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.

Dr. BAHMER. This listing tells the public (a) what records must be kept, (b) who must keep them, and (c) how long they must be kept. As a result of this publication and our consultation with Federal agencies, the published listing has been made more complete and retention periods have been established or shortened. These measures directly benefit the public and the industry.

GSA is also working with the Department of Defense on the problem of records retained by defense contractors. Provisions of cost-type contracts require contractors to maintain certain records the cost of which is ultimately passed on to the Government. Our objective is to reduce the cost of maintaining contractors' records and to prescribe the shortest possible retention periods. Similar steps are planned for the records of contractors of nondefense Federal agencies.

This concludes our prepared statement, Mr. Chairman, which has been a rather quick summary of those activities of the General Services Administration which are closely related to the objectives of this subcommittee. However, we shall be happy at this time to answer any questions which you or the members of your subcommittee may wish to ask or furnish the desired information for the record.

Mr. OLSEN. Thank you, very much, Dr. Bahmer, and your assistants, for coming here. We find your statement to be most enlightening and valuable.

Doctor, we had somewhere in our hearings objections to the fact that some corporations must retain records for the purposes of the Internal Revenue Service for 30 years. Do you folks have any authority to advise IRS?

Dr. BAHMER. We do not have any authority to require any Federal agency to change what it has imposed as a retention requirement. We do have some skill in the arts of persuasion, however, and as a result of our exposing to public view the retention requirements, in the last issue of the Federal Register publication I gave you, many these retention requirements have been shortened.

of

Mr. OLSEN. We certainly want to commend you and your organization for what you have been doing in this program in form simplification.

I am not clear from your statement who has the overall responsibility for forms clearance and review in the Federal Government.

Dr. BAHMER. The basic responsibility for development of forms lies with the individual agencies except for two categories_called standard forms and optional forms. The Bureau of the Budget under Executive Order 8248 of September 8, 1939, provides official clearance for standard and optional forms. These are forms used by more than one agency.

Many forms are in fact public reports. They are covered under the Federal Reports Act of 1942 and are administered by the BOB. Bureau of the Budget Circular A-17 of November 14, 1959, covers both standard and optional forms. We do play a part in this process. The Bureau of the Budget does the clearance, but our contribution has been in the development of optional forms where we feel they are required. These are forms which serve administrative purposes and which can be standardized. For instance, that two-way memorandum that I mentioned that was furnished for the record is a type of optional form. It is not required for use by agencies but encouraged, if you will.

Mr. OLSEN. Before a form can be adopted by an agency for reporting by the private citizen, must that form be approved?

Dr. BAHMER. Yes, if it imposes on the public a reporting requirement, both a form and a report, it is covered by the Federal Reports Act. This is a Bureau of the Budget responsibility.

Mr. OLSEN. Yours is always advisory responsibility?

Dr. BAHMER. Yes, and developmental to the extent that we are working in a number of areas to develop optional forms to eliminate the added expense of every agency having its own individually designed form.

Mr. OLSEN. When you develop an optional form for several agencies, is there any authority in the Federal Government to impose that form on all of the agencies?

Dr. BAHMER. Not unless it would be in the Bureau of the Budget. We have no authority to impose use of that kind of form on Federal agencies.

Mr. OLSEN. I think we ought to research that out with the Bureau of the Budget on how much authority they have to impose a form on the several agencies that might be using the same material.

Mr. ABELE. Mr. Chairman?

Mr. OLSEN. Yes.

Mr. ABELE. Has your Department made a study on this-I see you have one on the administrative procedures-where they sent out their requirement for the retention form? Have you also made a study on the statute requirement?

Dr. BAHMER. You mean for the keeping of records?

Mr. ABELE. Yes.

Dr. BAHMER. Yes; this is a very important item in the disposal of a great quantity of Federal records and the statute of limitations comes in particularly where there is any fiscal record being kept. Mr. ABELE. How long has it been since that study was made?

Dr. BAHMER. We are practically continually in that business. Take the matter of canceled Government checks, which are now held I believe 7 years. The statute of limitations, I think, is 6. GAO, the Treasury Department, and we have agreed that we will hold them 1 additional year, just to be safe. This is taken into account when disposal periods or retention periods, whichever you call them, are being studied for particular lots of records; this is important at all times. Now if your question is directed as to whether the statute of limitations ought to be changed, this we have not studied. This is not really within our field of jurisdiction.

Mr. ABELE. There are probably quite a few statutes on the books now that require retention of forms that probably set the period of time.

Dr. BAHMER. Not as many now as there were 12, 15 years ago. Mr. ABELE. Since 1946?

Dr. BAHMER. We made an analysis about 10 years ago of all statutes that had to do with retention. We found, for instance, that inspection of grain appeal certificates were to be held, the connotation was, permanently. All of this has been changed within the last 10 years, but we cannot say that we have covered them all.

Mr. ABELE. Perhaps you would still have a copy of that order or study?