The next chart shows a sample of a shipping clearance form required during the reign of Queen Anne of Britain. The wording, except for a few descriptions such as "Her Majesty," is exactly the same as the form we require of ships clearing our ports today. Our reason for mentioning this form is that we are helping the Bureau of Customs to simplify and standardize paperwork for the entry and clearance of ships. We have studied the forms that are used and their related procedures. As the Commissioner of Customs told this subcommittee, most of the forms are required specifically by law. If the Secretary of the Treasury were permitted to prescribe the entry and clearance procedures, we might be able to reduce the forms shown on the chart to a single form. This approach would eliminate a lot of effort being expended at present and would closely parallel the work being done to develop standards and recommended practices for the Intergovernmental Maritime Consultative Organization (IMCO) and the Ŏrganization of American States (OAS).

Mr. OLSEN. In that one form that you propose, that will reduce 14 to 1, does that one form include the very simple form that was prevalent under this?

Dr. BAHMER. Yes.

I should like to summarize our technical assistance activity with this chart, which shows the savings derived from GSA assistance compared with the cost of the manpower expended.

CHART 10

EVERY $ SPENT ON SURVEYS

YIELDS MORE THAN 10 IN SAVINGS [fy 1963]

I should like, Mr. Chairman, to mention that the upper row of figures shows the man-years saved as a result of our work in our central office and regional organizations. The lower line shows the man-years that we have spent. There is a ratio of better than 10 to 1 for every man-year we invest in this work. The two middle lines show additional savings as the result of our work in space released in square footage and the number of file cabinets released for re-use in Government agencies.

RECORDS RETIREMENT AND DISPOSAL

Another major area of activity, which is an important part of our external effort, is the GSA records retirement and disposal program. This responsibility was assigned to GSA by the Federal Records Act of 1950. It provides agencies with two very important services. The Federal Records Centers operate low-cost facilities in which Federal agencies can have their inactive records stored and serviced professionally. An appraisal activity assists agencies to determine which records need to be kept and which ones can be disposed of at the conclusion of their active use in the offices which accumulate them.

Through these programs, Federal records holdings, which had reached a peak of over 25 million cubic feet in 1953, have been checked and forced back. This has been accomplished despite the fact that the quantity of Federal records being created is increasing every year and is now close to 4.5 million cubic feet.

I don't know whether cubic footage means very much to those not in the trade, but an ordinary 4-door file cabinet will hold about 6 cubic feet, divide 24 million by 6, you get 4 million cabinets full. That is a lot of records.

Since establishment of the Federal Records Centers in 1950, we estimate that savings to the Federal Government resulting from using low-cost records center space, better utilization of equipment, accelerated disposal, and more efficient service amount to $50 million. One reason for the importance of the appraisal activity is the fact that about one-fourth of the records controlled by Federal agencies are reported as "permanent." Our specialists have concluded that less than 10 percent of the records now in existence have permanent historical, legal, or other value. When dealing with millions of feet of records, the difference between our evaluation and that of most agencies has a very real money value to the taxpayer.

GSA also plays a part in reducing the quantity of records which individuals and businesses must keep because of Government requirements. As a helpful aid, NARS publishes a listing in the Federal Register each year which shows the current records retention requirements imposed on the public by the Government.

I should like to furnish for your record a copy of the most recent listing.

Mr. OLSEN. That will be made a part of the files on the hearings.