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Department of the Army

"The Department of the Army on behalf of the Department of Defense interposes no objection to the above-mentioned bill.

"It is the expressed policy of the Department of the Army that the Army and Navy General Hospital is excess to its needs. For several years the Congress has required the Army to operate the hospital by a rider on annual appropriation bills. The State of Arkansas desired to take over the hospital and operate it as a rehabilitation center with assistance from Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. To this end, the State of Arkansas has enacted legislation which will permit it to accept the property. Although the Army owns the buildings comprising the Army and Navy General Hospital, the land belongs to the National Park Service. Such land is not disposable under the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act. Accordingly, an act of Congress is necessary to convey the property to the State of Arkansas.

"The exact fiscal effects of this legislation are not known to the Department of Defense. This legislation will result in savings to the Government insofar as the operating costs of the hospital are concerned."

Department of the Interior

The Department of the Interior submitted the following comments and recommendations for amendments to S. 1616:

"This Department would have no objection to the enactment of this bill if it is amended as suggested below.

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"With the exception of 3.5 acres, including certain improvements thereon, the area involved is not required for Hot Springs National Park. Approximately 15 acres of this property are now occupied and used by the Department of the Army for the Army and Navy General Hospital pursuant to the acts approved June 30, 1882 (22 Stat. 121), and June 18, 1930 (46 Stat. 781).

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"In order to exclude the 3.5 acre tract including improvements, equipment, personal property, utilities and appurtenances thereon, from the conveyance authority, and to assure a continuous source of hot water for park visitors and at the same time provide a source for the State facility under a system of uniform and adequate control, we recommend that S. 1616 be amended as follows:

"On page 1, line 6, substitute 'twenty-one point five' for 'twenty-five.' On page 2, line 2, change the period to a semicolon and insert immediately thereafter: "'Provided, nothing in this Act shall authorize a conveyance or transfer with respect to the following described portion of Hot Springs National Park, including land, buildings, improvements, appurtenances, and utilities appertaining thereto and equipment and personal property located thereon:

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"Beginning at the west iron road gate post on the property line at Reserve Avenue at point A, northwesterly along the curb line to point B approximately midway along the curb line immediately east of Building No. 16; thence northeasterly to terminus of the rock will at point C; thence northeasterly to the junction with the U.S. Government property line at point E; thence southerly and westerly along the property line to the starting point at point A, containing approximately 3.5 acres, being the land shown on sheet 9 of 10 sheets, Drawing No. 109, entitled "Master Plan Army and Navy General Hospital, General Utility Map, as revised by the National Park Service, April 20, 1959, Dwg. No. NP-HS-7005."

"Provided further, Title to the thermal waters on and under lands conveyed pursuant hereto is reserved in the United States of America in connection with the administration of Hot Springs National Park and the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to grant the State a permit for the use of so much of said waters as are required in the operation of the State facility for the purposes set out in section 3.'

"In order that the conveyance might be made on terms which would assure administration of the State facilities in a manner not inconsistent with the purpose for which the surrounding Hot Springs National Park was established, we recommend that section 6 be amended by inserting on line 15, page 3, immediately after 'h' the following words: 'and the Secretary of the Interior'".

Approved:

GLENN K. SHRIVER, Professional Staff Member.

WALTER L. REYNOLDS, Staff Director.

SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS, May 20, 1959.

Staff memorandum No. 86-1-27

Subject: Amendment in the nature of substitute for S. 1616, a bill to direct the Secretary of the Army to convey the Army and Navy General Hospital, Hot Springs National Park, Ark., to the State of Arkansas, and for other purposes.

Staff Memorandum 86-1-22, dated May 7, 1959, indicates that all of the departments and agencies which submitted reports on S. 1616 were in favor of its enactment into law. However, the Bureau of the Budget, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, and the Department of the Interior recommended that certain amendments be considered by the committee. The Bureau of the Budget recommended the following amendments:

1. That the 31⁄2 acres and buildings thereon now used by the National Park Service be excluded from the conveyance.

2. That the permanent restrictions on the use of the property by the State of Arkansas, as set forth in section 3 of the bill, be limited to a period of 20 years, as is the usual period prescribed in such disposals.

3. In the event of failure by the State of Arkansas to comply with the restrictions contained in the deed, that the Secretary of the Army be designated, upon recommendation of the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, as the agency to effect a reverter of the property to the United States.

The Department of Health, Education, and Welfare also concurred in the Bureau of the Budget recommendations that the conditions and restrictions placed in the conveyance should be limited to 20 years, and, in the event of noncompliance by the State, that the Secretary of the Army would have the authority to effect a reverter on recommendations of the Secretary of HEW. The Department of the Interior concurred in the Bureau of the Budget recommendation, that the 32 acres used by the National Park Service be specifically excluded in the bill, and that the metes and bounds of the property to be excluded should be incorporated in the bill. The Department also recommended that specific authority be vested in the United States over the use of thermal waters, under authority of the Department of the Interior, to assure an adequate supply of water for other users in the Hot Springs National Park.

The above amendments, together with some changes in drafting technique made by the legislative counsel of the Senate, have been incorporated in the attached "Amendment in the nature of a substitute."

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Intended to be proposed by Mr. to the bill (S. 1616) to direct the Secretary of the Army to convey the Army and Navy General Hospital, Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas, to the State of Arkansas, and for other purposes, viz: Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu thereof the following:

That (a) the Secretary of the Army is authorized and directed to convey to the State of Arkansas by quitclaim deed, without consideration and without regard to the provisions of section 2662 of title 10 of the United States Code, but subject to the conditions, limitations, and reservations hereinafter set forth, all right, title, and interest of the United States in and to twenty-one and onehalf acres, more or less, of land located at Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas, which comprise a part of the reservation presently occupied by the Army and Navy General Hospital, together with all buildings and improvements situated thereon and all appurtenances and utilities belonging or appertaining thereto.

(b) The conveyance authorized by this Act may not include any part of that portion of the Hot Springs National Park, comprising approximately three and one-half acres hereinafter described by metes and bounds, presently occupied in part by the National Park Service, or any building, improvement, appurtenance, or utility appertaining thereto, or any personal property situated thereon. Such buildings, improvements, appurtenances, and utilities are hereby transferred to the Department of the Interior. The limitation made by the first sentence of this subsection applies to that portion of such park described as follows: Beginning at the west iron road gate post on the property line at Reserve Avenue at point A, northwesterly along the curb line to point B approximately midway along the curb line immediately east of building numbered 16; thence northeasterly to terminus of the rock wall at point C; thence northeasterly to the junction of the rock wall and the rock and masonry wall at point D; thence northeasterly along the rock and masonry wall to its junction with the United States Government property line at point E; thence southerly and westerly along the property line to the starting point at point A, containing approximately 3.5 acres, being the land shown on sheet 9 of 10 sheets, drawing numbered 109, entitled "Master Plan Army and Navy General Hospital, General Utility Map, as revised by the National Park Service, April 20, 1959, Dwg. No. NP-HS-7005."

SEC. 2. The deed of conveyance executed pursuant to this Act shall expressly reserve to the United States (a) all mineral rights in the land so conveyed, and (b) full title to all thermal waters on and under such land. The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to grant to the State of Arkansas a permit for the use of so much of such waters as may be required for the use of such land by the State for the purposes described in section 3 of this Act.

SEC. 3. The deed of conveyance of real property authorized by this Act shall include the conditions that (a) such property shall be used by the State of Arkansas for a period of twenty years after the date of such conveyance as a Vocational rehabilitation center or for other public health or educational purposes, (b) if at any time during that period the Secretary of the Army determines, upon advice received from the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, that the property so conveyed is not used for such purposes, title thereto shall immediately revert to the United States, and (c) in the event of any such reversion, title to all improvements made thereon by the State of Arkansas during its occupancy shall vest in the United States without payment of compensation therefor.

SEC. 4. The deed of conveyance of the real property authorized by this Act shall include appropriate provisions to insure that (a) whenever the Congress of the United States declares a state of war or other national emergency, or the President declares a state of emergency, and upon the determination by the Secretary of Defense that the property conveyed under this Act is useful or necessary for military, air, or naval purposes, or in the interest of national defense, the United States shall have the right, without obligation to make payment of any kind, to reenter upon the property and use the same or any part thereof, including any and all improvements made thereon by the State of Arkansas, for a period not to exceed the duration of such state of war or national emergency plus six months, and (b) upon the termination of such use by the United States, the property shall be returned to the State of Arkansas, together with any or all improvements thereon and appurtenances appertaining thereto. SEC. 5. In executing the deed of conveyance authorized by this Act, the Secretary of the Army shall include such other reservations and conditions as he and the Secretary of the Interior shall determine to be required in the public interest.

SEC. 6. Upon the execution of that deed of conveyance, the Secretary of the Army is further authorized, subject to the provisions of subsection (b) of the first section of this Act, to transfer to the State of Arkansas, without consideration, such equipment and personal property located at the Army and Navy General Hospital as he shall determine to be required for use by the State for the purpose stated in section 3 of this Act.

SEC. 7. In the event the State of Arkansas does not accept the conveyance authorized by this Act on or before June 30, 1960, the Secretary of the Army shall thereafter report to the Administrator of the General Services Administration as excess property pursuant to the povisions of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (63 Stat. 377), as amended, all the lands and improvements thereon comprising the Army and Navy General Hospital, Hot Springs

National Park, Arkansas, and said lands and improvements thereon shall cease to be a part of the Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas.

SEC. 8. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior may take custody and control of any or all of the lands and improvements thereon comprising the Army and Navy General Hospital, and restore such lands and improvements to the Hot Springs National Park, if (a) the State of Arkansas does not accept the conveyance authorized by this Act on or before June 30, 1960, or (b) title thereto reverts to the United States following the conveyance thereof to the State of Arkansas.

U.S. SENATE,

COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS,

SUBCOMMITTEE ON REORGANIZATION AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS,

Hon. JOHN L. MCCLELLAN,

Chairman, Government Operations Committee,
Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C.

May 20, 1959.

MY DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: I am writing to convey my personal strong endorsement of legislation which you have introduced to direct the Secretary of the Army to convey the Army and Navy General Hospital at Hot Springs National Park, Ark., to the State of Arkansas.

In my judgment, this legislation is sound, is in the interest of the United States as a whole, and in particular to the region which would henceforth be served by an immensely important center where medical, vocational, social adjustment, and related training could be rendered to disabled civilians.

I had hoped to have the opportunity to present testimony before the committee in person to convey these thoughts.

However, because of other legislative obligations, I am sending this letter and asking if it may, with your permission, be printed in the transcript of your hearings.

I should like to note as a matter of record that the views which I respectfully submit herewith are based in part on evidence compiled in the course of an international health and rehabilitation study which is being made in accordance with S. Res. 347, 85th Congress, and S. Res. 42, 86th Congress.

I believe that it will be a source of well-deserved pride for the people of Arkansas to recall that this health study itself could not have been possible without the expert and eager cooperation which you, Mr. Chairman, have personally given.

The fact is that these health resolutions were referred to the Committee on Government Operations of which you are the distinguished chairman. The resolutions were reported unanimously from the committee. In turn, the study is being made by the committee and specifically, by your decision, by the Subcommittee on Reorganization and International Organizations on which you had kindly designated me as chairman.

Let the record be further stated that you serve as a member of this particular health subcommittee in addition to all the many other heavy duties which you bear.

In this health study, our first interest, as you know, has been in advancing the well-being of our own people of the United States. We have sought to find out what could be done at home and abroad which would directly and indirectly serve the needs of 170 million Americans and of the uncounted numbers of our citizens who will follow in the years ahead.

A vast body of information on rehabilitation in America has come to the attention of the subcommittee. Let me specifically point out: That we note with pleasure that last year, the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation in Arkansas ranked third nationally in the number of handicapped people rehabilitated per 100,000 population. This certainly speaks well and eloquently for the future of rehabilitation in Arkansas-and for the wise plans to establish a comprehensive rehabilitation center at Hot Springs, for this represents a logical step forward by a State agency which already has established a splendid record.

I was particularly pleased that one of our outstanding Minnesota physicians and leaders in rehabilitation was a member of the survey committee which studied the Hot Springs facility and recommended its transfer and use as a rehabilitation center. I refer to Dr. Frank Krusen of the Mayo Clinic, who is widely known for his work in rehabilitation and who has been an active leader

in developing rehabilitation programs and facilities in my own State. Dr. Krusen and the other members of the survey committee were in a position to assess the physical plant, the professional plans and the other phases of this proposal, and I have great confidence in their recommendations.

In Minnesota, we also have had remarkable progress in rehabilitation services for our handicapped citizens. I have had the privilege of discussing many of these problems, plans, and programs with both public and voluntary agencies there.

The proposed regional facility at Hot Springs is in line with the regional concept which was adopted in Minnesota to establish the Regional Adjustment Center for the Blind at Minneapolis last year, under the sponsorship of the Minneapolis Society for the Blind, which also will serve blind persons from other nearby States. This project, which was established with the joint financing of the society and the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, will enable Minnesota and surrounding States to provide better services to a much larger number of blind persons during the coming year.

May I conclude, therefore, with the earnest hope that this legislation will be reported unanimously from the Committee on Government Operations. I hope thereafter that it will be promptly enacted by the Senate and by the House of Representatives so that all the disabled may benefit.

Moreover, I express the earnest hope that adequate appropriations by the Federal Government will be made available through the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation to assure the logical development of this center as the great regional asset which we know it can and will become.

Thanking you for your consideration of this presentation, I am
Sincerely,

HUBERT H. HUMPHREY,
Subcommittee Chairman.

The CHAIRMAN. The Chair also directs that there be inserted in the record at this point, a letter and accompanying statement by Dr. Frank H. Krusen, of the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., who was a member of the National Advisory Council on Vocational Rehabilitation, and who was also a member of a team that participated in a survey to ascertain whether there was need for the rehabilitation center the bill S. 1616 proposes to establish.

(The documents referred to follow :)

Hon. JOHN L. MCCLELLAN,

MAYO CLINIC, Rochester, Minn., May 15, 1959.

Chairman, U.S. Senate Committee on Government Operations, U.S. Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C.

DEAR SENATOR MCCLELLAN: On Thursday, May 14, I received a telephone call from one of the executive assistants of the Senate Committee on Government Operations. I believe his name was Mr. Shriver. He informed me that this Senate committee, under your chairmanship, was holding hearings on Thursday, May 21, regarding the possible conversion of the Army and Navy Hospital at Hot Springs, Ark., into a rehabilitation facility.

Your assistant asked me whether I could appear at these hearings on May 21, or submit a statement for the attention of the committee. I informed him that I was scheduled to attend and deliver lectures at the Fourth Inter-American Conference on Rehabilitation (which is being held in San Juan, P.R., on May 20 to 23) and that, because of this previous commitment, I would be unable to appear before your committee, much as I should like to do so.

I did agree, however, to submit a statement, which he suggested that I send directly to you, as chairman of the Committee on Government Operations. I enclose this statement herewith, and I respectfully submit it for the consideration of your committee.

Sincerely yours,

FRANK H. KRUSEN, M.D.

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