(The letter follows:) U.S. SENATE, Hon. JOHN L. MCCLELLAN, COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, Washington, D.C., July 30, 1970. Chairman, Subcommittee on the Departments of State, Justice, and Commerce, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies, Senate Appropriations Committee, U.S. Senate. DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: As chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, I am very concerned about the Fire Research and Safety Act. The Committee believes that top priority should be given to the implementation of this act for the following reasons: (1) Annually there are about 12,000 deaths due to fire compared with about 13.000 murders. (2) The $2.5 billion reported property losses from fires is greater than the $1.5 billion for crime. (3) The $3 billion cost of operating police departments is only 15 percent greater than the cost of operatng fire departments. (4) The fireman's job is as dangerous as the policeman. (5) The risk of death from fire strikes cruelly at the very young and the very old since children under 3 and men and women over 70 are 31⁄2 times as likely to die in a fire as a person of 20. (6) The poor are more vulnerable to fire than those of adequate means. (7) Our black citizens are three to four times more likely to perish in fire than our white citizens. By any economic or social measure the Fire Safety Act deserves immediate and extensive funding. This year the Department asked for 1,519,000 and this request was reduced by the House to 1,109,000. I strongly urge that the Senate increase this figure to the full budget request of 1,519,000. Your effort and consideration will be appreciated. Sincerely, WARREN G. MAGNUSON, U.S.S. SUBVERSIVE ACTIVITIES CONTROL BOARD SALARIES AND EXPENSES LETTER FROM HON. CHARLES E. GOODELL, U.S. SENATOR FROM NEW YORK Senator MCCLELLAN. I will place in the record a letter from Senator Charles E. Goodell relative to funding for the Subversive Activities Control Board. (The letter follows:) U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON BANKING AND CURRENCY, Hon. JOHN L. MCCLELLAN, DEAR SENATOR MCCLELLAN: The Senate is now being asked to appropriate $401,400 for the Subversive Activities Control Board in fiscal year 1971, I believe it is time to carefully scrutinize the justification for the Board's continued existence, and to take appropriate action on this funding request pursuant to that scrutiny. The list of the Board's accomplishments is brief. In the 20 years of the Board's existence, a total of only 66 petitions have been filed for determination of individual membership in the Communist Party of the United States (CPUS), a party whose membership is currently estimated at 15,000. Only one organization has been determined to be a Communist-action organization-the CPUS-and that determination took 10 years of litigation to reach. Likewise, during this 20-year period, only 26 petitions were filed for the determination of whether specified organizations are Communist-front and/or Communist-infiltrated organizations. By now, a series of adverse court decisions has left the Board practically powerless. During 15 years of litigation, the courts have with one exception-held invalid every feature of the Subversive Activities Control Act which was brought before them. Moreover, in the recent case of Boorda vs. SACB, decided on December 12, 1969, by the United States Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia and denied certiorari by the Supreme Court, it was held that the provisions of the Act which require the Board to determine whether individuals are members of Communist-action groups and to maintain public records listing such individual members violate the freedom of association protected by the First Amendment and are void. It is apparent that the activities of the Board have been brought virtually to a halt. It is also clear that the validity, today, of the assumptions underlying the establishment of the SACB are open to serious question. Many observers, of whom I am one, regard the existence of the Board as an intrusion upon the civil liberties of American citizens. However, even among its supporters, there is widespread recognition of the Board's poor performance and distinct lack of accomplishments. Mr. Richard H. Ichord, the Chairman of the House Committee on Internal Security, is currently directing a study of the Board aimed at answering the question, "as to the advisability of the further maintenance and funding of a board which has a little or no work to do." I, therefore, feel that the appropriation of $401,400 to the Board would be a serious misallocation of resources and an unwise disposition of funds that are desperately needed elsewhere. For this reason, I am proposing that the Justice Department Appropriations Bill, HR 17575, be amended to strike out the appropriation for the SACB. With appreciation for your attention, I am, Sincerely, CONCLUSION OF HEARINGS CHARLES E. GOODELL. Senator MCCLELLAN. This concludes the hearings, unless something comes in that should appropriately be placed in the record. (Whereupon, at 4:55 p.m., Monday, July 13, the hearings were concluded and subcommittee was recessed, to reconvene at the call of the Chair.) CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF HEARINGS Thursday, May 28, 1970: U.S. Information Agency.. Office of the Special Representative for Trade Negotiations Department of Health, Education, and Welfare-Čivil Rights Educa tion____ Tuesday, June 16, 1970: Department of Commerce-- Wednesday, June 17, 1970: Department of Commerce... Federal Maritime Commission__ Subversive Activities Control Board.. Thursday, June 25, 1970: Nondepartmental witnesses- Monday, July 13, 1970: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission... Page 1 65 83 111 217 249 273 387 519 685 765 857 871 903 971 |