in the Board, so long as there shall be two members in office, shall not impair the power of the Board to execute its functions. Any three of the members of the Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of the business of the Board and the affirmative votes of any three members of the Board shall be sufficient for the disposition of any matter which may come before the Board. The President shall from time to time designate one of the members to be Chairman of the Board. The Chairman shall receive a salary at the rate of $28,500 per annum and each of the other members of the Board shall receive a salary at the rate of $27,000 per annum.

"(c) There are hereby transferred to the Board

"(1) All functions of the Secretary of Commerce conferred upon him by Reorganization Plan Numbered 21 of 1950 and confirmed as being vested in him by section 202 (a) of Reorganization Plan Numbered 7 of 1961.

"(2) All functions of the Secretary of Commerce transferred to him by section 202(b) of Reorganization Plan Numbered 7 of 1961.

"(d) The Chairman of the Board shall be the chief executive and administrative officer of the Administration. In executing and administering on behalf of the Board its functions, the Chairman shall be governed by the policies, regulatory decisions, findings, and determinations of the Board. If a majority of the Board determines at any time that the Chairman is not being governed by the policies, decisions, findings, and determinations of the Board, then by majority vote the Board may divest the Chairman of the authority given him by the first sentence of this subsection and thereafter such authority shall be vested in the Board."

SEC. 3. Section 201 (b) shall apply to the members, officers, and employees of the Federal Maritime Administration and the Federal Maritime Board created by section 201 of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, as amended by the second section of this Act.

SEC. 4. So much of the personnel, property, records, and unexpended balances of appropriations, allocations, and other funds employed, used, held, available, or to be made available, in connection with the functions transferred to the Federal Maritime Board by the amendment made by the second section of this Act as the Director of the Bureau of the Budget determines necessary, shall be transferred to the Federal Maritime Administration created by the amendment made by the second section of this Act.

SEC. 5. Sections 201, 203, and 204 of part II of Reorganization Plan Numbered 21 of 1950, and part II and section 303 (c) of Reorganization Plan Numbered 7 of 1961, are hereby superseded by this Act and the amendments made by this Act.

SEC. 6. Nothing in this Act or any of the amendments made by this Act shall be deemed to affect (1) the Federal Maritime Commission established by part I of Reorganization Plan Numbered 7 of 1961, or (2) any of the functions of such Commission.

SEC. 7. This Act, and the amendments made by this Act, shall take effect sixty days after enactment.

[H.R. 15567, H.R. 15838, H.R. 15910, H.R. 15945, H.R. 16079, H.R. 16098, H.R. 16104, H.R. 16123, H.R. 16147, H.R. 16283, 89th Cong., 2d sess.]

A BILL To amend title II of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, to create the Federal Maritime Board-Administration, and for other purposes

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be cited as "The Federal Maritime Act of 1966".

SEC. 2. Section 201 of title II of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, is amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 201. (a) There is hereby established an agency to be known as the Federal Maritime Administration, hereinafter in this chapter referred to as the 'Administration', which shall be an independent agency not under any other department, agency, or instrumentality of the executive branch of the Government or under the authority of the head of any such department, agency, or instrumentality.

"(b) (1) There shall be at the head of the Administration a Federal Maritime Administrator who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, who shall receive compensation at the rate of $28,500

per annum.

The Administrator shall be responsible for the exercise of all powers and the discharge of all duties of the agency, with the single exception described in section (3) of this Act. In the exercise of his duties and the discharge of his responsibilities the Administrator shall not submit his decisons for the approval of, nor be bound by the decisions or recommendations of any committee, board or other organization created by Executive order.

"(2) The Administrator shall be a citizen of the United States, and shall be appointed with due regard for his fitness for the efficient discharge of the powers and duties vested in and imposed upon him by this chapter. Previous employment by or previous pecuniary interest in any business or union associated with the maritime industry shall not constitute a bar to appointment as Administrator. "(c) There are hereby transferred to the Administration

"(1) all functions of the Secretary of Commerce conferred upon him by Reorganization Plan Numbered 21 of 1950 and confirmed as being vested in him by section 202(a) of Reorganization Plan Numbered 7 of 1961.

"(2) all functions of the Secretary of Commerce transferred to him by section 202(b) of Reorganization Plan Numbered 7 of 1961, except as hereunder provided.

"(3) There shall be in the Administration a Deputy Maritime Administrator, who shall be appointed by the Administrator under the classified civil service and who shall perform such duties as the Administrator shall prescribe. The Deputy Maritime Administrator shall be Acting Maritime Administrator during the absence or disability of the Administrator. Such Deputy Administrator shall at no time sit as a member or acting member of the Maritime Subsidy Board."

SEC. 3. (a) There is hereby established the Maritime Subsidy Board, referred to in this chapter as the Board. The Board shall have complete and final authority to pass upon all matters related to construction differential and operating differential subsidy.

(b) There are hereby transferred to the Board

(1) all functions of the Secretary of Commerce transferred to him under section 105 (1), (2), (3), (4), and (5) of Reorganiation Plan Numbered 21 of 1950 and confirmed as being vested in him by section 202(b) of Reorganization Plan Numbered 7 of 1961.

(c) The Board shall be composed of: (1) the Federal Maritime Administrator; (2) two members appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate for a term of five years, who shall receive compensation at the rate of $28,000 per annum. Of the members appointed under (2), one shall be appointed for a term expiring on June 30, 1970, and one for a term expiring on June 30, 1971. Their succesors shall be appointed for terms of five years except that any person chosen to fill a vacancy shall be appointed only for the unexpired term of the member of the Board whom he succeeds.

(d) The President shall designate one of the three Board members to serve as Chairman of the Board. The office of Chairman of the Board shall thereafter rotate between the members from year to year, beginning on July 1 of each year. (e) Previous employment by or previous pecuniary interest in any business or union associated with the maritime industry shall not constitute a bar to appointment as Board members. During the term of office as a Board member, however, no Board member shall be in the employ of or hold any official relation to any company engaging in the steamship or shipbuilding business or with any union connected with that industry, nor shall he own the stock or bonds of such company, nor shall he have any pecuniary interest therein other than a vested interest in a pension program. Said Board members shall not engage in any other business, vocation or employment during their terms as Board members. (f) A vacancy in the Board, so long as there shall be two members in office, shall not impair the power of the Board to execute its functions. Any two of the members of the Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of the business of the Board and concurring votes of any two members of the Board shall be sufficient for the disposition of any matter which may come before the Board. Any Board member may be removed by the President for inefficiency, neglect of duty and malfeasance in office.

SEC. 4. So much of the personnel, property, records, and unexpended balances of appropriations, allocations, and other funds employed, used, held, available, or to be made available, in connection with the functions transferred to the Federal Maritime Administration and Maritime Subsidy Board by the provisions of this Act as the Director of the Bureau of the Budget determines necessary, shall be transferred to the Federal Maritime Administration and Maritime Subsidy Board.

SEC. 5. Sections 201, 203, and 204 of part II of Reorganization Plan Numbered 21 of 1950, and part II and section 303 (c) of Reorganization Plan Numbered 7 of 1961, are hereby superseded by this Act and the amendments made by this Act.

SEC. 6. Nothing in this Act or any of the amendments made by this Act shall be deemed to affect (1) the Federal Maritime Commission established by part I of Reorganization Plan Numbered 7 of 1961, or (2) any of the functions of such

commission.

SEC. 7. This Act, and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect sixty days after enactment.

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT,

BUREAU OF THE BUDGET, Washington, D.C., June 24, 1966.

Hon. EDWARD A. GARMATZ,

Chairman, Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries,

House of Representatives,

Longworth House Office Building,
Washington, D.C.

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: This is in response to your request for the views of the Bureau of the Budget on H.R. 15567, a bill "To amend title II of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, to create the Federal Maritime Board-Administration and for other purposes."

H.R. 15567 would amend the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, in order to create an independent Federal Maritime Administration. The Administration would be vested with the powers of the Secretary of Commerce under Reroganization Plan No. 7 of 1961. The bill would also create a Maritime Subsidy Board to pass upon all matters related to constuction differential and operation differential subsidy. The Board would consist of the Maritime Administrator and two additional members appointed by the President.

The creation of these new independent agencies would be contrary to the organizational objectives in the transportation field as expressed by the President in his message to the Congress of March 2, 1966. The President stressed that a Department of Transportation was necessary in order to bring together transportation responsibilities now widely scattered throughout the Government. The existing lack of central leadership significantly handicaps the development of unified transportation policies and a fully effective execution of Federal transportation programs.

The establishment of two additional independent transportation agencies— the Maritime Administration and the Maritime Subsidy Board-would be squarely at odds with the requirements for a more fully coordinated approach to our national transportation system. Such action would greatly increase the diffusion of transportation responsibility, at a time when the President has proposed to end such diffusion through the creation of a Department of Transportation. This proposal is embodied in H.R. 13200.

Accordingly, the Bureau of the Budget recommends against enactment of the bill, H.R. 15567, which would not be in accord with the program of the President. Sincerely yours,

WILFRED H. ROMMEL, Assistant Director for Legislative Reference.

EXECUTVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT,

Hon. EDWARD A. GARMATZ,

BUREAU OF THE BUDGET, Washington. D.C., July 20, 1966.

Chairman, Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, House of Representatives, Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C.

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: This is in response to the request of your committee for the views of the Bureau of the Budget on H.R. 11355, H.R. 11356, H.R. 11364, H.R. 11416 and H.R. 11419, identical bills "To amend title II of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, to create the Federal Maritime Administration and for other purposes."

These bills would establish an independent Federal Maritime Administration to be headed by a three member Federal Maritime Board and would transfer

to the Board certain maritime functions now vested in the Secretary of Commerce.

The creation of a new independent agency would be contrary to the organizational objectives in the transportation field as expressed by the President in his message to the Congress of March 2, 1966. The President stressed that a Department of Transportation was necessary in order to bring together transportation responsibilities now widely scattered throughout the Government. The existing lack of central leadership significantly handicaps the development of unified transportation policies and a fully effective execution of Federal transportation programs.

The establishment of an additional independent transportation agency would be squarely at odds with the requirements for a more fully coordinated approach to our national transportation system. Such action would increase the diffusion of transportation responsibility at a time when the President has proposed to end such diffusion through the creation of a Department of Transportation. This proposal is embodied in H.R. 13200. Accordingly, the Bureau of the Budget recommends against enactment of the subject bills, none of which would be in accord with the program of the President.

Sincerely yours,

WILFRED H. ROMMEL, Assistant Director for Legislative Reference.

GENERAL COUNSEL OF THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE,
Washington, D.C., July 20, 1966.

Hon. EDWARD A. GARMATZ, Chairman, Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, House of Representatives, Washington, D.C.

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: This is in further reply to your requests for the views of this Department concerning H.R. 11355, H.R. 11364. H.R. 15567, and related bills. All of these proposals would transfer to now independent agencies the functions now vested in the Secretary of Commerce under Reorganization Plan No. 21 of 1950 and sections 202 (a) and 202(b) of Reorganization Plan No. 7 of 1961. The functions which would be transferred may be generally described as those now exercised by the Secretary through the Maritime Administration. The Department of Commerce recommends against enactment of any of these proposals.

The President in his message to the Congress of March 2, 1966, called for the creation of a Department of Transportation to include a large number of functions in the transporation field now exercised by various agencies of the Government. Those functions which are proposed to be transferred to independent Maritime agencies by the subject bills are among the functions which the President proposed be transferred to the new Department.

The Department of Commerce believes that the consolidation of transportation functions in the Department of Transportation as proposed by the President is necessary if the Nation is to have a sound and rational transportation system. The enactment of legislation transferring maritime functions to separate independent agencies would run directly counter to the approach proposed by the President.

We, therefore, strongly recommend that none of the bills to create an inde pendent Maritime agency now pending before your Committee be approved by the Congress.

The Bureau of the Budget advised there would be no objection to the submission of this report from the standpoint of the Administration's program. The Bureau further advised that enactment of this legislation would not be in accord with the program of the President.

Sincerely,

MAURICE R. DUNIE, Acting General Counsel.

The CHAIRMAN. Although some of the bills differ in detail from others, the objectives of all are the same, that is, to authorize the establishment of a new independent agency, to be known as the Federal Maritime Administration, not under any other department, agency, or instrumentality of the Federal Government.

Some of these bills were introduced as far back as September 1965; many others more recently.

They are, admittedly, at odds with provisions of H.R. 15963, a bill "to establish a Department of Transportation" which was reported to the House by the Committee on Government Operations on July 15. Under that bill the functions relating to the American Merchant Marine, now exercised by the Maritime Administration within the Department of Commerce, would be transferred to the new Department of Transportation.

The Chair recognizes many merits to the Department of Transportation proposal.

On the other hand, nearly 18 years of service with this committee has given me some insight into the special problems of ocean shipping-problems unique and specialized in themselves problems needing specialized handling.

I understand that my observations are shared by my colleagues on this committee. On June 21, by a majority vote of this committee, the Committee on Government Operations was requested to amend the Department of Transportation legislation so as to exclude the Maritime Administration functions from its provisions. At the same time I assured that committee that we would hold hearings on our bills on the subject, which hearings we are starting today.

If there is no objection a copy of my letter to the Hon. William L. Dawson together with committee resolutions 10 and 11 will appear at this point in the record.

(The letter with resolutions 10 and 11 follow :)

Hon. WILLIAM L. DAWSON,

JUNE 21, 1966. Chairman, Committee on Government Operations, House of Representatives, Washington, D.C.

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: In executive session of the full committee this morning the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries adopted two resolutions of an advisory nature having reference to H.R. 13200 and similar bills which would establish a new Department of Transportation.

Committee resolution No. 10 (a) expresses the sense of the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries that there be established a new, independent agency to be known as the Federal Maritime Administration; (b) directs the chairman of the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries to write to the chairman of the House Committee on Government Operations, advising him of this committee's views and uring that H.R. 13200 be amended so as to exclude therefrom all provisions thereunder pertaining to the transfer to and vestment in the Secretary of the proposed Department of Transportation of all functions presently vested in the Secretary of Commerce-Federal Maritime Administration; and (c) request the chairman of the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries to schedule hearings at the earliest practicable date on legislation pending before it calling for the establishment of an independent Federal Maritime Administration.

Committee resolution No. 11 expresses the sense of the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries that (a) all functions, powers, and duties relating to the Coast Guard remain vested in the Secretary of the Treasury and other officers and offices of the Department of the Treasury; and (b) directs the chairman of the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries to write the chairman of the House Committee on Government Operations, advising him of this committee's views and urging that H.R. 13200 be amended accordingly so as to exclude all provisions thereunder pertaining to the transfer and vestment in the Secretary of the proposed Department of Transportation of all functions, powers, and duties relating to the Coast Guard.

I bring this to your attention and to the attention of your committee on behalf of the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, so that you may have the benefit of our views in your consideration of H.R. 13200.