A further development was that the Government was subject to contingent liability in case it decided to abandon SAGE or parts thereof. This contingent liability was indicated in the annual appropriation bill to be $222 million and hence could be repeated from year to year. There was also evidence at this time that SAGE was developed to detect aircraft and would be too slow for missiles which were in the offing. Certainly the Army had knowledge of missiles through its Redstone work. At any rate contingent liabilities were something to be considered in 1955.

Another interesting development was the fact that the telephone companies in more or less classified agreements with the Air Force were deliberately excluding cooperative telephone and power agencies from participating in the service contracts though their so-called service areas were involved.

On July 19, 1955, the General Accounting Office had been requested to make available an expected decision on the authority of the Air Force to make 10-year contracts under the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act. On August 15, 1955, the Comptroller General rendered a decision (No. B-124672) to the effect that the authority quoted for the 10-year contracts was inadequate.

On September 23, 1955, the A. T. & T. filed a package tariff with the FCC which would have meant a saving of $14 million per annum on SAGE. On September 29, 1955, Secretary of Defense Wilson submitted a letter to the Comptroller General asking for a reconsideration of his decision of August 15, 1955.

On October 21, 1955, the Comptroller General reaffirmed his previous decision and concluded that the Department of Defense should seek adequate authorization for the SAGE communications as soon as practicable.

Subsequently, as a result of the committee's interest and the participation of GSA in the proceedings, the Federal Communications Commission issued an order on June 25, 1958, in response to General Services Administration's petition for a rate reduction which will result in savings to the United States of $11 million per year, or $110 million for the 10-year period.

(J) Availability of Government information

1. General statement.

(a) The amount of factual information given the public about the billion-dollar missile-satellite program was increased as a result of the Special Government Information Subcommittee's investigation of information restrictions during attempts to launch the first United States satellite as part of the nonmilitary International Geophysical Year. The new information program set up by the Department of Defense and the Air Force, following the subcommittee's investigation, resulted in a more adequate flow of information about the Nation's first moon-missile attempt.

(b) The protection of true security information which, if divulged, would endanger the Nation's military protection was enhanced by the insistence of the Special Subcommittee on Government Information that the security system should not be used to hide administrative information about the Government's day-to-day operations. Since overclassification tends to weaken respect for the security system and to make its observance more difficult, the subcommittee's insistence that wrongly classified material be declassified tended to strengthen

the security system. Cases which exemplify this situation include the declassification of a personnel file and of a list of contractors showing intercorporate relationships, the rescinding of generalized warnings against dissemination of any military information, the removal of restrictions on a "classified" building which housed gifts to Government officials, and the declassification of information on administrative aircraft used to transport high Government officials.

(c) The flow of basic information necessary to the people, who are, in effect, the final governors in a democracy, was increased by the subcommittee's activities. Among the many cases in this category, are the revocation by two agencies of restrictions on administratively controlled information, the rescinding of censorship on newsreel and television productions, the removal of restrictions on information about Government leases, the disclosure of import and export information and the removal of information restrictions on foreign aid contracts. (d) Scientific information, which must flow unhampered if the United States is to win the race for technological supremacy, is more readily available as a result of the subcommittee's work. The reinstatement of the science attaché program and the rescinding of restrictions on the export by scientists of nonclassified information are two of many cases in this area.

(e) The amount of information from the executive branch available to Congress was increased through the subcommittee's continuing efforts. Many individual Congressmen were assisted in gathering information and were able to develop techniques to overcome future refusals from executive agencies. Some agencies-particularly the Defense Department-revised regulations which had been used to restrict information to Congress. A specific revision in recent months was the change in regulations governing access to defense information by the General Accounting Office-the major fiscal investigating arm of Congress for previous regulations had required GAO investigators to prove a need to know in order to discharge duties imposed on them by law and concerning matters which indubitably should have been disclosed to them in their capacity as agents of Congress. Serious problems still exist, however, with respect to the refusal of the executive agencies to obey a statutory requirement that they make information available to the Comptroller General.

(f) Through its continuing investigation of Defense Department information policies, the subcommittee assisted in the successful opposition to two phases of the proposed reorganization of the Department. Assistance to other House committees and comments by Congressman Moss during debate on the proposed reorganization measure helped defeat a section of the measure which would have restricted information for Congress. The defeated proposal would have prevented military and civilian heads of the military departments from presenting their full views on defense policies to the Congress. The subcommittee also assisted in delaying plans for a reorganization of Defense Department information activities. The planned reorganization would give control of all information from the Department and the military services to a politically appointed defense official.

(g) The subcommittee's investigation of restrictions on photographic access to the sites of airplanes crashes in civilian areas resulted in reminders by the military services and the Defense Department to all military personnel that they have no police jurisdiction over civil

ians outside military bases. Although cases of illegal military interference with civilian activities at accident sites still occur, they are not as frequent, and action is taken in each case to prevent recurrences. (h) The necessity for adequate Government information was recognized legislatively by the Congress, in addition to specific legislative action directly affecting the people's right to know. (See part II.) The inclusion of freedom-of-information language in legislation establishing new weather control and space agencies is in this category. Other legislation also carried out earlier recommendations of the subcommittee.

2. Specific instances.

The activities of the committee in the field of restrictions on information have resulted, directly or indirectly, in the revision of regulations and in many other actions bearing on information in the Departments of Defense, Agriculture, Justice, Treasury, Interior, Commerce and Health, Education and Welfare, as well as in the General Services Administration and other Federal agencies. A few significant examples are as follows:

(i) The Department of Agriculture revised a regulation which permitted censorship of television films, news releases, and similar information items prepared by private groups through cooperation with the Department. The objectionable features have been deleted from the new regulation.

(ii) The General Services Administration withdrew a proposed form which all resigning employees would have had to sign, stating they would never divulge administratively controlled information.

(iii) The Foreign Claims Settlement Commission also has stopped using a form prohibiting the dissemination of administratively controlled information.

(iv) The Defense Department reversed an earlier decision to exclude reporters from the launching of the first earth satellite.

(v) The Defense Department took action to declassify a roomful of World War II scientific documents at Harvard University's Widener Library.

(vi) The Department of Justice declassified portions of a report on trips by border-patrol inspectors to rifle and pistol matches, and made classified sections of the report available to the appropriate House Government Operations Subcommittee.

(vii) The General Services Administration revised an administrative order which restricted contacts by Congressmen, their staffs, and congressional committees' staffs with General Services Administration employees.

(viii) The Treasury Department issued Treasury Decision 5421, August 27, 1957, Federal Register, Document 57-7099, permitting the disclosure of statistical data on exports from United States ports which has been restricted since World War II.

(ix) The Department of Defense has undertaken a general revision of regulations affecting the flow of information from the Department, including a complete rewriting of the Department's regulations on classification of information and eliminating the requirement that all Defense Department information must make a constructive contribution to the primary mission of the Department.

(x) The Air Force declassified statistics about the number and use of administratives which ferry officials around the globe.

(xi) The Defense Department declassified the portion of a list of Army missile contractors and subcontractors showing intercorporate relationships.

(xii) The Social Security Administration clarified the availability of statistical information originally refused through a misinterpretation of Federal regulations.

(xiii) The Secretary of the Interior abolished the restrictive term "Confidential-Interior Secretarial" less than 3 weeks after it had been included in departmental administrative regulations.

(xiv) The State Department revived the science attaché program to increase the flow of scientific information some 2 years after the program had been allowed to lapse.

(xv) The International Cooperation Administration agreed to make public nonclassified foreign-aid contracts with private firms and to make public nonclassified reports on performance under the con

tracts.

(xvi) The Health, Education, and Welfare Department agreed to make available to Congress information about advisory councils of the Public Health Service.

(xvii) An Office of Security Review was established by the Air Force to expedite the handling of information and make certain that security information is not released.

(K) Survey and study of administrative organization, procedure, and practice

This study covered 31 so-called independent agencies as well as the numerous administrative functions in the 10 executive departments. A questionnaire to these agencies contained 93 questions subdivided under the general headings of Rulemaking, Adjudication, Separation of Functions, Inspection of Records, Workload and Staffing Patterns, Uniformity of Administrative Procedure, Rules for Admission to Practice and for Avoidance of Conflict of Interests, Exemptions from the Administrative Procedure Act, and Court Decisions Affecting Agency Functions.

The published replies to this questionnaire total over 2,000 pages. It is the first, and probably the only, such comprehensive study of the procedures and practices of administrative agencies since the great proliferation of such agencies which began in the 1930's.

The replies to the questionnaire are constantly being consulted by legal and other professional associations; are in demand by university libraries; and afford a mine of readily available material for consid eration and use both by Congress and those with administrative responsibility in the 41 independent agencies and executive departments.

PART IV.-FOLLOWUP ON COMMITTEE ACTIVITIES

A. MONETARY BENEFITS

While some of the savings resulting from the committee's activities can be computed with a fair degree of accuracy, the greater part of the identifiable savings are those which flow from the elimination of wasteful practices or from the institution of prudent ones. These latter often are not susceptible of precise estimates, but clearly amount to many millions of dollars.

There follows a discussion of actual and potential savings which the committee believes are properly attributable to its activities during the 85th Congress.

1. Defense matters

(a) Defense Standardization (7th report of committee, H. Rept. 882, 85th Cong.).-The investigation, hearings, and report in this area were directed toward speeding up the defense standardization program which has enormous potential savings. The committee report contains 11 recommendations which, if affected, should result in savings of several billion dollars. The Department of Defense has acknowledged the merit and basic validity of the report, and means of implementing it are under consideration.

(b) Military Tank Procurement (10th report of committee, H. Rept. 958, 85th Cong.). The investigation, hearings, and report in this area were directed to ending the failure to use a substantial number of heavy tanks, representing more than $186 million in funds allocated for procurement of these tanks. When the investigation was undertaken, the tanks were standing idle in open storage and were considered unserviceable for combat use. The committee's action was instrumental in speeding a decision to make these tanks combat usable by modification, and savings of approximately $500,000 in storage and other costs were thereby effected.

(c) Military Clothing Procurement (13th report of committee, H. Rept. 1168, 85th Cong.).-The investigation, hearings, and report were directed to eliminating wasteful, costly, and improper practices in the military clothing procurement field. The committee's report contains 30 far-reaching recommendations which, if effected, will result in savings of millions of dollars. The Department of Defense is now considering means of implementing the report. Some specific savings already have been effected, as evidenced by the action of the military procurement agencies in obtaining money payments from delinquent contractors.

(d) Letter Contracts and Contract Terminations (14th report of committee, H. Rept. 1169, 85th Cong.).-The committee's studies and report in these areas were directed to more careful protection of the Government's interest in large contract operations. This report will help to minimize the duration of so-called letter contracts which commit the Government to large expenditures without specific contractual terms, guaranties of performance, and the privilege to default in the absence of performance. A tightening of contracttermination procedures will result in savings to the Government of hundreds of millions of dollars.

(e) Surplus military property disposal.-The committee staff screens pending sales of surplus property by military installations with the objective of preventing the disposal for a few cents on the dollar of valuable property which can be effectively used by other Government agencies or which can yield greater returns if sold for specific commercial purposes. From time to time, the attention of the Federal Civil Defense Administration has been called to available surplus property useful for civil-defense purposes, which otherwise would be sold for small returns.