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284839847
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White House Press Release, Message from President Harry S. Truman to the United States Congress
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1
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284839847
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document
title
White House Press Release, Message from President Harry S. Truman to the United States Congress
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White House Press Release Files (Truman Administration)
White House Press Releases
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284839847
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1947-04-01
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4
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1947
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125
#1075
HOLD FOR RELEASE
HOLD FOR RELEASE
HOLD FOR RELEASE
APRIL 1, 1947
CONFIDENTIAL: To be held in STRICT CONFIDENCE and no portion,
synopsis or intimation to be given out or published until the
READING of the President 's Message has begun in either the
Senate or House of Representatives. Extreme care must therefore
be exercised to avoid permature publication
CHARLES G. ROSS
Secretary to the President
TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES:
Public Law 548 of the 79th Congress provides:
"On or before April 1, 1947, the President
shall report to the Congress what, if any,
commodities or classes of commodities,
including housing accommodations, are in
such critically short supply as to necessitate,
in his judgment, the continuance of the powers
granted by this Act as to them after June 30,
1947, together with his recommendations as to
established departments or agencies of the
Government (other than the Office of Price
Administration) which should be charged with
the administration of such powers."
On November 12, 1946, price controls were eliminated on all
commodities except sugar, sugar solutions derived from sugar cane or
sugar beets, corn syrup and corn sugar, blended syrups, and rough and
milled rice. Since the Sugar Control Extension Act of 1947 has become
law, it is unnecessary for me to repeat the views I have already
expressed with respect to the subject matter of that Act.
Despite the rapid upswing in residential construction during
1946 the Nation is still faced with a critical housing shortage.
Dwelling accommodations, particularly rental units, are still radically
out of balance with demand. In 88 cities surveyed by the Bureau of
Labor statistics and the Bureau of the Census during 1946, vacancies
in rental units were virtually non-existent. The vacancy rates in
habitable accommodations for these cities ranged from zero to a maximum
of one per cent with an average well below one-half of one per cent.
Proper protection of millions of our American families requires that
effective rent and eviction control be extended beyond June 30, 1947,
for a further period of one year, and I so recommend.
AS for the agency of the Government to administer rent
controls, it was my original recommendation that the Office of Temporary
Controls be assigned this responsibility. "However, recent legislation
requires the liquidation of that agency, and a bill now under consideration
by the Senate, would transfer these functions to the Housing Expediter.
I raise no objection to this proposal.
HARRY S. TRUMAN
THE WHITE HOUSE,
April 1, 1947