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EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT BUREAU OF THE BUDGET WASHINGTON 25, D. C. NOV 1 6 1945 My dear Mr. Latta: On November 8, 1945, you advised this office that S. 562, "For the relief of Klau-Ven Pietersom-Dunlap Associates, Incorporated, " had been received at the White House and requested reports and recommenda- tions as to the approval of the bill. It is the purpose of the bill to pay the sum of $1,664.05 to Klau- Van Pietersom-Dunlap Associates, Incorporated, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for services rendered at the request of district representatives of the War Production Board, in preparing a presentation setting forth the facil- ities in the State of Wisconsin for the manufacture of plywood aircraft, and in conducting the necessary research in connection therewith, includ- ing the reimbursement of expenses incurred in the preparation of such presentation. It appears that, in the spring of 1942, two members of the War Pro- duction Board discussed with the claimant a project to conduct certain research in the preparation of a brochure setting forth the facilities in the State of Wisconsin for the manufacture of plywood aircraft; that after numerous conferences the claimant prepared such a brochure and de- livered 250 copies thereof to the War Production Board; that no contract covering these services was entered into by any authorized contracting officer of the War Production Board; and that no payment for the services rendered has ever been made. Facsimiles of the enrolled enactment have been referred to the Civilian Production Admini stration (formerly the War Production Board) and the Department of Justice, and their replies are attached. The Civilian Production Administrator states that the claim was originally presented to the War Production Board in 1942 and was tumed down on several later occasions by various officials within the War Pro- duction Board, primarily on the ground of lack of authority to enter into a contract for such services and lack of funds; and that, subsequently, the claim was turned down by the Comptroller General in a letter dated June 13, 1944, on the ground that no written contract had been made. In this connection, however, the Civilien 'roduction Administrator calls at- tention to the fact that the Contract Settlement Act of 1944 provides for the payment of certain claims arising out of oral instructions of Govern- ment officials in the absence of formal contracts, and that it is possible this particular claim could be successfully supported under that Act.