Procurement of Sites for Public Buildings

The bill would repeal that part of the act of March 2, 1889, as amended, which requires that in the procurement of sites for public buildings it shall be the duty of the Attorney General to require grantors to furnish, free of all expenses to the Government, all requisite abstracts, official certifications and evidences of title that he may deem necessary. The cited statutes applies only to site acquired for public buildings, which sites it is understood represent only a small percentage of the number and value of Government acquisitions. The statue does not apply to sites which are not to be used for public buildings, such as sites for military reservations, defense requirements, flood-control and reclamation projects, Veterans Administration facilities, national forests and other similar Government acquisitions. With respect to the acquisitions of the latter type, it has been the universal practice for years to pay the costs of abstracts and other necessary title evidence from the appropriations available for the acquisition of the sites, except where the sites are acquired by condemnation in which event the cost of procuring title evidence is generally regarded as part of the expense of the condemnation proceedings, and therefore for payment out of the appropriations for the Department of Justice.