Evening star., 1921-10-23
BY WILL r. KENNEDY.

HE Senate now faces the task
of doing what is essential to an
effective budget system-con-
centration of all appropriatins
power into one master committee. as
has already been done by the House.
Central control has now been estab-
lished in the executive branch of the
government, in the budget bureau. un-
der control Of the President. All re-
quests for appropriations must filter
through the budget bureau. SO that the
director general, under supervision of
the President, can harmoniZe the re-
quests of the various departments and
Independent establishments. and pre-
sent balanced proposal to Congress.
The House has put its machinery i'll
order to consider that balanced pro-
posal through single appropriating
| committee, which has been reorganized
into various subcommittee to wise these
proposals departmentally.
The next Improvement in budget ma
chinery is for the Senate to complete
its machinery for unified handling of the
budget by establishing centralized con-
i troll of appropriating Jurisdiction in that
body.
One Comprehensive Bill.
Eventually the budget system, as per-
fected. will call for all estimates of ex-
penditures to go to Congress in one pro-
posal. arranged departmenlally. After
consideration in committee all appro-
| priauons would come before the House
| in one comprehensive bill which would
show all the costs of running Uncle
| The money-ralsIng bins-larift and in
| ternai revenue or taxation-wouid be
i brought before the Congress in one
F. measure, to be balanced against the ap-
T! preparation bill. Thus the entire finan-
cial situation of the country-costs and
| revenue to pay the costs-could be
shown in comparison.
! A long step toward this most efficient
| form of budget system may be taken
| within the next few months, on the
committee. Serious consideration is
being given to the economic efficiency
Of bringing all the supply bills. or ap-
preparation bills. before the House in
one co-ordinated and balanced general
appropriation budget for the entire
federal service.
The leaders who are behind this
! proposal emphasize that this is the
first time that a balanced budget of
estimates for expenditures will come
from the executive branch, and that
Congress can well give the people of
the country a chance to see, all in one
| picture. what the cost of governmen mt
| is and the relationship of expendi-
lures of one department to those of
| another as compared with the grand
| total.
Even if this is not done with the
appropriation bills for the fiscal year
1928. leaders say that it is certain
to be adopted the year following
Strong effort will be made. however
to have this advanced step taken now
toward perfecting the budget system
Necessity Faced by senate.
AS it is now, the House has taker
leadership for budget reform away
from the Senate, and the upper body
customarily SO self-sufficient and
jealous of its prerogatives, is in the
position of being compelled to re.
organize along lines laid down by the
House. Appropriation measures orig.
mate in the House, and as matters
now stand, unless the Senate reor.
ganizes its appropriation machiner,
in practically the same way the
House has, there will be no place tc
which the appropriation measures car
properly be referred when they come
over from the House.
The, Senate now has nine appro.
priating committees. Eight of these
handle one bill apiece. and the com.