Evening star., 1933-02-22
|REGROUP|NG POWER
GIVEN PRESIDENT
BY HOUSE ACTION
Treasury-Post Office Bill Goes
Back to. Senate Minus Brat
ton Amendment.
TAX REFUND REVIEW
ALSO IS OPPOSED
Effort to Raise Government Paw
Cut From 8 1-3 to II in Appro-
priation Measure Defeated.

The Treasury-Postofice appropriation
Dill went back to the Senate toda3 with
Rouse approval Of the plan to give Pres
loent-elect Roosevelt sweeping powers
TO reorganize Government departments
and bureaus.
The House agreed late yesterday To
the unprecedented grant of power To
the incoming President after eliminate
ing from the Senate set-up the Brat.
ton amendment requiring a 5 per cent
reductlon In all appropriations for the
1884 fiscal year, and the McKellar pro-
vision Tor tax refund review.
Inc plan OF the House was embodied
IN the Byrns economy rider which was
approved with only slight modification
aIter tnree-hour debate. A series of
the Byrns program, but the only sue
cessful move was one initiated bv
Representative McDufie, Democrat Of
AIaoama, to continue in effect the 4 per
cent interest rate on claims paid by
tne Government on judgments and
over payments Of internal revenue
taxes.
Pay Cut Raise Defeated.
j.. An effort by Representative Whit
tington, Democrat, of Mississippi. to
raise the Government pay cut from
8.3 to IL per cent, as recommended
Dy President Hoover, was decisively de-
1eated, as was an amendment by Rep
resentative Beedy, Republican, of Maine
to give either House of Congress the
power to block reorganization recon-
mendationS Of Mr.. Roosevelt.
Inc Byrns economy program has a
rough road ahead in the Senate, where
there Is considerable opposition to GER
tain provisions Any change in tina
House draft will again send the bill to
conference and jeopardize its passage at
this session Of Congress.
As it Is a privileged matter, the con-
ference report on the bill, together with
tne House amendment, may be called
up at any time IN the Senate on motion
from the floor. Senate leaders. how
ever, are said to be in favor of post
poning action until the bankruptcy bill
and two pending appropriation bills are
out of the way.
The only other change in the con-
ference report was a limitation on the
maximum price per pound to be paid
Tor distinctive paper used in Govern
ment bank notes, from IS cents per
pound to 32A. The House also in
sisted upon further disagreement on
amendments relating to mints and
essay Offices.
Mead Amendment Rejected.
Chairman Mead of the House Post
Office Committee offered an amend
ment which would have permitted low
salaried employees of the postal service
annual increases for the three-year
period where their salaries were less
than $1,500. He claimed these en-
ployes were doubly penalized by losing
this annual increase in addition to their
pay cut, but this amendment was re-
jected.
Another. amendment rejected was
that offered by Representative McCor-
mack, Democrat Massachusetts, which
proposed a Saturday half holiday for
nurses and other employees of veterans
hospitals. The House also rejected an
amendment offered by Representative
Connery, Democrat, Massachusetts,,
chairman of the House Committee on
Labor, against the provision in the
economy section requiring officers in
the military service to spend at least
three years at foreign stations.
Representative Kvale, Farmer-Labor.
Minnesota, offered an amendment to
remove the ban on automatic pay in
creases for District police, firemen and
school teachers. This also was re-
Jected. He pointed out that this amend
ment would correct an injustice to this
class Of employees in the District serv-
ice, affecting 621 firemen, $40 police
men and 1900 teachers.