Representatives sets forth the views and recommendation of the Navy Department on this bill. This letter is hereby made a part of this report.

Hon. SAM RAYBURN,

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

NAVY DEPARTMENT, Washington, March 11, 1944.

MY DEAR MR. SPEAKER: There is transmitted herewith a draft of a proposed bill authorizing appropriations for the United States Navy for additional ordnance manufacturing and production facilities, and for other purposes.

The purpose of the proposed legislation is to authorize the Navy Department to procure facilities for ordnance production to the extent of $65,000,000.

The necessity for facilities to meet the demands for production of new ordnance supplies, material, and equipment for the Navy Department continues. The Navy Department finds that the balance of approximately $10,000,000 unobligated from previous authorization will not be sufficient to provide for variations in estimates of cost-plus-fixed-fee contracts and for the increase in need for facilities, particularly equipment, even though every effort is being made to utilize or convert existing facilities.

The principal factors in the prospective requirements are equipment for the rocket programs, high-capacity projectiles and certain confidential projects.

Although there is no present intention to acquire any land as part of the program, a provision authorizing acquisition of land has been included in the proposed legislation so that this additional facilities fund will be available for the same purposes as those granted in previous authorizations.

The Navy Department recommends enactment of the proposed legislation. The Navy Department has been advised by the Bureau of the Budget that there would be no objection to the submission of the proposed legislation to the Congress.

APPROPRIATION OF RECEIPTS FROM CERTAIN NATIONAL FORESTS FOR THE

PURCHASE OF LANDS

WITHIN THE BOUNDARIES OF SUCH FORESTS

MAY 4, 1944.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed

Mr. GRANGER, from the Committee on Agriculture, submitted the

following

REPORT

[To accompany S. 1618]

The Committee on Agriculture, to whom was referred the bill (S. 1618) to amend the acts of August 26, 1935 (49 Stat. 866), May 11, 1938 (52 Stat. 347), June 15, 1938 (52 Stat. 699), and June 25, 1938 (52 Stat. 1205), which authorizes the appropriation of receipts from certain national forests for the purchase of lands within the boundaries of such forests, to provide that any such receipts not appropriated or appropriated but not expended or obligated shall be disposed of in the same manner as other national-forest receipts, and for other purposes, having considered the same, report thereon with a recommendation that it do pass, without amendment.

An identical bill was introduced in the Seventy-seventh Congress at the request of the Department of Agriculture. The letter written at that time by the Under Secretary is thought sufficient explanation for this report and is as follows:

Hon. SAM RAYBURN,

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,
Washington, October 31, 1941.

DEAR MR. RAYBURN: There is enclosed draft of a bill to correct an undesirable situation with respect to several acts authorizing appropriation of national-forest receipts for the purchase of lands. The need for the proposed amending legislation is briefly explained below:

The acts of August 26, 1935, May 11, 1938, June 15, 1938, and June 25, 1938, which the suggested bill would amend, authorize the appropriation of receipts of the Uinta, Wasatch, and Cache National Forests in Utah; the San Bernardino and Cleveland National Forests in Riverside County, Calif.; and the Nevada and Toiyabe National Forests in Nevada for the purchase of lands within those forests or portions thereof. These acts make no provision for disposal of the forest receipts in the event all or part thereof is not appropriated or for disposition of any

appropriated amounts unused. Usually not all of the receipts have been appropriated and of the amounts appropriated balances have remained unobligated at the close of the year for which appropriated.

The act of May 23, 1908, as amended (16 U. S. C. 500), provides for distribution through the State to the counties in which the various national forests are located of 25 percent of the national-forest receipts, to be used for road and school purposes. At the time the four acts above mentioned were passed, it probably was the intention that any portion of the receipts not expended for land purchase would be disposed of in the same manner as other national-forest receipts, the counties thereby receiving 25 percent of such unutilized balances. However, in decision A-89669, dated June 6, 1939, the Comptroller General held that the authorization to appropriate the receipts for acquisition of land operated to suspend with respect to these forests the laws relating to distribution of nationalforest receipts until such time as the land-acquisition program is completed. It may be many years before the acquisition program is completed. So long as any private land remains within a national forest there is always a possibility that at some time it may be acquired at a price reasonable for national-forest purposes. The effect of the ruling therefore may be to withhold indefinitely from the counties concerned their share of the national-forest receipts regardless of the fact that no lands are being purchased or that receipts are not being appropriated.

The proposed bill would amend the three acts affected by sections 1, 2, and 3 thereof to authorize the usual distribution of any receipts not appropriated for the purchase of land and of any appropriated amounts not obligated within the period for which appropriated, the result being that, as to these receipts, the counties would receive the share to which entitled under the act of May 23, 1908, and road expenditures could be made therefrom as provided by the act of March 4, 1913. The act authorizing appropriation of receipts of the Nevada and Toiyabe National Forests provides that the appropriated amounts are to be available until expended. In order to make this act uniform with acts authorizing the use of receipts from other national forests for land-acquisition purposes, the proposed bill would amend it to provide for appropriations on a fiscal-year basis, as well as to provide for the usual distribution of any receipts which are not appropriated or which, though appropriated, remain unobligated.

Later acts relating to appropriation of national-forests receipts for purchase of land have specifically provided that amounts unappropriated or appropriated and unobligated would be disposed of in the same manner as other national-forest receipts. Acts approved March 5, June 11 (2), and June 17, 1940, Public, Nos. 427, 589, 591, and 637, 76th Cong., 3d sess.) The proposed amendment of the four acts recited in the enclosed draft would place those acts in the same status with respect to unappropriated or unobligated amounts as the four just mentioned, and in fairness to the States and counties concerned it is strongly recommended that the bill be passed.

The Bureau of the Budget has advised that there is no objection to submission of the proposed bill for consideration of the Congress.

Sincerely,

PAUL H. APPLEBY,
Under Secretary.

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

In compliance with paragraph 2a of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, changes made by the bill are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman):

(Public 337-74th Congress)

[That the] The Secretary of Agriculture, with the approval of the National Forest Reservation Commission established by section 4 of the Act of March 1, 1911 [(U. S. C., title 16, sec. 513)] (16 U. Š. C. 513), is hereby authorized to acquire by purchase any lands within the boundaries of the Uinta and Wasatch National Forests, in the State of Utah, which, in his judgment, should become the property of the United States in order that they may be so managed with other lands of the United States as to minimize soil erosion and flood damage, and to pay for said lands from the [entire] receipts derived from the sale of natural

resources

other than mineral, [or] and the occupancy of publicly owned [land] lands within [the Uinta and Wasatch National Forests,] said national forests, which receipts are hereby authorized to be appropriated for that purpose until said lands have been acquired [.]; all lands so acquired thereafter to be subject to and administered under the laws applicable to lands acquired under the provisions of said Act of March 1, 1911 (16 U. S. C. 519, 520, 521), as amended: Provided, That the provisions of sections 500 and 501 of title 16 of the United States Code shall not be applicable to receipts so appropriated and expended. Nothing contained in this Act, however, shall diminish payments to or expenditures within the State of Wyoming under the provisions of said sections; and any appropriated amounts which are, or which heretofore have been, unexpended and unobligated at the close of the fiscal year for which appropriated shall be transferred to the national-forest receipts of that fiscal year, and amounts so transferred and such portions of the receipts of any fiscal year as are not, or heretofore have not been, appropriated for the ensuing fiscal year shall be disposed of in the same manner as other national-forest receipts.'

(Public 505-75th Congress)

[That the] The Secretary of Agriculture, with the approval of the National Forest Reservation Commission established by section 4 of the Act of March 1, 1911 [(U. S. C., title 16, sec. 513),] (16 U. S. C. 513), is hereby authorized to acquire by purchase any lands within the boundaries of the Cache National Forest in the State of Utah which, in his judgment, should become the property of the United States in order that they may be so managed with other lands of the United States [as] to minimize soil erosion and flood damage; and to pay for said lands that proportion of the [entire] receipts derived from the sale of natural resources, other than mineral, and the occupancy of publicly owned lands within said national forest which is equal to that proportion of the gross area of said national forest situated in the State of Utah which receipts are hereby [is] authorized to be appropriated for expenditure for that purpose [by the Secretary of Agriculture] until said lands have been acquired [.So far as the State of Utah may be concerned, the provisions of the Acts of May 23, 1908 (35 Stat. 260); section 500, title 16, United States Code, of March 4, 1913 (37 Stat. 843); and section 501, title 16, United States Code, shall be inoperative in relation to the receipts so appropriated, but nothing herein contained shall diminish payments to or expenditures within the State of Idaho under the provisions of said Acts.] ; all lands so acquired thereafter to be subject to and administered under the laws applicable to lands acquired under the provisions of said Act of March 1, 1911 (16 U. S. C. 519, 520, 521), as amended: Provided, That the provisions of sections 500 and 501 of title 16 of the United States Code shall not be applicable to receipts 80 appropriated and expended. Nothing contained in this Act, however, shall diminish payments to or expenditures within the State of Idaho under the provisions of said sections; and any appropriated amounts which are, or which heretofore have been, unexpended and unobligated at the close of the fiscal year for which appropriated shall be transferred to the national-forest receipts of that fiscal year, and amounts so transferred and such portions of the receipts of any fiscal year as are not, or heretofore have not been, appropriated for the ensuing fiscal year shall be disposed of in the same manner as other national-forest receipts.

(Public 634-75th Congress)

[That the] The Secretary of Agriculture, with the approval of the National Forest Reservation Commission established by section 4 of the Act of March 1, 1911 [(U. S. C., title 16, sec. 513)] (16 U. Š. C. 513), is hereby authorized to acquire by purchase any lands within the boundaries of the San Bernardino and Cleveland National Forests, in the county of Riverside, State of California, which, in his judgment, should become the property of the United States in order that they may be so mar aged with other lands of the United States as to minimize soil erosion and flood damage, and to pay for said lands from those proportions of the [entire] receipts derived from the sale of natural resources [other than mineral], other than mineral, [or] and the occupancy of [public land] publicly owned lands [within the San Bernardino and Cleveland National Forests] within said national forests which are equal to the [proportion] proportions of the net areas of said national forests [which are within] situated in the county of Riverside, State of California, which receipts are hereby authorized to be appropriated for expenditure for that purpose until said lands have been acquired: Provided, That so long as said receipts are used in the manner herein authorized, the provisions of the Act approved May 23, 1908 (U. S. C., title 16,

sec. 500), shall not be applicable to said county of Riverside.]; all lands so acquired thereafter to be subject to and administered under the laws applicable to lands acquired under the provisions of said Act of March 1, 1911 (16 U. S. C. 519, 520, 521), as amended: Provided, That the provisions of sections 500 and 501 of title 16 of the United States Code shall not be applicable to receipts so appropriated and expended, but any appropriated amounts which are, or which heretofore have been, unexpended and unobligated at the close of the fiscal year for which appropriated shall be transferred to the national-forest receipts of that fiscal year, and amounts so transferred and such portions of the receipts of any fiscal year as are not, or heretofore have not been, appropriated, for the ensuing fiscal year shall be disposed of in the same manner as other national-forest receipts: Provided further, That the amounts to which the county of Riverside would otherwise be entitled under section 500 of title 16 of the United States Code shall be reduced by the amounts by which payments to the State for distribution to counties under that section are reduced pursuant to the above proviso."

(Public 748-75th Congress)

[That the] The Secretary of Agriculture [be and] is hereby authorized [in his discretion] to acquire by purchase any lands within the boundaries of the Nevada and Toiyabe National Forests in the State of Nevada which, in his judgment, should become the property of the United States in order that they may be so managed with other lands of the United States as to minimize soil erosion and flood damage or promote efficiency and economy of administration, and to pay for said lands from the receipts derived from the sale of natural resources, other than mineral, and [from] the occupancy of [public lands] publicly owned lands within [the Nevada and Toiyabe National Forests] said national forests [to which end appropriations of said receipts not exceeding $10,000 per annum are hereby authorized until said lands have been acquired, the funds so appropriated to be available until expended for that purpose] which receipts are hereby authorized to be appropriated for that purpose to the extent of amounts not exceeding $10,000 per annum until said lands have been acquired; all lands so acquired thereafter to be subject to and administered under the laws applicable to lands acquired under the provisions of said Act of March 1, 1911 (16 U. S. C. 519, 520, 521), as amended: Provided, That the provisions of sections 500 and 501 of title 16 of the United States Code shall not be applicable to receipts so appropriated and expended. Any appropriated amounts which are, or which heretofore have been, unexpended and unobligated at the close of the fiscal year for which appropriated shall be transferred to the nationalforest receipts of that fiscal year, and amounts so transferred and such portions of the receipts of any fiscal year as are not, or heretofore have not been, appropriated for the ensuing fiscal year shall be disposed of in the same manner as other national-forest receipts.

O