EMERGENCY CONSTRUCTION

Senator PROXMIRE. See if I understand what you are requesting the funds for. We have had presentations by the Army and Navy, the Air Force-the Navy of course including the Marine Corps. You are requesting an additional-what does your construction entail that would not be covered by the services?

Mr. SOUTH. Primarily two things, Mr. Chairman: Construction undertaken for DOD emergency construction utilizing the contingency fund, and construction undertaken for the Defense agencies. National Security Agency has $2,638,000 in this appropriation, the Defense Nuclear Agency has $662,000, the Defense Supply Agency has $7.9 million, DOD emergency construction includes $15 million, planning $1 million, minor construction $800,000, and supporting activities $200,000 for a total program of $28,200,000 with $2,800,000 from prior year funds available to finance this program.

DEFENSE SUPPLY AGENCY DEPOTS

Senator PROXMIRE. Defense Supply Agency has over $7 million?
Mr. SOUTH. Yes, sir.

Senator PROXMIRE. This is in connection with what facilities?
Mr. SOUTH. Do you have a list of those, Mr. Silverman?

Mr. SILVERMAN. Yes, sir.

Senator PROXMIRE. Don't go into any detail.

Mr. SOUTH. Primarily, supply depots.

Senator PROXMI RE. Is this an unusually large request for them for 1 year?

Mr. SOUTH. No, sir; they have quite a large number of facilities. Senator PROXMIRE. I see.

Give me the two or three major ones.

DEFENSE CONSTRUCTION SUPPLY CENTER, COLUMBUS, OHIO

Mr. SOUTH. Mr. Chairman, the largest item is for the Defense Construction Supply Center at Columbus, Ohio, which is $1,569,000. There are two projects, one is to heat two warehouses, $936,000, and the other is for warehouse lighting and power improvements, which is $633,000.

Senator PROXMIRE. What is the second largest?

DEFENSE DEPOT, OGDEN, UTAH

Mr. SOUTH. The second largest item is for the Defense Depot at Ogden, Utah, $1,452,000, with four projects involved there, all in the nature of improving warehouse conditions.

APPROPRIATION AND UTILIZATION OF FUNDS

Senator PROXMIRE. I notice that you say in the last paragraph on your first page that, "In the past 5 years in planning, we had an average appropriation per year of $1,150,000, and an average utilization per year of $762,000."

Mr. SOUTH. Yes, sir.

Senator PROXMIRE. Does that mean you only use about three-quarters or less than three-quarters, about two-thirds of what you request? Mr. SOUTH. On the average, yes, sir.

Senator PROXMIRE. Does that not seem to be a very, very low utilization as compared to what the services show?

Mr. SOUTH. Yes, sir.

Again, one factor that contributed to that, we had asked for planning money for the Defense Intelligence Agency to provide a new operations and academic building which has never been appropriated. We had some problems with site selection at Arlington Hall. This

tends to distort the overall numbers.

For a program this small, if you have one large project this distorts your average overall.

Senator PROXMIRE. That is a discrepancy of better than 25 percent. Mr. SOUTH. Yes, sir; what we have tried to do to correct that is to reduce the 1972 planning program to $1 million, and then we are not asking for any additional appropriation in 1972.

Senator PROXMIRE. Then you have the same kind of request and you use only $800,000. Again, you were far short of utilization.

Mr. SOUTH. That is right. That is true. I might mention that one emergency minor construction project runs $300,000, and for minor construction we are only requesting $800,000. That little effort we have budgeted on that basis and again we are trying to correct that by not asking for any money in fiscal year 1972 to take care of our request.

EMERGENCY CONSTRUCTION: HOUSE ACTION

Senator PROXMIRE. Now the House made a very sharp reduction, you requested $15 million and they approved only a third of it, is that correct?

Mr. SOUTH. For emergency construction.

Senator PROXMIRE. For emergency construction.

Mr. SOUTH. That is correct, Mr. Chairman.

Senator PROXMIRE. You are asking under reclama for an additional $5 million. In other words, you are now asking for $10 million instead of $15 million.

Mr. SOUTH. That is correct.

Senator PROXMIRE. Did you want what the House approved doubled? Mr. SOUTH. The House action was in two parts. In one action we lost $5 million through the authorization.

Senator PROXMIRE. That is gone.

Mr. SOUTH. Yes, sir, that is gone. We had $10 million authorized and we are asking that the full $10 million be appropriated. This emergency construction again is an area, Mr. Chairman, where it is very difficult to forecast, it is almost impossible really. We have screened very carefully any use of these funds but we feel it is important that we have flexibility.

Senator PROXMIRE. Will you be a little more specific? You are asking for a lot of money, a big increase over the House. The House must have had good reason for the action it took. You are asking us to increase their request by 100 percent.

Mr. SOUTH. Yes, sir.

Senator PROXMIRE. What is the one or two big items there that would be not funded if we go with the House?

Mr. SOUTH. Sir, this is the question I cannot answer because if there are projects that we are aware of, projects that have been programed for, they are included in the regular service programs.

Senator PROXMIRE. This is in the event

Mr. SOUTH. This is in the event of some emergency.
Senator PROXMIRE. What has been your experience?

MONITORING OF FUNDS

Mr. SOUTH. Exclusive of Southeast Asia we have been averaging approximately $2.5 million a month. We have received some criticism in Congress as to where the funds are being used, and in the past year we have tried to monitor this very carefully and not use it for anything that can be reprogramed in the regular Service accounts. Senator PROXMIRE. That would be $30 million a year.

Mr. SOUTH. Yes sir. It is for that reason we only ask for $15 million.

UNALLOCATED BALANCE: UNPROGRAMED

Senator PROXMIRE. You have a $30 million unallocated balance. Mr. SOUTH. Yes, sir.

Senator PROXMIRE. How much of that is left? We are well into the fiscal year now.

Mr. SOUTH. The entire amount.

Senator PROXMIRE. The entire amount is still unprogramed?
Mr. SOUTH. Yes, sir.

Senator PROXMIRE. I don't see why you need any money at all. Mr. SILVERMAN. It is unprogramed, but there are a number of requests that are being staffed and under consideration. As Mr. South mentioned, the use of the DOD emergency construction Secretary's contingency fund is really based on the last alternative. In other words, this precludes the use of any other authority except this authority where the conditions are such that it is vital to the security of the United States. There are a number of requests which are being considered by the services prior to submission to OSD and by the OSD staff, but they have not as yet been firmed up to the extent that we are in a position to say that these requirements are committed and are firmed up.

Senator PROXMIRE. Unless you make some kind of showing that you have very substantial requests that are likely to be firmed up, it would seem to me to be hard to go beyond the House to make some case. As I say, you are carrying over the full $30 million still unallocated so that it would be my disposition just as one member of the subcommittee, and not the chairman of course.

Senator Young.

CARRYOVER FUNDS AND APPROPRIATIONS

Senator YOUNG. Yes. Even if this committee decided to restore the $5 million cut by the House, I don't think we argue with the House Conferees based on the information you have given for such a possible increase.

Now, how much in carryover funds and appropriations did you have in previous years? You have the $30 million carryover at this time. If $40 million, how does that compare with the previous years? You can supply it for the record because I think it is important that this committee decided

Mr. SOUTH. I will provide it for the record.

Senator PROXMIRE. Yes, instead, unless you can give us something right now.

Mr. SILVERMAN. I can give you one figure. The carryover at the end of June 1971 was actually $45 million, so we have either used or committed $15 million since the beginning of this fiscal year 1972.

Senator YOUNG. I make the comparison by the amount appropriated, and then carried over.

(The information follows:)

STATUS OF CONTINGENCY FUNDS, "MILITARY CONSTRUCTION, DEFENSE AGENCIES"

The Secretary of Defense Contingency Fund, "Military Construction, Defense Agencies" was first established in the FY 1966 Authorization Act (Sec. 403, P.L. 89-188) and FY 1966 Military Construction Appropriation Act (P.L. 89202).

The purpose of the Contingency Fund is to provide the Secretary of Defense with authority to proceed with any construction he considers vital to the security of the U.S. when the expeditious accomplishment of such emergency construction is needed to support unforeseen operational requirements in crises such as the Korean defense, Cuban threat, Berlin build-up, and Southeast Asia, which required varying levels of unanticipated and unprogrammed construction effort.

Requests for use of contingency funds are evaluated by the Office of the Secretary of Defense with respect to validity of the requirement, availability of other military construction funds for reprogramming, and determination that requested facilities are vital to the security of the United States. The final decision to use contingency funds is made by the Secretary of Defense, or his deputy. Upon reaching a final decision to use contingency funds the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives are notified immediately of the construction to be undertaken. Similar notification is provided the Committees on Appropriations, U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives.