DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA HEARINGS BEFORE A SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES EIGHTY-THIRD CONGRESS SECOND SESSION SUBCOMMITTEE ON DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIONS HJ 9013 .W30 1955 COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS JOHN TABER, New York, Chairman RICHARD B. WIGGLESWORTH, Massachusetts H. CARL ANDERSEN, Minnesota IVOR D. FENTON, Pennsylvania JOHN PHILLIPS, California ERRETT P. SCRIVNER, Kansas FREDERIC R. COUDERT, JR., New York NORRIS COTTON, New Hampshire HAMER H. BUDGE, Idaho CHARLES R. JONAS, North Carolina OTTO KRUEGER, North. Dakota SAM COON, Oregon MELVIN R. LAIRD, Wisconsin ELFORD A. CEDERBERG, Michigan CLARENCE CANNON, Missouri J. VAUGHAN GARY, Virginia JOHN E. FOGARTY, Rhode Island ROBERT L. F. SIKES, Florida ANTONIO M. FERNANDEZ, New Mexico OTTO E. PASSMAN, Louisiana SIDNEY R. YATES, Illinois ALFRED D. SIEMINSKI, New Jersey GEORCE Y. HARVEY, Clerk (II) Stacks DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIONS, 1955 WEDNESDAY, MAY 19, 1954. WITNESSES HON. SAMUEL SPENCER, PRESIDENT OF BOARD OF COMMIS SIONERS HON. RENAH F. CAMALIER, COMMISSIONER BRIG. GEN. LOUIS W. PRENTISS, ENGINEER COMMISSIONER SCHUYLER LOWE, DIRECTOR, DEPARTMENT OF GENERAL AD. MINISTRATION WALTER L. FOWLER, BUDGET OFFICER WILLIAM G. WILDING, DEPUTY BUDGET OFFICER G. M. THORNETT, SECRETARY, BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Mr. WILSON. The committee will come to order. We have with us this morning the Commissioners, Mr. Samuel Spencer, Mr. Renah F Camalier, and General Louis W. Prentiss, whom we will hear at this time. Mr. Spencer, have you a statement which you would like to make? STATEMENT OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Mr. SPENCER. Mr. Chairman, the Commissioners wish to express to you their appreciation of the privilege of appearing before you to present the estimates of appropriations for the District of Columbia for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1955. This is an historic year in the fiscal affairs of the District of Columbia. First, this budget reflects the basic completion of Reorganization Plan No. 5 of 1952. The revisions made pursuant to that plan, together with other changes, reduce the number of appropriation items from 63 to 33, realine the activities on a functional basis, and separate operating expenses from capital outlay. Secondly, there are included requests to effectuate the first year of our 10-year public works program. Due to the enactment of the recent legislation authorizing the financing of these capital expenditures, the District is now able to proceed with this program which includes sorely needed facilities of many kinds. At the beginning of the current fiscal year our budget was prepared on the basis of anticipated legislation, but it was necessary later to revise and reduce the requests to the level of then available revenue. As originally submitted, there was only $270,000 for capital outlay in the general fund. This precluded even the "must" capital items, and, of course, represented an unrealistic situation. The estimates as revised at that time requested a total of $141,295,600, and adding the amount of $6,918,000 for 1954 appropriations to be financed in 1955 resulted in a total of $148,213,600 of funds required in 1955. Pursuant to the recently enacted public works bill, budget amendments have now been submitted totaling $31,180,946, which contemplate the financing of $8 million of capital outlay in 1956. Adding $1 million as a reserve for supplementals in 1955 gives a "funds requirement" for 1955 amounting to $172,394,546. The budget as submitted last January provided for items payable from the general fund of $116,517,935 for operating expenses and $270,000 for capital outlay, or a total of $116,787,935. Appropriations for 1954 to be financed in 1955 were $4,930,000, or a funds requirement for 1955 of $121,717,935 for the general fund. Operating expense amendments in the general fund total $1,984,800, but the new sanitary sewage works will fund relieve the general fund of $1,051,000 in operating expenses, so that the actual increase is only $933,800. However, one of the items (Department of Occupations and Professions) requested in the budget amendments will be proctically self-financing, and it is anticipated that another (Central Traffic Violations Bureau) will produce more revenues than the cost thereof. The additional requests for capital outlay in the general fund are $21,215,460. Of this amount $8 million will be financed in 1956. Adding the amendments to the cost of the original budget, together with a reserve of $1 million for supplementals in 1955, results in a new "funds requirement" of $136,867,195 in the general fund. The revenues accruing to the general fund were originally estimated at $121,722,165. However, revisions on May 5, 1954, reduced this by $227,277. However, it is estimated that as a result of the new legislation additional taxes will yield $7,814,000 to the general fund in the first year of operation. This legislation also increases the Federal payment from $11 million to $20 million, but $7 million of the increase must be applied to capital outlay and this amount must be matched by the District of Columbia. The net increase of these changes results in a revenue availability in the general fund of $138,308,888, and a surplus of $1,441,693 at the end of the fiscal year 1955. We have requested amendments to the highway fund items amounting to $4,731,000. This major change will enable the Department of Highways to begin the contemplated public works program. The increases will be financed by using the previously determined surplus of $366,746, revenue increases under the new legislation of $1 million, and a Treasury loan of $3,357,000. Language is included under the item for "Capital outlay, Department of Highways" to authorize this loan, which must be repaid over a 30-year period with interest. A balance of about $18,000 will remain in the highway fund at the end of the fiscal year 1955. There are no budget amendments included for the water fund. However, the new legislation increases the revenue availability for this fund by $888,000, which includes an increase in the Federal payment for actual water consumed amounting to $298,000. These revisions permit a reduction in the previous loan authorization from $3,400,000 to $2,550,000, and leave a balance of about $57,000. The sanitary sewage works fund is established under the new legislation. The revenue estimates, totaling $4,060,000, consist of sani |