After serving as President, Taft was named Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court by President Harding in 1921, thus becoming the only man in our Nation's history to have held both the Presidency and Chief Justiceship. The Taft home on Auburn Avenue was acquired by the Taft Memorial Association in 1968. The president of the association is Charles P. Taft, a son of the former President. The property now consists of the house and one-half acre of ground. The house is two stories with basement; the original portion is of brick on stone foundation walls, and the 1851 addition is entirely brick with the basement exposed. If authorized, the Park Service is to restore the house as it was when William Howard Taft lived there and to interpret his early life and environment. COST The Taft Memorial Association, the owner of the house, has agreed to donate it to the Park Service. In addition they have agreed to purchase or provide the funds for purchase of an adjoining 0.28-acre tract to be used for parking. The Department estimates the operating costs for the facility will be $62,600 per year after the first 2 years. AMENDMENTS Page 1, lines 6 and 7, strike out the words "or appropriated". Strike out all of section 3 and substitute the following: SEC. 3. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated not to exceed $318,000 to provide for the restoration and development of the William Howard Taft National Historic Site. It is not intended that this amendment will have any effect on the authority of the Secretary to request appropriations for annual operation and maintenance of the site. The Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs recommends enactment of S. 560. DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS The favorable reports of the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of the Budget are set forth as follows: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, Hon. HENRY M. JACKSEN, Chairman, Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: Your committee has requested the views of this Department on S. 560, a bill to provide for the establishment of the William Howard Taft National Historic Site. We recommend that the bill be enacted with an amendment. The bill authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to acquire such lands and interests therein, together with buildings and improvements S. Rept. 91-396 91ST CONGRESS 1st Session } SENATE { REPORT No. 91-397 EXTENDING FOR 3 MONTHS THE AUTHORITY TO LIMIT THE RATES OF INTEREST OR DIVIDENDS PAYABLE ON TIME AND SAVINGS DEPOSITS AND ACCOUNTS SEPTEMBER 10, 1969.-Ordered to be printed Mr. PROXMIRE, from the Committee on Banking and Currency, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany S.J. Res. 149] The Committee on Banking and Currency, having considered the same, reports favorably a committee joint resolution to extend for 3 months the authority to limit the rates of interest or dividends payable on time and savings deposits and accounts, and recommends that the joint resolution do pass. GENERAL STATEMENT This resolution will extend for an additional 3 months until December 22, 1969, flexible authority to regulate the rate of interest on savings deposits paid by financial institutions. The legislation was first enacted on September 21, 1966 (Public Law 89-597; 80 Stat. 823), to curb excessive competition for deposits between financial institutions. Unrestrained bidding for deposits caused substantial reductions in savings inflows into thrift institutions which are the main suppliers of mortgage credit. Because of the resulting shortage in funds, thrift institutions were forced to cut back their mortgage lending, thus contributing to the rapid decline in the level of housing starts. All financial agencies of the Government agree that the authority for flexible rate controls on savings deposits should be continued for at least another year. The committee has recommended a 3-month extension in order to have additional time to consider several related issues dealing with the administration of the act and with the implementation of monetary policy. The committee agrees with the need for extending the flexible rate control authority over a longer period and intends to report such an extension later in the year. O Mr. TALMADGE, from the Committee on Finance, REPORT [To accompany S. 1479] The Committee on Finance, to which was referred the bill (S. 1479) to amend chapter 19 of title 38, United States Code, in order to increase from $10,000 to $15,000 the amount of servicemen's group life insurance for members of the uniformed services, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass. SUMMARY OF THE BILL Under present law, active duty servicemen are insured for $10,000 under the servicemen's group life insurance program unless they choose either not to be insured or to be insured for $5,000. Servicemen pay premiums based on comparable civilian mortality rates; the premium for $10,000 in servicemen's group life insurance is currently $2 per month. The Federal Government pays that portion of the cost of the insurance due to the extra hazard of active duty. S. 1479 would increase the amount of the servicemen's group life insurance from $10,000 to $15,000. BACKGROUND Between 1956 and 1965 persons in active military service were not insured under Federal legislation unless they still retained Government life insurance obtained prior to April 25, 1951. With the intensification of hostilities in Vietnam, Congress enacted legislation in September 1965 providing group life insurance to servicemen on active duty. Coverage extends to all personnel on active duty (including reservists), provided they are ordered to active duty for a period of 30 days or more. A serviceman is automatically insured for $10,000 unless he indicates in writing that he wishes either to be insured for $5,000 or not to be insured. The insurance continues for 120 days after the serviceman's separation from active duty, without additional cost to him, whether he is discharged, retired, or returned to non-active-duty Reserve status. The individual serviceman's premium since 1965 has been set at $2 per month for $10,000 and $1 per month for $5,000. Of those servicemen eligible, 98.4 percent are maintaining the insurance and virtually all of these have the $10,000 maximum coverage. The low cost to individuals is made possible by insuring all members of the uniformed services under a single group insurance master contract, and by the Government bearing the cost of the extra hazard attributable to military service. This extra hazard cost is calculated on the basis of the extent to which mortality in the uniformed services exceeds the mortality in the U.S. male civilian population of the same median age. The program is administered by a commercial primary insurer, the Prudential Insurance Co. of America, under the supervision of the Veterans' Administration. Premiums for this insurance, including its cost of administration, are deducted monthly from servicemen's pay and remitted by each uniformed service to the Veterans' Administration which in turn remits them to the primary insurer. All claims are paid by the primary insurer. However, in cases where there is some question as to the existence of the coverage, the Veterans' Administration makes the final decision. The proceeds of the insurance can be paid either in a lump sum or in 36 equal monthly installments including interest on the unpaid balance. This gives an income of $296.40 monthly on $10,000 of insurance at the rate of interest now being paid. The beneficiary may choose the mode of payment unless the insured by designation restricts payments to 36 monthly installments. The total amount of insurance in force is now $36.8 billion, of which $33.7 billion is related to 3.4 million members on active duty and $3.1 billion is related to 310,000 persons separated from the service 120 days or less. Under peacetime conditions, the servicemen's group life insurance program would be self-supporting and would not require any Government subsidy. However, because of the casualties in Vietnam, service deaths have far exceeded peacetime levels and the Government has made substantial contributions. These are summarized in table 1. TABLE 1.-SERVICEMEN'S GROUP LIFE INSURANCE: SOURCE OF FUNDS |