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78TH CONGRESS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DOCUMENT 2d Session No. 419

SUPPLEMENTAL AND DEFICIENCY ESTIMATES OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 1944 AND PRIOR FISCAL YEARS, FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, AMOUNTING TO $1,908,220, TOGETHER WITH PROPOSED AUTHORIZATION FOR THE EXPENDITURE OF $4,500 FROM INDIAN TRIBAL FUNDS

FEBRUARY 14, 1944.-Referred to the Committee on Appropriations, and ordered to be printed

THE WHITE HOUSE, Washington, February 11, 1944.

The SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

SIR: I have the honor to transmit herewith for the consideration of Congress supplemental and deficiency estimates of appropriations for the fiscal year 1944 and prior fiscal years, for the Department of the Interior, amounting to $1,908,220, together with proposed authorization for the expenditure of $4,500 from Indian tribal funds.

The details of these items, the necessity therefor, and the reasons for their transmission at this time are set forth in the letter of the Director of the Bureau of the Budget, transmitted herewith, in whose comments and observations thereon I concur.

Respectfully,

FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT.

The PRESIDENT,

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT,

The White House.

BUREAU OF THE BUDGET, Washington 25, D. C., February 10, 1944.

SIR: I have the honor to submit herewith for your consideration supplemental and deficiency estimates of appropriations for the fiscal year 1944 and prior fiscal years, for the Department of the Interior, in the amount of $1,908,220, and proposed authorization for the expenditure of $4,500 from Indian tribal funds, as follows:

BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS

War food production program, Indian irrigation projects: For all expenses necessary for the construction, repair, and improvement of Indian irrigation projects, including land subjugation and preparation, fiscal year 1944, to remain available until expended, $1,040,000, of which not to exceed $100,000 may be expended for administrative expenses, including printing and binding: Provided, That the amount expended from this appropriation for the construction, repair, and rehabilitation of irrigation works shall be reimbursable in accordance with existing laws relating to the construction of Indian irrigation projects.

$1,040, 000

The foregoing estimate is submitted to enable the Indian Service to participate in the war food-production program on lands within Indian irrigation projects. It contemplates the construction and rehabilitation of canals and irrigation structures; subjugation, heavy plowing, and land preparation; and the purchase of equipment necessary to carry on these operations. The work is to be performed on Indian reservations located at various places throughout the arid region where a wide range of critical crops can be grown if water for irrigating the land is made available. The proposed expenditure will bring into productive use approximately 19,000 acres of irrigable land which, it has been conservatively estimated, will yield during the first crop year food and feed crops with a value in excess of $1,000,000. Payment of interest on Indian trust funds: For an additional amount for payment of interest on moneys held in trust for the several Indian tribes, as authorized by various acts of Congress, fiscal year 1943. $65, 720 Under existing law, funds deposited in the United States Treasury to the credit of Indian tribes or bands of Indians draw interest at varying rates. It has only recently been ascertained that the interest due on balances to the credit of Indians during the fiscal year 1943 exceeds by approximately $65,720 the appropriation of $725,000 for that year, making necessary this deficiency appropriation.

Compensation and Expenses of an Attorney, Ute Tribe, Utah (tribal funds) : For compensation and expenses of an attorney employed by the Ute Tribe of Indians of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, Utah, under a contract approved by the Secretary of the Interior on November 18, 1943, $4,500, payable from funds on deposit to the credit of the tribe.

This authorization is required to fulfill the terms of a contract entered into by the Ute Tribe of Indians, Utah, and an attorney to act as general counsel for the tribe in all tribal matters requiring legal counsel. The contract is for a period of 1 year from July 1, 1943, and was approved by the Secretary of the Interior on November 18, 1943. This tribe of Indians is organized under the provisions

of the Indian Reorganization Act, which act specifically authorizes organized tribes to employ private counsel.

BUREAU OF RECLAMATION

Colorado River Front Work and Levee System: For an additional amount for the Colorado River front work and levee system, $250,000, to be available for the construction, operation, and maintenance of a weir in the Colorado River below the heading of the diversion canal for the Palo Verde Irrigation District, California: Provided, That the construction, operation, or maintenance of said weir shall not been deemed a recognition of any obligation or liability whatsoever on the part of the United States: and no part of said sum or other funds of the United States shall be expended for the construction, operation, or maintenance of said weir after six months from the date of the termination of the present war, as determined by proclamation of the President or concurrent resolution of the Congress.

$250,000

The need for conserving water stored at Boulder Dam for the generation of power for west-coast industries will result in reducing discharges of water except for power purposes. A reduction in the flow of water, together with the fact that clear water has lowered the channel of the Colorado River, has made it impossible for the Palo Verde irrigation district in California to divert adequate quantities of water for the irrigation of approximately 45,000 acres of highly productive lands.

The purpose of this estimate is to provide funds for the construction of a weir below the heading of the district's diversion canal so that crops needed for the war may be produced during the coming season. The construction of the weir or its operation and maintenance are not to be considered a recognition of any obligation or liability on the part of the United States. The construction is considered essential to the war program from the standpoint of food production and the conservation of water for power generation.

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

Cooperative advance: To enable the Geological Survey to meet obligations incurred by it arising from cooperative work pending reimbursement from cooperating agencies in accordance with the provisions of the Acts of February 27, 1925 (43 U. S. C. 39, 40); May 10, 1926, as amended (43 U. S. C. 48); June 17, 1935 (43 U. S. C. 49; March 4, 1915, as amended (31 U. S. C. 686); and July 12, 1943 (Public Law 133), fiscal year 1944, $400,000, which amount shall be placed to the credit of the 1944 appropriation account of the Geological Survey: Provided, That there shall be returned to the Treasury not later than six months after the close of the fiscal year 1944 out of reimbursements received from cooperating agencies an amount equal to the sum herein appropriated..

$400,000 The Geological Survey annually performs a large number of investigations, surveys, and other tasks in cooperation with States and political subdivisions thereof, and also in behalf of numerous Federal agencies. Because of the long delay that elapses between the payment by the Geological Survey for such work and the time when reimbursements therefor become available for use by that agency, the resultant tie-up of substantial amounts of Survey funds is particularly serious in the closing months of each fiscal year. Unless temporary relief is obtained, the Survey will be unable to meet a substantial part of its financial obligations the latter part of this

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fiscal year, and probably for some time thereafter. The funds requested in the foregoing estimate provide the necessary relief, with no increase in ultimate expenditures.

BUREAU OF MINES

Buildings and grounds, Pittsburgh, Pa.: For an additional amount for care and maintenance of buildings and grounds at Pittsburgh and Bruceton, Pennsylvania, fiscal year 1944, including the objects specified under this head in the Interior Department Appropriation Act,

1944__

$12,500

Due to expansion of activities conducted at the Pittsburgh and Bruceton, Pa., experimental stations of the Bureau of Mines, and also to greatly increased costs of supplies, materials, and services, required in connection therewith, the current appropriation of $110,000 for the care and maintenance of the buildings and grounds at these two stations will not be sufficient to cover the operation of facilities for the full fiscal year. The additional funds requested in the foregoing estimate of appropriation are required to carry on essential functions during the remaining months of the current fiscal year. Coal-mine inspections and investigations: For an additional amount for coal-mine inspections and investigations, fiscal year 1944, including the objects specified under this head in the Interior Department Appropriation Act, 1944, and including $47,500 additional for the purchase of passenger-carrying automobiles.

$95,000

The funds requested in the foregoing estimate are to enable the Bureau of Mines to increase its force engaged in administering the Coal-Mine Inspection Act of May 7, 1941, during the months of May and June 1944. Additional funds for this purpose are included in the 1945 Budget.

The coal-mine inspection law has been effective in reducing the number and seriousness of accidents in mines, thereby preventing loss of manpower due to disabling accidents and fatalities, as well as loss of production due to damage to mines and equipment. It is desirable that the inspections be increased at once in order to insure the production and transportation of the maximum amount of coal during the summer and thus reduce the strain on transportation facilities in the next fall and winter.

Protection of Experimental Coal Mine Property from Mine Fire: For the construction of a fireproof barrier and for such other measures as may be necessary to protect the property of the United States known as the Experimental Coal Mine and Explosives Testing Station of the Bureau of Mines, at Bruceton, Pennsylvania, from the encroachment of fire in the coal measures underlying the property, $45,000, which may be expended without regard to Section 3709, Revised Statutes, to remain available until June 30, 1945.

$45, 000

The purpose of the above estimate of appropriation is to provide funds for the construction of a fireproof barrier to combat a mine fire that originated some years ago in the crop coal workings of what is known as the Porter mine, and is now threatening the experimental coal mine property of the Bureau of Mines at Bruceton, Pa., consisting of 158 acres of surface and approximately 35 acres of unmined coal. On the surface and in the mine workings at the present time extensive projects are being conducted by the Bureau of Mines, and it is possible that unless prompt action is taken to prevent the fire

from encroaching further on the Government property it may seriously interfere with certain of these projects in the near future.

The funds requested in the above estimates of appropriations for personal services include overtime pay and additional compensation. authorized by Public Law 49, Seventy-eighth Congress.

The foregoing items are required to meet contingencies which have arisen since the transmission of the Budgets for the fiscal years involved and their approval is recommended.

Very respectfully,

HAROLD D. SMITH,

Director of the Bureau of the Budget.

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