National Bureau of Standards Expenditures for Construction of the Tire Testing Building

There has been questioned in the audit of the National Bureau of Standards the propriety of the expenditures originally made from the Bureau's working capital fund, established by the Deficiency Appropriation Act, 1950 (64 Stat. 279), for the construction of the tire testing building at a cost of approximately $150,000. The working capital fund was reimbursed by transfers of slightly more than $25,000 from two of the Bureau's appropriations and the remainder from two advances received from the appropriations of the Department of the Army, "Research and Development, Army (21X2040)" and "Research and Development, Army (2122040)." The Director, National Bureau of Standards, by letter dated June 14, 1954, in reply to Office letter of May 27, 1954, questioning the legal authority for construction of this building, takes the position that this building is not a "public building" or "public improvement" within the meaning of those terms as used in section 3733, Revised Statues. He states that at the time the project was nearing the end of the preliminary design stage, it was decided that the exterior shell of the facility constituted a building and, accordingly, its costs, which, therefore, could not be charged to the Army funds were charged to the Bureau's appropriation, Operation and Administration. However, the Bureau now believes that such a decision was overly cautious and that no part of the facility need have been described as public improvement, but that its full costs could have charged to appropriations such as Research and Development, Army, and Research and Testing, National Bureau of Standards, neither of which is specifically available for the construction of buildings or the making of public improvements.