The Lincoln times., 1955-03-03
Report From
Washington
BY REPRESENTATIVE c. r. JONAS
of the ieth North Carolina
Congressional District
Lincoln Cata Wba-Eufke-
Mecklenburs- Avery
Mitchell Ceunties

Mecklenburs-ASery-
Mitchell Ceunties
WASHINGTON - Those who
have listened to my radio broad
cast, or who have followed these
columns, know of my keen inter-
est in the General Services Ad-
ministration, the housekeeping
agency of the federal government
To answer a question t n has
been put to me many times,
would like to devote a little time
and space in describing what this
agency does.
WHY HOUSEKEEPING"
AGENCY?
A good starting point I feel is
first to answer the question. why
does the government need a
housekeeping agency?"
The United States Govern
ment has come to be the biggest
factor in the life of our cOun-
try. 1t is the biggest employer,
the biggest owner of capital as
sets, and the biggest spender of
money. Its activities touch the
life of every man. woman, and
child.
This year alone your federal
government will buy about 25 mil
lion pencils, $50 thousand erasers,
and something like 10 thousand
yards of red tape. tThey actually
use it to bind documentsD Its
accumulated records would fill a
half dozen Pentagons.
The scope of your government s
activity is almost unlimited. 1t
helps support the needy and de-
pendent, builds highways, inspects
meat, sells electric power, insures
home loans, offers advice to house
wives on how to sew slip covers,
buys millions of pounds of farm
products annually. and delivers
your mail
OWNS 155 BUILDINGS
Here in Washington alone, the
government owns l55 buildings
and leases another Sc.
Senator Byrd of Virginia is au-
thority for the information that
the government has 302 different
units engaged with national de-
fenSe problems. % with housing
SO lending money, q gathering
statistics, 81 in labor relations, and
a variety of others engaged in diff
ferent functions. The federal
bureaucracy has grown seven
times faster than the nation S
population in the last three de-
cadeS.
Small wonder, then. that the
government needs good house,
keeping and business manage
ment, and the GSA was created
to provide this. 1t buys the sup
plies, cleans the buildings, stores
the records governmental
housewife, of sorts. And, as in
most families, the efficiency of
its everyday life depends con-
siderably on this good lady.
GSA recently filed its annua
report for fiscal year 1854. Tha'
report shows that vast sums o.
money have been saved through
sound business practices. For in
stance, when the Civil Defens'
Administration needed a half mil
hon blankets, instead of going ou
and buying them as the gov
ernment used to do - GSA wa
able to find enough surplus blan
kets belonging to the Veteran
Administration and the Navy t.
fill the CDA requirements. Thi
saved the taxpayer S4.25 million
Another example occurred a
Camp Langdon, New Hampshire
where the Navy reactivated
training facility. Instead Of start
ing from scratch and buying neN
equipment, furnishings, and fix
lures, GSA was able to find eX
cess property enough to supply tn
camp with furniture, cafeteria
medical and hospital equipmen'
office supplies, and shop and au
tomotive equipment. The Savin
amounted to several hundre
thousand dollars.
There is direct interest in GS.
activities in North Cardinals lot
District. GSA is the agency whic
buys strategic materials for ou
stockpiling program. 1t operate
the Mica Depot at Spruce Pint
and is acquiring there. for tn
Governments stockpile, million
of dollars worth of this critica
material for which there is n
substitute.
have more than casual in
terest in the operations of GSA. i
my committee work have be
come acquainted with the official
in the agency, and their abilit
and desire to manage Fedora
property and records with effici
ency and economy have won m
respect.
MOTOR POOL LAW BEING
CARRIED OUT BY GSA
My interest goes even deepel
The Motor Pool Law l introduce