This effect is seen most clearly in relation to the Federal ownership of property. The property tax is far and away the most important source of revenue for local governments. Withdrawal from the tax base of property which acquires an exempt status through acquisition by the Federal Government places an additional burden on owners of the remaining property. This is particularly significant because Federal installations are likely to be located on sites, which, if in private hands, would yield better than average amounts of revenue in proportion to their area. In communities like those of northern Virginia, where a very large part of the land is owned by the Federal Government, this loss of revenue potential is not marginal. It does not make the difference between good and better but between adequate and wholly inadequate, municipal services and facilities.

The situation with which we in northern Virginia are confronted is how to bridge the gap created by the necessity for increasing expenditures to care for an expanding population, in the face of a shrinking revenue potential. The local communities have shouldered this responsibility by seeking new revenue sources, utilizing traditional ones more fully, and exerting every effort to secure every possible dollar from those sources through tight tax enforcement. Relatively heavy bonded indebtedness has been incurred to provide capital improvements.

Under Public Laws 815 and 874 the Federal Government has accepted its responsibility by providing substantial assistance for schools. Expenditures for schools account for a very large part of the total expenditures of the communities for which I speak. Thus the hardship which would otherwise have been imposed by Federal activities in this area has been mitigated.

Federal activities in this area are increasing, not stabilizing nor decreasing. The effect upon the local communities shows no prospect of tapering off. The challenge of how to meet this situation remains. You can be sure that every effort will continue to be made at the local level to meet this challenge. We believe that the position of the Federal Government in the economic and social structure of this area places upon it the responsibility also to do its share.

Mr. BAILEY. Thank you, Mr. Lundberg.

Mr. BROYHILL. Mr. Chairman, unless someone in the group wishes. to make an additional statement, that concludes our testimony for his morning.

Mr. BAILEY. We will limit it to 3 or 4 minutes if someone else wishes to be heard.

STATEMENT OF EUGENE L. BARNWELL, ACTING CITY MANAGER, ALEXANDRIA, VA.

Mr. BARNWELL. Mr. Chairman, my name is Eugene L. Barnwell, cting city manager of the city of Alexandria, Va.

I wish merely to acknowledge the submission of a statement from our vice mayor, Mr. Joseph M. Pancoast, relating to the provisions of he House bill H.R. 7140.

Mr. BAILEY. All of these statements, may I advise the staff member, will be accepted for inclusion in the record at the proper places.

(The statements of Messrs. Pancoast, Reid, Williams, Schmitt, and Massey follow :)

STATEMENT TO THE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR GIVING THE POSITION OF JOSEPH M. PANCOAST, VICE MAYOR, CITY OF ALEXANDRIA, ON THE PROVISIONS OF THE HOUSE BILL H.R. 7140

Mr. Chairman, on January 28, 1958 the position of our city council was made known in a resolution adopted by unanimous vote expressing opposition to the reduction of Federal funds for school purposes for federally affected areas. The request for comment from the city of Alexandria now comes at a time when the city council is in its summer recess. It therefore is impossible to convene council and have the members reaffirm their position expressed on January 28, 1958, and made known to this body. I believe, however, that I can express the present view of the members of city council as it pertains to the right and justice of our city as a federally impacted area to receive Federal funds for school purposes.

I may say that on June 23, 1959, the Council of the City of Alexandria adopted its 1959-60 budget. In this budget we anticipated a specific sum of money to be allowed under Public Laws 815 and 874 relating to Federal school assistance. Thus, passage of the bill H.R. 7140 would critically affect our anticipated revenues for school purposes and would result in a deficit.

The Alexandria government maintains that the conditions which brought about the consideration and passage of these bills still exists in the Washington metropolitan area. As evidence of this, it should be pointed out that the city is primarily a residential type of community furnishing residential properties and their related services to a large percentage of the military and Federal Government employees. The services required to maintain a residential community, when considered in light of today's school pupil cost, far outweigh any conceivable tax benefit which would accrue to the community from residential property.

As a further result of the city being primarily a residential area to serve the Nation's Capital, efforts to broaden the tax base through industrial development have not met with great success. This failure is possible due to the limitations imposed on the type of industry which could operate near the Nation's Capital and possibly due to the lack of a suitable labor market for industrial purposes.

It is the position of the Alexandria government that through the funds received for assisting both school construction and operation that facilities and school services have been greatly expanded in Alexandria in accordance with the spirit and intent of the supporters of Public Laws 815 and 874. As evidence of this the following table is presented:

From the above you will note that a total overall local effort for schools has materially increased over the past 8 years. This increased local expenditure has been in addition to school funds granted by the Federal Government. Another factor in this whole problem to the Alexandria government is the exemption provided under the Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act. Under the provision of this law, military personnel are exempt from payment of local automobile tax and local personal property tax as well as State income tax in so many cases. During the year 1958, 2,007 military personnel received free

automobile license tags and paid no direct local tax. These folks represent but a part of the tax-free federally related population within our city. Using just the number of people referred to above who called at City Hall and obtained a free license tag and using one child per family at the current school pupil cost of $355 per child, the school cost amounted to over $712,485 last year for this group alone. The above cost does not take into consideration the debt service cost on bonds issued to construct new school buildings. Taking the above into consideration, along with the indirect pressures on our school facilities caused by the children of other Federal employees impacted into the local area, it becomes increasingly evident that the position of the Alexandria government in opposing the discontinuance of Federal school funds is more than ustified.

It should also be remembered that there are many millions of dollars of taxree Federal Government properties located within the city. In addition to ocupying valuable property which might otherwise be devoted to taxable activiies, the city provides municipal services for these installations. As evidence of his, the recent move to discontinue the fire department at Cameron station is ited. Also we would like to point out that the departmental services of the ity of Alexandria have been made available to Federal installations in the orthern Virginia area. In the recent Pentagon fire, five companies from Arlingon County were aided by three companies from Alexandria City.

No doubt all of these factors were considered at the time the funds from nese public laws were made available. With the same conditions existing oday and with the services being required of a higher standard than those urnished at the time these laws were passed, it is our hope that no change will e made which would decrease or discontinue the Federal assistance now ranted.

It is my opinion that the governing body of the city of Alexandria wishes to mphasize the difference between Federal aid to education and Federal aid to mpacted areas. Our plea for the continuance of Federal aid to impacted areas s not intended as an expression of interest and support of Federal aid to general lucation throughout the Nation.

TATEMENT TO THE GENERAL EDUCATION SUBCOMMITTEE BY RAY E. REID, SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, ARLINGTON COUNTY, Va.

Mr. Chairman, the Arlington County School Board has asked me to submit e attached statistics to you in relation to the present proposal regarding Fedal aid to federally impacted areas under the provisions of Public Laws 815 d 874.

These statistics show, in accordance with Public Law 874, that 56.9 percent of e 23,133 children in Arlington schools have parents working for the Federal vernment. Very few of these parents live on Federal property. Whether ese parents live on or off Federal property, Arlington County is still responsible r the education of their children, a responsibility brought about by the influx Federal workers desiring to live in Arlington. The school population has ineased from 7,979 in 1940 to 23,133 at the present time.

The adult educational level in Arlington is comparatively high. The median mber of school years completed by its residents, in accordance with the 1950 S. census, is 12.7 years. The corresponding figure for the United States is 10 irs. Because of this high educational level a higher standard of public eduion is demanded. To furnish such a program requires an expenditure of proximately $505 per year per child.

If the revenue which has been received under Public Law 815 and 874 for the st 7 years is reduced it will place an undue burden on the tax structure of lington County. While Arlington is recognized as a comparatively wealthy nmunity, the main source of income is from taxes on real and personal propy from homeowners and not from industry.

n order to provide adequate school facilities for children in this community, which more than half are federally connnected, Arlington has, in the past years, voted and sold bond issues of more than $26,900,000.

decrease in revenue from the Federal Government could do only one of two ngs; either reduce the standard of education or unduly increase the tax buron the homeowners.

rlington County contains 25.3 square miles of which 18 percent or 4.6 square es are federally owned. If the property which is federally owned was avail45135-59-17

able to Arlington County for tax purposes, it would more than offset the funds being received from the Federal Government under Public Laws 815 and 874. You are respectfully requested not to approve any reduction in Federal aid to federally impacted areas, but to continue the present provisions under Public Laws 815 and 874 on a permanent basis.

ITEM V.-Public Law 874-Anticipated revenue

Year

Estimated payments

Present law Proposed law Difference
H.R. 7140

1958-59

1959-60. 1960-61. 1961-62. 1962-63.

Local
State.
Federal..

Total..

ITEM VI.-Construction funds, July 1950 to June 30, 1959

STATEMENT TO THE GENERAL EDUCATION SUBCOMMITTEE BY T. C. WILLIAMS, SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, ALEXANDRIA, Va.

Mr. Chairman, it has been brought to the attention of the Alexandria, Va., City School Board and the school officials of the city that amendments to Public Law 874 as proposed in H.R. 7140 are under study by your committee as the basis of à report dealing with the effect of these proposed changes upon the revenue derived from Public Law 874 in the impacted areas directly concerned.

This communication is to apprise you and your committee of the effect of such mendments as are being proposed in H.R. 7140 will have in Alexandria, Va. Alexandria is, as you know, one of the areas severely affected by Federal activity. Ve find that 42 percent of our entire school enrollment consists of federally conected pupils. This is almost half of our total enrollment. We also find that he contribution of the Federal Government toward carrying the burden of our nrollment is only about 11 percent. This is a large discrepancy in percentages hich indicates that the greater part of the burden imposed by federally conected pupils in this city is already being carried by agencies other than the 'ederal Government. This is the situation as of now. If the amendments proosed in H.R. 7140 are adopted this state of affairs would be greatly aggravated. Of course, since the objective of H.R. 7140 is to reduce the amount of funds aid to the participating school systems, Alexandria will suffer a loss the first ear and all of the other years. The loss for the first year will be $160,000. This particularly serious as our budget for the 1959-60 fiscal period has been made p, passed and we have been operating under it since July 1, 1959. There has een no time to adjust to a loss of the magnitude of that stated above. It would è disastrous. The result would be a drastic reduction in teachers' salaries, 3 there is no other place from which to take it. Other parts of the budget re too tightly drawn already and cannot be reduced further.

Losses in succeeding years will be about as follows, as well as we can estiate: 1960-61, $445,300; 1961-62, $456,250.

Under such conditions it is not only reasonable but morally imperative that ere should not be any step taken to reduce the already small contribution made relieve a heavy federally imposed burden, quite the contrary. The loss of over a illion dollars in a 3-year period would be a staggering blow to the operation of e city school system, already laboring under a heavy burden imposed by a heavy ad of Federal pupils and meager support for them.

The City School Board of Alexandria, Va., cannot contemplate such a reducon without vehement and earnest protest as being unreasonable and unjust.