CONGRESSIONAL RECORD - HOUSE'

HR. 4099. An act for the relief of Jesse

Leigh, Jr.; and

HR. 5338. An act to enact the Uniform

Commercial Code for the District of

Columbia, and for other purposes; and

HR. 6181. An act for the relief of Mr.

Rudolph Sanderson, of Meriden, Kans.; and

H.R. 6468. An act for the relief of Harold

J. Burke; and

HR. 6754. An act making appropriations

for the Department of Agriculture and re- lated agencies for the fiscal year ending June

30, 1964, and for other purposes; and

HR. 6807. An act for the relief of H. W.

Robinson and Co., Inc.; and

HR. 6868. An act making appropriations

for the legislative branch for the fiscal year

ending June 30, 1964, and for other pur-

*poses; and

H.R. 7019. An act to provide further com- pensation to Mrs. Johnson Bradley for cer- tain land and improvements in the village

of Odanah, Wis., taken by the Federal Government; and

HR. 7063. An act making appropriations

for the Departments of State, Justice, and

Commerce, the judiciary, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1964,

and for other purposes; and

HR. 7431. An act making appropriations for the government of the District of Columbia and other activities chargeable in whole or in part against the revenues of said District for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1964,

and for other purposes; and

H.R. 8667. An act authorizing additional

appropriations for the prosecution of com- prehensive plans for certain river basins; and

H.R. 9413. An act to provide for the coinage of 50-cent pieces bearing the likeness of

John Fitzgerald Kennedy; and

H.J. Res. 680. Joint resolution requesting

the President to designate 1964 as "United

States Customs Year"; and

H.J. Res. 778. Joint resolution to provide

for participation by the Government of the

United -States in the Hague Conference on Private International Law and the International (Rome) Institute for the Unification

of Private Law, and authorizing appropriations therefor; and

H.J. Res. 848. Joint resolution to provide

for the designation of the month of February in each year as "American Heart Month";

and

H.J. Res. 880. Joint resolution establishing

that the second regular session of the 88th

Congress convene at noon on Tuesday, January 7, 1964.

On December 31, 1963:

HR. 9140. An act making appropriations

for certain civil functions administered by

the Department of Defense, certain agencies

of the Department of the Interior, the Atomic

Energy Commission, the St. Lawrence Seaway

Development Corporation, the Tennessee

Valley Authority, and certain river basin

commissions :for the fiscal year ending June

30, 1964, and for other purposes.

On January 6, 1964:

HR. 9499. An act making appropriations

for foreign aid and related agencies for the

fiscal year ending June 30, 1964, and for

other purposes.

HOUSE BILLS DISAPPROVED AFTER

SINE DIE ADJOURNMENT

The message further announced that

the President had disapproved of bills of

the House of the following titles:

MARKING REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN IMPORTED ARTICLES

H.R. 2.513

I am withholding my approval from

H.R. 2513, a bill to require, with respect

to every imported article removed from

its container and repackaged, that the

new package be marked with the name of the country of origin if, under present

law, the original container must be so marked, with failure to do so subjecting

the repackager-regardless of whether

he is the importer, the distributor, the

retailer or any other handler of the mer- chandise-to fine, imprisonment, and

seizure and forfeiture of the article.

Such a bill was vetoed by President Eisenhower in 1961. A second provision of

the bill would require that all sawed lumber and wood products be marked with

the country of origin, a provision which

specifically violates our longstanding

trade agreement with Canada.

This bill would raise new barriers to

foreign trade and invite retaliation

against our exports at a time when we are trying to expand our trade and improve Western unity.

This bill would impose new costs upon our merchants and consumers at a time

when we are trying to keep all costs and

prices down.

This bill would saddle new and un- workable burdens upon our Bureau of

Customs at a time when we are trying

to reduce Government expenditures.

This bill would encourage new price

increases in lumber and homebuilding

at a time when we are trying to expand our housing opportunities.

This bill would aggravate our relations

with Canada at a time when we are trying to improve those relations at every

level.

There is no need for this bill. The

Federal Trade Commission already has

authority to require disclosure of the

foreign origin of articles offered for sale

where there may be danger of deception

of the purchaser. The 'Federal Tariff

Commission already has authority to protect domestic industries against serious

economic injury resulting from imports.

A unanimous Commission decision last

February, In fact, found that the facts

did not entitle the' softwood lumber industry to such protection.

Approval of this bill, In short, is clearly not in the best interests of all the

United States.

LYNDON B. JOHNSON.

DECEMBER 31, 1963.

CLAIM OF ROBERT ALEXANDER

H.R. 4505

I am withholding my approval, from

H.R. 4505, a bill to confer jurisdiction on the Court of Claims to entertain, hear,

and determine a motion for a new trial on the claim of Robert Alexander.

Mr. Alexander' was selected out of the

Foreign Service in 1953. In 1958, he

brought suit in the Court of Claims for

lost salary, alleging that his separation was invalid. On January 20, 1960, the

court concluded, after' considering all

the evidence presented by Mr. Alexander,

that his claim had no merit. His com- plaint was accordingly dismissed, and on April 16, 1960, his motion for rehearing was denied. He now seeks to obtain re- consideration of the court's judgment

against him on the basis of additional

evidence.

Mr. Alexander has had his day in

court. The full facilities of a court for

discovering and producing evidence were

available to him. While the circumstances of his case may have made it

difficult at the time to obtain evidence,

there is nothing in the record to indicate

that diligent use of the court's procedures would have failed to obtain the

evidence relating to the handling of his

discharge which he now offers to establish.

In these circumstances it is unnecessary to consider the relevance of the

testimony offered. Mr. Alexander had a

year after the court's judgment within

which to move to set it aside on the basis

of newly discovered evidence, an opportunity which he failed to use. This

period of grace has a definite limit because a court's judgment must become

final at some point in time in order that

all parties may conduct themselves

thereafter in reliance upon it.

Unless such a judgment becomes final

in circumstances which have prevented

a litigant from taking advantage of opportunities for proof accorded to all

alike, it should not be set aside. In the

absence of such circumstances in Mr.

Alexander's case, I am constrained to

withhold approval from HR. 4505. LYNDON B. JOHNSON.

THE WHITE HOUSE, December 31, 1963.

STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT ON H.R. 9140

I have today approved the Public

Works Appropriations Act.

This does not mean approval of that

provision in the act which precludes the

Panama Canal Company from disposing

of any real property or any rights to the

use of real property without first obtaining the approval of the appropriate legislative committees of the House and

Senate. Four Attorneys General of the

United States have held provisions of this

nature unconstitutional. The opinions

of the Attorneys General point out that

it Is either an unconstitutional delegation to congressional committees of powers which reside only in the Congress as

a whole, or an attempt to confer Executive powers on the committees in violation of the principle of separation of

powers set forth in the Constitution.

I concur in these views.

However, it is entirely proper for the

committees to request information with

respect to the disposal of property, and

I recognize the desirability of consultations between officials of the executive

branch and the Congress. Therefore, it

is my intention to treat the pfovision as

a request for Information and to direct

that the appropriate legislative committees be kept fully informed with respect

to disposal and transfer actions taken by

the Panama Canal Company.

LYNDON B. JOHNSON.

DECEMBER 31, 1963.

LEAVE OF ABSENCE

By unanimous consent, leave of absence was granted to:

Mr. ALBERT (at the request of Mr.

BOGGS), for January 7 to 9, 1964, on account of illness.

Mr. STEED (at the request of Mr.

BoGGs), for January 7 to January 18,

1964, on account of official business.

Mr. Bow (at the request of Mr. HALLECK), for today, on account of official

business.

1964