The day-to-day need for full-time WOC employees has diminished over the past number of years. As a consequence, the number of full-time WOC's has been consistently reduced until, as I mentioned before, at the present time only four are currently on duty. It is felt, however, that while need for technical industry advice may not be continually present, an agency such as BDSA having extensive defense mobilization responsibilities can never fully anticipate just when it will be necessary to have specialized industry knowledge available to assist it in carrying out its functions. It is felt, therefore, that this provision of the Defense Production Act should be continued to assure the ready availability of technical industrial knowledge to assist us in carrying out these important functions.

Thus, the authorities provided in the act serve as the basis for essential support to our current national security programs and the maintenance and development of a continuing state of mobilization readiness so essential under the current international situation. Accordingly, we strongly urge this committee to act favorably upon S. 3203, which provides for a 2-year extension of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended, as an essential part of the strength of our Nation.

Senator MUSKIE. I have a letter from the American Bankers Association for the record.

(The letter referred to follows:)

Hon. A. WILLIS ROBERTSON,

THE AMERICAN BANKERS ASSOCIATION,
Washington, D.C., June 13, 1962.

Chairman, Banking and Currency Committee,
U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C.

DEAR SENATOR ROBERTSON: In connection with the consideration by the Banking and Currency Committee of S. 3203, which would extend the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended, I wish to submit this statement of the views of the American Bankers Association.

The association is particularly interested in section 301 of the act which authorizes certain departments of the U.S. Government to guarantee, in whole or in part, any public or private financing institution against loss of principal or interest on loans made to private contractors, subcontractors, and others in connection with the performance or termination of defense contracts. This financing program, known as the V-loan program, was in effect during World War II and was reactivated in 1950. It has enabled contractors and subcontractors, both large and small, with the necessary production know-how, but with limited financial resources, to obtain financing needed for the performance of Government procurement contracts.

The V-loan program has relieved the Government of the burden of defense financing and the costs incident thereto. We feel that it has made an important contribution to the national defeuse procurement program. We urge, therefore, that favorable consideration be given to S. 3203 so that the continuance of the guarantee authority under section 301 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended, will be assured.

Yours sincerely,

J. OLNEY BROTT, General Counsel.

Senator MUSKIE. The committee session will be recessed at the call of the Chair.

(Whereupon, at 12:13 p.m., the committee was recessed subject to the call of the Chair.)

APPENDIX

(The following were ordered inserted in the record for the information of the committee:)

MOBILIZATION ACTIVITIES OF THE GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION 1ST QUARTER: JANUARY-MARCH 1962

MOBILIZATION READINESS PROGRAMS

Protective construction

GSA continued its participation with other agencies to advance the preparation of protective shelters. Among the activities during the quarter are the development of prototype shelters, construction of an underground center, and making plans for fallout shelters in new and existing Federal buildings. A summary of these developments is shown below.

1. Prototype shelter program.-A total of 24 projects has been assigned to GSA.

2. Regional underground center, Denton, Tex.-This center is now under construction, but a number of unresolved problems in contract scope, requirements, and testing procedure have caused the rate of progress to be somewhat slower than scheduled.

3. Fallout shelter in new Federal buildings.—GSA has been working with the Department of Defense (Office of Civil Defense) on shelter requirements for each of the buildings funded in the GSA 1962 appropriation to determine total funds to be transferred by DOD for construction of shelters in the buildings.

4. Existing building shelter program.-As authorized by DOD, GSA regions are designing fallout shelters for approximately 50 Federal buildings distributed geographically throughout the United States.

Telecommunications

The Federal telecommunications system presently under development will furnish communications services to the headquarters of the Government agencies and their relocation sites, in support of the continuity of Government programs. A major forward movement toward establishment of this system was accomplished during the month of March 1962, when GSA provided the American Telephone & Telegraph Co. with a letter of intent for establishment of a voice grade circuit switch system that will accommodate telephone, telephoto, and record service to 42 major metropolitan areas on a direct distance dialing basis. This circuit switch system is scheduled for completion by March 1963 and will be a part of the first phase of the ultimate FTS. The primary switching center and trunk routes for this system will make maximum use of protected locations, avoidance of probable target areas, hardened cable facilities, and alternate circuit routes.

Also, action is being taken to provide for expansion of existing GSA facilities to meet limited emergency requirements of various departments and agencies. GSA-FSS emergency supply support to the national civil defense program

GSA managed and operated 24 major civil defense mobilization facilities, known as GSA-CDM depots, to provide the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (Public Health Service) and the Department of Defense (Office of

Civil Defense) with direct supply support in civil defense emergency supply and equipment programs. These depots contain a total of 3.1 million gross square feet of operating space.

GSA-CDM depot activations.-Space at active naval depots was assigned to GSA on behalf of Public Health Service, DHEW, for operations in support of the PHA national civil defense medical program, as follows:

GSA-CDM depot deactivations.-To provide substantial economies and improved operations, four GSA-CDM depots are scheduled for deactivation and relocation of their inventories to other GSA-CDM depots by the end of June 1962, as follows:

To be deactivated

Relocated to

Marion, Ohio (Government-owned) Shelby, Ohio (Government-owned) Springfield, Mo. (Government-owned) Neosho, Mo. (commercially leased) Yakima, Wash. (commercially leased) Spokane, Wash. (Government-owned) San Jose, Calif. (commercially leased) | Stockton, Calif. (Government-owned) Real property actions.-By request of the Public Health Service, GSA has conducted an underground mine survey with a view to obtaining additional underground storage facilities in various sections of the country. Preliminary information has been obtained covering 50 potential mine sites which will be further evaluated for full-scale onsite surveys. An advertisement for the leaseconstruction of a total of 500,000 square feet of space in two underground depots in Pennsylvania is in the process of preparation.

Stockpiles.-The 24 GSA-CDM depots contain total combined inventories valued at $111.2 million, as follows:

In support of the buildup of civil defense medical operations, GSA is recruiting additional personnel and procuring materials and equipment for civil defense emergency hospital field operations. By the end of June 1962, there will be 20 mobile maintenance crews operating out of 20 GSA-CDM depots, to perform onsite maintenance, inventorying, and servicing activities in connection with this emergency hospital program.

By the end of March 1962, approximately 85 percent of the engineering stockpiles in GSA custody had been rehabilitated, tested, and placed in dehumidified storage ready for immediate use in the event of an emergency. Rehabilitation and testing of 521 water distillation and purification units were approximately 20 percent complete by March 31, 1962. These units were acquired by GSA from excess sources, on behalf of DOD, to augment the engineering stockpiles.

Through the end of March 10,496 radiological defense monitoring kits had been assembled and distributed to Federal, State, and local governments for training purposes. In addition to the current radiological instrument program, it is anticipated that a program for increased assembly of monitoring kits for distribution in the national shelter program will require the assembly and distribution of radiological instruments to approxmately 150,000 monitoring stations.

Of the 4,651 chemical warfare defense protective equipment sets assembled by GSA-CDM depots, 2,842 sets were distributed to the States through March 1962.

National shelter program. As requested by the Office of Civil Defense, DOD, GSA has arranged to provide temporary storage and handling for civil defense shelter supplies. By the end of March 1962, GSA had provided 99,400 net square feet of space for these survival items at eight GSA lociations. GSA is continuing to obtain data on the availability of temporary storage space to further accommodate DOD in this program.

Emergency supply support during natural disasters.-During the period January-March 1962, the President issued eight declarations of major natural disasters due to floods and high tides in various areas of the States of Idaho, Nevada, California, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware, New Jersey, Kentucky, North Carolina, and New York. GSA provided various degrees of assistance to these stricken areas as directed by the Office of Emergency Planning.

Inventories

DEFENSE MATERIALS PROGRAMS

Strategic, critical, and other materials in storage on March 31, 1962, totaled $8,736.9 million at acquisition cost, as listed in the table following. The net increase in these inventories during the 3-month period ending March 31, 1962, was $25.3 million.

Comparative summary of raw materials inventories in storage Dec. 31, 1961, and Mar. 31, 1962 (at acquisition cost)

The national stockpile included 76 materials for which there are stockpile objectives established by the Office of Emergency Planning.

Strategic materials moved into storage during the 3-month period totaled 974,934 short tons, as follows: National stockpile, 8,110; Defense Production Act expansion program, 13,894; and CCC barter, 952,930.

Contract reductions

Negotiations during January through March 1962 resulted in reducing the Government's exposure under Defense Production Act contracts by a total of $2,049,000. The negotiations covered cobalt and copper. Beginning in fiscal year 1958 and extending through March 1962, total contract reductions exceeded $409 million. Over $351 million of this total was on DPA contracts and almost $58 million was on stockpile contracts.

Disposals

The sales value of materials disposed of in the 3-month period totaled $20.5 million, as listed in the table following. For the first 9 months of the fiscal year-July 1, 1961, through March 31, 1962-the sales value of materials dis posed of totaled $68.7 million.

Disposal plans for the following materials were approved during the quarter. Notices were published in the Federal Register for national stockpile (SCM) materials. Publicity releases were issued for Defense Production Act (DPA) materials.

Disposal plans were approved and authority to dispose of the following materials was received from OEP during this period:

Authority to develop disposal plans was received from OEP during the quarter for the following: