It cost him last year alone $30,000,000 out of his general tax dollar to pay for the privilege of getting that delivery of that letter. Now is that not true? FEDERAL AID FOR HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION Dr. Lutz. I think we have gone much too far in trying to support the general economy by having the Government take up the balance of these checks. In the matter of highways, you will remember, of course, that when the States began, and they all began more or less at the same time when the automobile was made fairly foolproof, some States paid for their highways in cash; others used large bond issues. Now, today, they are all about in the same fix, they have all got good roads, but some of them have little or no highway debt and others have still a large amount of debt outstanding against them. I think, barring the Federal aid that went into all States, the part the State did themselves they could practically all have done on a pay-as-you-go basis and been just as well off in the matter of road equipment today. Senator HAYDEN. I do know that some States issued revenue bonds based on gasoline taxes and a number of those have been paid off. They have had a direct source of revenue of that kind. Dr. LUTZ. That is true. That, of course, would put a bond issue for an improvement of that sort in a different class if you have a pledged source of revenue that must go first and foremost to the amortization of those particular bonds. Senator HAYDEN. I think that was done in a number of cases. Senator HAYDEN. The interesting thing with respect to highways, is that President Wilson had some great doubt about signing the original Federal Aid Act, whether it would help out, but it was just about the time we were getting into the First World War and he finally decided that the national defense required the highway system and therefore approved the bill. Then after a while the Eastern States that had engaged in highway construction for a long time, such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, decided that this was a scheme to take it away from them and spread it out over the United States. The result was that Representatives from those areas were reluctant to make appropriations. But we kept on manufacturing automobiles and manufacturing trucks and today the demand is from these congested areas in the East to widen their roads, instead of a two-lane highway they want a four-lane highway or a six-lane highway, or they want to bypass the cities. If you are going to continue to manufacture trucks and automobiles and they are going to be able to continue to move over these roads, this system must be taken care of. This is not only the question of delay in time, it is a case where it is more dangerous now to ride in an automobile than it is to go in an airplane. Dr. LUTZ. That is true. Senator FERGUSON. Your inability to give us more detail in this schedule here that you have attached emphasizes just what is hap 67147-50-12 pening, and what the House spoke about, that no one actually comes before us and shows us how we can cut this budget. After the appropriation bill leaves the House and comes over to us on what is known in effect as an appeal, the Government agencies step up the pressure to get more money. That is why I fear your remarks in here about making these agencies more fertile. I we ever reproduce more out of these agencies, we are going to get more demands and, therefore, we will be less able to actually cut the amount. So I am sorry you used fertility. I would like to find something that would make the agency sterile instead of fertile. Dr. LUTZ. My application of that illustration, Senator, was pointed in a little different way. If you did not feed them quite so much, they would probably work harder and do a better job. DEFICIT SPENDING Senator FERGUSON. But this is an important matter. I want to express my appreciation to you for coming in here and giving us this help, because I feel that the Congress needs it. This is a vital time in our history. Five years after the war, and no matter what we say about the cold war, we are in this great deficit spending to the tune of some $7000,000,000. The last report of the joint committee indicated $7,300, 000,000 for the coming fiscal year. Dr. LUTZ. I was reluctant, in the kind of over-all statement which I from my experience visualized that the committee would be willing to accept and listen to in this kind of appearance, to embark on as much detail as I think we could supply, but we have, as I say, our judgments with respect to a great many of these details. You get merely the combined answer from all those judgments. Senator FERGUSON. As one member of the committee I would appreciate any suggestion you have that would be more definite either on functions or on efficiency, cutting down of functions or increasing the efficiency of those that we have employed. Your connection with your 15,000 people who are here, their connection with Government, should enable you to assemble facts to show that certain functions are not essential, particularly they are not essential if you have to have deficit spending to support them. Senator HAYDEN. Does that conclude your statement, sir? Dr. LUTZ. That does, sir. Senator HAYDEN. We thank you for your appearance. Dr. LUTZ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Senator HAYDEN. The committee will recess subject to the call of the Chair. (Thereupon, at 1 p. m., May 5, 1950, the committee recessed, to reconvene subject to the call of the Chair.) (This concludes the record of the testimony taken on May 5, 1950, which was made part of this hearing.) LETTER FROM THE AMERICAN LEGION Senator HAYDEN. Chairman McKellar has received a letter from the American Legion relative to section 1114 of the General Provisions, otherwise known as the Jensen amendment. The letter shall be made part of the record for consideration. (The letter follows:) Hon. KENNETH MCKELLAR, THE AMERICAN LEGION, NATIONAL LEGISLATIVE COMMISSION, Chairman, Appropriations Committee, United States Senate, Washington, D. C. DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: Referring to H. R. 7786, same being an act making appropriations for the support of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1951, etc., which I understand is now under consideration by the Senate Appropriations Committee, I am writing to record the objections of the national organization of the American Legion to section 1114 (p. 430 of the bill), commonly referred to as the Jensen amendment. Said section 1114 states that no part of any appropriation contained in this act shall be used to pay the compensation of any incumbent appointed to any civil office or position under the United States Government which may become vacant during the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1950, etc. Under existing Federal statutes, veterans who have duly qualified therefor are entitled to appointment to vacancies when and as they occur in United States civil-service positions. The Jensen amendment is detrimental to the employment of veterans at this time inasmuch as it would prohibit the fulfillment of all but 10 percent of any vacancies that will occur during the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1950. The American Legion has repeatedly requested the replacement of the so-called war-service appointees in Federal employment and at the present time there are approximately 155,000 of these employees still on the rolls. Under the provisions of section 1114, these 155,000 employees would either be frozen into their present positions, or if these jobs were to be vacated for any reason whatsoever, only 10 percent thereof could be filled, thus depriving veterans whose names appear on duly established registers of the opportunity for Federal employment. Based upon information which we deem reliable, we understand that the average annual turn-over due to resignations, deaths, dismissals, etc., in United States civil-service jobs is approximately 25 percent. If this be so, then for each 100 employees we would have 25 vacancies each year, leaving 75; under the provisions of section 1114 only 10 percent of these 25, or 2.50 (3) could be replaced; adding these 3 to the 75 we have, at the end of the year, only 78 people filling jobs formerly held by 100, or a net loss of 22. As you know, during the war it took approximately 14 people working behind the lines to keep 1 man serving on the firing line supplied. By the same token, it requires a great many laborers and numerous others working at menial jobs to supply the needs of the medical personnel in any Veterans' Administration hospital. I would like to call your attention particularly to subdivision (e) of section 1114, having to do with the personnel of the Veterans' Administration. We contend that our sick and disabled veterans could never be properly cared for in Veterans' Administration hospitals under the conditions that would exist if this section were enacted. We respectfully submit that if section 1114 were to be enacted into law it would have a disastrous effect on the efficiency of all Federal departments and, in addition, would deprive hundreds of thousands of duly qualified war veterans of employment to which they are now legally entitled. On behalf of the national organization of the American Legion I respectfully request that section 1114 be stricken from the act. Thanking you for your consideration of this request, and with kind regards, I am Sincerely yours, MILES D. KENNEDY, Director. (Whereupon, at 10:55 a. m., Friday, June 9, 1950, the committee closed the hearing.) |