Evening star., 1939-04-15
Bill May Touch Off
Fight 10 Libera|ize
0Id-Age Pensions
Senote Advocates
Of Larger Payments
Await Byrnes Measure
BY ]. A. O'LEARY.

BY J. A. O'LEARY.
The Byrnes bill for permanent So
luton Of the unemployment prob
lem may precipitate q fight for a
more liberal old-age pension sys-
tenn, along lines similar to the
Townsend plan, when it is taken up
in the Senate. it was indicated at
the Capitol today,
A special Senate committee hopes
to report out the Byrnes measure to-
day, and leaders have indicated it
may come up in the Senate next
week. In addition to consolidating
various Government agencies that
deal with work relief Or public con-
struction, the bill broadens unem-
ployment insurance and some other
phases of the Social Security Act. It
does not. however, approach the
goal OF the Townsend bill or similar
proposals
Pepper Watches.
Senator Pepper, Democrat, of
Florida, who favors the Townsend
plan, or the closest proposition to it
that can be obtained, said he plans
to study the Byrnes measure, and If
he finds 1t deals with social security,
he added, some of us. want to be
sure it goes far enough"
The Florida Senator contended the
country has indicated it wants an
old-age pension rate ranging be-
tween $40 and $50 a month, and said
he sees no use in revising the the
present law unless we go far
enough"
Senator Downey, Democrat. of
California, another advocate of more
liberal pensions, also is understood
to be considering raising the issue
in the Senate at some appropriate
time before adjournment. but he is
absent from the city today and it
was not known definitely whether
he would make the move in con-
nection with the Byrnes measure or
later.
There is one factor. however, that
may block a move to attach a lib
eral pension rider to the Byrnes
bill in the Senate, and that would
be the taxation feature. Revenue
legislation cannot originate in the
Senate and some of the most widely
discussed liberal pension plans have
embodied in them the special tax
provisions to meet the cost. If such
a plan should be offered as a Senate
amendment to the unemployment
bill there were indications today
point Of order probably would be
raised against it.
Matching Maximum Now Set.
The old-age pension phase Of the
present Social Security Act enables
the Federal Government to match
State payments up to SIS maxi
mum, or a $50 total, unless the State
wants to go higher. In actual prac-
tice, however, it was brought out in
recent Senate hearings that the old
age payments range from 81 in the
State Of lowest average up to $32. so
in the State with the highest aver
age.
One Of the objects of the Byrnes
bill is to permit a proportionately
higher Federal grant In States be-
low the national average in per
capita income. In return for this
the States would be required to pay
a minimum pension Of SIS from both
Federal and State funds.
While old-age pensions. aid to de-
pendent children and other features
of social security are revised to some
extent in the Byrres bill, the essen
tial changes in that measure are
intended to lengthen the benefit
period of unemployment compensa-
tion to avoid having idle workers
turn TO w. P. A. after receiving only
one or two weeks of unemployment
compensation.
Creates Works Agency.
The bill would create a new pub
lie works agency, into which would
be merged w. p. A., P. w. A., N.
Y. A., c. c. c.. Bureau of Public
Roads and the Public Building Sec
ton Of the Procurement Division.
Republicans on the committee will
make an effort today to base work
relief allocations on the number of
unemployed in each State, instead
Of partly on population and partly
on the number of jobless.
One of the aims in consolidating
the work relief agencies is to estab-
lish a uniform requirement that
each State meet one-third of the
total cost of the projects in the
State Senator Byrnes, Democrat,
of South Carolina pointed out that
in the past the local share under
P. w. A. has been 55 per cent, while
under w. P. A. it was at one time
approximately II per cent.
Senator Byrnes said the new agen-
cy could continue to authorize
white-collar projects, provided a
State, city or county sponsored them
and met part of the cost.