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SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS,

Staff memorandum No. 85-1-16.
Subject: Proposals to expand the donable property program:

May 2, 1957.

S. 855, to amend the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, to permit the donation of surplus property to municipal governments. S. 1318, to amend section 13(h) of the Surplus Property Act of 1944, to permit donation of surplus property for park, recreational, and historicmonument purposes.

S. 1471, to permit the donation of surplus property to 4-H clubs, camps and centers.

S. 1700, to permit donation of surplus property to a State or political subdivision thereof, if the property was originally given to the United States. Since the beginning of the present session of Congress, the above four bills have been introduced in the Senate and a dozen or more in the House of Representatives, for the purpose of amending the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, so that surplus real or personal property may be donated to certain groups, such as, to the States and political subdivisions thereof, municipal governments, to volunteer firefighting organizations, rescue squads, first aid crews, for public park, recreational and historical-monument purposes, to 4-H clubs, youth camps, and to various other special activities and organizations. At the present time, section 203 of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 authorizes the Administrator of General Services to donate Government-owned surplus property usable and necessary for health, education, civil defense, or for research for any of these purposes.

BACKGROUND

The donation of surplus real and personal property for health and educational use was originally authorized at the end of World War I; near the end of World War II, the Surplus Property Act of 1944 was enacted authorizing continuation of the program, and the sale of Government-owned surplus to various other groups at a discount or on a preferential basis, which resulted in the establishment of a complex system of priorities and preferences.

During 1948-49, the first Hoover Commission made an extensive study of the departments and agencies of the Government responsible for the procurement, custody and disposition of Federal property, and recommended that a central office be established (General Services Administration) to which should be transferred the authority to procure, stock, and issue common use items of supply, the control and management over real and personal property, records management and other related service functions of the Government.

The Commission specifically recommended that the statutes, rules and regulations governing the administration and utilization of Government property be repealed, in order to make possible greater economy and efficiency in this activity, as follows:

"Enact legislation which will repeal the conglomeration of existing statutes, clear the books of present restrictive and often conflicting decisions and regulations, and provide the basic principles for an effective supply system" (recommendation No. 4).

The task force of the first Hoover Commission recommended that:

“There should be wholesale repeal of the statutes governing the disposal of the surplus personal property. Nearly 400 are listed in Public Affairs Bulletin No. 29 of the Library of Congress, entitled 'Disposal of Government-owned Personal Property,' April 1944." 11

The enactment of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, and amendments thereto, repealed various statutes and parts of laws as recommended by the Hoover Commission, except for education and health. Since the establishment of the General Services Administration under that act, the committee has received numerous requests and many bills have been introduced to authorize the donation of Government-owned surplus to various types of organizations. All of these have been rejected except an amendment approved in the 84th Congress, authorizing the donation of certain types of surplus which are usable and needed for civil defense purposes.

11 Task force report on "The Federal Supply System," January 13, 1949 (p. 116).

In approving the proposal for civil defense use, the committee, after extensive hearings and evaluation of the proposed extension of the donable program, concluded that because of the important relationship between local civil defense and Federal civil defense operations, such property should be donated for use of these organizations rather than sold, which, in some instances, required the local units to buy back the property for public use. It was further concluded that, if this property can be donated to civil defense units without jeopardizing the donable property program for health and education, such disposal was in the public interest and should be permitted.

Since the inclusion of civil defense in the program, other groups have re quested amendments to include their organizations, activities or programs in the donable property program. The possibility of adding them to the eligible list had been considered by the committee in 1949, 1954, 1956, and on several other occasions. Each time the committee concluded that if additional donees were made eligible, there would not be enough property available to meet the minimum needs of the educational, health, and civil defense purposes. The committee also held that, if additional organizations and institutions were made eligible, it would result in the reestablishment of a long list of priorities and preferences, as was reported by the first Hoover Commission, which would cause competition among the donees, delay and confusion, and would substantially increase the cost of administration.

In short, the addition of more eligible donees would eventually destroy the excellent program which was initiated many years ago and which has been of tremendous benefit to schools and colleges and in the promotion of research and civil defense programs throughout the United States.

AGENCY COMMENTS ON PREVIOUS BILLS

When the committee had under consideration S. 1527, H.R. 7227, and S. 3693, in the 84th Congress, which proposed the extension of the donable property program to civil defense organizations, the Assistant Administrator of General Services reported on July 21, 1955, to the chairman as follows:

"A number of proposals have been made from time to time for extending the authorization for the donation of surplus property so as to be applicable to various special activities or organizations of a public nature. Although the objectives of these entities are generally praiseworthy, GSA has opposed the extension on such a piecemeal basis. The addition at random of diverse new classes of donees would result in confusion and in increased burdens and expense in administration, and would seriously delay and impede the overall program for the disposal of Government surplus property."

On August 1, 1955, the Acting Director of the Bureau of the Budget reported on S. 1527, in part, as follows:

Although we have been generally opposed to the expansion of the donation program, we believed the proposal to permit donations for civil defense purposes deserved special consideration. On February 23, 1955, we informed the Federal Civil Defense Administrator that there would be no objection to the submission of a draft bill similar to S. 1527, provided that the appropriate committees of the Congress were informed regarding the administrative problems involved."

AGENCY COMMENTS ON S. 855

On February 6, 1957, the Comptroller General reported on this bill as follows: "The bill would amend the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 to permit the donation of surplus property to municipal governments for municipal governmental purposes. We have no direct knowledge of the need of municipal governments for surplus property of the United States nor of the type, value or quantity of such surplus which might be used by those organizations. Therefore, we are not in a position to make a recommendation as to the merits of the bill. We note that this bill is one of several which have been introduced to permit donations for purposes not presently authorized by existing law. Such bills would authorize donations to 4-H clubs, youth camps and centers, volunteer fire departments, volunteer rescue squads and similar organizations.

"While we do not question the worthiness of such bills, we believe that if legislation for such public purposes is deemed necessary or desirable, consideration should be given to enacting general legislation rather than legislation on an individual basis."

By letter dated April 19, 1957, the Administrator of General Services reported: **** S. 855 would add a new provision for donation by the Administrator of General Services to 'municipal governments for municipal governmental purposes' of surplus personal property under the control of any executive agency and determined by the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to be usable and necessary for such purposes. This bill is one of a number of bills which have been introduced for the purpose of extending the existing authorization for the donation of surplus personal property to cover various special activities and organizations.

"Notwithstanding how salutary may be the objective of this proposal, GSA objects to the enactment of S. 855 for the reasons hereinafter set forth.

"The enactment of this legislative proposal would necessarily increase the operating costs and impede the operations of this administration in connection with the disposition of surplus property. To illustrate:

"Inquiries from and interviews with the representatives of municipal governments seeking information about surplus property and about procedures for obtaining it would be time-consuming and costly, particularly because such municipal governments are numerous in the several States and in many instances operate independently of each other.

"The reviewing of records and stocks and the screening of available surplus against the competitive requests of the many municipal governments in order that determinations of usability and need could be made would undoubtedly be laborious, and might often seriously interfere with regular operations for utilization of excess and delay the disposal of surplus property by sale.

"The settlement of competing claims between individual municipal governments and of requests for donations from that group and of vying demands on account of education, public health and civil defense, would constitute a recurring problem likely to engender ill will and create still further delays in warehouse clearance.

"To broaden the surplus property donation authority of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 to cover municipal governments would operate as an invitation to have presented still more proposals for inclusion of additional organizations such as county mosquito control districts, 4-H clubs, volunteer fire departments and rescue squads, municipal water and gas systems, etc. As you know, GSA has consistently opposed the inclusion of these organizations within the donation program (with no question as to the worthiness of their purpose) on the grounds that their inclusion in the program would be adverse to the public interest. Also, to single out any one such organization, including municipal governments, for preferential treatment in the disposal of surplus property would be discriminatory toward the other beneficial activities. On the other hand, adoption of such proposals would inevitably result not only in increased administrative costs and complication of disposal operations, but also in jeopardizing the orderly procedures for surplus property disposals now being carried out by GSA pursuant to the provisions of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949."

The Acting Director of the Bureau of the Budget reported on February 15, 1957, as follows:

"We believe it inadvisable to enlarge the number of organizations or purposes for which surplus property may be donated. You may recall that the Government has had very unsatisfactory experience in the past under statutes authorizing donations for many different purposes. In 1949 those statutes were repealed because it had been found that the numerous claimants caused surplus property to remain in warehouses at Government expense for long periods, sometimes even for years, while first one group and then another examined the lists of available surplus. In the end, most of the property was not wanted by any group and had to be sold. In such instances the losses due to damage and detoriation of stock and the added costs of warehouse space, care and handling, and administration seemed unjustified. The laws were repealed in order to speed up, simplify, and make less costly the task of surplus property disposal. We have therefore generally opposed bills proposing to expand the donation program to include such purposes and institutions as mosquito control, municipal water and gas systems, 4-H Clubs, and scientific and research organizations. For the same reasons we oppose extending the program to municipal governments as proposed in S. 855.

"We have not questioned the worthiness of these purposes, but have recommended to your committee and to the House Committee on Government Operations that, in view of the serious administrative difficulties involved, any further expansion of the donation program should be supported only for major purposes which are compelling in the national interest."

AGENCY COMMENTS ON S. 1471

By letter dated April 12, 1957, the Director of the Bureau of the Budget reported that:

"We believe it inadvisable to enlarge the number of organizations or purposes for which surplus property may be donated. * * * For the same reasons (set forth in letter re S. 855) we oppose extending the program to 4-H Clubs as proposed in S. 1471."

The Comptroller General reported on S. 1471 (and on S. 855), in part, as follows:

"The need or desirability of the proposed legislation is not a matter on which we have any special information and, consequently, we are not in a position to make any recommendation as to the merits of the bill. We have noticed, however, that a number of bills have been introduced to permit donations of surplus property for purposes not presently authorized by existing law. Such bills would authorize donations to volunteer firefighting organizations, volunteer rescue and lifesaving squads, and youth camps and centers. In view of the number and types of organizations under consideration in those bills, we believe that general rather than individual legislation might be a preferable means of amending existing law."

The Administrator of General Services reported on April 19, 1957, in part, as follows:

"S. 1471 would add a new provision for donation by the Administrator of General Services to 4-H Clubs of surplus personal property under the control of any executive agency and determined by the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to be usable and necessary for the construction, equipment, and operation of 4-H Club camps and centers. This bill is one of a number of bills which have been introduced for the purpose of extending the existing authorization for the donation of surplus personal property to cover various special activities and organizations.

"Notwithstanding how salutary may be the objective of the 4-H Clubs, GSA objects to the enactment of S. 1471 for the reasons hereinafter set forth."

The GSA also reported that the enactment of this legislative proposal would necessarily increase the operating costs and impede the operations of this Administration in the same manner as set forth in its comments on S. 855.

AGENCY COMMENTS ON S. 1318 AND S. 1700

As of this date, the committee has not received any agency comments on S. 1318 or S. 1700. S. 1318 would authorize the donation of surplus property for public park, recreational, and historic-monument purposes. S. 1700 would provide that, upon application therefor, surplus property which was originally donated to the Government by a State or political subdivision thereof, and subsequently became surplus to its needs, shall be returned to such State without monetary consideration. In some instances this property would be disposed of by sale or transfer without reimbursement to schools, colleges, public health institutions, or for civil defense use, if not returned to the States. The enactment of this bill would eliminate the need for special legislation in individual cases, a number of which have been approved by this committee in recent years, and leave the determination of transferring such property to the executive department rather than to the Congress. Action, therefore, is a matter of legislative policy to be recommended by the committee.

S. 1318 would also eliminate the present need for special legislative action, in individual cases where the property is required for historic-monument purposes, without the payment of 50 percent of its fair market value, as presently required by law. This is likewise a matter of legislative determination, which would, if the bill is approved, reverse a policy established by the Congress in 1944.

S. 1675, A RELATED BILL

Another bill, which would give former owners a preference in repurchasing Government surplus property before it is offered for public sale, is also pending before the committee, but, since it is not of the same general import as S. 855, S. 1318, S. 1471, and S. 1700, it is covered sseparately by staff memorandum No. 85-1-19.

Approved:

GLENN K. SHRIVER, Professional Staff Member.

WALTER L. REYNOLDS, Staff Director.

SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS,

May 13, 1959.

Staff memorandum No. 86-1-23. Subject: Bills providing for expansion of the surplus property donation program and related measures.

The Federal Property and Administrative Service Act of 1949, as amended, provides that real and personal property which is surplus to the needs of the Federal Government may be donated to public health, education, or civil defense activities if usable and needed for such purposes.

Since the inception of this program, millions of dollars' worth of surplus property has been donated by the Federal Government to tax-supported and nonprofit schools, colleges, hospitals, clinics, research activities related thereto, and to civil defense organizations throughout the United States.

This property has helped to alleviate some of the crowded conditions which have existed in many schools since the end of World War II. The property has aided materially in providing equipment for the training of boys and girls in all grades of public instruction, the training of youths in the arts and sciences, and the advanced training of scientists and others on a graduate or professional level. Many grade and intermediate schools and institutions benefited by this program through the use of land and buildings which were obtained at a very small fraction of the initial cost, and as a result research facilities were improved or expanded which, in many instances, would not have been possible without the donable property program.

The program has also helped to equip, furnish, and supply needed fixtures for public health centers, clinics, and hospitals, and thereby made possible training and services to the youth of this country, and public health benefits which may not have been provided or would have cost the local communities large sums of money. No attempt has been made to measure or place a price tag on this program because of the intangibles involved; it is considered to be a worthwhile investment in the education and health of America and, therefore, has helped to raise the standard of living and contributed to the national defense.

BILLS FOR EXPANSION OF THE DONABLE PROPERTY PROGRAM

During the 85th Congress, seven bills were introduced in the Senate and over a dozen bills were introduced in the House of Representatives providing for expanding the donable property program to various groups and State or community activities. Since the beginning of the 86th Congress, 5 bills have been introduced in the Senate (18 in the House) providing for the donation of surplus property to (1) tax-supported and publicly owned libraries, (2) agencies engaged in cooperative agricultural extension work, (3) to volunteer firefighting organizations, (4) to certain welfare agencies, and (5) to tax-supported public recreation agencies.

There is listed below the number, sponsors, and title of the bills introduced in the Senate during the present session which are now pending before this committee:

S. 155 (Kerr and Monroney), to amend the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 so as to permit donation of surplus property to libraries which are tax supported or publicly owned and operated.

S. 1018 (Stennis and Aiken), to authorize the donation of surplus property to certain agencies engaged in cooperative agricultural extension work and for other purposes.

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