Evening star., 1921-05-08
AIMING TO REGROUP
FEDERAL AGENCIES
CONGRESS Will Be Guided by Committee
Findings in Considering Budget
Bureaus Recommendations.

him to act dire .tly where he has IN,
power and TO recommend action to Con.
sress when the proposed changes re.
quire legislative sanction.
One of the great reforms to be ac-
complished by the budget bill is that
it will give the President in the bud
get bureau such an agency
That bureau. it is presumed. will
act only piecemeaI, taking up in or.
der of Importance things that ought
TO be done, combinations Of activi.
ties. settling clashes OF authority
etc. Probably not session OF Con.
Grcss VIII go by but that the budget
| bureau will advise something that
should be done on which the Presi.
dent may act directly. or may find il
necessary to call to the attention OF
Congress.
Now, when the President has done
| this he has met his responsibility and
it would then be up to Congress to
act on the suggestion of the Prcsi-
dent--or if the President failed to dc
his full duty with respect to this mat
ter. then Congress on its own initia-
i've Suouiu dCt-JuSt DIS III COT Oipcrd-
| ton, when the board of directors feel
the president has neglected some.
thing. the board of directors themselves
take up the matter.
Purpose Of Special Committee.
Ordinarily Congress would handle such
questions through its regular commit.
tees. At the present time, however,
there is feeling that the entire admin
istrative branch needs overhauling al
one time, rather than in piecemeal
patchwork. such as the bureau of the
budget would do from time TO time. In
view of this special emergency il seem
| ed highly proper that Congress by way
of departure from the ordinary pro-
cedure should appoint special commit
tee, such as it has done, to go into the
whole question.
Apart from the need for such a gen.
eral investigation, the information that
will be developed by that inquiry will
enable Congress 10 act more inteIii-
gently upon the recommendations that
will come up 10 it through the Presi.
dent.
So much for dispellins the two first
clouds of doubt. viz, how the joint con.
gressional committee and the budget bu.
reau will link together for furthering the
desired reform. Now. with regard tc
the third doubt. growing out OF the
| authorization for a personal representa-.
! tive of the President on the congres.
! Sional committee.
Closest Harmony Desired.
! 1t is highly desirable that the con.
gressional committee should work in the
closest harmony with the administration
| in the sense that full opportunity should
! be given to the President and TO all his
officers to make known their opinions as
to what changes are required. 1t may
| be that giving the President permission
to appoint a man to represent him be-
| fore the committee may tend TO make
| the relations more intimate and ia
| cilitate the work of reorganization.
1t would seem to be illogical. however,
| for such representative to be member
| of the committee.
If the budget bill is enacted, as il
probably will be at once, the logical man
to represent the President before the
joint congressional committee would be
! the director of the budget. and as it is
probable that the budget bill will be
law before the committee has done much
work, there seems to be little reason for
the appointment of the executive go-be-
tween, according to those who have
given budgetary legislation the closest
study.
AS regards the various bill already in
troduced and others that have been
forecast, those who have fathered the
reorganization scheme are hopeful that
any piecemeal legislation of this sort
will be held up until it can be considered
as part of the general scheme of re-
organization, so that the proposed new
divisions, bureaus. commissions or de-
partments can be fitted properly into
closely co-ordinated. economic and eff
cient federal organization.