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Senator MCCARRAN. We shall now hear from Mr. McGrath, the Attorney General.

Let me say to the Senator from Michigan that it was my intention to have a copy of my statement go to each of the departments under the jurisdiction of this subcommittee.

STATEMENT OF HON. J. HOWARD MCGRATH THE, ATTORNEY GENERAL

GENERAL STATEMENT

Mr. McGRATH. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee.

May I preface my testimony before the committee by expressing my personal hearty approval of what the chairman has said, insofar as saving money is a function of the Department of Justice. It is not my function to comment on the other matters that he has spoken about, but I do want to go on record as saying that I am heartily in accord with the principles that he has enunciated; and, to the extent that we can in the Department of Justice, we intend to abide by those principles: to save money where we can and to do our job as efficiently and as economically as possible.

I opened my testimony before the House committee with a similar statement, so that the members of the committee may know that this is very deeply and sincerely imbedded in our thinking.

I know from past experience that this committee does not wish to have a rehash of testimony that has already been put into the record on the House side, and which in due course will come to you, so what I plan to do this morning is to give the committee a summary of our requests, and the changes that are represented, moneywise and personnelwise and functionalwise, and thereafter to take up the matter department by department as the members of the committee may wish to question me with respect to our activities in the various divisions and sections of the Department.

I am prepared to discuss with the members of the committee some of the newer legislation, what we are doing about it, and some of the programs that we have in the Department as a result of the emergency which the country and the world now face.

FUNDS AVAILABLE AND TOTAL PERSONNEL POSITIONS ALLOWED

Our Department has available for the fiscal year 1951 the sum of $153,207,000, including $2,055,000 that was allocated to us from the President's emergency fund.

This money provides for 29,474 positions.

For next year, the budget before you-and, Mr. Chairman, I want to call to your attention the fact that there seems to be a discrepancy in my figure and the one that you have mentioned. You said $156,831,000, and the figures that they have given me here are $156,523,000, or an increase of $3,316,000 over the amount available now, or it would be an increase of $5,371,000 if consideration were not given to the emergency fund allocation which I have mentioned.

I wish we could reconcile that figure to see who is right here, before we proceed.

Senator MCCARRAN. We will get at that. Will you go right along, and we will check into it.

Mr. McGRATH. I want to call to your attention specifically the fact that while moneywise our requests represent an increase in dollars in this budget, it nonetheless provides a net reduction of 539 authorized positions, and this is brought about as follows:

PERSONNEL FOR LEGAL ACTIVITIES AND GENERAL ADMINISTRATION

Under "Legal activities and general administration," we are asking for 63 more authorized positions, and an increase moneywise of $1,357,402.

Senator MCCARRAN. That is under what head?

Mr. McGRATH. Under the head of "Legal activities and general administration."

Senator MCCARRAN. Will you tell us what that embraces, when you get to it? I do not want to interrupt your statement.

Mr. McGRATH. We speak of it a little later, and I will come back to it.

Senator MCCARRAN. All right.

Mr. McGRATH. Of this amount, $1,357,402, only $330,750 is for the salaries of the 63 positions that we are asking, and the rest of this amount becomes necessary in the coming budget to meet automatic promotions, extra paydays, and other uncontrollable costs for personnel.

Senator FERGUSON. Extra paydays? You mean overtime?
Mr. FORD. An extra day in the next year; an extra payday.

Mr. McGRATH. We have Leap Year coming up, and we have one extra payday for the whole Department. That is one of the factors included in there.

Senator ELLENDER. Are not employees paid on a weekly basis?
Mr. McGRATH. It is every 2 weeks.

Could we find out what that 1 day amounts to?

Mr. KILGUS. It is a total of $467,691.

Mr. McGRATH. That is for the 1 day, $467,691, for our Depart

ment.

Senator MCCARRAN. That is 1 day?

Mr. McGRATH. Yes. And if you multiply it by the number of people in the Federal service, you see just what that one item is going to cost you extra for this year.

Senator MCCARRAN. Going back to this discrepancy that we made mention of, my attention is called to the item "Replacement of personal property sold," $308,000. It is that item which makes the discrepancy between your figure and mine. Now, that comes about by the sale of property. That is a kind of revolving fund, and we do not have to deal with it but it is in the appropriation bill just the same. Mr. McGRATH. I think we speak about that a little later. We have an item of rent there, also.

Eliminating that item, your figures are correct.

FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, although showing an increase of $467,000 due to other items, will necessarily have to reduce 614

authorized positions if it is to come within its funds as requested in this budget, and this will be explained further in my statement.

IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION

There is no change in the positions asked for the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and there is an increase in funds asked, which I will come to.

FEDERAL PRISON SYSTEM

Federal Prison System is asking for 12 more positions for its medical service, at a cost of $83,443.

Senator FERGUSON. Has there been an increase in the population of the prisons?

Mr. McGRATH. I have that figure next, Senator.

The remainder of the increase for Federal Prisons is based on an increase in population. That increase is from 17,000 to 18,500. As I understand this figure, the population is now up 700, and it is anticipated that it will be up an additional 800 by the time these funds are available for fiscal year 1952. That is the rate at which it seems to be growing.

Senator FERGUSON. Is there a reason for that? Do you assign a reason for that?

Mr. McGRATH. We of course are getting into these draft evasion situations now, plus a general increase in crime, and more activity by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as a result of having more agents out. Those matters have accounted for the increase up to now, and as these programs are stepped up we must reasonably anticipate that it is going to at least continue to grow at the present rate for the next year.

Senator FERGUSON. That figure of $83,000 for medical services for an increase of 700 plus 800, or 1,500 people, seems to be an enormous amount.

Mr. McGRATH. It is not merely for an increase of that. It is an increase in medical service to the over-all institutions.

Senator FERGUSON. It is an increase because of the increase in population; is it not?

Mr. MCGRATH. It is not predicated on that, Senator. It is predicated on the general needs of the institutions for stepped-up medical service.

Senator FERGUSON. Do you not have sufficient at the present time, and is there not proper medical service at the present time?

Mr. FORD. Generally, there is proper medical service. I mean, people are not suffering. But we do need additional dentists, and we need additional psychiatrists.

Senator MCCARRAN. Where is that; in what department?

Mr. McGRATH. In the Federal Prisons.

Mr. FORD. This money is allocated to the Public Health Service, and we reimburse them for the service they give us.

Mr. McGRATH. I think when Mr. Bennett comes before you, he will be in a position to discuss this much more in detail than I can. I am just trying to touch the high spots of our increases and indicate to you what they are for.

Senator FERGUSON. We can get the experts when they come in. Mr. McGRATH. That is right.

INMATE COST

Now, this increased cost, the per capita cost-and I have spoken about increase in population-there is also an increase in per capita cost of our inmates, which is up from 0.583 dollars per inmate, to 0.645 dollars, which brings them up to the June 30, 1950, price levels; and that is reflected, of course, in all increased costs of everything you do and buy-food and all of the other items that go to maintain an institution.

Alien Property, whose funds are not appropriated, will reduce 11 positions, at a cost of $57,375; and I might say here that we have asked the House to add an item of $77,000 for rents which General Services Administration was prepared to assume in 1952. We ask this since these are not appropriated funds, and the Government should be reimbursed. And if this is done, it will actually reflect an increase for Alien Property Custodian.

Senator MCCARRAN. The Alien Property Custodian-that department pays for itself; does it not?

Mr. MCGRATH. Yes, it does, but it is reflected in the appropriations. However, it is not money out of the Treasury.

Senator ELLENDER. I would like to revert to "Legal activities and general administration." Will you tell us why there is that difference of over $200,000 there?

Senator MCCARRAN. Do you care to take that, or do you prefer to assign it to somebody else?

Mr. McGRATH. I would not be able to answer it if a discrepancy does exist. We have taken our figures from the sheets made available to the committee.

Senator ELLENDER. If you notice, the number of positions is 63, and the increase is $1,168,000; whereas, according to your statement, the increase is $1,357,000.

Mr. KILGUSS. That increase is the total increase for the division, not only salaries, but that reflects other items as well, pluses or minuses. It is the total increase for the whole legal activities, salaries and other items as well, and some items are pluses.

Senator ELLENDER. Why should our statement take into consideration your pluses and minuses, showing $1,168,000, while yours shows a different amount?

Mr. KILGUSS. The General is dealing with salary items only.

Mr. McGRATH. And your figure is dealing with other types of expenses, and it comes up to this figure; but my figure only represents salaries.

Senator ELLENDER. It ought to be more.

Senator MCCARRAN. Under "Fees and expenses," is there anything in there?

Mr. FORD. Yes, that would reduce the amount.

Mr. KILGUSS. That is the net figure for over-all legal activities, and not salaries alone.

Senator ELLENDER. What should we add to the column under "Legal activities and general administration" to make it the same total as given by the Attorney General?

Mr. KILGUSS. We would have to add the items for travel, for printing and binding, for other expenses. Witness fees are separate, I think; and other contractual services, supplies and materials, and equipment, taxes, and assessments, and all of those things are reflected in there.

Senator ELLENDER. Who prepared this statement?

Senator MCCARRAN. The Department of Justice.

Senator ELLENDER. Why should you not have prepared it so as to reflect the same as that which the Attorney General gave us?

Mr. McGRATH. In this part of my testimony, I am dealing with personnel, and I am not dealing with these other expenses.

Senator ELLENDER. All right.

Senator MCCARRAN. I think, Senator, when we get the other witnesses, we will clear the matter up.

Senator ELLENDER. Mr. Chairman, I would like to try to get the Attorney General to make this plain. As I recall, in his opening statement or during the course of his testimony, he said that in the Department of Justice there would be a decrease in personnel. Most of the decrease is reflected in the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which shows a minus 614 positions, but at a cost of $467,000 more. That is correct; is it not?

Mr. McGRATH. That is right.

Senator ELLENDER. So that when you stated in the opening paragraph of your statement that there was a decrease in the number of jobs, you did not intend to convey that that would reflect a saving in the money to be spent?

Mr. McGRATH. No.

Senator ELLENDER. All right.

Mr. McGRATH. Here is the statement on that, and it shows the plusses and minuses in the various sections there, but here is the overall average of the result. That is 539. In other words, it is 614 out of the Bureau, but then we are asking for extras in a number of sections, which reduces that figure.

Senator MCCARRAN. Related to your question last propounded to the Attorney General, Senator, will you turn to the folder before you there, and underneath the first yellow sheet you will find the column. "Permanent positions," and then the "Average number," and right down there you will see that that gives you an explanation to your question last propounded. That is the permanent positions as contrasted with the average number.

Senator ELLENDER. I see that.

Senator MCCARRAN. Did you see that?

Senator ELLENDER. Yes; I noticed that, Senator.

Mr. MCGRATH. I think that will show it.

Senator FERGUSON. That explains why you had a variation.
Mr. McGRATH. That is right.

We do have some very essential but minor increases in some of our legal activities and general administration. For example, the Legislative Unit, in the Deputy Attorney General's office, is asking for an increase of seven in personnel.

Senator MCCARRAN. That is the Legislative Unit?

Mr. McGRATH. Yes. And we have had, as the Senators will appreciate, a terrific increase in requests for reports, and so on, and we need more personnel for that.

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