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equivalent to 10 per centum thereof. State is entitled.

The result shall be the credit to which the

(d) Any State for which a credit has been established, whether for a toll or a free highway, shall be entitled to use the same for construction of projects on the Federal-aid primary system, subject to the conditions that all Federal-aid highway funds apportioned to a State under Federal-aid highway legislation have Whenever a been expended within the meaning of said legislation, and all funds allocated under this Act have been contracted as provided under this Act. State constructs such projects with funds received as a result of a credit under this section, all procedures and steps shall be taken in the same manner as though such funds had been apportioned under Federal-aid highway legislation. Any State for which a credit has been established on account of a toll highway shall be entitled, at its option, to use the credit for payment of any outstanding debt on the highway, which highway shall then become a free public highway. (e) The Secretary jointly with the Corporation shall establish such reasonable rules and regulations as necessary or advisable to carry out the purposes of this section.

(f) Whenever the Secretary determines that a credit, pursuant to this section, should be made available to a State he shall notify the Corporation. The Corporation, within a reasonable time thereafter, shall make such credit available to the Secretary for use by the State.

RIGHT-OF-WAY ACQUISITION

SEC. 208. (a) If the Secretary shall determine that the State highway department of any State is unable to obtain possession and the right to enter upon and use the rights-of-way, lands or interest in lands, improved or unimproved, including the control of access thereto from adjoining lands, required for any project on the interstate system with sufficient promptness, the Secretary is authorized, upon the request of such a State, prior to approval of title by the Attorney General, and in the name of the United States, to acquire, enter upon, and take possession of such rights-of-way, lands or interests in lands, including the control of access thereto from adjoining lands, by purchase, donation, condemnation or otherwise in accordance with the laws of the United States (including the Act of February 26, 1931; 46 Stat. 1421), and to expend funds for projects thereon. The authority granted by this section shall also apply to lands and interest in lands received as grants of land from the United States and owned or held by railroads or other corporations. The cost incurred by the Secretary in acquiring any such rights-of-way, lands or interest in lands may include the cost of examination and abstract of title, certificate of title, advertising, and any fees incidental to such acquisition; and shall be payable out of the funds available to the Secretary for construction of projects on the interstate system to the extent of 95 per centum of the appraised value of such rights-of-way, or of the actual cost, whichever is lower. The Secretary is further authorized and directed by proper deed, executed in the name of the United States, to convey any such rights-of-way, lands or interest in lands, including the control of access thereto from adjoining lands, acquired in any State under the provisions of this section, except the outside five feet of any such right-of-way in States unable or unwilling to control access, to the State highway department of such State or to such political subdivision thereof as its laws may provide, upon such terms and conditions as may be agreed upon by the Secretary and the State highway department, or political subdivisions to which the conveyance is to be made. Whenever the State is able and agrees to control access, the outside five feet may be conveyed to it.

(b) Whenever rights-of-way on the interstate system are required over public lands of the United States, the Secretary may make such arrangements with the agency having jurisdiction over such lands as may be necessary to give the State or other person constructing the projects on such lands adequate rights-of-way and control of access thereto from adjoining lands, and any such agency is hereby directed to cooperate with the Secretary in this connection.

(c) The Secretary may adopt such regulations as he deems advisable to protect fully the interests of the United States in the acquisition of rights-of-way. He may take such action as necessary to carry out such regulations.

TITLE III-MISCELLANEOUS

DEFINITIONS

SEC. 301. As used in this Act, unless the context requires otherwise(a) The term "interstate system" means the National System of Interstate Highways as authorized to be designated by section 7 of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1944, and includes those routes heretofore designated by the Commissioner of the Bureau of Public Roads by the attestation of a diagrammatic map, copy of which is hereby made Appendix A to this Act, as well as routes to be hereafter designated. The mileage so designated as of June 30, 1954, is thirtyseven thousand six hundred miles. The mileage of the routes so designated is calculated by stating the mileage of the most traveled highway between control points. Such mileage so designated as of June 30, 1954, with respect to each State is contained in a schedule hereby made Appendix B to this Act. The mileage of the entire system is limited to forty thousand miles.

(b) The term “Corporation” means the Federal Highway Corporation created by title I of this Act.

(c) The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Commerce.

(d) The term Federal-aid highway legislation means "the Act providing that the United States shall aid the States in the construction of rural post roads and for other purposes", approved June 11, 1916, as amended and supplemented.

WITHOUT COMPENSATION EMPLOYEES

SEC. 302. The Corporation and Secretary are respectively authorized, to the extent deemed necessary and appropriate, in order to carry out the provisions of this Act, to employ persons of outstanding experience and ability, without compensation, and are further authorized to provide by regulation for the exemption of such persons from the operation of sections 281, 283, 284, 434, and 1914 of title 18 of the United States Code and section 190 of the Revised Statutes (5 U. S. C. 99). Persons appointed under the authority of this subsection may be allowed transportation and not to exceed $15 per diem in lieu of subsistence while away from their homes or regular places of business, pursuant to such appointment.

AMENDMENT TO CORPORATION CONTROL ACT

SEC. 303. Section 101 of the Government Corporation Control Act (59 Stat. 597), as amended, is hereby further amended by adding thereto the words "Federal Highway Corporation".

CONSTRUCTION OF THIS ACT

SEC. 304. If any section, subsection, or other provision of this Act, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of this Act and the application of such section, subsection, or other provision to other persons or circumstance shall not be affected thereby.

EFFECT ON PRESENT LAW

SEC. 305. All provisions of Federal-aid highway legislation shall remain in full force and effect, and shall apply to the required actions to be taken, and payments to be made, by the Secretary under this Act in connection with the interstate system with the same force and effect that said provisions of the said legislation applied to such actions and payments in connection with the interstate system prior to the passage of this Act, except that the provisions of this Act shall supersede any provision of the said legislation which conflicts with a provision of this Act, except that section 13 of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1950 shall not be applicable to the interstate system, and for the purposes of section 12 of the Hayden-Cartwright Act, the allocations made under this Act shall not be deemed an apportionment.

Senator GORE. The witnesses scheduled to appear before the committee this morning with respect to the Federal-aid highway bills are Mr. Riley, of the American Federation of Labor; Mr. Triggs, of the American Farm Bureau; and Mr. Halvorson, of the National Grange. I believe I will take them in alphabetical order with respect

to their organization, which would mean Mr. Triggs, of the American Farm Bureau Federation, will be heard first.

STATEMENT OF MATT TRIGGS, ASSISTANT LEGISLATIVE DIRECTOR, AMERICAN FARM BUREAU FEDERATION

Mr. TRIGGS. The opportunity of presenting the viewpoints of the American Farm Bureau Federation with respect to financing of a highway-construction program is appreciated. The American Farm Bureau Federation is an organization of 1,609,461 farm families, located in 48 States and Puerto Rico.

Applicable portions of the policy of the American Farm Bureau Federation, as approved by the official voting delegates of the member State farm bureaus at our last annual meeting, are as follows:

The Federal Government should continue to have a responsibility for the development of an integrated highway system, but should not assume major responsibility in the highway field. In view of present conditions, we are opposed to any expansion of Federal participation in financing highway construction.

In each of recent years total highway construction has reached a new peak. Estimates of revenue which will be available from present sources for highway construction during the next few years indicate that the rate of highway construction will be accelerated to levels substantially in excess of current programs. Senator KERR. May I ask a question, Mr. Chairman? Senator GORE. Senator Kerr.

Senator KERR. Has your organization made a study of the comparative number of vehicles using the highways and the comparative demands which modern automotive units make on the highways to determine whether or not the increase or acceleration of highway constructions to which you refer are on a par with the needs brought about by the two things you mention?

Mr. TRIGGS. In this connection, sir, we submit broad outlines of policy issues that are developing at the national level to our State farm bureaus for their consideration prior to their annual meetings. Of course, part of the issue in this connection is the extent of the estimates with respect to future needs as developed by various people, and some of this factual information was made available to them.

I would say that on this highway program our people feel themselves fairly well informed, because every one of our State farm bureaus has been involved in road legislation at the State level. Many of them serve as members of State highway users conferences. Senator KERR. Do you understand my question?

Mr. TRIGGS. Yes; I think I did, sir. The answer is that we have furnished them background material but not any detailed study, I think, of the type that you are referring to.

Senator KERR. Do you have a chart or anything illustrating the statement that you make, first, that highway construction has reached a new peak, and second, that highway construction during the next few years indicates that the rate of highway construction will be accelerated to levels substantially in excess of current programs?

Mr. TRIGGS. We have some of these figures later on in our statement, Senator.

Senator KERR. Do you have any figures with reference to the other thing about which you generalized in response to my question? Mr. TRIGGS. No, sir.

Senator KERR. If that information is available, do you think it would be pertinent. I do not think that it is available.

Mr. TRIGGS. Certainly. It is part of the picture. We need better roads and more of them.

Senator KERR. Do you think we should move to meet the needs that exist or do you think we should limit ourselves to action consistent with policy based on considerations other than need?

Mr. TRIGGS. Certainly need is the major factor, need now, need in the future. There is also the question of ability to pay, and the competition of other needs for taxpayers' dollars.

Senator KERR. Would it be safe then to say, or would it be accurate to say, that the justification of your opposition is based as much on the principle of ability to pay as it is upon the degree to which you are convinced that the Federal Government as such should move to meet the need for highway construction?

Mr. TRIGGS. Certainly both factors have been given consideration by our people, by our resolutions committee. I would not try to say which is most important in their thinking. They think both of need and ability to pay.

On some of these questions that you are asking me we develop our position a little later on more in detail.

Senator KERR. If you do not know, or if you do not care to answer, it is all right, but I am interested as to whether or not your own thought about your position is based more on one of these factors or the other, or equally on both.

Mr. TRIGGS. I would say that it is approximately equal, that we are interested both in the future need for highways and we are interested in our ability to pay for highways, together with our ability to pay for a lot of other things that we need.

Senator KERR. Then you think it is entirely possible that we have a need for highways which is beyond our ability to pay?

Mr. TRIGGS. No, sir; not in the long run. We are making progress, we are making real progress toward better highways.

Senator KERR. Suppose evidence discloses here that we are losing ground rather than gaining ground in the matter of the degree to which the highways we now have and are planning would meet our needs?

Mr. TRIGGS. Well, sir, I can only say in that connection that I know this statement is made many times by experts in the highway-construction field. It is not the observation of our people, as I have seen it, in their discussions.

Senator KERR. I say suppose the facts developed here show that! Mr. TRIGGS. We are not opposed to an expanded program of highway construction. I want to make that clear. Later on I will develop what we think is the most efficient approach to this problem. Senator KERR. Suppose that the facts developed here disclose that the number of people killed and injured on the highways has also reached an alltime peak as well as the expenditures for highways. and that the trend there is on the increase and the rate is being accelerated, and that there is a definite relationship between the umber killed and wounded and the lack of adequate highways. Do you think that ought to be given consideration?

Mr. TRIGGS. This is an important consideration.

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Senator KERR. How important do you regard it as compared to the cost of meeting the need?

Mr. TRIGGS. It is very important.

Senator KERR. Which do you think would be the more important: Doing something to lessen that or doing something which would be sound fiscally in accordance with the observations of certain viewpoints?

Mr. TRIGGS. We have to do both as best we can, and it is a question of judgment.

Senator KERR. Which would you rate the more important consideration for this committee?

Mr. TRIGGS. I think the most important consideration is the question of fiscal soundness and fiscal responsibility.

Senator KERR. I am glad to have that viewpoint, I will better understand your observations.

Senator SYMINGTON. Mr. Chairman?

Senator GORE. Senator Symington.

Senator SYMINGTON. Unfortunately I have 2 hearings, 2 other committees. On the Committee on Government Operations the Army comes up today, and therefore I have to leave as I told you, and I would like to leave my proxy with you to use in any way that you would care to, Mr. Chairman.

Senator GORE. Certainly.

Senator SYMINGTON. May I ask a question or two?

Senator GORE. Certainly.

Senator SYMINGTON. Is the Farm Bureau for the Eisenhower bill as presented to the Congress?

Mr. TRIGGS. No, sir.

Senator SYMINGTON. What is it that you do not like about it?

Mr. TRIGGS. Primarily the amount of money involved. There are three major points: The amount of money involved for Federal expenditure

Senator KERR. His position is outlined in these words:

In view of present conditions we are opposed to any expansion of Federal participation in financing highway construction.

Mr. TRIGGS. The second point in answer to your question is that we are opposed to it because of the derogation of States rights and responsibilities that we see in the program, and finally because of the method of financing.

Senator SYMINGTON. My next and last question is, Have you come up with a program in your report as to how you think this should be handled?

Mr. TRIGGS. We suggest the outlines of the program.

Senator SYMINGTON. What do you mean by the outlines? Have you got a program?

Mr. TRIGGS. Not a detailed program of the type that you are thinking of; no, sir.

Senator SYMINGTON. I have no further questions, Mr. Chairman. Senator GORE. Proceed, Mr. Triggs.

Mr. TRIGGS. I believe I was in the second part of the paragraph quoting from our last annual meeting:

We are making real progress toward correcting the obvious inadequacies of our highway system. We will continue to make even greater progress in the future.