Evening star., 1935-06-21
Social Measures viii Be
Pushed, With Revenue
Angle Left Open.
EXPERTS MAY BE USED
TO MAP FISCAL PLAN
81 800, 900 in New Funds Needed,
but Commissioners Seek to
Work Out Sane Levy.
BY J. A. OLEARY.

A special Senate subcommittee will
proceed at once to push for action at
this session on the local social Sc
curity bills, while the question of how
to raise additional revenue the city
will need for this and other purposes
will be left for more thorough study
by another subcommittee after Con-
gress adjourns.
This course was decided on at a
four-hour meeting of the Senate Dis
trict Committee late yesterday, in
which virtually every local problem Of
current interest was debated.
Ten bills, including the modified
smoke-control measure, were ordered
favorably reported, and Chairman
King asked Commissioner Hazen to
have District officials give careful
Of subjects and make recommenda-
tions when Congress returns. He
mentioned taxicab regulation, how far
the city should go in abandoning
street car tracks for buSSes, whether a
subway is needed, and how to solve
the automobile parking problem.
Copeland, Capper, Handle Bills.
The social security biIls-old age
pensions and unemployment insurance
were turned over to Senators Cope
land of New York and Capper OF
Kansas, with power to report them
directly to the Senate when they are
ready. The blind pension bill Is al
ready on the Senate calendar.
A separate subcommittee consisting
of Senators Capper of Kansas and
McCarran of Nevada was instructed
by Chairman King to take all new
taxation. bills that have been proposed
and analyze them during the recess.
This was done at the suggestion OF
Commissioner Hazen, who said: "The
Commissioners would like to have all
taxation bills go over until Fall, so
that we may give concrete and care
full study to them"
Senator Copeland asked II there
would be one to change Washington's
basis of assessment from its present
high level to parity with the rest Of
the country, and Hazen said there
would be,
'36 Revenue Needs in Doubt.
Senator Capper also called atten-
ton to his bill to increase taxation on
public utilities, and this was included
in the subjects referred to the sub
committee.
The amount Of new revenue the Dis
trict may need in 1886 will depend
largely on the form Of the local social
security bills. At the outset the old
age and blind pensions are expected
to call for about 1925 900 for the Dis
trict's share, to be supplemented by
Federal grants of not to exceed SIS
a month per person.
A much larger item of proposed ex-
pense is the provision in the House
unemployment insurance bill requiring
the District government to pay into
the unemployment fund a tax Of /
per cent, while the employers viii pay
in per cent of their pay rolls. The
House unemployment bill, by Repre-
sentative Ellenbogen, calls for an ap-
preparation of $750000 to start with,
and District officials figure the cost
will be considerably more than that
when the plan is in full operation.
Five Per Cent Tax to Be Studied.
Members Of the Senate District
Committee said today they would give
consideration to the provisions in the
House unemployment insurance bill
which would raise the pay roll tax to
S per cent on employers who show a
poor record for Stabilizing employ
ment, but would not allow any reduc-
tionS in tax below the basic rate of
3 per cent when an employer shows
a good record for keeping men at
work.
AS the bill was reported out in the
House it was intended that the tax
should be reduced as low as u per
cent on a favorable experience record
as well as increase on a bad record.
On the floor of the House, however,
a change was made eliminating the
reduction on the theory that the
standards in the national security bill
would not permit that. Since that
time, however, the Senate has amend
ed the national bill by allowing States
to give employers credit when they
succeed in stabilizing employment.
Commissioner Hazen said today tax