Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-04
Budget Procedure and the District.

Budget Procedure and the District.
The District budget, prepared by the
District Commissioners, is undergoing
its annual overhauling at the hands
of the Bureau of the Budget. After
hearings, at which the Commissioners
appear to defend their recommended
tons, the amount of municipal funds
to be recommended to Congress will be
included as making up the grand total
of the Federal budget. This is the
practice established by the Budget Blu
reau in the past and, so far as known,
it will be continued.
AS a matter of fact, it is confusing
and illogical and should be changed.
In the first place the Federal budget
represents expenditures Of Federal
funds. Nearly eighty per cent of the
local budget represents funds derived
wholly from local tax revenue or from
other local sources with which the Fed
eral Government is not concerned.
They do not belong in the Federal
budget.
For several years the District SUI
fered by reason of the fact that the
Presidents directions to shave Federal
estimates and keep them to the pre-
ceding years appropriations we're ap-
piled literally to the District budget If
the benefits of such economy had fol-
lowed the pairing process there might
'
might have been reduced. But Congress
at the same time was specifically for
bidding a reduction in local taxes. The
only result was the accumulation of
surplus revenue that presented the
Districts need fer more funds in a to-
tally erroneous light. A number of
members of Congress were unable to
understand the logic of plea for a
greater contribution from the Federal
Government made in the face of a
healthy cash balance of unexpended
local funds. Local revenue raised by local
taxes should not remain idle, of course,
and there were plenty of ways to spend
the money. But the Budget Bureau
stood in the way.
Under Mai Roop's administration
this policy was changed last year to
permit the Commissioners to base their
estimates on the amount of money
available instead of upon the previous
years appropriations, and that policy
should be continued.
The anomalous feature of the system.
however, lies in the fact that the Dis
trict Commissioners are appointed by
tils President for the general purpose of
administering the affairs of the munich
pality, and their authority naturally in
eludes the important duty of planning
for municipal growth and betterment.
Within the last few days the President
conferred with the Commissioners on
the subject of preparing a legislative
program for submission to Congress in
December. But the power of the Com
missioners to plan and to recommend
specific expenditures is subjugated when
the estimates leave their hands. The
Budget Bureau can and does change at
will. The changes apply not only to
amounts recommended, but to the ma
ture of projects that are advised. When
the budget reaches the Appropriations
Committee the Commissioners are some
tim IS testifying in behalf of Budget
Bureau changss-not their own.
The reason for this careful Budget
Bureau supervision of estimates, as they
concern Federal expenditures. Is, of
course, understood. But the budget OF
a growing municipality. representing
chiefly the expenditure Of local revenues,
is another matter.
The former Commissioners inter-
preted as applying to themselves various
orders of former Presidents Harding
land Coolidge relating to budget pro-
cedure. One of theSe-typical OF the
rest-reads in part as follows: Il regret
that there are still some officials who
apparently feel that the estimates trans
mitted to the Bureau of the Budget are
the estimates which they are authorized
to advocate before the committees OF
Congress Let me say here that under
the budget and accounting act the only
lawful GSLul1dbCo dlC bAiOOS HAANSAN Vs.
Chief Executive transmits TO Congress
!. This law must be observed not
only In its letter but in its spirit"
But opposed TO this Is provision in
serted IN the 1928 appropriation act FOL
the District which states, with othei
things, that the Commissioners Of the
District shall not be restricted in SUBJ
hitting to the Bureau of the Budge'
their estimates of the needs of the Dis
trict, but they shall, as near as may be
bring them within the probable aggre'
gate OF the fixed proportionate appro'
priations to be paid by the United
States and the District OF Columbia
If the Commissioners were not to b'
restricted" in their estimates undel
the fixed proportion, there is less rea-
son for their restriction by the Bulge
Bureau under the year-to-year polio!
now pursued by Congress in defiance
of substantive law. A much smaliei
proportion of Federal money is now CD
ligated.
The District budget should either b.
handled by the Budget Bureau as sepa
rate and distinct from the Fedora
budget or else the law should b.
changed to obviate the necessity OF 1t
. examination by the Budget Bureau.
Land and Air Limitation.
whenever Viscount Ce~ii of Chel'
wood-best known in this country 81
lord Robert Cecil-discusses worlC