief measures. It makes clear that any sums heretofore spent by such agencies are not a violation of the antideficiency law. The aggregate amount of money that may be spent for the purposes specified in the resolution (whether made on or before the date of enactment of the resolution) is $750,000. It is also provided that such money may be used for emergency relief for Indians in areas isolated by such storms. A coordinating agency, to be designated by the President, will coordinate all activities of Government agencies performing functions under the resolution so that duplication and overlapping of effort will be avoided. Assistant Secretary of the Interior William E. Warne advised the committee that certain bureaus of his Department have been on an emergency operating basis for the past 10 days. The conditions are extremely bad in western Utah, eastern Nevada, Wyoming, and Montana. The main roads were opened at one time during the week in Utah and eastern Nevada, but they have been closed again by subsequent storms. Secretary Warne said there is great distress among the Indians, particularly in certain sections of the Great Plains. He stated that in order to get the roads opened all the equipment available to the Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of Indian Affairs and other agencies at the disposal of the regional disaster committee has been working vigorously, and that now the equipment available is breaking down as the result of continuous and trying operation. He Secretary Warne added that "We are now moving on a basis of dire emergency, and we will need, seriously need, the kind of authority that this resolution contains to back up the actions we have taken." said the figure of $500,000 in the original resolution was much too low and asked that it be increased. While no accurate estimate can be given at this time, he believes if the winter continues, in only moderate severity, expenditures will be heavy, but, if it remains critical, they may greatly soar. Representatives of the American Red Cross advised the committee that between thirty and thirty-five thousand dollars have already been spent by the organization for emergency type of assistance to meet human needs. Their records show that 30 counties in North Dakota. South Dakota, and Nebraska alone are in disaster status. Reports from Wyoming's statistician for the department of agriculture, in Cheyenne, show that 55,200 head of cattle and 100,000 head of sheep have already been lost. On Monday the temperature in Wyoming was as low as 40° below in one area, and we are advised that a consistent below-zero temperature, ranging from 12° to 38° below zero, persists in Montana. A representative of the Federal Works Agency stated that while the State highway departments and the county highway departments had had the resources to get the main roads cleared, these were fast becoming expended and there seems to be a lack of authority and money to get from main roads into where the cattle are located. The representative of the United States Forest Service, Departinent of Agriculture, stated that— In our judgment, we need to be financed to take care of about 15 complete outfits in the inner-mountain region at about $100 a day. That would be 15 to 20 outfits, with an additional number in the Rocky Mountain region, and then if the situation develops in Arizona, as we, too, are getting rumors it might, we will need an additional amount down there. Altogether for 30 days it is our estimate that it would take us between $90,000 and $120,000 for equipment that we have available and wish to throw into this job. The committee was also informed that in one particular area 75 bulldozers were available at a rental rate of $8 per hour with operators at a cost for a 30-day period of $432,000. In view of the action of the President in designating the Federal Works Agency (acting through the Bureau of Community Facilities) to enter into agreements with the governors of the respective States with regard to the funds he has made available, it was the opinion. of the committee that this resolution should be accordingly amended. It is also the view of the committee that the amount of $500,000 is inadequate for the existing emergency. The amount has been increased to $750,000. The continued destruction of livestock is extremely serious and of great interest to the whole country. The estimate of loss at the present time is from 30 to 50 percent. It is of inestimable importance that the roads be opened at the earliest possible moment. The Legislature of Wyoming has appropriated $200,000, the State of South Dakota $100,000, and the State of Nebraska is now considering an appropriation of $500,000 for assistance in those States. O SENATE 1st Session) No. 25 OIL SUPPLY AND DISTRIBUTION PROBLEMS 85687 A FINAL REPORT OF THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE TO STUDY PROBLEMS EIGHTIETH CONGRESS PURSUANT TO S. Res. 20 (80th Congress) A RESOLUTION APPOINTING A SPECIAL COMMITTEE SMALL BUSINESS JANUARY 31, 1949.-Ordered to be printed with an illustration |