Evening star., 1940-01-11

Congress OF a widespread public
sentiment, namely. that spending OF
public funds should be attended by
far more scrutiny than has been
given it in the last seven years,
and that while the Executive may
recommend, it is really the duty
Of the legislative branch Of the
Government to decide what shall
or shall not be expended.
The time for coordination OF
national expenditures by syste-
matte survey of the budget as a
whole has arrived in the judgment
of most members of Congress. They
wish to decide what the whole budg-
ct shall be like and not merely
confine themselves to particular
items as In the past.
In a sense, the biggest and most
salutary development in the present
situation is the fact that previous
Congress set a debt limit Of $45,-
100000 900. Mr. Roosevelt made
same sharp cuts in items which he
knew would displease certain men,
bers of Congress and, as Senator
Adams of Colorado, Democrat, said,
there must have been "a twinkle In
the Presidents eyes as he submitted
the budget to Congress.
II Congress attempts to raise some
Of the items, it will be automatical-
ly increasing the debt limit If it
wants to restore the cuts, Congress
must penetrate the national defense
section of the budget. What really
has happened is that for the first
time since budgeting started about
20 years ago, Congress has been
compelled to look at the whole budg-
ct very much as parliamentary
government does abroad. In such
circumstances the leadership has to
determine what the budget must in
clude.
Defense to Suffer Most.
It does look as if national de-
Tense recommendations will suffer
most, Notwithstanding the war, but,
If they do not, then some of the
big subsidies will be curtailed and,
this being an election year, the
politicians on Capitol Hill may do
the suffering.
Senator Pat Harrison sensed the
situation-the strategy that the
Executive was adopting toward Con-
gress-and Immediately asked for
the joint House-Senate committee
to make the general study. Leaders
In the House are represented as
opposed to the appointment of a
special committee as likely to delay
consideration of appropriations.
But unquestionably the Republicans
in the House will support the meas
Tire and, if they vote solidly for It.,
there might be another so votes
from the Democratic side, especially
from among the conservatives
Even though predictions of defeat
have been general, 1t seems incredi-
BILE that the House would publicly
refuse to agree to Joint committee
study of the whole spending prob
lem and the budget. especially
when there is debt limit to face.
No Opposition Interposed.
From technical standpoint, the
administration has been publicly
inclined to go along with the re-
quest for budget study by a joint
House-Senate committee, and GER
tainly no opposition was interposed
by the administration in the Senate
where the proposal carried by an
overwhelming vote. If the admin
istration were to use it's influence to
have the measure defeated in the
House, this would be apparent in
the voting The Republicans would
then certainly make political capi-
tai out of the refusal by admins
tration leaders to give the budget
the new form of study that is being
sought by the Senate. Indeed, 1t is
not unlikely that, in the event of
House defeat, the Senate might
conduct its inquiry anyway, though
such disagreement would un-
doubtedly mean longer session
and delay in an election year,
when the administration is anxious
to see an early adjournment Of
Congress.
But after the study, what? The
chances are that the President will
win his point with respect to hold
ing the budget to $8,400, ,000, 900, but
he is likely to find that the Congress
can play at the same sort of strategy
and begin making cuts in projects
which various New Deal agencies
would not like to see diminished.
Certainly it appears that the debt
limit will not be exceeded, for neither
political party wants to take respon-
sibility for the increase beyond the
IS billions. The next President
would then have to face the question
Of further deficits or balanced
budget, and it would not be surpris-
A~