CONSOLIDATION OF WAREHOUSE EXAMINATION AND APPROVAL FUNCTIONS (Recommendation No. 5): The committee recommends that the Department of Agriculture give consideration to possible consolidation, insofar as feasible, of the similar warehouse examination and approval functions now performed individually by the Agricultural Marketing Service and the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service. RESULTS.-The Department of Agriculture has advised the subcommittee that: Effective February 8, 1965, the name of the Agricultural Marketing Service was changed to the Consumer and Marketing Service. Effective June 7, 1965, warehouse examination functions administered in the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service were transferred to the Consumer and Marketing Service. CONSIDERATION OF POSSIBLE BLANKET BOND SYSTEM (Recommendation No. 6): The subcommittee's investigation disclosed serious inadequacies in the procedures and practices of the Department of Agriculture relating to grain storage. A number of changes in these procedures and practices were made during the subcommittee's investigation. The subcommittee recommends that the Department of Agriculture give continued attention to the problem of assuring adequate protection for the Government and others who store grain in commercial warehouses. The subcommittee. specifically recommends that consideration be given to the possibility of utilizing a blanket bond system for warehouses licensed under the U.S. Warehouse Act, as is now being done in the case of State-licensed warehouses storing grain for the Commodity Credit Corporation. RESULTS.—After making a study of the matter, the Department of Agriculture advised the subcommittee that utilization of a "blanket bond" system for warehouses licensed under the U.S. Warehouse Act did not appear to be desirable. Among the reasons cited for this conclusion were the existence of a question concerning legal authority of the Secretary of Agriculture to adopt such a system without additional legislation and the likelihood of substantially increased administrative costs because of the large number of warehouse receipt holders who would be potential claimants (as compared with only one potential claimant under CCC's existing system). The Department of Agriculture further advised that the problem of assuring adequate protection for the Government and others who store grain in commercial warehouses will receive continued study and attention. REVIEW OF REPORT BY DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (Recommendation No. 7): During the course of its investigation, the subcommittee made available to the Department of Justice transcripts of its hearings and any other information it believed might be of particular significance in connection with the responsibilities of that Department. The subcommittee recommends that the Department of Justice make a careful examination of this report, as well as the information previously supplied, with a view to taking appropriate action. The subcommittee requests that the Department of Justice inform it of action taken with respect to this recommendation. RESULTS.-The subcommittee has been advised by the Department of Justice that the report will be reviewed by the Department and that the subcommittee will be advised of any action taken as a result of such review. NATURAL RESOURCES AND POWER SUBCOMMITTEE [H. Rept. 1633, 88th Cong., 2d sess.] REIMBURSEMENT OF GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURES FOR REMOVAL OF HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES (WATER POLLUTION CONTROL AND ABATEMENT) Twentieth Report by the Committee on Government Operations (Submitted to the Speaker July 29, 1964) This report examined whether the present law adequately enables the Federal Government to obtain reimbursement for its expenditures in removing hazardous substances from our Nation's waters in cases where such substances were discharged either purposely or as a result of negligence or violation of law. RECOMMENDATION The committee recommended that in view of the considerable litigation as to the scope of the Refuse Act in this respect, the act should be clarified by an amendment to clearly define the Government's rights to obtain reimbursement for its costs in removing hazardous substances in such circumstances. RESULTS. The committee's recommendation was embodied in bills introduced in the closing days of the 88th Congress by two committee members, Congressman Jones (H.R. 11822) and Congressman McClory (H.R. 11727). An identical bill was introduced in the 89th Congress by Congressman Jones (H.R. 2100) and is now pending in the House Public Works Committee. [H. Rept. 1636, 88th Cong., 2d sess.] DISPOSAL OF WASTE WATER AT FEDERAL INSTALLATIONS (WATER POLLUTION CONTROL AND ABATEMENT) INTERIM REPORT Twenty-First Report by the Committee on Government Operations (Submitted to the Speaker July 30, 1964) This interim report was based on a committee survey of waste discharge practices at 367 of 1,003 Federal installations to determine what progress was being made in preventing and controlling water pollution from Federal installations. 61-207-66 RECOMMENDATION The committee urged that every Federal installation discharging more than 3,000 gallons per day of untreated sewage or industrial wastes into surface or ground waters should promptly take action to control its wastes discharges. RESULTS. As a result of this recommendation, all agencies of the Federal Government greatly increased their efforts to control water pollution at their installations. During the next year more progress was accomplished than in many previous years. See House Report 555, 89th Congress, 1st session, entitled "Disposal of Sewage and Industrial Wastes by Federal Installations (Water Pollution Control and Abatement)" which summarized the results of the committee's study of waste-water discharges at 963 Federal installations in considerable detail and which resulted in extensive upgrading of the Federal Government's efforts to reduce water pollution emanating from Federal installations. RECOMMENDATION The committee requested a report, not later than September 15, 1964, from each agency having jurisdiction over any of the 26 installations which had taken no action to correct the reported pollution conditions, specifying the agency's plans for treating the wastes discharged from such installation and its schedule for accomplishing such plans. RESULTS. Each agency submitted reports as requested, and the information was subsequently used in House Report 555 supra. RECOMMENDATION The committee requested the Public Health Service, in cooperation with the various Federal agencies, to complete the field inspection of the remaining 636 Federal facilities listed in the committee's request and to report promptly thereon to the committee. RESULTS. The field inspections and reports requested by the committee provided information which was subsequently used in House Report 555, supra. FOREIGN OPERATIONS AND GOVERNMENT INFORMATION SUBCOMMITTEE Foreign Operations [H. Rept. 797, 88th Cong., 1st sess.] UNITED STATES INFORMATION PROBLEMS IN Eleventh Report by the Committee on Government Operations (Submitted to the Speaker October 1, 1963) In mid-1962 the Special Subcommittee on Government Information first looked into complaints that U.S. officials in Vietnam were attempting to control stories filed by U.S. correspondents covering the war between President Ngo Dinh Diem's Government of Vietnam and the Communist Vietcong guerrillas. The complaints did not allege that information of a military-security nature should be divulged, and the subcommittee had the firm conviction that information of military value should not be disclosed. The Foreign Operations and Government Information Subcommittee held hearings with news media representatives to discuss Government information plans and policies in March 1963. At a subsequent public hearing on May 24, 1963, Robert J. Manning, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, was asked about a cable in early 1962 from the Secretary of State to the U.S. Ambassador in Vietnam on the handling of U.S. correspondents covering the war in Vietnam. He asked that the cable a joint StateDefense-USIA directive-be discussed in a closed rather than public, subcommittee session. The hearing, closed to protect information of military-security value, was held on May 24, 1963, with Roger Hilsman, Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs, as the This report covers the investigation of control of U.S. correspondents reporting developments in Vietnam and, particularly, the joint directive on the handling of U.S. correspondents. The State Department contended that the only fault of the 1962 press guidance was "sloppy drafting" and that it was not designed to restrict access to information about U.S. activities in Vietnam. Soon after the press guidance was issued, however, newsmen began reporting difficulties getting information from U.S. officials in Vietnam. Although there were no specific recommendations, the committee concluded: In recent weeks the American public has been surprised by developments in Vietnam-developments which have been many months in the making but which the American people are just now discovering. The restrictive U.S. press policy in Vietnam unquestionably contributed to the lack of information about conditions in Vietnam which created an inter |