Estimates for 10,000- and 30,000-megaton attacks on the United States.. Decisions can soften appalling effects of nuclear war. Witness' view of missile siting policies.-- Recovery requires both people and resources_ Extent of organizational breakdown__ Postwar foreign economic relations. Attitude of cautious optimism.......... Producing before exhausting stockpiles- Restoring essential industries__ Primary ignitions in forest fuels by megaton weapons- Preventive and corrective measures for forest protection_ Conclusions on mass fire threat.. Size of civil defense research effort.. CIVIL DEFENSE-1961 TUESDAY, AUGUST 1, 1961 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON MILITARY OPERATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS, Washington, D.C. The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10 a.m., in room 362, the caucus room, Old House Office Building, Hon. Chet Holifield (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Present: Representatives Chet Holifield, Joe M. Kilgore, Martha W. Griffiths, R. Walter Riehlman, and F. Bradford Morse. Also present: Herbert Roback, staff administrator; Douglas Dahlin, staff attorney; Earl Morgan, chief investigator; and Paul Ridgely, investigator. Mr. HOLIFIELD. The subcommittee will be in order. OPENING STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN HOLIFIELD We have called these hearings on civil defense for the following broad purposes: (1) To understand more fully the new civil defense program promulgated by President Kennedy; (2) To update technical findings of importance and interest to civil defense; (3) To take a forward look at the shape of the civil defense program 5 years hence; and (4) To take a backward look at what, if anything, civil defense has accomplished to date, so that pitfalls and errors of the past may be avoided. The Military Operations Subcommittee, under my chairmanship, has been a sharp critic of civil defense. We have tried, I suppose, to be its conscience. We have been critical because we seek achievement. There has been no lack of words. There has been a great lack of deeds. I, for one, find it encouraging and fortunate that President Kennedy understands the importance of an effective civil defense program, and has declared it a key element in his recommendations to strengthen our defenses and our capability to resist Communist aggression. Our committee has been calling for an effective civil defense program for at least 6 years. Our broad-scale investigations into this. field commenced in 1955. Our first basic report was issued in 1956. Altogether this subcommittee has held hearings in 4 separate years and has issued six separate reports. As chairman of the Special Subcommittee on Radiation of the Senate and House Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, I have also held two series of hearings on the related subject of bomb test radiation and the biological and environmental effects of a nuclear war attack on the United States. As far as this subcommittee, and certainly this chairman, is concerned, we have devoted long hours and great effort to this task for no idle reasons. We consider this matter with the utmost concern. This is serious business. Civil defense is a program for protection of the American people in case of a nuclear attack. It is a program for the very survival of our national life. I would like to interject at this point a rather personal note. I have felt so deeply about the importance of an effective civil defense program that I undertook to write to the President and talk to him on several occasions about it. I would guess that the very first letter that President Kennedy received from a congressional source came from me and dealt with civil defense. I say this because the letter was mailed in time to reach the President on Inauguration Day. The President has promised cooperation in helping us to have an informative and successful hearing. We, in turn, I may say, have cooperated by giving the departments and agencies concerned with preparing the outlines of the new civil defense program and preparing the necessary instructions and executive orders, time to do their work. We have deferred the hearings several times to accommodate the executive branch. Of course there are some, I suppose, who would never be finished with their paperwork unless they had deadlines. This hearing is a deadline in a certain sense. We had proposed, before this session ended, to provide a public forum for the President's new civil defense program in the interest of better understanding on the part of the Congress and the public. I dare say, after we have evaluated the testimony and presented our report, there will be a better understanding on the part of the executive departments and agencies. We intend, as a subcommittee, so long as I am chairman, to maintain our friendly and sympathetic but critical eye on civil defense. Our witnesses today will be Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Lyman L. Lemnitzer. Under Executive Order 10952, promulgated by President Kennedy on July 20, 1961, Secretary McNamara becomes the President's chief deputy for civil defense. We will want to know how Secretary McNamara proposes to go about his new job. What kind of an orgazination he intends to set up. How it will be funded. What military agencies and resources will be drawn up for civil defense tasks. His concept of relationships with civil agencies, both Federal and State and local. In other words, we want to know more about Secretary McNamara's concept of his new responsibilities in the civil defense field. He has a new job and a big one and we don't expect he will have all the answers at once. However, I believe that the Congress and the American people want assurance that the civil defense program under Defense auspices will retain its essentially civilian nature, will be seriously undertaken, and will be supported at a sufficiently high level in terms of money and effort. |