Evening star., 1933-11-27
Fiscal Relations Investigations.

Fiscal Relations Investigations.
In his letter to Chairman Cannon OF
the House Subcommittee on District
Appropriations, Senator Thomas, sug-
gesting the need of an investigation to
determine the fixed percentage Of Fed
eral contribution to District expenses,
states his personal willingness that such
an investigation be conducted by the
legislative committees Of both houses,
the results to be embodied in legisla-
ton which would receive the study of
Congress.
Senator Thomas is clearly striving
to secure fair play for the District y;
lis fiscal relations with the Nafl0n' a
fact which the community gratefully
appreciates Everybody understands
that any change in substantive law for
the District is a matter which properly
comes before the legislative committees
of the two houses. 1t is matter which
requires legislation. and legislation under
the rules, could not originate in the ap-
preparation committees 1t is well
understood also that as matter of
fact fiscal legislation for the District
has on occasion irregularly originated
in the House Appropriations Commit
tee, and that in the House the Ap-
preparations Committee has been strong
er in sustaining this usurpation than
the District Committee in resisting it.
The District has never had cause to
complain of a fiscal investigation con-
Quoted b. joint committee of the two
houses. If at this time the necessary
investigation can be conducted by
joint committee representing the two
District committees which deal with
the substantive law of the District and
has the approval or tacit assent of
the strong Appropriations Committees,
which theoretically do not deal with
our substantive law, but practically,
powerfully influence it, fair play for
the District will apparently be assured.
Senator Thomas suggestion tends to
~NNNAo eNSONe e~AA A14o4iy "AAASii WILL CulSG
jealousies between the two houses of
Congress and between the House Ap-
preparations and District committees,
and is deeply appreciated as in the
interest of fiscal equity for the District.
As everybody knows, the process of
shaping the local appropriation bill has
gotten far away from the consideration
Of the various items on the basis of
needs and revenue availability. The
procedure has come to be the mere
whiting down Of the various items to
the point where the total allotment
comes within the figure set by the
Bureau of the Budget as the maximum
for the estimates.
Last year this maximum of estimates
was arrived at by applying to the
previous years appropriations an arbi-
trary percentage Of reduction, express
sive of the amount By which the ma
tional budget was to be cut in the effort
to BALANCE the national budget. This,
Of course, upset the balance of the local
budget No real account was taken
either Of the fair proportion of appro-
priations that the Federal Government
should meet, or of the amount of local
revenue available for expenditure. The
result was that the appropriation bill
did not represent fulfillment, even on
curtailed basis, of needs that could
be met from local revenues plus a fair
contribution from the Federal Govern
ment. The appropriation bill repre-
sented an arbitrarily arrived-at sum
that would show q reduction IN the
national budget from the past years |
appropriations. Despite a much-needed
reduction in the local tax burden, sur
lated unspent in the Treasury.
It would seem that with the question of
determining what Senator Thomas calls
a fair proportion to be charged against
the Federal Treasury any investigation
of fiscal relations should at this time
include inquiry into the enlarged prerog-
atives which the Bureau of the Budget
has assumed, in control of municipal
matters, through its power to limit local
estimates. The power Of the Bureau OF
the Budget over matters affecting the
District now exceeds even that Of the
Commissioners and in some matters has
transferred final authority from the
Municipal Building to the budget as
sistants to whom the review OF local
estimates is assigned. It is doubtful
that Congress ever contemplated the
formal delegation of such sweeping au-
thority over local matters to the Bureau
Of the Budget, and IL would be desirable
to study the advisability of changing
the method of local budget making.