Evening star., 1937-07-26
REORGANIZATION
CHANCES NOW CUT
Differences of Committee
Members Delay Action at
This Session.

closed hearings.
OF such degree are these differences
that chances for approval Of the leg
islation at the present session are be.
leved to be materially curtailed
Major differences among the men,
hers of the Joint committee headed
by late Senate Leader Robinson ap-
peared to center on proposed eXpan-
SION OF the civil service, subordina-
tlon Of independent Offices to eXecu-
tive departments and reorganization
Of the accounting and budgeting
Offices of the Government
The committee members appeared
closest to agreement over the estab-
Ashment Of departments of welfare
and public works, and on the proposal
to furnish the President with SIX
executive assistants.
Auditing Provokes Interest.
The extent to which Congress might
extend its financial function into the
auditing processes after it has appro-
prlated funds proved of particular in
terest to the committee when it was
receiving testimony from Dr. Lewis
Merriam and DR. Daniel T. Selko of
the staff of the Institute for Govern
ment Research of the Brookings In
stltution. employed by Chairman Byrd
Of the Senate Reorganization Com
u1lttee
Merriam said the Brooklnes studies
OF the financial administration of the
National Government found three
major defects in the present system:
Cd The budgetary system fails to
provide the President with satisfactory
implements for centralized budgetary
And administrative management
sy (2) Existing provisions for the final
audit and settlement of accounts fail
both to assure complete control by
Congress of the collection, custody and
disbursement of public monies and
70 require the preparation of current
statements of the financial condition
and operations of the Government as
q whole
s.. t3D The existing financial procedure
permits unnecessary delay in the liqui-
dation of obligations and the final set
tlement of accounts
Many Precedents Seen.
The institutions spokesmen insisted
that since the very start of the Gov
ernment Congress has adopted legisla-
tion designed to secure such control
to prevent the expenditure of public
funds for objects or by procedures not
authorized by law.
In the Continental Congress and
under the articles of confederation,
they said, the device used was to have
committees Of the Congress settle the
accounts of the administrative officers.
Congress later placed control in the
hands of the controller of the Treas
ury by providing that his decisions
tpuld not be reversed by any officer
IN the executive branch This led
one President to be quoted as saying:
II cannot reverse a decision of the
controller, but can fire him"
In the budget and accounting act
Of 1921 Congress then provided for
An independent officer directly re-
1ponsible to itself. who could prevent
the fnal settlement of any accounts
that were not legal.
It was emphasized at the hearings
that Federal legislation on financial
administration shows clearly there
are two types of control: (a) Admins
trative control. exercised by the
President as general manager OF the
Government to see that laws are
faithfully carried out with economy
and efficiency. and tb) auditing con-
troll, designed to prevent illegal action
by administrative officers.
To avoid the confusion that has
arisen from failure to distinguish be-
tween the two types Of control it is
now recommended by the Brookings
Institution that the name controller
general be changed to auditor general
and his Office be known as the Office
Of audit and settlement.
Reimbursement Could Be Forced
The Brookings plan provides for the
function OF Executive management OF
legal expenditures through expansion
and Strengthening of the Budget Bu-
reau as the Presidents instrument.
For the prevention of illegal or un-
authorized acts by administrative ofii-
GERS. this plan leaves the independent
agency under Congress in charge OF
the auditor general, who would, as at
present audit all expenditures prior
to final settlement. and, in those rare
cases where the acts OF admlnlstra-
tive officers are unauthorized or
irregular disallow the expenditures
and force the administrative officers
who have exceeded their powers to
reimburse the Government.
When asked by the late Senator
Robinson to state "the distinctive or
important differences between this
proposal Of the Brookings Institution
and that now in force, Merriam said:
We would expand very materially
the accounting data that are available
for the President in the Bureau OF the
Budget. We would get the data not
by having the original expenditure
documents 60 there and a very large
expansion of the bookkeeping stan, but
through reports made to the Budget
Bureau from the necessary accounts
kept in the operating units. The forms
OF these accounts should be made
1cintly and comparatively between
the auditor general and the chief OF
the Accounting Division in the Budget
Bureau, because it is entirely possible
to develop one system OF accounts that
will furnish all the necessary data and
AL the necessary books for the entire
system.
The second change we would make
L in the Budget Bureau, now noml-
nally under the Treasury Department.
We would prefer to have it an inde-
pendent ablishment. directly under
the President, and we would expand
the function of the Budget Bureau
both with respect to accounting and
With respect to the machinery for fol-
lowing the efficiency and economy Of
the operations of the Government, and
We would expand it for the purpose OF
co-ordinating the activities of the