TG25 CONTENTS Statements of- Lea, Hon. Clarence F., Member of Congress from California Reports on H. R. 7667, Seventy-seventh Congress (identical bill): Office of Defense Transportation. Maritime Commission, quotation from report to Page. 42235 List of Government agencies, employees of, having freedom from tolls Proposed Amendment to the bill.. 18. III 43- GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE, CALIFORNIA TUESDAY, MARCH 9, 1943 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON INTERSTATE AND FOREIGN COMMERCE, Washington, D. C. The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10:30 a. m., in the committee room, New House Office Building, Hon. Virgil Chapman presiding. Mr. CHAPMAN. The committee will please be in order. The subcommittee has met this morning for hearing on H. R. 877, introduced by Mr. Lea, of California; H. R. 734, introduced by Mr. Welch, of California; H. R. 863, introduced by Mr. J. Leroy Johnson, of California; and H. R. 880, introduced by Mr. Rolph, of California. I believe these bills are identical. (The bills referred to are as follows:) [H. R. 877, 78th Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To authorize the charging of tolls for the passage or transit of Government traffic over the Golden Gate Bridge Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That tolls may be charged for the passage or transit over the Golden Gate Bridge of Government traffic, including military or naval personnel and their dependents and civilian employees of the Army and Navy traveling on Government business, but such tolls shall not be in excess of the tolls charged for the passage or transit of other traffic over such bridge. SEC. 2. This Act shall remain in force during the continuance of the present wars in which the United States is engaged and for six months after the termination thereof, or until such earlier time as the Congress by concurrent resolution may designate. [H. R. 734, 78th Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To authorize the charging of tolls for the passage or transit of Government traffic over the Golden Gate Bridge Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That tolls may be charged for the passage or transit over the Golden Gate Bridge of Government traffic, including military or naval personnel and their dependents and civilian employees of the Army and Navy traveling on Government business, but such tolls shall not be in excess of the tolls charged for the passage or transit of other traffic over such bridge. SEC. 2. This Act shall remain in force during the continuance of the present wars in which the United States is engaged and for six months after the termination thereof, or until such earlier time as the Congress by concurrent resolution may designate. 1 [H. R. 880, 78th Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To authorize the charging of tolls for the passage or transit of Government traffic over the Golden Gate Bridge Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That tolls may be charged for the passage or transit over the Golden Gate Bridge of Government traffic, including military or naval personnel and their dependents and civilian employees of the Army and Navy traveling on Government business, but such tolls shall not be in excess of the tolls charged for the passage or transit of other traffic over such bridge. SEC. 2. This Act shall remain in force during the continuance of the present wars in which the United States is engaged and for six months after the termination thereof, or until such earlier time as the Congress by concurrent resolution may designate. [H. R. 863, 78th Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To authorize the charging of tolls for the passage or transit of Government traffic over the Golden Gate Bridge Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That tolls may be charged for the passage or transit over the Golden Gate Bridge of Government traffic, including military or naval personnel and their dependents and civilian employees of the Army and Navy traveling on Government business, but such tolls shall not be in excess of the tolls charged for the passage or transit of other traffic over such bridge. SEC. 2. This Act shall remain in force during the continuance of the present wars in which the United States is engaged and for six months after the termination thereof, or until such earlier time as the Congress by concurrent resolution may designate. Mr. CHAPMAN. Before calling a witness we will put in the record letters from the Federal Works Agency, the War Department, and the Post Office Department, to which these bills were referred by the committee. (The letters referred to are as follows:) Hon. CLARENCE F. LEA, FEDERAL WORKS AGENCY, Washington, February 16, 1943. Chairman, Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, House of Representatives. DEAR MR. LEA: Under date of October 16, 1942, you transmitted to the Administrator, Federal Works Agency, a copy of H. R. 7667 with request for a report thereon. A report on said bill was prepared but was not cleared through channels in time to reach the committee before adjournment of the Seventy-seventh Congress, and under date of January 7, 1943, you requested that report on said bill be forwarded to the committee notwithstanding the adjournment of the Congress. In the meantime you have introduced an identical bill (H. R. 877) in the Seventy-eighth Congress, and three other bills (H. R. 734, H. R. 863, and H. R. 880) have been introduced in the present Congress, all apparently identical with the bill which was introduced by you. These bills would provide that tolls may be charged for the passage or transit of Government traffic over the Golden Gate Bridge, including military or naval personnel and their dependents and civilian employees of the Army and Navy traveling on Government business. They would require, however, that the rates of such tolls should not exceed the rates charged for the passage or transit of other traffic over the bridge. If such legislation should be enacted, it would remain in force during the continuance of the present war in which the United States is engaged and for 6 months thereafter, or until such earlier time as the Congress may provide. The object of this proposed legislation is to provide for the payment of tolls for all traffic crossing the bridge on the business of the United States Government, notwithstanding the agreement which was entered into between the United States and the officials of the bridge district in settlement of the case of United States v. Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District of California, United States District Court for the northern district of California, decided March 11, 1941, and reported in 37 Federal Supplement at page 505. This litigation and the agreement referred to grew out of a prior agreement or permit on the part of the War Department for the bridgeheads and certain approaches for the Golden Gate Bridge to be located within the military reservations at Fort Baker on the northern side of the Golden Gate and the Presidio on the San Francisco side. Needless to say, the permission of the War Department for the location of the bridgeheads and approaches within these military reservations represented not only an essential but a very valuable concession. The grant from the War Department was conditioned on the right of free passage over the bridge for certain classes of service personnel of the United States. A disagreement arose between the authorities of the bridge district and the War Department as to what traffic was entitled to toll-free passage over the bridge. The traffic which now passes over the bridge without payment of tolls is what was agreed to in the settlement of this suit. A similar question arose under a like provision in the permit granted by the War Department for the construction of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, and was adjusted by agreement between the Department of Justice and California Toll Bridge Authority under date of December 3, 1938, the compromise offer having been accepted by the United States Attorney General on December 16, 1938. The pending bills propose to abrogate this agreement for the duration of the war and for 6 months thereafter and to impose on the Government of the United States the obligation to pay tolls on all of its traffic which may pass over the Golden Gate Bridge during such period. If the agreement entered into respecting the Golden Gate Bridge is abrogated, such action very probably will be followed by a request for abrogation of the agreement relating to the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. It is understood that the reason for the pending bills is that the revenues derived from tolls on the Golden Gate Bridge have decreased materially as a result of the present restrictions on the use of automobiles, so that the bridge district is confronted with an actual or potential deficit. In this connection it seems well to direct attention to some of the provisions of law under which the Golden Gate Bridge was constructed. It was constructed under the State act of May 25, 1923 (Calif. Stats. 1923, p. 452), and amendatory and supplementary acts. There is no provision in the State law pursuant to which the bridge was constructed and is being operated which requires that it ever shall be free of tolls, not even after the proceeds of the tolls shall have completely amortized its construction. Neither is there provision in the State law which requires the district to apply all revenues derived from tolls, after meeting maintenance, repair, and operation costs, to amortization of the cost of constructing the bridge. On the contrary, such law provides that if the revenues of the district are more than sufficient to take care of its obligation during any year the surplus shall be divided by the board of directors and apportioned to each county or city within the district in proportion to their respective assessed valuations. This legal situation by which it would be possible for any surplus which might accrue from the revenues of the bridge to be divided and apportioned to the counties or cities instead of being retained to build up a reserve to meet any deficiency of funds during periods of unprofitable operation has been brought to the attention of officials of the bridge district on several occasions, with the suggestion that the law be amended so as to require all revenues over and above the amount necessary each year to meet the obligations of the district to be added to the sinking fund. However, no action along this line has ever been taken. Furthermore, there have been persistent reports of extravagance in the management of the district which controls and operates the Golden Gate Bridge. It, therefore, is suggested that officials of the Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District, which constructed and owns and operates the bridge, should examine the possibility of relieving the distressing financial situation by introducing economies in management and operation rather than seek to have the United States relinquish its rights under the agreement entered into with said district slightly more than a year ago. The United States exercised no control over the financing, promotion, and construction costs of the bridge, and it is not believed that it should be asked to forego any rights which it acquired by reason of the valuable concessions made to the bridge district for the location of the bridge. It is not believed that the circumstances relating to the Golden Gate Bridge would warrant enactment of either of the pending bills. If this legislation should be enacted it would establish a precedent which almost certainly would |