As you can see, this item is entirely speculative, and we have no control over it. It depends on how many claims there are. But we have had 32 years' experience now under the act, and I have the figures here on those years, and that will give some indication of how we arrive at the $30,000 estimate. Mr. GARY. Is that in tabular form? AMOUNTS APPROVED TO PAY CLAIMS Mr. CARLOCK. I can read it. It is not in very clear form. As you said, for this year, we have an appropriation of $30,000. So far, in the first 6 months, we have paid $13,400, but more claims than that were approved. We had approved claims amounting to about $18,000 in the first 6 months of the year, although they have not actually been paid. For fiscal 1949, we had in the annual appropriation act an appropriation of $30,000 also, and out of that about $29,000 was paid out for claims. NUMBER OF CLAIMS Mr. GARY. Representing how many claims? Mr. CARLOCK. That represented 137 claims. We also had one lawsuit that was compromised by the Department of Justice. In case a lawsuit is compromised, it is paid out of this appropriation, although if it goes to judgment it is paid like any other judgment. That one lawsuit that was compromised was for $40,000, and a deficiency appropriation was granted to cover it. But aside from that one unusually large amount, the appropriation was $30,000, and the claims paid were $29,000. Mr. GARY. You mean it was compromised for $40,000? Mr. CARLOCK. It was compromised for $40,000. Mr. GARY. What kind of a claim was that? Mr. CARLOCK. The suit was for $176,000. It was a suit by the owners of a building that was rented to the Coast Guard for a SPAR barracks. A fire occurred after the Coast Guard had moved out of it. The basis of the claim of negligence was that the Spars had used too many curling irons, and so on, had had to put pennies back of the fuses and overloaded the wires, and that that had broken down the insulation over the years, and eventually it broke through, even after we had moved out, and caused the fire that destroyed the building. There was a suit in that case, and the Department of Justice settled it for $40,000. TYPE OF CLAIMS But by and large, they are small amounts, caused generally by automobile accidents. In 1948 we paid about 271⁄2 thousand dollars and every single case involved an automobile. One case involved an automobile and a helicopter, but they all involved automobiles. That accounts for nearly all of the cases. Mr. CANFIELD. Mr. Carlock, in your general justification statement you say: In addition, the general public has access to the various manufacturing-type plants, such as the mint and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, which are operated by the Department, and other buildings within the control of the Department. You have reference, of course, to accidents to the public in egress and ingress? Mr. CARLOCK. Yes. We have had several claims. I do not believe we have ever approved one. We have had several claims that we have disapproved. We had one just recently where a little girl fell off of a stairs in a lighthouse. She was just a visitor there, and her mother claimed there should have been more of a railing. we decided that there was no negligence, that all due precautions were taken, and that she did not have a good claim, so we did not settle that one. OBLIGATIONS But Mr. GARY. Mr. Johnson, I wonder if you could furnish us with a table showing the obligations to December 31, 1949, on all of the appropriations for 1950. Mr. JOHNSON. Yes, sir. Just the obligations, each appropriation? Mr. GARY. Each appropriation. Mr. JOHNSON. The most recent date available? Mr. GARY. That is right. Mr. JOHNSON. Yes, sir; we will furnish it. (The information referred to follows:) Contingent expenses, public moneys. Bureau of Customs, salaries and expenses. Bureau of Internal Revenue, salaries and expenses (as of Nov. 30, 1949). Bureau of Narcotics, salaries and expenses. Bureau of Engraving and Printing, salaries and expenses. 2,530, 875 17, 548, 405 8,945 199,829 1,450,000 5, 547,500 450,000 35, 150,000 226, 300,000 10,000 1,610,000 15,660,000 1,925,000 370,000 Bureau of the Mint, salaries and expenses 2,044, 776 84,600 4,800,000 NOTE.-Obligations reflected above include pay increases under Public Laws 351 and 429 for approximately 2 months only. Mr. GARY. I have no further questions. This concludes the hearing. Thank you, gentlemen. TREASURY DEPARTMENT-POST OFFICE APPROPRIATIONS FOR 1951 C DIVICION DERCSITORY TANFORD LIBRARY FEB 51950 HEARINGS BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS EIGHTY-FIRST CONGRESS SECOND SESSION SUBCOMMITTEE J. VAUGHAN GARY, Virginia, Chairman ANTONIO M. FERNANDEZ, New Mexico GORDON CANFIELD, New Jersey KENNETH SPRANKLE, Executive Secretary to Subcommittee PART 2 (POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT) 60561 Printed for the use of the Committee on Appropriations UNITED STATES WASHINGTON: 1950 |