(49 U. S. C., sec. 1). And since the enactment of the common-carrier provision in the Mineral Leasing Act, Congress has passed the Natural Gas Act in 1938 (15 U. S. C., sec. 717 et seq.), thereby vesting very broad jurisdiction over naturalgas pipelines in the Federal Power Commission. The extent of that jurisdiction is, perhaps, not all inclusive, but it is apparent that Congress has selected the Federal Power Commission as the appropriate Federal agency to regulate naturalgas pipelines to whatever extent Congress shall determine that they ought to be regulated.

On March 22, 1951, the then Secretary of the Interior, in an effort to make the common-carrier provision of the Mineral Leasing Act effective as a regulating device, undertook to require natural gas pipeline companies, as a condition of the grant of a right-of-way across public lands, to file a stipulation whereby they agreed to act as common carriers, to submit rate schedules to the Secretary of the Interior, to file such schedules with the Federal Power Commission and to construct additional facilities as their common-carrier obligations might require subject to many limitations). The right of the Secretary to take this action was contested in the courts of the District of Columbia in the case entitled, “El Paso Natural Gas Company v Chapman," and culminated in a decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, dated March 26, 1953, in which the court held that the action taken was "beyond the authority of the Secretary." The decision in the El Paso case would indicate that under the language of the existing statute the Secretary is without authority to promulgate detailed regula tions of the pipelines respecting the common-carrier obligation of the Mineral Leasing Act. Even if this were possible, it seems impractical to incorporate into a grant of a right-of-way the numerous regulatory provisions that would normally be applied to a regulated industry. In other words, to attempt to regulate oil and gas pipelines through provisions in a grant of a right-of-way is, at best, a very left-handed approach to the subject. It seems to me, therefore, that if Congress should see fit to require gas pipelines to be common carriers, the matter should be approached directly and not through the indirect method of regulations and conditions in the grants of rights-of-way. The Congress has designated the Federal Power Commission to exercise broad powers over the regulation of the gas industry by the Natural Gas Act. That Commission has a staff of engineers, accountants and rate experts. The Interior Department does not have and never has had a staff of that nature with reference to the gas industry. Moreover, such jurisdiction as the Department might exercise through restrictions in grants of rights-of-way would always be, at best, only partial, and furthermore, would not affect all pipelines but only such gas pipelines as happen to cross public lands. Meritorious as the common-carrier provision might have been at the time of its enactment in 1920, it seems to me that with the control of oil pipelines in the Interstate Commerce Commission, and the control of most major gas pipelines in the Federal Power Commission, the common-carrier provision now serves only a limited purpose.

Therefore, to whatever extent the Congress decides that regulations should be imposed on natural-gas pipelines crossing public lands, it should designate the Federal Power Commission as the administering agency.

Since I am informed that there is a particular urgency for the submission of the views of the Department, this report has not been cleared through the Bureau of the Budget, and, therefore, no commitment can be made concerning the relationship of the views expressed herein to the program of the President.

Sincerely yours,

DOUGLAS MCKAY,
Secretary of the Interior.

The bill has been amended to conform to the language of the Companion bill, H. R. 5664, as reported by the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs.

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

In compliance with subsection (4) of rule XXIX of the Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by the bill (S. 2220), as reported, are shown as follows (new matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman):

SECTION 28 OF THE ACT OF FEBRUARY 25, 1920, AS AMENDED (30 U. S. C., SEC. 185)

Rights-of-way through the public lands, including the forest reserves of the United States, may be granted by the Secretary of the Interior for pipeline purposes for the transportation of oil or natural gas to any applicant possessing the qualifications provided in section 181 of this title, to the extent of the ground occupied by the said pipeline and twenty-five feet on each side of the same under such regulations and conditions as to survey, location, application, and use as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior and upon the express condition that such pipelines shall be constructed, operated, and maintained as common carriers and shall accept, convey, transport, or purchase without discrimination, oil or natural gas produced from Government lands in the vicinity of the pipeline in such proportionate amounts as the Secretary of the Interior may, after a full hearing with due notice thereof to the interested parties and a proper finding of facts, determine to be reasonable: Provided, That the common-carrier provisions of this section shall not apply to any natural gas pipeline operated by any person subject to regulation under the Natural Gas Act or by any public utility subject to regulation by a State or municipal regulatory agency having jurisdiction to regulate the rates and charges for the sale of natural gas to consumers within the State or municipality: Provided further, That the Government shall in express terms reserve and shall provide in every lease of oil lands under sections 181-194, 201, 202-208, 211-214, 223-229, 241, 251 and 261-263 of this title that the lessee, assignee, or beneficiary, if owner, or operator or owner of a controlling interest in any pipeline or of any company operating the same which may be operated accessible to the oil derived from lands under such lease, shall at reasonable rates and without discrimination accept and convey the oil of the Government or of any citizen or company not the owner of any pipeline, operating a lease or purchasing gas or oil under the provisions of said sections:

O

A BILL TO AUTHORIZE THE DISPOSAL OF THE GOVERN-
MENT-OWNED RUBBER-PRODUCING FACILITIES,
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES TOGETHER
WITH THE MINORITY VIEWS

25008

JULY 14 (legislative day, JULY 6), 1953.—Ordered to be printed

UNITED STATES

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON: 1953

COMMITTEE ON BANKING AND CURRENCY

HOMER E. CAPEHART, Indiana, Chairman

IRA DIXON, Chief Clerk

RAY S. DONALDSON, Staff Director
WILLIAM F. MCKENNA, Counsel