FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1950. COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY WITNESSES REAR ADM. LEO OTIS COLBERT, DIRECTOR REAR ADM. KENNETH T. ADAMS, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR JOHN M. AMSTADT, BUDGET OFFICER JOHN D. KAY, LIAISON OFFICER TO CAA F. R. CAWLEY, BUDGET OFFICER, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE WILLIAM A. STRIPLING, BUDGET EXAMINER, OFFICE OF SECRETARY Mr. ROONEY. The next item is for the Coast and Geodetic Survey which appears at page 67 of the committee print and beginning at page 501 of the justifications. At this point in the record we shall insert pages 509, 510, and 511, which contain an over-all summary of the requested appropriations for the Coast and Geodetic Survey. NOTE.-The above totals do not include reimbursable work performed for other agencies. Mr. ROONEY. Do you have a general statement, Admiral Colbert? Admiral COLBERT. I have a one-page statement. May I submit it for the record? Mr. ROONEY. Yes; we shall insert this statement. (The statement is as follows:) STATEMENT OF ADMIRAL L. O. COLBERT, DIRECTOR, COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY The estimates of the Coast and Geodetic Survey for 1951 requests funds for essential activities which must be carried on from year to year to promote safe and expeditious navigation on the sea and in the air, and to provide other engineering and scientific information for public and Government use. The most extensive of these are the activities which provide aid to marine and air navigation by means of charts, coast pilots, tide and current tables, and magnetic information. These are vital to the safe navigation of naval, merchant marine, and other shipping in our coastal waters and for civil and military air navigation over our land areas. A basic function of the Bureau is the execution of geodetic control surveys in the United States and possessions. These surveys provide a framework of accurately located reference points which insure that all features on a chart or map are shown in their proper relative positions. This requirement is par ticularly important for navigation where many of the features charted are concealed dangers which must be avoided by the mariner. The value of geodetic control surveys has been increasingly recognized as a time and cost saving factor for many other purposes. They provide basic data widely used for farm and property surveys; for highway and railroad construction; for planning large public works projects for reclamation and flood control; for geophysical prospecting for oil, and for other types of engineering projects. The Coast and Geodetic Survey is the only agency regularly engaged in executing such surveys in United States areas. It acts as a central agency in providing basic control data for its own use and for all other organizaitons requiring such data. Because experienced personnel and extensive special equipment are required, this arrangement eliminates overlapping and duplication and provides an accurate, permanent base for other Federal surveys. The Survey also conducts earthquake investigation in United States areas. This is a minor activity in terms of expenditures but is important because of its contribution to the protection of life and property in regions subject to severe earthquakes. Activities of the Bureau are conducted in two categories: First, extensive field surveys are performed, and, second, these surveys are processed in Washington to correlate the information secured and to prepare the results for use in a considerable variety of forms. The Survey will be unable to supply all needs for its products and services in 1951. It is proposed to meet the situation by conducting operations on a priority basis in order that the needs of the public and governmental agencies may be supplied in the order of their importance and urgency. Mr. ROONEY. Does this statement contain any information, Admiral? Admiral COLBERT. I think so. There is also a very lengthy statement, on pages 501 to 507 of the justifications. Mr. ROONEY. We understand those are in the justifications. Your general statement may look well in the record, I do not know; it does not help us very much. ESTIMATES FOR FISCAL YEAR 1951 I note that the base for the coming fiscal year is in the amount of $11,267,240; that on top of that you expect us to appropriate the amount of $1,024,760, which is a new total for the Coast and Geodetic Survey of $12,292,000. In view of the fact that the approach to all these items this year on the part of the House Appropriations Committee is to appropriate an amount not greater than the amount that has been appropriated for the current fiscal year, we should be glad to see if you can convince us that you should get that $1,024,760. What have you to say about that? Admiral COLBERT. I consider those amounts, Mr. Chairman, as restoration, not as increases, in order to keep up activities which fundamentally are for the safety of life and property at sea and in the air. Mr. ROONEY. Of course, you have never had appropriations of such size as the one you are asking for, have you? I am looking at the item "Salaries and expenses, departmental," for which you ask $4,071,000 as compared with $839,000 10 years ago. And if we look at the item "Salaries and expenses, field," we find a request in an unprecedented amount, $6,706,000 as compared with an appropriation of $1,797,000 10 years ago. Then if we look at the item entitled "Pay of commissioned officers," that is in a requested amount which has never been reached before $1,515,000 as compared with an appropriation of $845,000 10 years ago. You would not say that that was just carrying on the work, would you? Admiral COLBERT. That is exactly what I intend to say. There has been an increase in wages, and operating costs, of 52.5 percent-52 to 55 percent. Mr. ROONEY. That would not account for the difference shown in those three sets of figures that I mentioned, would it? NEED FOR INCREASED PROGRAM Admiral COLBERT. No. But we increased our work during the war. Funds were made available from military appropriations. We can hardly go back to prewar days. We have a greater demand for services which reflect safety in air and sea navigation today than we had then. Mr. ROONEY. A demand by whom? Admiral COLBERT. By the mariner and by the aviator for the charts, and there has been a great increase in our merchant marine and in aviation. Mr. ROONEY. There is a demand by the commercial air lines? Admiral COLBERT. Private fliers have increased tremendously. We are turning out 17,000,000 charts today where we probably turned out 1,000,000 in 1940. The actual issue in 1940 did not exceed 871,000 air and sea charts. Mr. ROONEY. You had better supply some figures like that; maybe you can talk yourself into this $1,024,760. It is my understanding, from other committees which have participated in marking up other appropriation bills up to now, that the practice is going to be to make no appropriations above the amounts allowed in the current fiscal year. Admiral COLBERT. I must say, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, that my responsibility is to present this to you for your action. We are operating at less strength than we were last year. We had to cut off two ships 2 years ago. Those ships have been lying idle. I wanted to restore one of them, which is covered by an item of $260,000 in field expenses. Mr. ROONEY. We went along with you last year. You asked for $3,843,000 and you got an appropriation of $3,750,000. That was about 98 percent. Admiral COLBERT. That was a cut of $90,000 in office expenses. It was necessary to transfer to reimbursable work 11 people working on these very important charts. We are asking for a restoration in order to put those men back on chart production. The Civil Aeronautics Administrator has presented to you the increase in installations of radio facilities to promote the air-safety program. Mr. ROONEY. Just a moment, Admiral. I do not want to interrupt you, but we have a record to make here. You say that you are asking for this money simply to put these people back. You do not claim that to do that it is necessary to have $1,024,760? Admiral COLBERT. Are we not talking about the departmental item? Mr. ROONEY. Let us talk about the over-all picture first. Admiral COLBERT. That is one part of it. There have been wage increases required by law. We pay those. Mr. ROONEY. That would make up only a small part of the $1,024,760. Admiral COLBERT. The big increase is in the field item. Mr. ROONEY. How much of the $1,024,760 is due to the pay increases? Admiral COLBERT. The total is $245,000, broken down, as follows: $42,000 plus $60,000 Ramspecks equaling $102,000 for departmental; $38,000 plus $20,000 Ramspecks equaling $58,000 field; and $85,000 for pay of commissioned officers. Mr. ROONEY. Admiral, as things stand now, it may be that the committee should give you what you ask, but you have got to address yourself to this subject and make a record. Tell us why? Admiral COLBERT. Do you not think we ought to take up the departmental items first, Mr. Chairman? We have all the figures in front of us. Mr. ROONEY. I should like to stay on the over-all picture at this time before we address ourselves to the specific items in the justifications. Admiral COLBERT. The over-all picture includes first the departmental item; $189,000 above the base. That is more than what I consider above the base, because it reduces 1 day's pay off on a 52-week base and takes off $15,000 which we are supposed to pay to the Bureau of Federal Supply but which is in excess of that Bureau's charges. Our increase in the departmental item is $160,000. Mr. ROONEY. Of the $189,160, $121,677 is entitled "Charting aids for marine and air"? Admiral COLBERT. That is correct. Mr. ROONEY. What does that mean? Admiral COLBERT. That is a function which starts with the collection of data in the field; the soundings, the topographic work along the coast line, the geodetic control surveys, the magnetic observations, the tidal observations. Those come to the office and are processed. The final production is the nautical chart such as you see in these exhibits; and also the aeronautical charts. Mr. ROONEY. This $121,677 is not to keep this work at the current year's level, is it? Admiral COLBERT. No. I want to increase it because we are falling behind on that. We are not turning out the experimental or new charts to show to the aviator what installations have been put on the ground at millions of dollars of expense. NEW POSITIONS Mr. ROONEY. How many new positions does this $121,677 provide? Admiral COLBERT. It is 11 positions. This item was cut 11 positions in 1950 because the decrease of $90,000 was made in that item. Do you want me to explain those positions, sir? Mr. ROONEY. You might insert at this point in the record the classification of each of these positions and their salaries; a full breakdown of the amount $121,677. 60785-50-pt. 5— -40 |