Evening star., 1937-04-26
BYRD TO PRESENT
MEASURE TO UNITE
F.H.A.AND H. Ole.
Revision of Reorganization
Bill for Economy Is
Expected.
SAVING OF $24,50O,OO0
ANNUALLY is PROMISED
Virginian Is Pledged Support of
Number of Colleagues for
Cut in Spending.
BACKGROUND

tCONOULLSLS fNOe UeSH ntpUO-
licans, but in Senate driue has been
led BY such administration Senators
as ByrneS and Byrd.
Long insistent that governmental
departments need reorganising and
consolidating, Byrd led Senate
study OF question last Summer.
Since then President has suggested
s1ueeping changes, but Congress has
done little about proposal.
In the interests of a rigid economy
to reduce the costs of Government as
urged upon Congress last week by
President Roosevelt Senator Byrd OF
Virginia, chairman of the original
Senate Reorganization Committee, to-
day promised he would this week in
troduce bill to consolidate the Home
Owners Loan Corp. and the Federal
Housing Administration, with an an
nual saving of approximately $24,-
100000.
At both ends of the Capitol it is
confidently predicted that the Presi-
dents reorganization bill, which was
admittedly not designed to achieve any
substantial reduction in Government
costs, will probably be revised, strictly
for economy.
Senator Byrd is leading the economy
drive in the Senate, and has been
promised the earnest support Of
number of his colleagues. Besides
being member of the new joint Com
nittee on Reorganization, he still con-
tinues as chairman of the earlier
organized special Senate Committee
on Reorganization.
Four Back Reorganization.
On the House side at least four
members of the joint Committee on
Reorganization are committed to re-
organization in the interests of econo-
my-and have so stated repeatedly on
the f1oor-Chairman Cochran of the
Committee on Expenditures; Repre-
sentatives Vinson, Democrat, of Ken
lucky, on the Ways and Means Com
nlittee; Taber, Republican, of New
York, and Clifford, Republican, of
Massachusetts,, ranking minority men,
bers, respectively on the Appropria-
tons and Expenditures Committees.
Other Republican leaders who have
been demanding reorganization for
economy include Representative Tread
way (Massachusetts) ranking minority
member on Ways and Means and Rep
resentative Mapes (Michigan), who
served on the Reorganization Com
n1ftao ha
Treadway and Mapes rank as Repub-
lican deans, having both entered
Congress on the same day, March 4,
1913.
In disclosing his purpose to spon-
sor bill consolidating the H. O. L. c.,
now in the process of longtime liqui-
dation and the F. H. A., Senator Byrd
points out that working separately
these two agencies last year employed
approximately 10000 persons and
their operating expenses were nearly
S47,0O0,000 Their functions are SIM
liar now and the similarity is growing
with the age of the F.. H. A." he ex-
plains Experts, who have been max
ing an intensive study, have assured
Senator Byrd that they could be con-
solidated without impairing the func-
tions Of either. With an annual sav-
ing Of s24,50000O possible, the Senator
says there is no reason why the
taxpayers should not be given the
benefit OF this saving and the increased
efficiency that would result"
Calling attention to the fact that
there are 20 or more other agencies
which, established and publicly justi-
fed or emergency establishments, can
be consolidated, merged or liquidated
just as proftably," Senator Byrd says:
If the appropriate committee will
allow my bill to consolidate the H. o.
L. G. and the F. H. A. to come to the
floor for full and open discussion by
Senators, other bills of this nature
providing for substantial savings are
sure to follow.
Real savings are certain to be
found IN constructive reorganization
OF overlapping activities. unnecessary
personnel and administrative costs. A
mere juggling Of agencies from one
department to another will amount to
nothing except to freeze into per-
manency the personnel and admins
trative costs of temporary agency
structures. There is ample reason to
believe that careful survey of un-
necessary personnel in the Federal
Government will reveal the civil exec
utive pay roll is a fertile field for
immediate constructive economy.
DAAu I'll
An analysis of the revised esti-
mates Of Federal receipts and expen-
ditures, attached to the Presidents
budget and economy message of last
week." Senator Byrd stresses, ''indi-
Gates immediate and additional ad-
ministrative cost reductions are i'm
peratively necessary"
He directs attention that "of the
13 divisions OF the budget listend In
the breakdown of the Presidents esti-
mates, an actual increase in expendi-
ture4 Is shown In 10. The net result
is thA forecast that expenditures next
year, will be s102, 2,000,000 greater than
they are in the current year, exclu-
sive Of the bonus, and the prospective
deficit will approach one-half billion
dollafs for the fiscal year beginning
next: July"
President Roosevelt's plea for re-
duceA spending will get its first Senate
test On a motion to consider the Har-
risortk Black educational aid bill.
THIS bill, proposing maximum ap-
propuation Of $500, 100000 year for
FSekal aid to schools. Is one which
administration leaders have said must
be defarrAd IL raarrexs In tn adhsrs