Donation of Surplus Government Property to Volunteer Fire-fighting Organizations

Mr. Robinson?

STATEMENT OF G. B. ROBINSON, CHIEF, BURKE VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT, FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA.

Mr. ROBINSON. My name is B. G. Robinson. I am chief of the Burke Volunteer Fire Department, Inc., at Burke, Va. I am heartily in favor of the bills that are before the committee and I hope they may be enacted into law.

If they are enacted into law, or one of them is enacted into law, it will certainly be, I think, a great help to the volunteer fire depart

ments.

My department is 1 of the 18 fire departments in Fairfax County— 19, I should say, including Falls Church-to which they responded to 1,985 alarms of fire last year, in the year 1957.

As you have already been told, new fire-fighting equipment is extremely expensive, and as now set up in Fairfax County each department has to have as a minimum one 500-gallon-per-minute pumper and one auxiliary piece of motorized equipment.

The auxiliary equipment is used generally for fighting ground fires. Mr. Lund has mentioned the scarcity of surplus equipment for fire departments. I have with me, Mr. Chairman, a copy of a sales catalog issued October 1956 by the Harlan Supply Co. at Los Angeles, Calif., which on its last page—and I will hand you this-shows a picture of a surplus fire truck, a 500-gallon pumper in good condition, military units released by government after minimum usage, all motors and pumps tested and guaranteed, 1941 GMC, 500-gallon-per-minute pump, and 1941 Chevrolet high-pressure hardy, $1,750.

For further information, send for truck list.

Mr. Chairman, I believe this would be indicative that there may be equipment available that could be used by volunteer fire departments. My friend from Montgomery County has mentioned generators. That is an item that is badly needed in most fire departments in these areas, heavy generators about which we could maintain power and communication when normal services are disrupted.

Trucks such as illustrated in that catalog would be very beneficial to volunteer fire departments for fighting ground fires.

We hesitate and dislike very much to take a piece of apparatus that costs us maybe $15,000, $20,000, or $25,000 down through a wood road to go on a hillside to protect a ground fire or to extinguish it. Equipment of that kind-and we have one piece which we paid $190 for, an old truck, down at Fort Belvior. We put a tank on it, mounted a midship pump, equipped it with radio, and had it painted, and it is in service today. It has meant the difference between success and failure on the fire ground on several occasions in my department.

I would like very much, indeed, as would the other fire departments in the country, to see a bill such as is before this committee made law. I thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. NIMTZ. Mr. Alexander would like to say a few words, Mr. Chairman, if he may.

Mr. McCORMACK. I will hear him.

STATEMENT OF MILTON ALEXANDER, FIRE COMMISSIONER, FRANCONIA FIRE DEPARTMENT, FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA.

Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. Chairman, my name is Milton Alexander, and I am a representative of the fire commissioner of the Franconia Fire Department.

I am a member of the Fairfax County Fire Commission of Franconia Fire Department.

One of my functions on the fire commission is chairman of the equipment committee. It was found necessary a few years ago to establish this committee to bring the standards of the fire-fighting equipment up to a point where it would be dependable and ready to use at all times.

This committee at various times finds itself with the problem of replacing worn, outdated equipment, and it would be a big help to all the fire departments if they could get some first-class surplus firefighting equipment.

I think the expenditures of Fairfax County alone last year to replace some of their equipment was in the neighborhood of $150,000.

Mr. Robinson just told you about some of the surplus equipment that they had purchased through Fort Belvoir and other agencies.

We also have the problem of replacing pumps, small appliances, items like that, which we feel can be obtained through surplus lists, and would save us considerable amounts of money instead of going out in the open market and buying them.

I think this bill would be a big help to all the volunteer fire departments in my State.

Mr. McCORMACK. Well, thank you.

I notice the next bill is H. R. 9522 introduced by Congressman Keating.

(H. R. 9522 follows:)

[H. R. 9522, 85th Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To amend the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 to authorize the disposal of surplus property to certain welfare agencies

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That paragraph (1) of subsection (j) of section 203 of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (40 U. S. C., sec. 484), is amended by inserting immediately after "or for research for any such purpose" the following: ", or for utilization by welfare or recreation agencies".

SEC. 2. Paragraph (3) of such subsection (j) is amended

(1) by inserting immediately after "or for research for any such purpose" the following: ", or for utilization by welfare or recreation agencies"; (2) by striking out "and (B)" and inserting "(B)"; and

(3) by inserting immediately after "Internal Revenue Code of 1954" the following: ", and (C) welfare or recreation agencies".

SEC. 3. Paragraph (2) of subsection (k) of such section 203 is amended— (1) by striking out "or" at the end of subparagraph (D);

(2) by striking out "law," in subparagraph (E) and inserting in lieu thereof "law; or"; and

(3) by inserting immediately after such subparagraph (E) the following: "(F) the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, in the case of property transferred pursuant to this Act to welfare or recreation agencies-". SEC. 4. Such section 203 is further amended by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection:

“(p) As used in this section, the term 'welfare or recreation agencies' means tax-supported or tax-exempt welfare or recreation agencies which serve people

in institutions and in groups, but in the case of any such agency which is a taxexempt voluntary agency, includes only an agency which meets at least one of the following criteria—

"(1) such agency is licensed by a State standard-setting agency;

"(2) such agency receives funds through a State or local community fund or similar federated fund-raising body; or

"(3) such agency is affiliated with, or is a part of, a national standardsetting organization."

Mr. McCORMACK. Without objection the statement from Congressman Dennison from Ohio will be inserted in the record at this point. (Statement of Congressman Dennison follows:)

STATEMENT OF HON. DAVID S. DENNISON, JR., A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF OHIO

Mr. Chairman, first, permit me to thank you for your kindness and courtesy in permitting me to appear before you today on behalf of H. R. 11115 which I introduced some time ago.

As you know, this bill proposes to amend the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 to permit the donation of surplus Government property to volunteer fire-fighting organizations.

We have, throughout this country, literally thousands of volunteer fire-fighting organizations which are protecting the lives and property of millions of our fellow citizens. These volunteers work without pay and give unstintingly of their time and courage in the performance of their duty. In many cases, particularly in the State of Ohio, volunteer fire departments must rely upon their own fund-raising techniques to obtain the necessary money with which to purchase fire-fighting equipment.

It has been my thought for a long time after observing the volunteer firefighting organizations in my own 11th Congressional District of Ohio and witnessing the efficiency and the devotion with which they apply themselves to their task, that their burden could be in some measure lifted, that the lives and property of our friends could achieve in some measure greater protection, and that this Government could be granted a method of disposing of surplus property in a fashion which would be of value to every American far in excess of the intrinsic value of the property itself.

Mr. Chairman, all of these objectives can be accomplished by permitting the General Services Administration to deliver, without cost, except for costs of care and handling, such equipment, material, books, and other supplies as have been declared surplus.

Since I introduced this bill, Mr. Chairman, I have received literally hundreds of communications from grateful firemen and grateful volunteer fire departments in my district in support of this measure.

I know that there are other similar bills which have been introduced and which are being heard before your committee, and I would like to state at this point that I have no particular pride of authorship and that my sole concern is that this measure, or a similar one, be acted upon favorably by your committee as soon as possible so that the matter can be given consideration on the floor of the House before adjournment and so that the spirits of those who guard our homes, although already high, can be given added encouragement, and we can say to our volunteer fire fighters in our own way "Well done."

Mr. McCORMACK. Without objection, other statements will be inserted in the record as members desire to have them inserted in the record.

(The documents referred to follow :)

(Statement of Congresswoman Blitch follows:)

STATEMENT OF HON. IRIS FAIRCLOTH BLITCH, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF GEORGIA

Mr. Chairman, I have received numerous requests in recent years for assistance from welfare and recreation agencies of my district which were in need of surplus Government properties.

In each instance the agency making the request was ruled ineligible for transfer of such properties under present Federal regulations, even when it was for educational purposes.

The Georgia State Agency for Surplus Property is a branch of the State department of education. Its director has advised me on several occasions that the agency would be pleased to render service to such organizations as the Georgia Safety Patrol Camp if it had authority under the law to do so.

My experience indicates a proven need for amending the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 to authorize the disposal of surplus property to welfare and volunteer fire-fighting organizations; tax-supported camps and public recreation centers; and public health agencies of the States. I wholeheartedly support the various bills now under consideration by this special subcommittee to extend the donation of surplus Government properties to these additional agencies.

Thank you for granting me this opportunity to present a statement today in support of these various bills amending the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949.

Mr. McCORMACK. Mr. Baldwin, I notice you are here.

Are you interested in 9522?

Mr. BALDWIN. Mr. Chairman, the bill I am interested in is H. R. 543, Mr. McCORMACK. 543? Yes.

All right. We will hear you, Congressman Baldwin.

Mr. NIмTZ. Mr. Chairman, we certainly want to thank you for this opportunity and the great amount of time the committee has given to us.

The volunteer fire fighters all over the country will be very appreciative of the committee's interest in this subject matter and for the amount of time the committee has allowed us to present our case. Thank you, sir.

(H. R. 543, 7067, and 10789 follow :)

[H. R. 543, 85th Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To amend the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 to permit the donation and other disposal of property to tax-supported public recreation agencies

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That (a) paragraph (1) of section 203 (j) of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, as amended (40 U. S. C., sec. 484 (j)), is amended by inserting "public recreation," immediately after "public health,".

(b) The first sentence of paragraph (3) of section 203 (j) of such Act of 1949, as amended, is amended

(1) by striking out "or public health," and by inserting in lieu thereof ", public health, or public recreation,".

(2) by striking out "and (B)" and inserting in lieu thereof "(B)", and

(3) by inserting immediately before the period at the end thereof the following: "and (C) tax-supported public recreation agencies of any State, or of any political subdivision of a State.".

SEC. 2. (a) The first sentence of paragraph (1) of section 203 (k) of such Act of 1949, as amended (40 U. S. C., sec. 484 (k)) is amended by inserting before the period at the end thereof a comma and the following: "or for use in the promotion of public recreation".

(b) Paragraph (1) of such section 203 (k) is further amended

(1) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) and (D) as subparagraphs (D) and (E),

(2) by striking out subparagraph (A) and subparagraph (B) in the subparagraph so redesignated as subparagraph (D) and inserting in lieu thereof "subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C)"; and

the Secretary, through such officers and employees of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare as he may designate, may sell or lease such real property for public recreation purposes to tax-supported public recreation agencies of any State or of any political subdivision of a State."

(c) Paragraph (2) of such section 203 (k) is amended by striking out "or" at the end of subparagraph (D), by striking out the comma at the end of subparagraph (E) and inserting in lieu thereof "; or", and by inserting immediately after subparagraph (E) the following new subparagraph:

"(F) The Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, through such officer or employee of the Department as he may designate, in the case of property transferred pursuant to this Act to tax-supported public recreation agencies of any State or of any political subdivision of a State for use in the promotion of public recreation.".

SEC. 3. Section 203 (o) of such Act of 1949, as amended (40 U. S. C., sec. 484 (o)) is amended by striking out "educational or public health institutions" and inserting in lieu thereof "educational or public health institutions, or public recreation agencies,".

[H. R. 7067, 85th Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To amend the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 to permit the donation and other disposal of property to tax-supported public recreation agencies

(b) The first sentence of paragraph (3) of section 203 (j) of such Act of 1949, as amended, is amended

(1) by striking out "or public health," and by inserting in lieu thereof ", public health, or public recreation,",

(2) by striking out "and (B)" and inserting in lieu thereof "(B)", and

(3) by inserting immediately before the period at the end thereof the following: "and (C) tax-supported public recreation agencies of any State, or of any political subdivision of a State.".

(b) Paragraph (1) of such section 203 (k) is further amended

(1) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) and (D) as subparagraphs (D) and (E),

(2) by striking out subparagraph (A) and subparagraph (B) in the subparagraph so redesignated as subparagraph (D) and inserting in lieu thereof "subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C)"; and

(3) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following new subparagraph: "(C) Subject to the disapproval of the Administrator within thirty days after notice to him by the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare of a proposed transfer of property for use in the promotion of public recreation. the Secretary, through such officers and employees of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare as he may designate, may sell or lease such real property for public recreation purposes to tax-supported public recreation agencies of any State or of any political subdivision of a State." (c) Paragraph (2) of such section 203 (k) is amended by striking out “or” at the end of subparagraph (D), by striking out the comma at the end of subparagraph (E) and inserting in lieu thereof “; or”, and by inserting immediately after subparagraph (E) the following new subparagraph:

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