(Testimony of James J. Rowley)
Representative Ford.
Chief Rowley, on page 5 of Exhibit No. 1027, the statement is made, "In the fiscal year 1965, the Secret Service has requested funds for an additional 25 positions. The House of Representatives has included the requested funds in the TreasuryPost Office appropriation bill which Passed several weeks ago. These funds will not be sufficient to take the additional measures which we believe are required. However, since the 1965 budget figures had to be submitted in November 1963, it was not possible to make specific and properly justified requests at that time. We should be in a position to do so in the fiscal year 1966 budget submission."
You are not saying that you won't have whatever additional personnel you need now, or from now until the beginning of fiscal year 1966, for the Protection of the President?
Mr. Rowley.
No we are not saying that. We are saying that in view of the circumstances of what happened in November, that this budget of 25 Positions had already been submitted, and there was nothing you could do to take it back.
The 1966 budget was also prepared and submitted. But, as I explain later, in all consideration, we cannot at this time better skelter say we need so many men taking advantage of the tragedy. We want to experiment and develop what we need in protective research in the way of manpower and equipment, and what we need in the field, because necessarily we will have to have special agents added to the field to conduct any investigations on risks that may be forwarded to them.
Representative Ford.
But if in the process of your analysis of your needs, You develop that you need more personnel, you need new devices, you need equipment of any sort whatsoever---you won't delay the submission of that request just because of the fiscal year budget coming up for fiscal 1966?
Mr. Rowley.
No, sir.
Representative Ford.
Because we do have, as you well know, supplemental and deficiency appropriation bills.
Mr. Rowley.
That is right.
Representative Ford.
So if you need something, you can request it of the Bureau of the Budget, and if it can be justified, it can be submitted to the Congress in one of the other forms besides the regular appropriation bills."
Mr. Rowley.
That is right. Because now as I understand it the same committee handles the supplemental.
Representative Ford.
That is correct.
Mr. Rowley.
We are aware of that. That is what we would do when we arrive at what our requirements would be.
Representative Ford.
We can have your assurance that if you come up with requirements, you won't wait for fiscal 1966 to make your submission.
Mr. Rowley.
That is right.
Mr. Rankin.
Chief Rowley, you are in the process of trying to arrive at your estimates of what you need in additional personnel and equipment and other assistance to make the protective services and the Secret Service in its work of protecting the President as efficient as possible, are you?
Mr. Rowley.
Yes, sir.
Mr. Rankin.
And you are seeking the help and advice of people that you have named, such as the Rand Corp., and others?
Mr. Rowley.
Yes, sir.
Mr. Rankin.
And do you have any estimate now that you can give the Corn-mission as to when you might have your estimates in that regard?
Mr. Rowley.
Well, I think, No. 1, with regard to the protective research, I think we need some expert there to assist us in developing our requirements, particularly in the criteria, on a full-time basis. We have assigned what we thought were sufficient men at this time to cope with the volume of work and reports that we have been receiving, which are now being received from the various organizations of approximately a hundred reports a day. So that we have cut down to a considerable point.
Now, following the evaluation and the processing of these reports, we will determine just what we actually need in the way of manpower.
Mr. Rankin.
You also have the problem of being able to get that material out once you have it, don't you?
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