90TH CONGRESS 2d Session

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

REPORT No. 1865

ALLOWANCES FOR ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEER CIVIL

IAN EMPLOYEES ENGAGED IN FLOATING PLANT

OPERATIONS

SEPTEMBER 4, 1968.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

Mr. UDALL, from the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service, submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany H.R. 7406]

The Committee on Post Office and Civil Service, to whom was referred the bill (H.R. 7406) to authorize the furnishing of subsistence and quarters or per diem allowance to employees of the Corps of Engineers engaged in floating plant operations, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with amendments and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.

The amendments are as follows:

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu thereof the following:

That (a) subchapter IV of chapter 59 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new section:

"§ 5947. Quarters, subsistence, and allowances for employees of the Corps of Engineers, Department of the Army, engaged in floating plant operations

"(a) An employee of the Corps of Engineers, Department of the Army, engaged in floating plant operations may be furnished quarters or subsistence, or both, on vessels, without charge, when the furnishing of the quarters or subsistence, or both, is determined to be equitable to the employee concerned, and necessary in the public interest, in connection with such operations.

"(b) Notwithstanding section 5536 of this title, when circumstances beyond the control of the Corps of Engineers or the employee prevent the furnishing of the quarters or subsistence, or both, an appropriate allowance in place thereof may be paid.

"(c) The quarters or subsistence, or both, or allowance in place thereof, may be furnished or paid only under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Army.".

(b) The table of sections of subchapter IV of chapter 59 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding

"5947. Quarters, subsistence, and allowances for employees of the Corps of Engineers, Department of the Army, engaged in floating plant operations."

immediately below

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“5946. Membership fees; expenses of attendance at meetings; limitations.”. SEC. 2. The Act entitled "An Act to authorize the furnishing of subsistence and quarters without charge to employees of the Corps of Engineers engaged on floating plant operations", approved May 13, 1955 (69 Stat. 48; Public Law 35, Eightyfourth Congress), is repealed.

Amend the title so as to read:

A bill to amend title 5, United States Code, to authorize the payment of an appropriate allowance, in lieu of quarters and subsistence, to employees of the Corps of Engineers, Department of the Army, engaged in floating plant operations.

EXPLANATION OF AMENDMENTS

The amendment to the text rewrites existing law (Public Law 84–35) and makes technical conforming changes to include in title 5, United States Code, basic authority for an employee of the Corps of Engineers engaged in floating plant operations, to be furnished quarters or subsistence, or both, on vessels without charge when the furnishing of the quarters or subsistence is determined to be equitable to the employee and necessary in the public interest.

The amendment contains the additional authority for the Corps of Engineers to furnish an appropriate allowance in place of the quarters or subsistence when circumstances beyond the control of the Corps of Engineers or the employee prevent the furnishing of the quarters or

subsistence.

Section 2 of the amendment repeals Public Law 84-35, approved May 13, 1955, which contains the existing authority to furnish subsistence and quarters without charge to the employees of the Corps of Engineers. As indicated above, the authorization for the subsistence and quarters will be codified in title 5, United States Code.

The amendment to the title is necessary to conform with the amendment to the text codifying the basic authority as a part of title 5, United States Code.

PURPOSE

It is the purpose of this legislation to provide for the payment of an allowance to employees of the Corps of Engineers engaged in floating plant operations on vessels when the employees are prevented from boarding the vessels by circumstances beyond their control, such as hazardous weather conditions or while the vessel is in a shipyard for repairs.

STATEMENT

This legislation, with the committee amendment, is recommended by the administration. The committee knows of no opposition to favorable consideration of the bill as reported.

The existing law (Public Law 84-35, enacted May 13, 1955) authorizes employees of the Corps of Engineers, Department of the Army, engaged in floating plant operations to be furnished subsistence and quarters "on vessels", without charge, when subsistence and quarters are determined to be equitable to the employees and necessary in the public interest.

While the term "floating plant" covers all types of floating equipment from small outboard motorboats to large vessels such as hopper and side-casting dredges, the subsistence and quarters authorized by this law may be furnished only on floating plant equipment classified as "vessels."

The inequity this legislation proposes to correct currently is encountered by the Corps of Engineers only on large hoppers and sidecasting dredges.

A hopper dredge is a seagoing vessel which dredges material from the bottom of the sea to the hopper itself. It usually operates in main ocean channels such as New York and San Francisco. The material is taken to sea, or otherwise disposed of. A side-casting dredge pumps the material out of a boom offshore.

It is only on the large dredges that a problem has been encountered. The Corps of Engineers currently operates 16 hopper dredges and two side-casting dredges with a total personnel complement of approximately 1,200 employees. Subsistence and quarters are furnished these employees without charge while they are working aboard the dredges. The problem has resulted because these vessels must operate on extended schedules, such as 24 hours per day for at least 5 days per week, and often on a 7-day-per-week schedule. The crew complement for most of these vessels is large, varying from 50-125. Under this type of schedule, it is necessary to use separate crews on a rotating shift basis, with crew changes occurring every 5 to 12 days. Crew changes frequently require transportation of the crew by launch from a designated pickup point, to the dredge whenever the dredge cannot use a berth or dock. Under adverse weather conditions, such as heavy fog or severe storms, it is impracticable to transport the crew to the dredge to begin its shift. Under these or similar circumstances beyond the control of the employees, there has been no authority to furnish an allowance in lieu of furnishing subsistence and quarters that are available to them on the vessel. The crew members have had to obtain food and lodgings at their own expense in available public accommodations, until transportation could be furnished.

The nature of dredging operations is such that these vessels must receive a major overhaul approximately every 12 to 18 months. Since these are large vessels essential to maintaining navigable depths in major harbors of the United States, every effort is made to arrange an overhaul schedule to return them to service in the shortest possible time. Thus, it is sometimes necessary to schedule repairs to the galley, messing, and quartering facilities simultaneous with the repairs to the hull and the operating machinery. During these periods, crew members assisting in the overhaul must provide their own food and lodgings in public accommodations, since it is not possible to use the messing and quartering facilities aboard the vessel.

Attempts have made to resolve the problem under existing laws. However, the specific language of Public Law 84-35 authorizes the furnishing of free subsistence and quarters only "on vessels." Thus, it could not be used to authorize an allowance off the vessel.

The possibility of considering the employees in travel status and eligible for per diem under 5 United States Code 5702, was presented to representatives of the General Accounting Office where it was determined that such action was inappropriate. The establishment of an

allowance under the authority of the Army-Air Force Wage Board was also considered by representatives of the General Accounting Office. However, the establishment of such an allowance was determined to be beyond Wage Board authority. Thus, the only way to remove the inequity is by enactment of this legislation.

EXPLANATION OF THE BILL

Subsection (a) of the first section of the bill, as reported with the committee amendment, adds a new section 5947 to subchapter IV of chapter 59 of title 5, United States Code.

The new section 5947 rewrites and makes technical conforming changes to include in title 5, United States Code, the basic authority previously contained in Public Law 84-35.

Subsection (a) of the new section 5947 continues the present authority for an employee of the Corps of Engineers engaged in floating plant operations to be furnished quarters or subsistence, or both, on vessels without charge when the furnishing of the quarters or subsistence, or both, is determined to be equitable to the employee and necessary in the public interest. The rewriting of this provision is not intended to make any substantive change from the authority under existing law for the Corps of Engineers to furnish such quarters or subsistence "on vessels."

Subsection (b) of the new section 5947 contains additional authority for the Corps of Engineers to furnish an appropriate allowance in place of the quarters or subsistence when circumstances beyond the control of the Corps of Engineers or the employee prevent the furnishing of the quarters or subsistence. It is expected that this authority will be utilized particularly in those cases where hazardous weather conditions prevent the employee from boarding the vessel, or when the employees who are on duty with the vessel are prevented from being furnished quarters or subsistence on the vessel while it is undergoing repairs in a shipyard.

The language "notwithstanding section 5536 of this title," is used in this subsection in order to remove any doubt that the allowance may be paid regardless of whether there is a specific appropriation for the payment of the additional allowance. The provisions of section 5536 prohibit the payment of any additional allowances to a Federal employee "unless specifically authorized by law and the appropriation therefor specifically states that it is for the additional pay or allowance."

The new subsection (c) continues the existing authority of the Secretary of the Army to issue regulations relating to the furnishing of quarters or subsistence on such vessels, and extends such authority to issue regulations to cover the furnishing of the allowance which may be furnished in place of the quarters or subsistence.

Subsection (b) of the first section of the bill makes the necessary technical adjustments in the table of contents of such subchapter IV, to include the reference to the new section 5947.

Section 2 of the bill repeals the provisions of Public Law 84-35. Similar provisions are included as a part of the new section 5947, which is added to title 5, United States Code, by the provisions of the first section of the bill.