CONGRESSIONAL RECORD - HOUSE August 30

H. R. 8918. An act to further amend the

act of August 7, 1946 (60 Stat. 896), as

amended by the act of October 25, 1951 (65

Stat. 657), to provide for the exchange of

lands of the United States as a site for the

new Sibley Memorial Hospital; to provide

for the transfer of the property of the

Hahnemann Hospital of the District of Columbia, formerly the National Homeopathic

Association, a corporation organized under

the laws of the District of Columbia, to the

Lucy Webb Hayes National Training School

for Deaconesses and Missionaries including

Sibley Memorial Hospital, a corporation organized under the laws of the District of

Columbia, and for other purposes;

H. R. 8994. An act to amend the Atomic

Energy Act of 1954, as amended, to increase

the salaries of certain executives of the

Atomic Energy Commission, and for other

purposes;

H. R. 9280. An act to facilitate the conduct

of fishing operations in the Territory of

Alaska, to promote the conservation of fishery resources* thereof, and for other purposes;

H. R. 9406. An act to amend the act of

June 23, 1949, as amended, to provide that

telephone and telegraph service furnished

Members of the House of Representatives

shall be computed on a biennial rather than

an annual basis;

H. J. Res. 374. Joint resolution for the relief of certain aliens; and

H. J. Res. 453. Joint resolution establishing

that the 2d regular session of the 85th

Congress convene at noon on Tuesday,

January 7, 1958.

On September 7, 1957:

H. R. 277. An act to amend title 17 of the

United States Code, entitled "Copyrights,"

to provide for a statute of limitations with

respect to civil actions;

H. R. 1411. An act for the relief of George

H. Meyer Sons, Brauer & Co., Joseph McSweeney & Sons, Inc., C. L. Tomlinson, Jr.,

and Richmond Livestock Co., Inc.;

H. R. 1474. An act for the relief of Mrs.

Jennie Maurello;

H. R. 1883. An act for the relief of Benedict

M. Kordus;

H. R. 1937. An act to authorize the construction, maintenance, and operation by the

Armory Board of the District of Columbia of

a stadium in the District of Columbia, and

for other purposes;

H. R. 2486. An act to authorize Commodity

Credit Corporation to grant relief with respect to claims arising out of deliveries of

eligible surplus feed grains on ineligible

dates in connection with purcnase orders

under its emergency feed program;

H. R. 3370. An act to amend section 1871

of title 28, United States Code, to increase

the mileage and subsistence allowances of

grand and petit jurors;

H. R. 3468. An act for the relief of J. A.

Ross & Co.;

H. R. 3625. An act to amend section 214 of

the Interstate Commerce Act, as amended,

to prevent the use of arbitrary stock par

values to evade Interstate Commerce Commission jurisdiction;

H. R. 4335. An act for the relief of Ramon

Tavarez;

H. R. 4992. An act for the relief of Michael

D. Ovens;

H. R. 5719. An act for the relief of Clara

M. Briggs;

H. R. 6760. An act to grant to the Territory

of Alaska title to certain lands beneath tidal

waters, and for other purposes;

H. R. 7014. An act for the relief of Mime.

Henriette Buaillon and Stanley James Carpenter;

H. R. 7536. An act to amend the act of

January 12, 1951, as amended, to continue

in effect the provisions of title II of the

First War Powers Act, 1941;

H. R. 7654. An act for the relief of Richard

M. Taylor and Lydia Taylor;

H. R. 7900. An act to permit the Secretary

of Agriculture to sell to individuals land in

Ottawa County, Mich., which was acquired

pursuant to the provisions of title III of the

Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act;

H. R. 7964. An act to remove the limitation on the use of certain real property heretofore conveyed to the city of Austin, Tex.,

by the United States;

H. R. 8576. An act to authorize the convey- ance of certain lands within the Old Hickory

lock and dam project, Cumberland River,

Tenn., to Middle Tennessee Council, Inc., Boy

Scouts of America, for recreation and camping purposes;

H. R. 8928. An act to amend the act of

June 9, 1880, entitled "An act to grant to the

corporate authorities of the city of Council

Bluffs, in the State of Iowa, for public uses, a certain lake or bayou situated near said

city";

H. R. 9282. An act to provide additional

office space in home districts of Congressmen,

Delegates, and Resident Commissioners; and

H. J. Res. 253. Joint resolution to establish a commission to commemorate the 100th an- niversary of the Civil War, and for other

purposes.

On September 9, 1957:

H. R. 6127. An act to provide means of

further securing and protecting the civil

rights of persons within the jurisdiction of

the United States.

HOUSE BILLS DISAPPROVED AFTER

SINE DIE ADJOURNMENT

The message further announced that

the President had disapproved the following bills of the House; his reasons for

such actions are as follows:

STATE OF WASHINGTON, HIGHWAY

PAYMENT

H. H. 2224: I am withholding approval

of H. R. 2224, directing the payment of

$581,721.91 to the State of Washington

as full satisfaction of a claim against the

United States for the cost of replacing

and relocating a 28-mile portion of secondary Highway 11-A which was condemned and taken by the United States

in 1943 as part of the Hanford atomic

energy project.

The claim involved in the bill has been

thoroughly litigated and its payment denied by judicial determination. The

statements in House Report No. 401, 85th

Congress, on H. R. 2224, concerning the

basis of the court decisions appear to be

in error. Both the United States District Court for the Eastern District of

Washington and the United States Court

of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit found

that there was in 1943 no necessity for

replacing the road since there were

adequate substitutes available. They

held that the State was therefore not

entitled to compensation. Certiorari

was denied.

No equitable reason for overruling the

decision of the courts has been advanced.

This is not an instance in which a strict

application of the law of eminent domain renders a claim noncompensable or

in which denial of the claim will cause

undue hardship and suffering to the condemnee because of peculiar circumstances. The doctrine requiring payment only when a substitute highway is

necessary Is based on the consideration

that there is no money loss when it is

unnecessary to replace the road. As a

matter of fact, there is a saving of expense to the State in that the burden of

maintaining a road has been removed.

Enactment of this bill would encourage

the reopening of other similar claims

which the courts have denied.

The State is now constructing a new road across a portion of the Hanford

project. The findings of the courts indicate that any need which this road may

serve as a substitute for Highway 11-A

must have been created by developments

since 1943 and not by the Government's

taking of a portion of Highway 11-A.

Furthermore, the Atomic Energy Commission has contracted to give the State

an easement over Commission-owned

lands for such a highway. The Department of the Army has constructed 14

miles of this road to serve its own needs.

While the State has reimbursed the Department for the extra expense involved

in constructing the road to meet State

specifications, the contribution of the

Department has resulted in substantial

savings to the State. No equitable reason has been established to justify further Federal contributions to the cost of

this road.

DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER.

THE WHITE HOUSE, September 2, 1957.

DIRECT LOANS, VETERANS HousNG

H. R. 4602: I am withholding approval

of H. R. 4602, which would extend and

expand the direct-loan program for

housing for veterans in rural areas and

small cities and towns.

The Veterans' Administration directloan program was established for the

purpose of granting to veterans for whom

guaranteed loans were not readily available an equal opportunity to receive the

homeownership benefits of the Servicemen's Readjustment Act. The terms and

conditions of these direct loans were intended to conform as closely as possible

to the guaranteed loans. Since the direct-loan program was established, in

1950, approximately $700 million in

funds have been disbursed.

In recent months a steadily expanding

economy with continued strong demand

for available investment funds has resulted in a general rise in the interestrate structure. Because of the higher

yields available on other forms of investment, the flow of investment funds into

VA-guaranteed mortgages has been drastically reduced. To correct this situation, this administration strongly urged

the Congress to increase the maximum

interest rate on VA-guaranteed mortgages from 41/2 to 5 percent. No action

was taken on this recommendation and,

as a result, eligible veterans are finding

guaranteed mortgages almost impossible

to obtain. It is still within the power of

Congress, however, to stimulate the flow

of private investment funds into VAguaranteed mortgages by adjustment of

the maximum interest rate.

What the proposed legislation seeks to

do is to make substantial amounts of

additional mortgage funds available by

providing for direct Government loans at

interest rates well below the current

market. These funds are to be made

available only to a limited number of

veterans-namely, those in rural areas

and small cities and towns. I cannot

approve a program that has such a po16784