Evening star., 1946-04-15
Senate 10 Study
|0fficeHoardinq
President to Get
Sweeping Powers
Under New Setup

Sweeping powers given by Presi-
dent Truman to the Public Build
ings Administration to halt Office
space boarding by Government
agencies will have legal as well as
executive teeth If legislation to be
considered tomorrow by the Senate
Public Buildings and Grounds
Committee is passed in the same
form given 1t by the House.
The legislation In question is the
Administrations stop-gap postwar
public buildings bill, introduced by
Chairman Lanham of the House
Buildings and Grounds Committee
after veterans housing shortages
caused major postwar buildings leg
islation to be pigeonholed by his
committee.
Initially, the bill would allow con-
struction of only one of nearly a
score of big-time Federal Office
building projects proposed for
Washington tc go forward at this
time-the west central heating
plant, at Rock Greek and K street
and would authorize use of s15,000,-
600 OF previously appropriated
building money to be spent on land
purchase, plans and designs and
completion of two marine hospitals
on the West Coast.
Streamlining Planned.
But other sections of the bill are
designed to streamline present build
lngs management and space control
regulations and among them is one
which backs up the Presidents
order to the hilt.
This section reads: The COM
missioner Of public buildings is au-
thorized to maintain survey of the
use of Government owned and leased
office space in the larger metropoli-
tan centers and the District of Co.
lumbia, including adjacent areas,
and to study and determine the ex-
tent to which consolidation. reas-
signment and reallocation .of Office
space, including cancellation of un-
economical leases, would be advan-
tageous to the Government.
Where he finds uneconomical use
of space in buildings operated or
leased by the Public Buildings Ad-
ministration, he shall direct and
prescribe its economical use or its
surrender"
Buildings Exempted.
The section specifically exempts
the White House, Smithsonian In
stitution, buildings under the juris-
diction of the architect of the Capt.
tol and those operated by the Post
Office Department.
| Chairman Andrews of the Senate
Committee said yesterday the Tues
day hearing would be executive, with
witnesses called in to testify. The
hearings have been twice postponed
in recent weeks
PBA officials say that passage of
the bill, as it now stands, coming on
top of the executive order, would
place them in position of really
being able" to do something about
Uncle Sans Office space problems.
Space Investigations.
PBA's running survey of Office oc-
cupancy, they said, already has been
intensified and at least two addi-
tional space investigators" have
been added to the staff in Washing
ton alone.
Never before, they said, has an
agency of the Government been able
to manage space on such a wide
scale and in a direct and pre-
scribed" manner rather than on
request and would you mind mov-
ing over" basis.
In the past, space control by PBA
and its predecessors in buildings
management has been hamstrung
by ruling of the Attorney General,
which said in effect that PBA could
manage space in a building desig-
mated by Congress for a specific
agency only after the agency had
met its own needs.
The effect of this ruling has been
that PBA has been unable to tell
any old-line agency to move over
and make room. All it has been able
to do is use the little difference" in
space control maneuverings.
The executive order, plus the bill,
would put the Attorney Generals
ruling just about at the bottom of
the Potomac River" one official said.