Evening star., 1937-12-27
RE0RGAN|z|NG BILL
ASSA|LED BY BYRD
FOR AUDITOR PLAN
Senator Warns CONGRESS
Against "Surrendering I'm.
portant Junction.
BILL WOULD TAKE AWAY
ALL CONTROL. HE SAYS
Destruction of All Independence
of Audit of Government
Funds Claimed.
BY WILL P. KENNEDY.

Funds Claimed.
BY WILL P. KENNEDY.
Challenging Congress to discharge
its constitutional mandate to see that
no money shall be withdrawn from the
Treasury. but in consequence Of
appropriation" acts. Senator Byrd,
Democrat. Of Virginia, chairman Of
the Senate Reorganization Commit.
tee. today warned against the admins
tration reorganization bill which is
! scheduled for early consideration in
the new session.
He emphasizedsthat in this measure
Congress Is called upon Ito decide
whether to destroy the independence
Of the present system Of auditing Fed
eral expenditures before the money Is
spent" He insisted that the provisions
in the omnibus reorganization bill At
best could be no better than locking
the stable after the horse is stolen"
because there would remain for the
proposed new auditor general only
the sterile function Of reporting to
Congress, after the money has been
spent and the accounts settled. what
ever illegalities irregularities or inac-
curacies he may find. Such findings
would not be binding upon the direc-
tor Of the budget at any point"
Senator Byrd, the outstanding
= Democratic opponent Of the admin
istration's reorganization program.
argued that the bill would wrest from
Congress its pre-audit control.
Transfer Is Cited.
at would transfer all authority and
tools for prevention Of illegal irregular
or inaccurate executive contracting
and expenditure from the present in
dependent General Accounting Once,
responsible directly and solely to Con-
gress to the director Of the Bureau Of
the Budget, whose principal function
Is compiling requests for executive
agency appropriations. and who is re-
sponsible only to the Chief Executive"
he said.
This is the principal proposal in the
Presidents reorganization program on
which Congress has shown DISPOSE
ton to balk Under the present inde-
pendent audit and control system.
established II years ago as compile
ment Of the budget system, the Gov
ernment has disbursed more than
$50. 900 900 900. Congress is reluctant
to surrender such control and to abro-
gate its constitutional responsibility
for the Nations taxes and debts. Tho
second of the Presidents proposals
against which the Senate is counted
upon to take an uncompromising
stand is to destroy the merit system"
by wiping out the Civil Service Com
mission and replacing it by single
administrator, 4 presidential officer,
thus returning the army Of Govern
ment employees" to the old spoils sys-
TEN.
. Senator Byrd, who has probably
given more careful study to reorgan-
ization proposals than any other Sem
ator. says that stripped Of all tech
nicalities the result would be destruc-
tion Of the independent audit Of vir-
tually all Federal executive expendi-
lures He argues that while advo-
Gates of the Senate bill contend that
they have provided for a (so-called)
Independent post audit, "it cannot be
denied that the bill would destroy the
independence of the entire procedure
from bookkeeping and accounting to
audit for final settlement and release
Of accounts, because:
"O The bill provides that the So
called independent audit could not be
made until the executive contracting
and spending> branch of the Govern
ment actually paid claims and de-
mands upon the Government under
unverified executive branch stipula-
tons
4 "(0 Even after the money is paid
out the audit could be made only of
the information an executively de-
vised accounting system would be de-
signed to produce. because the Senate
bill transfers the authority to prescribe
the accounting system from the inde-
pendent general auditing Office to the
executive branch Of the Government.
An audit can be no more independent
than the source of information which
was accessible"
Wants Independent Controller.
Saying the present controller gen.
sral Is responsible only to Congress
and furnishes the only independent
source for obtaining accurate infor-
nation as to the vast and complicated
expenditures Of the Federal Govern
ment, Senator Byrd warned that this
independence must be preserved. He
said that in the committee hearings
on the complicated omnibus reorgan-
isation bill the only complaint of con-
sequence against the controller general
was that this office, at times, delayed
the quick spending Of public money
and compelled the department heads
to show that the funds were to be
disbursed In accordance with the laws
enacted by Congress. No proof, how
ever, was given that any expenditure
was prevented when authorised by
Congress and made legally, the vir-
efnia Senator insisted
He declared that 'the controller
general has been the watch dog as
representative Of Congress to see that
no agency expended public funds ex.
/. cept IN accordance with provisions Of
lav. and this of1icial has been yir-
tually the only restraining influence
n reckless public spending for the
: aest few years. It Is but natural that
4 Ne controller general, in the dis
scharge Of his duties. incurred the
aAispleasure of those who desired no
Interference from an official respon-
sfble to Congress in the spending of
public funds"
80 the reorganization bill pro-
vides," he continued. "for the aboli-
ton Of the Office of controller gen.
eral and the transfer of the authority
to determine, before payment is
actually made. whether expenditures
are legal. accurate and regular, to an
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