Evening star., 1951-01-22
Large Growth
In i. ). Offices
by Byrd
Space Is Equivalent
To e6 Empire State
Buildings, Report Says

10 20 empire Stote
Buildings, Report Says
One of the most comprehensive
reports on Federal employment
and Government Office space prob
lens ever submitted to Congress
was made public today by the
Joint Congressional Committee on
Nonessential Federal Expendi-
lures.
Headed by Senator Byrd, Demo-
crat, of Virginia. the report in
cluded the following highlights:
/. Floor space occupied by the
Governments executive branch is
more than 96 times that in New
York's 102-story Empire State
Building. That building the
worlds tallest-has space of 2 mil
lion square feet.
2. Government agencies in
Washington occupy 31,141, ,566
square feet in 207 buildings. In
Virginia, the amount of Govern
ment space in 125 buildings is
/ 1862 200 square feet, with IL
buildings and 242,262 square feet
in Alexandria and 20 buildings
and 155 ,696 square feet in Arling-
ton. There are 1,611,641 square
feet of Government space in
Maryland, in SIS buildings. Forty
three of the buildings are in Ball
timore.
1000 Jobs Added Daily.
8. Federal employment is in
creasing at the rate of more than
1000 a day.
4. The Government has civilian
employees in every county of the
United States except one-Arm-
strong County, S. Oak.
The committee called for q
'checkrein" on Federal hiring.
It proposed that the National
Security Resources Board, con-
gressional appropriation commit
tees and the budget director take
e hand in determining If future
increases in Government hiring
are necessary.
California Leads in Workers.
Senator Byrd declared that un-
less there is checkrein re-
quirement for more effective use
If manpower in the Federal Gov
eminent" there will be efforts by
the agencies to speed up their
hiring.
California, with 10000, out
ranked all other States and the
District of Columbia in the num-
ber of civilian employees. This
was because the report listed for
the District only those workers
whose duty stations" are in the
District.
Such a breakdown gives the
District 165, 1895 Federal employees.
but listed under Virginia and
Maryland an additional $4,000
Government employees Of the
Washington metropolitan area
who work in the nearby States.
Next after the District came
New York with 160,720 and Penn
sylvania with 103,768.
Office Rent Increasing.
Regarding space problems, the
committee said that before the
war the executive departments
and agencies-exclusive of the
military. establishments were
spending more than 500 million
a year for rent and utilities. The
military spent another 500 mil
lion, the report added.
Since the fighting began, the
report said. the Government "is
finding difficulties in supplying
demands" for more room, and
privately owned space with a few
exceptions was not to be had
in any large or moderate cities"
The report added that rents
"were found to be mounting with
no signs OF levellng OIL"
Latest Figures Released.
The committee said that before
the Korean war, Government
agencies covered by it's survey oc-
cupied at least $50 million square
feet of space spread out through
virtually every community in the
continental United States"
Latest Government employ
ment figures were 2,159, 1897 at the
end of November. Just before the
outbreak of the Korean war Fed
eral employment numbered a
little less than 2 million. Since
then, the committee report said.
Federal workers have been added
at the rate of 1000 a day.