Evening star., 1937-10-02
Budget Balancing
President May Be Serious About
Governmental Expenditures.
Reducing

or subject new classes to taxation. If
Mr. Roosevelt is willing to put drive
and force and leadership into a
movement to balance the budget,
Congress would be willing to follow.
But II Mr.. Roosevelt goes no farther
than merely casual recommendation
much OF Congress will be reluctant to
act
VIII Lessen President's Power.
In the relation of the President to
Congress. and of both to balancing
the budget, there will be, in the COM
ing session, a new situation. Ever
| since Mr.. Roosevelt came into ONCE
the usage has been for Congress to
vote to the President immense lump
sum appropriations which the Presi-
dent allocated as he wished. This
method greatly increased Mr.. Roose-
velt's power over Congress. After
Congress had voted him an immense
amount OF money to allocate at his
discretion, any individual CONGRESSMAN
who thereafter wanted some of the
money for his district. for a dam. or
grade crossing, or a school house
was obliged to go to the President or
TO one OF the Presidents subordi-
mates and ask for it.
In the nature OF the situation the
Congressman was obliged to come As
supplant. hat in hand. Implied In
the Congressman's request was will
ingness on his part to pay for what
he asked. The pay took the form of
acquiescence to any request the
President or his subordinates might
make. When measures Mr.. Roosevelt
wanted were pending in Congress, the
court measure or others, some OF Mr.
Roosevelts subordinates used the
power to promise or withhold public
works In States and districts as q
leverage to put pressure on Congress
men to vote for the Presidents meas
ures. II the Presidents subordinates
did not use the pressure BADLY, the
Congressman WAS conscious of il
nevertheless. The ancient rule held
true, Whose bread I eat, his song
1 sing"-and the President held the
loaf.
Return 10 Normal
Congress has thus come to realize
that appropriating immense lump
sums to the President to be allocated
in his discretion is q system which
reduces the stature Of Congress and
humiliates individual members. To-
ward the end Of the recent session
Congress WAS in mood to end the
lump sum method and return to the
traditional practice, in which Con-
gress itself determines where individ-
ual public works shall be allocated.
and makes specific appropriations for
SPECIFIC projects.
This method, in ordinary times.
leads to larger appropriations. 1t
gives rise to the pork barrel" In
which Congressman A votes for a
public building in Congressman B
district in return for reciprocation by
Congressman B. But no pork barrel
ever originated by Congress was one
fifth as big rs Mr.. Roosevelt's expen-
ditures. Besides, control of expendi-
lures by Congress has, in the present
situation. an advantage worth any
price. 1t is the path Of return toward
the normal situation in which Con-
gress has the power Of the purse. .
The method that has been practiced
during the past four years leads to
such 4 reduction of the power of
Congress. such an elevation of the
power of the Executive, that a few
years continuance in the practice
might see the legislative branch Of
government shrivel up and disa ppear
AS it has in the one-man totaIitarian
governments of Europe.
tCopyrisht 1877