The Washington herald., 1921-01-15
DEMANDS HOUSE
CURTAIL SENATE
FINANCIAL POWER
Hayden Asks Additions
to Appropriations A Be
Limited.

Charging that the House had tied
its own hands and increased the
power Of the Senate through enact
ment last session Of a resolution
concentrating all appropriating
power in the enlarged appropria-
ton committee TO make way for the
national budget system. Reprssen-
tatiye Hayden, OF Arizona, yester-
day urged that a check be placed
upon the Upper Body.
Hayden declared that creation OF
the budget committee had resulted
in no economy, and that even IL the
House membership was increased to
4S3, as planned, il would still be a
House Of thirty-hve members-the
Appropriations Committee which, he
said. was all-pOwerful.
He suggested that real economy
would result and the desired check
placed upon the Senate II a csncur-
rent resolution was adopted at the
. beginning Of each session prescrip-
ing a fixed lump sum for each gov
ernment activity.
Must Keep within Total.
If the Senate amended a bill and
increased the appropriation in one
section it would have to make a
corresponding reduction somewhere
else in order to keep the total of the
sum within the limits previously
fixed, he said.
That would be a real budget sys-
tenn" he said. The people are not
going to be fooled very long into
the belief that anything will be ac-
COmplished in the war for economy
1. by the mere creation of a budget
committee"
Hayden's speech was seen as
another outbUrst freely predicted at
the beginning of the session as the
result of the surrender by the seven
major committees of their appro-
priating functions to the enlarged
committee.
Since the beginning of the ses-
sion every attempt of the appro-
priations committee to bring in leg
islation as riders on supply bills
has been checked by points of order.
Regardless of the merit of a rider
or Of support for it by members OF
the committee having jurisdiction
over, that feature. none has survived
the watchfulHess of members who
are determined to prevent legisla-
ton on appropriation bills.
Mann Opposes Charge.
Representative Mann. of Illinois.
took issue with Hayden's claim that
the power of the Senate had been
increased. He contended that the
House still was able to reject
amendments tackled on in the Sen
ate. Mann. however, declined TO
answer when Hayden asked him if
IL Il
suit in economy.
oh. 1 did not vote for the rule,
he said. Il do not know what will
he the result. I did not approve
Of it"
Under the rules of the House
legislation Of any kind cannot be
placed on an appropriation bill,
HAYDEN said. We cannot appro-
pirate for any kind of a new project.
It makes no difference how badly a
school building or any kind of an
Improvement is required, the COM
mittee is absolutely unable to pro-
vide it in an appropriation bill.
Following the rules of the House
by the adoption of the new budget
plan. as it has been enormously
called. members of the House and
of the committees have their hands
tied so they cannot OfTer amend
.ments, leaving it for Senators in
the Upper Body to put in the amend
.fnents and take the credit.
Fails to Check senate.
1t seems to me that the whole
scheme which has been adopted by
the House under the rule of con-
Centrating the power and authority
to make appropriations in one COM
mittee, fails because there is no
check upon the Senate. We have
merely tied our own hands and de-
prived ourselves of authority which
we had heretofore and increased the
power of the Senate.
When. under the old order, a
committee having combined juris-
diction over legislation and appro-
priation. brought out legislation on
an appropriation bill, 1t was much
more likely to get it through the
House without invoking a point of
order than the committee whose
Jurisdiction everybody understands
is confined strictly to apprOprfa-
tiOns, OF which all other commit
tees are jealous when it attempts
-