Evening star., 1934-04-21
SENATE EXPECTED
TORESTORE SLASH
IN FUND FOR D. c.
House Reduction of Lump
Sum to New Low May
Be Remedied.
COMMITTEE AWAITS
COMMISSIONERS REPLY
Senators Regard Demand for
P. W. A. Fund Repayment
Now as Unfair.

While District officials prepare over
the week end to lay their views on the
1885 District bill before a Senate SUBJ
committee, Washington looked for
ward hopefully to the Senate to cor
rect inequities in the House measure,
particularly the slashing of the Fed
eral share OF next years expenses from
$5,700,000 to $4,364 ,295-the lowest
ever set.
Although members of the Senate
subcommittee want to study the meas
ure in detail before saying what they
will do, the general belief is that the
Senate will restore the bill at least to
the Budget Bureau recommendations
Senator Thomas, Democrat, of Okla
homa, chairman of the District Sub
committee on Appropriations in the
Senate, is anxious to start work on the
bill as early next week as is convenient
to his associates, but he believes
municipal officers should have a few
days to respond to the letter he sent
them yesterday, inviting their sugges-
tions for changes in the House pro-
visions.
Unfairness Is Seen.
A number of Senators expressed the
opinion privately yesterday that the
line of reasoning on which the House
cut the Federal share by $l,335, ,705
struck them as unfair to the District.
This reduction is equivalent to 70 per
cent of funds allotted by the Public
Works Administration for sewer con-
struction and 0ublic park work last
Summer, and the House theory was
that the District should pay this back
because the States obtain public
works money on the basis of a 80 per
cent grant and 10 per cent loan basis.
In the case of the States and cities,
however, these loans are to be amor
tized over a period of years. whereas
the House has taken it back in one
lump and practically as fast as the
money is being spent. On such terms
it could hardly be described as loan.
Aside from these conditions, however,
there is the fact that the District did
not borrow this money.
Law Prohibits Loans.
District officials are prohibited by
law from mourning any Indebtedness
without specific directions from Con-
gress, and they made it clear last
Summer that they could not accept
public works money on the loan basis,
after a statement was issued from the
Public Works Office to the effect that
Congress would determine the division
of the sewer allotment between the
Federal and District governments. A
subsequent letter was received at the
District Building from the Public
Works Administration, officially an
nouncing the transfer of the sewer
money to the District as an allot-
ment, with no reference to any pro-
posed repayment. The public parks
allotment, of which the House is
charging 10 per cent to the District,
was made to the National Park Serv-
ice of the Interior Department
In addition to going carefully into
the issues involved in the further cut
ting of the Federal contribution, the
Senate also is expected to consider a
number of changes in detailed provl-
sions of the bill to take care of neces-
sary maintenance and improvement
work. AS it reached the Senate from
the House the bill carried a total of
s32.650,65794.