A239 сору Fiorello LaGuardia, mayor of New York City.. Henry M. Rosenberg, plant manager, Electronics Corporation of Letter from Hon. Robert P. Patterson, Under Secretary of War... Ernest J. Rudloff, vice president, and chairman of the Committee on Organization, of the Greater New York Congress of Industrial Senator Warren R. Austin, Special Committee on Post-war Economic Policy and Planning: Unemployment compensation_-_- Letter from Hon. Robert P. Patterson, Under Secretary of War. MOBILIZATION AND DEMOBILIZATION PROBLEMS FRIDAY, JUNE 9, 1944 UNITED STATES SENATE, Washington, D. C. The committee met at 11:40 a. m. in the committee room, Capitol, Senator Robert R. Reynolds (chairman) presiding. Present: Senators Reynolds (chairman), Hill, Downey, Truman, Kilgore, Murray, Bridges, and Gurney. The CHAIRMAN. We have before us this morning two bills that we will consider in relation to one another. They are S. 1730, the MurrayGeorge bill, to create an Office of Demobilization; and S. 1893, the Kilgore bill, to provide for the establishment of an Office of War Mobilization and Adjustment. (S. 1730 and S. 1893 are as follows:) [S. 1730, 78th Cong., 2d sess.] A BILL To create an Office of Demobilization, establish general policies for the operation of that Office, provide for the settlement of claims arising from terminated war contracts, provide for the disposal of surplus Government property, and for other purposes Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, TITLE I-ADMINISTRATION OF THE ACT OBJECTIVES OF THE ACT SEC. 101. The Congress hereby declares that the objectives of this Act are (a) to facilitate maximum war production during the war and to expedite reconversion from war production to civilian production as war conditions permit; (b) to insure the fullest possible employment in private industry during the perod of transition to civilian production after the cessation of hostilities and thereafter; (c) to provide for the coordination of governmental controls necessary for orderly transition from war production to civilian production, and for their relaxation at the earliest feasible time; (d) to insure the orderly disposition and maximum economic use of surplus Government property; (e) to insure all war contractors, small and large, speedy and equitable final settlement of claims under terminated war contracts and adequate interim financing until such final settlement; (f) to use all practicable methods compatible with the foregoing objectives to prevent improper payments and to detect and prosecute fraud; (g) to insure uniformity among Government agencies in basic policies and administration with respect to termination settlements, interim financing, surplus property disposition, and plant reconversion ; (h) to accomplish all of the foregoing in a manner to preserve and strengthen the American system of free competitive enterprise and prevent monopoly and monopolistic practices. OFFICE OF DEMOBILIZATION SEC. 102. (a) There is hereby established the Office of Demobilization, at the head of which shall be the Director of Demobilization. The Director shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and shall receive compensation at the rate of $15,000 per annum. The term of office of the Director shall be 2 years. (b) The Director may, without regard to the civil-service laws, rules, and regulations and the Classification Act of 1923, as amended, employ and fix the compensation of such Deputy Directors and other officers and employees, and may make such expenditures for supplies, facilities, and services, as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act. SEC. 103. There is hereby established within the Office of Demobilization a National Demobilization Board, which shall be composed of seven full-time members. The Director shall act as Chairman of the Board, and shall appoint the members of the Board and fix their compensation and terms of office. The Board shall advise and assist the Director in the performance of his functions under this Act, and shall perform such other duties as the Director may prescribe. Any Deputy Director shall be eligible. to serve as a member of the Board. SEC. 104. The Director, in consultation with the Board, shall develop and coordinate unified programs, conforming to the objectives and policies prescribed in this Act, for dealing with the termination of war contracts and interim financing, the disposal of surplus property, and other problems relating to industrial reconversion and demobilization; and shall carry out the other provisions of this Act. SEC. 105. (a) Until the termination of hostilities in the present war, as proclaimed by the President or by a concurrent resolution of the two Houses of Congress, the Office of Demobilization and the Director shall exercise all powers and authority and perform all functions under this Act under the supervision, direction, and control of the Office of War Mobilization, established by Executive Order Numbered 9347, dated May 27, 1943, and of the Director of War Mobilization. Thereafter the Office of Demobilization and the Director shall be subject only to the general direction and control of the President. (b) The Director shall exercise his powers and authority to the fullest extent practicable through the personnel and facilities of contracting agencies and other established Government agencies. Subject to subsection (a), the Director may issue such directives on policy or operations to other Government agencies, and such regulations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act. Each such agency shall execute such directives, and conform to such regulations, and may make such further regulations as it deems necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act or any regulations of the Director. (c) The Director shall consult with representatives of industry, large and small, labor, agriculture, and the heads of interested Government agencies, to the extent necessary to familiarize himself with the problems of all segments of the economy. From time to time, the Director and the Board shall hold public sessions to afford members of the general public reasonable opportunities to express their views concerning the formulation and operation of demobilization programs under this Act. SURVEILLANCE BY CONGRESS SEC. 106. (a) There is hereby established a Joint Congressional Committee on Demobilization (hereinafter called the "joint committee") to be composed of three Members of the Senate to be appointed by the President of the Senate, and three Members of the House of Representatives, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. In case of any vacancy in the membership of the joint committee, a new member shall be appointed in the same manner as an original appointment, but until the vacancy is filled, the remaining members shall perform the functions of the joint committee. The joint committee shall select a chairman and a vice chairman from among its members. (b) The Director shall confer with the joint committee from time to time concerning matters of broad general policy, and shall report to the joint committee not less frequently than every thirty days with respect to general policy decisions made by him. The joint committee, any of its members, or any person designated by it for such purpose, may attend any meetings of the Board. (c) The expenses of the joint committee under this section shall be paid out of the contingent funds of the Senate and House of Representatives, one-half to be disbursed by the Secretary of the Senate and one-half to be disbursed by the Clerk of the House of Representatives, upon vouchers signed by the chairman. REPORTS TO THE CONGRESS SEC. 107. (a) In January, April, July, and October of each year, the Director shall submit to the Senate and House of Representatives a quarterly report on the exercise of his duties and authority under this Act, the status of surplus property disposal, contract terminations, termination settlements, interim financing, and such other pertinent information on the administration of this Act as will enable the Congress to evaluate its administration and the need for amendments and related legislation. (b) The Attorney General is directed to make surveys for the purpose of determining any factors which may tend to eliminate competition, create or strengthen monopolies, injure small business, or otherwise promote undue concentration of economic power during and after the period of reconversion. The Attorney General shall submit to the Congress within ninety days after the approval of this Act, and as such times thereafter as he deems desirable, reports setting forth the results of such surveys and making recommendations for the enactment of legislation concerning methods, plans, and procedures designed to stimulate and strengthen the system of private competitive enterprise. TITLE II-DISPOSITION OF SURPLUS WAR PROPERTY BASIC POLICY SEC. 201. It is the policy of the Government to provide (a) for expeditious removal from the plant of any war contractor upon the termination of any war contract, of all materials allocable to such terminated war contract, for which the Government is responsible; (b) for handling and disposing of surplus Government property so as to preserve and strengthen the American system of free competitive enterprise, to promote full employment, and to prevent monopoly. FORMULATION OF PROGRAMS SEC. 202. In order to carry out these policies the Director shall— (a) formulate a complete program (1) for converting to peacetime production, as rapidly as possible after the end of hostilities, any Governmentowned plants which will not be needed for national defense and are capable of use for peacetime production, and (2) for facilitating the most economic use or disposition of Government-owned plants which are not needed for national defense but are not capable of use for peacetime production; (b) formulate a complete program for the handling, storage, control, and disposition, in accordance with this Act, of all contractor-owned materials for which the Government will be responsible upon the termination of war contracts; (c) cause a complete survey to be made of all Government property and to gather such information with reference to inventories in the hands of private industry to provide information necessary for the formulation of such programs. SURPLUS PROPERTY AGENCY SEC. 203. The Director may designate one or more Government agencies to take charge of the handling, storage, control, and disposition of materials and surplus Government property in accordance with this title and may delegate to such agency or agencies some or all of the authority and discretion conferred upon him under this title and title IV of this Act. |