CONTENTS Astin, Dr. A. V., Director, National Bureau of Standards_ Barley, Frank J., Director, Bureau of Inspections and Classification SCIENTIFIC, PROFESSIONAL, AND ADMINISTRATIVE POSITIONS TO PROMOTE THE NATIONAL DEFENSE THURSDAY, MAY 10, 1956 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON POST OFFICE AND CIVIL SERVICE, Washington, D. C. The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10 a. m., in room 213, Old House Office Building, Hon. Tom Murray (chairman) presiding. The CHAIRMAN. The committee will be in order. This morning the House is meeting an hour earlier than usual and an effort will be made to expedite the business of the committee. The first item of business this morning is consideration of H. R. 11040, a bill to advance the scientific and professional research and development programs of the Departments of Defense, the Interior, and Commerce, to improve the management and administration of certain departmental activities, and for other purposes. (Bill H. R. 11040 follows:) [H. R. 11040, 84th Cong., 2d sess.] A BILL To advance the scientific and professional research and development programs of the Departments of Defense, the Interior, and Commerce, to improve the management and administration of certain departmental activities, and for other purposes Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That (a) subsections (a) and (b) of the first section of the Act of August 1, 1947 (61 Stat. 715; Public Law 313, Eightieth Congress), as amended, are amended to read as follows: "(a) the Secretary of Defense is authorized to establish and fix the compensation for not more than two hundred and seventy-five positions in the Department of Defense and not more than fifty positions in the National Security Agency, each such position being established to effectuate those research and development functions, relating to the national defense, military and naval medicine, and any and all other activities of the Department of Defense and the National Security Agency, as the case may be, which require the services of specially qualified scientific or professional personnel. "(b) The Chairman of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics is authorized to establish and fix the compensation for, in the headquarters and research stations of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, not to exceed sixty positions in the professional and scientific service, each such position being established in order to enable the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics to secure and retain the services of specially qualified personnel necessary in the discharge of the duty of the Committee to supervise and direct the scientific study of the problems of flight with a view to their practical solution. "(c) The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to establish and fix the compensation for not to exceed ten positions of a professional or scientific nature in the Department of the Interior, each such position being established in order to enable the Department of the Interior to effectuate those research and development functions and activities of such Department which require the services of specially qualified professional or scientific personnel. 1 "(d) The Secretary of Commerce is authorized to establish and fix the compensation for not to exceed thirty-five positions of a professional or scientific nature in the Department of Commerce, each such position being established in order to enable the Department of Commerce to effectuate those research and development functions and activities of such department which require the services of specially qualified professional or scientific personnel." (b) Nothing contained in the amendment made to such Act of August 1, 1947, by subsection (a) of this section shall affect any position existing under authority of subsection (a) of the first section of such Act of August 1, 1947, as in effect immediately prior to the effective date of such amendment, the compensation attached to any such position, and any incumbent thereof, his appointment thereto, and his right to receive the compensation attached thereto, until appropriate action is taken under authority of subsection (a) of such first section of such Act of August 1, 1947, as contained in the amendment made by subsection (a) of this section. (c) Subsection (c) of the first section of such Act of August 1, 1947, as amended, is hereby redesignated subsection (e) of such first section. (d) Section 3 of such Act of August 1, 1947, as amended, is amended to read as follows: "SEC. 3. (a) Each officer, with respect to positions established by him under this Act, shall submit to the Congress, not later than February 1 of each year, a report which sets forth "(1) the number of such positions so established or in existence during the immediately preceding calendar year, "(2) the name, rate of compensation, and description of the qualifications of each incumbent of each such position, together with the position title and a statement of the functions, duties, and responsibilities performed by each such incumbent, except that nothing contained in this section shall require the resubmission of information required under this paragraph which has been reported pursuant to this section and which remains unchanged, and "(3) such other information as he deems appropriate. "(b) In any instance in which any officer so required to submit such report may consider full public disclosure of any or all of the above-specified items to be detrimental to the national security or the public interest, such officer is authorized "(1) to omit in his annual report those items with respect to which full public disclosure is considered by him to be detrimental to the national security or the public interest, "(2) to inform the Congress of such omission, and "(3) at the request of any congressional committee to which such report is referred, to present information concerning such items in executive sessions of such committee." SEC. 2. Section 505 of the Classification Act of 1949, as amended (69 Stat. 179; 5 U. S. C., sec. 1105), is amended (1) by striking out in subsection (b) of such section 505 "subsections (c), (d), and (e)" and inserting in lieu thereof “subsections (c), (d), (e), and (f)" and (2) by adding at the end of such section 505 the following new subsection: "(f) The Secretary of Defense is authorized, in accordance with the standards and procedures of this Act, to place a total of two hundred and eighty-five positions in the Department of Defense in grades 16, 17, and 18 of the General Schedule. Such positions shall be in addition to the number of positions authorized to be placed in such grades by subsection (b).” SEC. 3. (a) The United States Civil Service Commission, the Librarian of Congress, the Comptroller General of the United States, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the Department of Justice, and the Secretary of Defense, respectively, with respect to those positions within the purview of subsections (b), (c), (d), (e), and (f), respectively, of section 505 of the Classification Act of 1949, as amended, and the appropriate authority, with respect to those positions under jurisdiction of such authority which are allocated to or placed in grades 16, 17, and 18 of the General Schedule of the Classification Act of 1949, as amended (including such positions so allocated or placed on a temporary or present incumbency basis), under any provision of law (including any reorganization plan) other than the above-specified subsections, which is in effect on or after the date of enactment of this subsection, shall submit, so long as such provision of law or reorganization plan remains in effect, to the Congress, not later than February 1 of each year, a report which sets forth (1) the total number of such positions allocated to or placed in all of such grades during the immediately preceding calendar year, the total number of such positions allocated to or placed in each of such grades during such immediately preceding calendar year, and the total number of such positions in existence during such immediately preceding calendar year and the grades to or in which such total number of positions in existence are allocated or placed, (2) the name, rate of compensation, and description of the qualifications of each incumbent of each such position, together with the position title and a statement of the duties and responsibilities performed by each such incumbent, (3) the position or positions in or outside the Federal Government held by each such incumbent, and his rate or rates of compensation, during the fiveyear period immediately preceding the date of appointment of each such incumbent to such position, and (4) such other information as the Commission, officer, or other appropriate authority submitting such report may deem appropriate. Nothing contained in this subsection shall require the resubmission of any information required under paragraphs (2) and (3) of this subsection which has been reported pursuant to this subsection and which remains unchanged. (b) In any instance in which the Commission, officer, or other appropriate authority so required to submit such report may consider full public disclosure of any or all of the above-specified items to be detrimental to the national security or the public interest, such Commission, officer, or authority is authorized-— (1) to omit in such annual report those items with respect to which full public disclosure is considered to be detrimental to the national security or the public interest, (2) to inform the Congress of such omission, and (3) at the request of any congressional committee to which such report is referred, to present information concerning such items in executive sessions of such committee. (c) Subsection (b) of section 505 of the Classification Act of 1949, as amended (69 Stat. 179; 5 U. S. C., sec. 1105), is amended by striking out "The United States Civil Service Commission shall report annually to the Congress the total number of positions established under this subsection for grades 16, 17, and 18 of the General Schhedule and the total number of positions so established for each such grade.". SEC. 4. (a) The following provisions of law are hereby repealed: (1) That part of the paragraph under the heading "FEDERAL PRISON SYSTEM" and under the subheading "SALARIES AND EXPENSES, BUREAU OF PRISONS" contained in title II (the Department of Justice Appropriation Act, 1956) of the Departments of State and Justice, the Judiciary, and related agencies Appropriation Act, 1956 (69 Stat. 273; Public Law 133, Eighty-fourth Congress; 5 U. S. C., sec. 298a), which reads as follows: ": Provided further, That the Attorney General hereafter is authorized, without regard to the Classification Act of 1949, to place three positions in grade GS-16 in the General Schedule established by the Classification Act of 1949"; and (2) Section 633 of the Department of Defense Appropriation Act, 1956 (69 Stat. 320; Public Law 157, Eighty-fourth Congress; 5 U. S. C., sec. 171d-2). (b) Positions in grade 16, 17, or 18, as the case may be, of the General Schedule of the Classification Act of 1949, as amended, immediately prior to the effective date of this section, under any provision of law repealed by subsection (a) of this section, shall remain, on and after such effective date, in their respective grades, until other action is taken under the provisions of section 505 of the Classification Act of 1949 as in effect on and after such effective date. The CHAIRMAN. On March 7, this committee reported out H. R. 9560, which provided certain scientific and professional positions in connection with research to the Department of Defense and National Security Agency, and also to the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. Since that time the committee has received requests from the Secretary of Commerce and Secretary of the Interior for certain positions of scientific and professional nature and deemed it advisable to intro |