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The following three subcommittee prints were issued during the 2d session of the 88th Congress by the respective subcommittees. The prints were subsequently approved by the full committee during the 1st session of the 89th Congress:

Satellite Communications (Military-Civil Roles and Relation-
ships). (Military Operations Subcommittee.)

Operations of Billie Sol Estes. (Intergovernmental Relations
Subcommittee.)

U.S.-Owned Foreign Currencies. (Foreign Operations and Gov-
ernment Information Subcommittee.)

EXECUTIVE AND LEGISLATIVE REORGANIZATION

SUBCOMMITTEE

[H. Rept. No. 916, 88th Cong., 1st sess.]

MILITARY CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS (MARINE CORPS AIR STATION, BEAUFORT, S.C.) (AIRSTRIP AT FORT CARSON, COLO.) (AIRFIELD AT SHARPE GENERAL

DEPOT, LATHROP, CALIF.)

Twelfth Report by the Committee on Government Operations

(Submitted to the Speaker November 21, 1963)

This report resulted from an investigation continued cooperatively by the subcommittee and the staff of the full committee. The report detailed illegal activities or other deficiencies on the part of military officials at the bases referred to and headquarters officials in the departments concerned, in the construction of airfields and other facilities. The report indicated that a number of steps were taken by the military departments to avoid a recurrence of such actions but additional detailed recommendations were made by the committee. The chief findings and conclusions are

(i) at the Marine Corps Air Station, Beaufort, S.C., careless planning and poor communication within the Navy led to the building of almost 99,000 square feet of excessive warehouse space at an unnecessary cost of $730,000;

(ii) at Fort Carson, Colo., an airfield runway and a large amount of aircraft parking space were built in violation of law and regulations, the Army having expended more than $640,000 beyond the legal limitations;

(iii) at Sharpe General Depot, an aircraft runway and related works were built contrary to law and regulations. Records at the depot were falsified to disguise the illegal expenditures; and

(iv) the current report and the earlier Fort Lee report reveal a general tendency of Army officers to put the desire for getting a job done ahead of the need to follow statutory and regulatory limitations and procedures.

The committee recommended that changes made and to be made in the Department's directives and regulations relating to minor construction projects be reviewed by the Comptroller General, and a report submitted on their effectiveness in improving accounting and fiscal controls.

The committee also recommended that the Department and the Attorney General review the record and take appropriate action regarding the illegal actions disclosed by the investigation, including possible perjury before the committee.

RECOMMENDATIONS

REVIEW BY COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF DIRECTIVES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AND THE THREE MILITARY DEPARTMENTS (Recommendation No. 1):

In view of the above, the committee recommends that the Comptroller General review the Department of Defense directives and instructions and the implementing regulations and directives of the three military departments along with the changes that have already been made and report to the committee regarding the effectiveness of these revisions and changes in improving the accounting and fiscal controls related to minor construction projects.

RESULTS. The Deputy Secretary of Defense, by letter dated July 8, 1964, furnished copies of DOD Directive 7040.2, as amended, which embodied changes to improve accounting and fiscal controls related to minor construction projects. Copies of the directive were also forwarded to the Comptroller General for his review. The review by the Comptroller as requested in the recommendation was made and a report was furnished the committee.

REVIEW, REPORT, AND RECORD FOR POSSIBLE PERJURY ACTION (Recommendation No. 3):

The committee recommends that the report on and the record of the Fort Carson and Sharpe General Depot matters be reviewed by the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Army, and the Attorney General with a view to taking appropriate action regarding perjury committed before the committee, falsification of records, and other criminal actions uncovered by the committee's investigation.

RESULTS.-The Deputy Secretary of Defense advised that the committee's report on and the record of the Fort Carson and Sharpe General Depot matters had been reviewed by officials within the Department of Defense and the cases in question were referred to the Department of Justice. A similar review was made by the Department of the Army but we were advised by the Secretary of the Army that the running of the statute of limitations precluded criminal prosecution by the Department of the Army.

STATUTORY LIMITATIONS ON THE EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS (Recommendation No. 4):

The committee has been informed that in various conferences and meetings, the Department of the Army has, since the Fort Lee case, emphasized to responsible military and civilian officials the necessity for observing approval limits, and regulatory and statutory limitations on the expenditure of funds. The committee recommends that this emphasis should be continued and,

under the general supervision of the Secretary of Defense, be extended to the other military agencies.

RESULTS. The committee was informed by the Deputy Secretary of the Army that the committee recommendation on continued emphasis to responsible military and civilian officials for observing approval limits and regulatory and statutory limitations on the expenditure of funds had been extended to other military agencies. Each of the military departments had been provided copies of the committee report and of DOD Directive 7040.2.

ESTIMATED COST OF NEW CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS IN TROOP RELOCATION (Recommendation No. 5):

The Department of Defense should take appropriate steps to insure that decisions to relocate major troop units from one permanent headquarters to another are not made without consideration of the extent and estimated cost of all new construction and maintenance and repair projects which proper performance of the transferring unit's mission will necessitate.

RESULTS.-The Deputy Secretary of Defense reported as follows: During the past 3 years, the Department of Defense has conducted a program for the closure of unnecessary military installations in order to reduce expenditures and achieve maximum economic utilization of our best defense facilities. This program conforms to the President's instructions to maintain the required military readiness and force levels at the lowest possible cost. Under this program, when bases are selected for closure, relocation of troop units to other installations becomes necessary. Troop unit relocations are also required because of other considerations, such as the need for collocating certain units so as to make joint use of training facilities, or for other operational reasons.

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In all these instances, a careful evaluation is made of all costs involved, including new construction, maintenance, and repair, before reaching a decision on the proposed relocation. In some instances, the need for the relocation is mandatory to meet overriding operational requirements, and in those cases, relocation costs for the troop units involved must be met, despite the apparent lack of justification on strictly economic grounds.

However, in the case of relocations which result from base closures, evaluations of the costs involved are subjected to a most thorough and searching review, so as to assure that these costs are adequately covered by the savings to be achieved from the base closure. In most base closures, the relocation costs, including all new construction, maintenance, and repair work required, are recouped in less than 1 year by the savings achieved from the base closure. Also, in addition to these savings, substantial returns to the Treasury are obtained from the sale of the excess base properties.

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