White House Press Release, Message of President Harry S. Truman to the United States House of Representatives

97 1547 HOLD FOR RELEASE HOLD FOR RELEASE HOLD FOR RELEASE MARCH 22, 1948 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 the House of Representatives. Extreme care must therefore be exercised to avoid premature publication. CHARLES G. ROSS Secretary to the President TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: I return herewith, without my approval, H. R. 2268, 80th Congress, entitled "AN ACT For the relief of Charles E. Crook and B. L. Fielder." The bill authorizes and directs the Comptroller General to credit the account of Charles E. Crook, postmaster, of Vicksburg, Mississippi, in the sum of $699.15, and relieves B. L. Fielder, assistant postmaster in that office, from any liability to refund or to pay to the United States said sum of $699.15, such sum being the amount of increased salary paid to Mr. Fielder, assistant postmaster, from December 1, 1942, to August 12, 1946, and disallowed by the General Accounting Office. The bill also authorizes the Postmaster General to pay to Mr. Fielder from the appropria- tion made for the fiscal year 1947 such sum as he may have repaid as a result of the circumstances hereinabove set forth and provides that the Comptroller General shall allow the same. The Act of February 28, 1925, providing for the reclassification of salaries for postmasters and employees of the postal service, contained a provision in Section 3 thereof whereby in central accounting offices where the gross receipts are less than $500,000 per annum and no postal cashier is provided, the employee in charge of central accounting work should be allowed an increase of $200 per annum. The Act of July 6, 1945 provided substantially the same authority. During the period December 1, 1942, through June 30, 1945, Mr. Fielder was paid additional compensation at a rate of $200 per annum for central accounting work, whereas Margaret A. Mulvihill received $200 per annum additional compensation for that work during the same period. Since there is no provision of law whereby two employees may draw addi- tional salary for central accounting work at post offices with gross receipts of less than $500,000, the General Accounting Office stated excep- tions in the amount of $539.96 in the accounts of Charles E. Crook for the overpayment of salary to Mr. Fielder through June 30, 1945. Miss Mulvihill's assignment as employee in charge of central accounting records was terminated at the close of business on June 30, 1945. It was not until August 13, 1946, that the Postmaster General approved the assignment of Mr. Fielder to the central accounting work, with a $200 increase in compensation as provided by section 9(z) of the Act of July 6, 1945. Accordingly, the General Accounting Office stated additional excep- tions in the amount of $238.02 in the accounts of Charles E. Crook for over- payment of salary to Mr. Fielder from July 1, 1945, to August 12, 1946. The sum of $80.00 has been reported as collected from Mr. Fielder. It appears obvious that the Federal government should not be required to pay the additional compensation of $200 per annum to two employees in the same office for the same work during the period December 1, 1942, through June 30, 1945. Miss Mulvihill apparently performed the central accounting work and appropriately received the additional compensation for that period; and there would appear to be no justification for relieving Mr. Fielder of the obligation to refund to the Government the overpayment to him of $539.96. (OVER)