ALLOTMENT AND ASSIGNMENT OF PAY TO COVER THE GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE TUESDAY, MAY 12, 1964 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON POST OFFICE AND CIVIL SERVICE, Washington, D.C. The subcommittee met at 10 a.m., in room 215, Cannon House Office Building, Hon. Edward R. Roybal (chairman) presiding. Mr. ROYBAL. The hearing will come to order. This subcommittee was appointed to consider H.R. 8827, sponsored by Mr. Sickles, of Maryland; and H.R. 8856, sponsored by Mr. Lankford, of Maryland; similar bills which will bring the Government Printing Office within the purview of the act of September 26, 1961, relating to allotment and assignment of civilian employees' compensation. (The bills referred to follow :) [H.R. 8827, 88th Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To extend the Act of September 26, 1961, relating to allotment and assignment of pay, to cover the Government Printing Office, and for other purposes Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That paragraph (1) of the first section of the Act entitled "An Act to authorize pay with respect to civilian employees of the United States in cases of emergency evacuations, to consolidate the laws governing allotment and assignment of pay by such employees, and for other purposes", approved September 26, 1961 (75 Stat. 662; 5 U.S.C. 3071), is amended (1) by striking out the word "and" immediately following "(F) the Library of Congress ;"; (2) by adding "(G) the Government Printing Office; and" immediately below (3) by striking out “(G)” and inserting in lieu thereof “(H)”. [H.R. 8856, 88th Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To bring the Government Printing Office within the purview of the Act of September 26, 1961, relating to allotment and assignment of pay and other matters Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That paragraph (1) of the first section of the Act of September 26, 1961 (75 Stat. 662; Public Law 87-304; 5 U.S.C. 3071), is amended by striking out "(F) the Library of Congress; and "(G) the municipal government of the District of Columbia." and inserting in lieu thereof "(F) the Library of Congress; "(G) the municipal government of the District of Columbia; and Mr. ROYBAL. The act of September 26, 1961, Public Law 87-304, authorizes the head of each department covered by the act to provide: (1) For the continuance and advancement of pay to which civilian employees in cases of emergency evacuations are entitled; and (2) for allotments and assignments of pay by such employees. Under the provisions of the first section, the act now applies to the departments and agencies of the executive and judicial branches, the municipal government of the District of Columbia, the General Accounting Office, and the Library of Congress. These bills will extend the authority provided by the act to the Government Printing Office. It is my understanding that the basic reason being advanced as justification for this legislation is to provide a means for employees of the Government Printing Office to have the same benefits now enjoyed by employees of the executive branch in regard to the right of the employees to authorize setoffs from their compensation for union dues and for State income tax purposes. Hon. Carlton R. Sickles has his legislative assistant present. STATEMENT OF JAMES REID, LEGISLATIVE ASSISTANT TO HON. CARLTON R. SICKLES, REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF MARYLAND Mr. REID. Mr. Chairman, in behalf of Congressman Sickles I would like to say we are very happy you scheduled hearings on this bill. We intend to file a statement later with the subcommittee. The Congressman himself had hoped to testify this morning. The House Education and Labor Committee has been in executive session since about 9:45 working on the antipoverty legislation and that is the reason for his not being here. We hope you can support this measure and we intend to file a statement with the committee detailing the reasons for our introduction of the bill and we hope you will get behind it. Mr. ROYBAL. All right, sir; thank you very much. (The statement of Congressman Sickles follows:) STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN CARLTON R. SICKLES, OF MARYLAND Mr. Chairman, I am pleased that you have scheduled hearings on H.R. 8827. This measure would bring the Government Printing Office under the provisions of Public Law 87-304. Among other things, this would provide the authority for the withholding of Maryland and Virginia State income taxes from the pay of those employees working for the GPO who wish to do so. This legislation is favored by the State of Maryland and the employees of the GPO. Mr. James L. Harrison, Public Printer, has no objection to the passage of this bill. I hope members of the committee will give this bill their support. Mr. ROYBAL. Hon. Richard E. Lankford has a statement which, without objection, will be submitted for the record. (The statement referred to follows:) Hon. Toм MURRAY, CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES, Chairman, House Post Office and Civil Service Committee, DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: I was very glad to learn that you are going to hold a hearing on May 12 on legislation I have proposed (H.R. 8856) which would amend existing legislation so as to permit the Government Printing Office to withhold State income taxes from the pay of its employees. As you know, the act of September 26, 1961, permits certain Government agencies, but not the Government Printing Office, to withhold State income taxes from salary checks. However, the Comptroller General has ruled that in the absence of specific authority the Public Printer cannot withhold State income taxes. H.R. 8856 would give the Public Printer that authority. I believe that the reasons for enactment of this legislation are self-evident. There is no question that it would be much more convenient for the employees of the Government Printing Office if they were to have their State income taxes withheld from their salary checks. I have been informed by the Printing Office that they could accomplish this very easily. I also understand that the State of Maryland and the Commonwealth of Virginia have endorsed this legislation, and that there is no objection to it from any quarter. Therefore, I strongly urge that your committee give favorable consideration to H.R. 8856. I would appreciate it if you would make this letter a part of the record of the hearings. Best wishes. Sincerely yours, RICHARD E. LANKFORD, Mr. ROYBAL. We will now hear from Mr. Harold H. Leich, Chief, Program Planning Division, U.S. Civil Service Commission. STATEMENT OF HAROLD H. LEICH, CHIEF, PROGRAM PLANNING DIVISION, U.S. CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION Mr. LEICH. Mr. Chairman, I am accompanied by Mr. Frank Witham, of the Program Planner Division of the Civil Service Commission. We appreciate the opportunity to appear before your committee this morning in order to present the views of the Civil Service Commission regarding H.R. 8827, introduced by Mr. Sickles, and H.R. 8856, introduced by Mr. Lankford, which are similar bills designed to bring the Government Printing Office within the purview of the act of September 26, 1961, Public Law 87-304, relating to emergency evacuations payments to Federal civilian employees and allotments and assignments from their pay. On May 11, 1964, Chairman John W. Macy, Jr., of the Civil Service Commission, dispatched a letter to the Honorable Tom Murray, chairman of the House Committee on Post Office and Civil Service, setting forth the Commission's views on these two bills. I have extra copies of the letter here and would suggest that the letter be made part of your committee's hearing record. Mr. ROYBAL. Without objection, that will be done. (The letter referred to follows:) Hon. Toм MURRAY, U.S. CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION, Chairman, Committee on Post Office and Civil Service, House of Representatives, Room 213, Cannon House Office Building. DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: This is in further reply to your requests of January 3, 1964, for the Commission's views on H.R. 8827 and H.R. 8856, similar bills which would bring the Government Printing Office within the purview of the act of September 26, 1961, relating to allotment and assignment of pay and other matters. The act of September 26, 1961 (Public Law 87-304), authorizes the head of each department covered by the act to provide for the continuance and advancement of pay to its civilian employees in cases of emergency evacuations, and to provide for allotments and assignments of pay by such employees. This act now applies to all departments and agencies in the executive and judicial branches, to the municipal government of the District of Columbia, and to the General Accounting Office and the Library of Congress in the legislative branch. H.R. 8827 and H.R. 8856 would extend the authority provided by this act to the Government Printing Office. The authority to the head of each department under the act of September 26, 1961, to provide for evacuation payments and allotments and assignments of pay is permissive. However, the regulations and procedures established under this authority by departments in the executive branch must be consistent with regulations of the Civil Service Commission issued pursuant to section 6 of the act and Executive Order 10982. If included within the purview of the act, the Government Printing Office, not being in the executive branch, would not be subject to the Commission's regulations. The Commission sees no objection to the enactment of legislation such as proposed in H.R. 8827 and H.R. 8856 to bring the Government Printing Office within the purview of the act of September 26, 1961. The Bureau of the Budget advises that from the standpoint of the administration's program there is no objection to the submission of this report. By direction of the Commission: Sincerely yours, JOHN W. MACY, Jr., Chairman. Mr. LEICH. In brief the letter states the Commission has no objection to the coverage of the Government Printing Office under Public Law 87-304, and points out that the Government Printing Office, if covered, would not be subject to the regulatory authority of the Civil Service Commission which the President granted under Executive Order 10982. That order applies to executive branch agencies only and does not govern the two present legislative branch agencies, the Library of Congress and the General Accounting Office, which are already covered under Public Law 87-304. Therefore, if these current bills are enacted, the Public Printer would have full authority to carry out such provisions of Public Law 87-304 as he deemed necessary. In summary, Mr. Chairman, we believe that since the executive branch agencies are covered by the legislation, and two of the major legislative branch agencies are already covered, that it would be appropriate for the Government Printing Office likewise to be covered and therefore the Civil Service Commission has no objection. Mr. Chairman, that concludes my statement. I will be glad to try to respond to any questions the committee might have. Mr. ROYBAL. Mr. Ellsworth? Mr. ELLSWORTH. Is it your understanding that this legislation would permit employees to ask that their State income tax be withheld? It would not require it to be withheld; is that correct? |