The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1933-06-16
OmGouerumeut
1t Operates
By William BrgckSrt
BUREAU OF THE BUDGET

the functions of government to show
where each agency has point of con-
tact with Mr.. and Mrs. Public, that Is,
you and me- But there is one bureau
which almost never touches any Of Us
II does not deal with any of us, and
does not concern itself about individ-
ual citizens, except that II considers
the welfare OF all collectively as tax
payers. | refer to the bureau of the
budget.
This little known agency Is the focal
point. however, Of all plans and pro-
grams for expenditures Of public funds.
Every government department, bureau
or commission Is spending agency.
and every one of them has to have the
approval of the bureau Of the budget
before they can even go before COM
mittee of congress to defend the plans
they have made.
Along about the first Of August each
year, the director OF the budget noti-
fies the heads Of al governmental es-
adjustments that he will receive "esti-
mates" of expenditures for the fiscal
year that is to begin In July of the
following year. The government bud
get, you will remember, goes TO con-
gress when 1t convenes each Deem
Der, and upon II all Of the appropri-
atoms for the succeeding fiscal year
are based. So the budget director
begins work about August 1.
Although each Of the spending
agencies have had general plans
mapped out, they do not translate
them into dollars and cents until they
get the advices from the budget d.
rector to submit estimates. The first
step, therefore, In any establishment
Is to I'll out the skillfully arranged
forms with the figures necessary to
show how much money Is needed or
desired, and where 1t Is to go.
Once these figures are IN the hands
Of the budget director and his as
sistants. they invite a committee from
each establishment for hearings"
which are designed to supply the bud
get bureau with all information about
every item and whether. for example.
It Is desirable or necessary to increase
the sum available for airplanes for
the army or whether conditions war
rant the employing Of one additional
stenographer In the Office Of the third
assistant TO the chief Of section x" or
somewhere equally well down the line
Of Importance. It need not be stated
that when these hearings are COM
pleted, the budget officials have about
all of the data available concerning
the next years plans.
While the budget bureau Is making
up its lists. however, it has to keep
In mind that the President previously
has made an announcement that the
total Of government expenses shall
not exceed a specific amount The
budget bureau starts work pairing down
the individual items in order that the
Presidents command shall be obeyed.
And what a Job It is Every estab-
lishment wants to spend as much
money as 1t can get, obviously. 1t Is
make his agency as important and as
valuable as he can. All of which
causes the heads of the spending
agencies to defend their estimates Wig
orously, to bring all pressure to bear
that they can legitimately accomplish.
The budget bureau has to act indie
pendently, because ordinarily the bud
get amount Is approximately the total
which congress will appropriate. and Il
Is necessary to hold down federal ex-
penditures in the interest Of the tax
payers.
The director Of the budget confers
each week with the President as the
process OF pairing the estimate goes
along
By and by. the director announces
that the budget Is complete, and one
look at It Is quite convincing as to
the truth of his statement for It Is
usually a volume Of about 100 pages
Of closely set type. On the one col
umns Is a list of the purposes for
which It Is proposed to spend money;
on the opposite column of the page Is
the amount, and every item has its
corresponding figure, so you can see
whether there Is a provision to buy
a greater or less number Of airplanes
for the army in the succeeding year
than was purchased In the last year,
or whether one department Is going to
use more paper clips or less.
Il is at this point, therefore, that
the bureau Of budget attracts public
attention for the one time of each
year, for the budget Is ready to be
transmitted to congress by the Presi-
dent. And when that happens, the
great appropriations committee Of the
house of representatives gets into &C.
ton. Il holds another set of hear.
ings to which the representatives of
the spending agencies are invited that
they can speak for themselves. That
is, they can speak for themselves UP
to the limit which the budget bureau
fixed. There is a law making It q
criminal offense to ask for more.
Passage Of appropriation bills is an
annual job In congress. and the repre-
sentatives and senators assigned TO
the committees handling them have
plenty Of troubles for outside inter-
ests can and do get In their work,
urging and even bounding members
for increases in sums or for addi-
tional items. Yet it has gone on year
after year with reasonably satisfac-
tory results, and the proof Is that a