Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-03-03
PRESENT CONGRESS
SPENDS 10 BILLIONS
Vast Sums for Farm Aid,
Building and Bonus Helps
Set Peace-Time Mark.
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
One historical distinction belongs to
the Congress which today, still full of
fire, was winding up its career with a
| flourish.
The Seventy-flrst National Assembly
holds undisputed the record as the
heaviest-spending peacetime Congress.
In all it has appropriated about 10 bill
lions of dollars for Government uses,
part at its special term and the first
regular session, more than half at the
| final term now closing.
The total covers expenditures for both
the current fiscal year and the next.
The latter strike the high peacetime
mark for any single session of Con-
gress.
Besides the nine regular annual sup
ply bills, vast sums have been provided
this short session for emergency con-
struction to increase employment and
for drought and farm relief. In addi-
ton, the permanent appropriations,
made automatically, exceed 81 Zoo, 000,-
600 to pay off the national debt, pay in
terest on outstanding obligations and
provide funds for the veterans service
Cited as Heavy Spender."
Representative Byrns of Tennessee,
the ranking minority member of the
House Appropriations Committee, said
the Seventy-first Congress would go
down in history as a heavy spender.
Chairman Wood of the committee also
viewed the increasing OUTLAWS with con-
Germ.
III a,nr ,a,oaaHn5J,, ,x,orx,ad 4Ia In,1sn
of the growing tendency to augment
Government expenditures in the face OF
falling revenues.
Until the World War, the annual ex-
penses of the Government seldom
reached the $4,000 900 figure.
With the exception of the second
deficiency bill, carrying 05,000, 600, all
of the big money measures today had
been enacted into law. Final action was
expected today on the second deficiency
bill, which also carried authorization OF
s7o,0o0,0o0 for public building construc-
ton.
The Treasury-Post ONCE Department
supply bill was the largest for the fiscal
year beginning July /, totaling $i,083,-
148,923
S1O0,O0O,O00 to Farm Board.
For the first time the supply bill for
the nearly bWO-SCOIS uIucp6LuS11t N1Of~
eminent agencies reached nearly as
high, with 81 052,777.010. OF this
about 1888 100000 went to the veter-
ans administration and $100,000,000 to
the Farm Board. Under a special bill,
the Farm Board also received $150.000,-
900, the last its $500,000,000 revolving
loan fund.
The War Department drew the next
highest sum, with $445, 765, 735, of which
1894, SIS 1865 was for military and SILL
109,770 for non-military activities, in
GLIDING s60,000,000 for rivers and har-
bors and s35,oo0,oO0 for Mississippi
flood control.
Next was the Navy, with $358, 1853, 952.
Agriculture had $215 ,578,8 800; State,
Justice, Labor and Commerce Depart
ments were given a total of $137,423,-
954; Interior Department, $89, 247, SOC;
the District of Columbia, $45 ,672, 1888;
legislative establishment, 26,973, 1875; |
the first deficiency bill, $109, 303, 1922: |
emergency construction, $4,000, 900: |
drought loans to farmers for seed, feed !
and fertilizer, $4,000 900, and drought |
loans to farmers for rehabilitation. |
s20,0o0,ooo.