HEARINGS ON REVISION OF H. R. 9215
(Failed during First Session, Seventy-fourth Congress)

COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

SEVENTY-FOURTH CONGRESS

JAMES P. BUCHANAN, Texas, Chairman

MARCELLUS C. SHEILD, Clerk

SUBCOMMITTEE ON DEFICIENCIES

Messrs. Buchanan (chairman), Taylor, Oliver, Sandlin, Woodrum, Boylan, Taber, Bacon, and Thurston.

Hont 24 Va 36

(SECOND HEARING)

SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATION BILL FOR 1936

HEARINGS CONDUCTED BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS, CONSISTING OF
MESSRS. JAMES P. BUCHANAN (CHAIRMAN), EDWARD T.
TAYLOR, WILLIAM B. OLIVER,

JOHN

N. SANDLIN, CLIFTON A. WOODRUM, JOHN J. BOYLAN, JOHN
TABER, ROBERT L. BACON, AND LLOYD THURSTON, IN CHARGE
OF DEFICIENCY APPROPRIATIONS, ON THE DAYS FOLLOWING,
NAMELY:

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 1936.

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

STATEMENTS OF RUSSELL H. HERRELL, COMPTROLLER; AND
BERNARD R. KENNEDY, DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF THE FEDERAL
REGISTER, THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES

PRINTING AND DISTRIBUTION OF FEDERAL REGISTER

The CHAIRMAN. Gentlemen, I notice that in the third deficiency bill, which was defeated in the Senate, we passed your appropriation of $295,000 for the printing and distribution of the Federal Register. Now, I notice that you have come back with a change in language. Will you explain the reason for that change?

Mr. KENNEDY. The Attorney General was asked to rule on whether, in view of the failure of the special appropriations called for in section 9 of the Federal Register Act, publication of the Federal Register must be commenced 63 days after the approval of the act, and, if not, at what time such publication must begin. In his reply he states [reading]:

The publication of the Federal Register is not required by the act to be commenced until the appropriations to the Government Printing Office have been increased in the manner provided for in section 9 of the act, but such publication should commence on the date such increased appropriations are made available.

In explaining that opinion he said:

An administrative difficulty may arise by reason of the fact that filing and publication of documents must be commenced on the date increased appropriations to the Government Printing Office are made available. Since documents of the kind and class referred to in section 5 (a) of the act will be invalid after that date unless filed, it will be necessary for the several administrative agencies to be informed of the exact time the act increasing such appropriations is approved by the President. This would seem to be impractical. This difficulty, however, can be eliminated by the insertion in the act of the Congress making the increased appropriations available a provision that such increase shall be available on a specified date after the approval of the act or that the

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filing and publication of documents shall commence on a specified date subsequent to the date such appropriations are available.

The CHAIRMAN. You say subsequent to that date?

Mr. KENNEDY. Yes, sir; subsequent to the date such appropriations are available. [Reading:]

Thirty days after said appropriations become available

The actual filing and publication shall begin. Is not that the language of the section?

Mr. TABER. No; this item on page 4 of the bill says that the publication shall begin 32 days after the appropriations become available. Mr. KENNEDY. Yes; it is 30 days for filing and 2 days after that for publication.

The CHAIRMAN. Well, this language is supposed to be prepared carefully and to meet the question squarely, I presume.

Mr. KENNEDY. Yes, sir; the idea was that it would take about that length of time for the various agencies to be notified and for them to be prepared to file their documents.

The CHAIRMAN. Has any material been filed with you?

Mr. KENNEDY. A great many of the compilations have been filed. The compilations are provided for in section 11 of the act, but the actual filing of the daily rules and regulations and Executive orders cannot begin, in accordance with the opinion of the Attorney General, until this appropriation is available.

The CHAIRMAN. Well, you have not changed the amount any? Mr. KENNEDY. I think you will have to ask Mr. Herrell about that.

The CHAIRMAN. This was back in October, and we are now in January. It will be February before the bill is passed.

Mr. HERRELL. Yes; I expect it will, but with reference to the amount of the appropriations, that is still, of course, very problematical. If Major Kennedy is now in a position to assure us that no printing will be required before July 1 on the compilation of existing regulations, then the amount of $295,000 can be reduced very substantially. The estimate was made to cover two things: The publication of a daily containing the orders as they are issued, and also the publication of all existing regulations that have the force and effect of law. If the Archivist is not to be in a position to give us any of the existing regulations to publish, and we will be required to publish the orders only as they are issued, then the amount can be cut to around $100,000. The $295,000 was put in to cover the cost of printing the daily and the present accumulation.

The CHAIRMAN. All right; suppose he should say that he wanted 50 percent of the existing regulations commenced on; then you could cut the $295,000 in half?

Mr. KENNEDY. I would not say so.

Mr. TABER. What are you going to say to us now?

Mr. KENNEDY. I will say that we will not have very much, it any, of that compilation ready for publication before the end of the fiscal year.

Mr. TABER. Then, that means that $100,000 will practically carry you through the year?

Mr. KENNEDY. From Mr. Herrell's figures; yes, sir.

Mr. TABER. You would say that?

Mr. KENNEDY. From my standpoint; yes, sir. The appropriation is not made to my division or to the Archives.

Mr. TABER. I know. But $100,000 would be pretty liberal, would it not, for the 4 months beginning the 1st of March?

Mr. HERRELL. For the 4 months beginning the 1st of March, $100,000 will be sufficient, I believe.

Mr. TABER. $75,000 would be plenty?

Mr. HERRELL. No. I estimated that it would take $117,000 if we got started by February 15, to carry the daily that is, based on a volume of 32 pages the size and style of the Congressional Record, with the necessary indexes, and the bimonthly compilation, and an issue of 15,000 copies, and the necessary bound edition.

Mr. TABER. And $100,000 from the 1st of March?
Mr. HERRELL. From the 1st of March; yes, sir.

Mr. TABER. That is what it would be if the bill became law in February?

Mr. HERRELL. Yes; it would be about the 1st of March.

The CHAIRMAN. I think it will be at least the 15th of February, really.

Mr. HERRELL. From the 15th of February the daily indexes and bound edition will run us around $117,000. That leaves nothing to cover the expense of any work in connection with the compilation.

Mr. TABER. You have got to add 30 days on to that before you do your subtracting. It will be the 1st of March before they get to operating.

The CHAIRMAN. At any rate, we can cut off $195,000.

Mr. KENNEDY. It was $295,000 to begin with.

Mr. TABER. $100,000 will take care of you from the 1st of March? Mr. HERRELL. Yes, sir; that will take care of the daily from the 1st of March.

The CHAIRMAN. In your other bill you have estimates to carry you on for next year?

Mr. KENNEDY. Yes, sir; the personnel is handled in the archives bill.

The CHAIRMAN. I mean the printing.

Mr. HERRELL. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. That is taken care of?

Mr. HERRELL. In the regular appropriation; yes, sir.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 1936.

CENTRAL STATISTICAL BOARD

STATEMENTS OF STUART A. RICE, ACTING CHAIRMAN; EDWARD R. GRAY, ASSISTANT SECRETARY; AND ROGER W. JONES, ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE OFFICER

SALARIES AND EXPENSES

The CHAIRMAN. The third deficiency bill contained an item for the Central Statistical Board amounting to $100,000, which has been reduced to $70,000 for the balance of this fiscal year.