Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-12-26
RIGID FISCAL PLAN
TO Be. CONSIDERED
House Rules Committee viii
Soon Hear Plea for Tight
ening Expenses.
BY WILL p. KENNEDY.

Legislation to round out the job of
putting the Federal Government, ex-
penditureS under a strict business
system. which will be the last link in
the budget plan, effecting a very
great money saving as well as safe
guard, will be given preferential con-
sideration before the House rules
committee soon after Congress RED
turns from it's holiday recess.
This discussion will be centered
about a resolution sponsored by Rep
resentative r. Walton Moore, Demo
crat. of Virginia. 1t proposes a re-
form advocated by the controller gen.
eral, j. r. McCarl, as the principal
recommendation in his annual report
1t has the support of Chairman Mad.
den of the appropriations committee,
who has been giving the subject in
tensive study for some time. 1t is
probable that the Moore resolution
may be broadened by one fathered by
Mr.. Madden.
The Moore resolution proposes to
substitute standing committee Of
9 members i'm the place Of II small
standing committees. each consisting
of seven members. These II existing
committees rarely function. yet each
has a chairman, clerk and better
offices than a majority of the mem
bers of Congress have. They are the
committees on expenditure In the va
rious departments and on public build
ings.
Wants Liaison Agency.
The annual report of the controller
general points to the Importance. if
not the necessity, of standing com
mittee to which such recommends
tons as he makes from time to time
can be referred, SO that it may be a
sort of liaison agency between the
House and the General Accounting
Office and the disbursing agencies of
the Government.
Interlocking with this is Mr.. Nc
Carl's recommendation for putting
all disbursing officers of the Govern
ment under unified control and adj
ministration, freed from any influence
or coercion of any administrative Of
flee, SO that the appropriations made
by Congress may be spent exactly as
Congress intended and for no other
purpose. This would result virtually
in a pre-audit of all accounts before
disbursement, thus saving the trouble
and expense Of recovery when dis
L.
made and are disallowed by the con-
troller general. Mr.. McCarl says:
Il have respectfully to suggest the
wisdom of a comprehensive study Of
our present system for effecting pay
ment Of Government obligations with
a view to the adoption of a system
that will encourage law observance
in the use Of public funds. reduce to
a minimum unauthorized payments,
and effect the economies that are JoS.
sible."
Chairman Madden of the appropria-
tons committee says: Il am strongly
In favor of such a reform as is pro.
posed by Mr.. McCarl, and have been
giving this question careful study for
a long time with view to seeing
Just what sort of a measure will best
carry out this idea of rounding out
our budget system. I expect before
long to have some very definite rec.
concentrations to lay before the
House"
Evolution Of Budget.
Leaders in Congress emphasize that
this contemplated reform is the next
and probably the last step to COM
pleting the budget system. First the
office of the Office of the budget d.
rector was set up. with the general
accounting office under the controller
general who is accountable directly
to Congress as the accounting side
of the budget system. Then the COM
mittees of Congress were reorgani2ed,
with a master committee on approprf-
ations superseding some dozen other
major committees which formerly
handled the appropriation measures
for various agencies of the Govern
ment, but which now are strictly
Legislative committees passing upon
proposals for substantive law on
which the appropriations are based.
So that now all appropriations are
carefully scrutiniZed, co.ordinated de-
partmentally. and ALLEGATIONS of Fed
eral funds made only after careful
study of the relative needs as be-
tween the various agencies.
A co-ordinating agency was set up
by executive order as an arm of the
Budget Bureau. And now comes the
proposal for tightening up on dis
bursements, which are now made by
approximately 1000 persons in the
continental United States and many
abroad. Mr.. McCari proposes reduc-
ing the force of disbursing officers in
the United States to well trained or