Evening star., 1940-05-10
DC. Job|ess
Act Changes
Declared Dead
House Committee
Unable to Agree
On Amendment
By DON S. WARREN.

n1ent Of the District Unemployment
Compensation Act at this session OF
Congress was abandoned today when
the House District Committee for the
third time this week failed to agree
on controversial points.
Chairman McGehee of the Ju-
dietary Subcommittee, who presided
at the full committee session, an
nounced at the end of a two-hour
debate "the bill is killed for this
session"
However, Representative Eber-
harter, Democrat, of Pennsylvania.
whose plans for changes in the law
are supported by spokesmen for the
local C. I. o. Industrial Union Coun-
sci, still voiced hope some way would
be found to get action at this ses-
sion.
Unless a bill is reported by the
committee today, the bill may not
be called up for action Monday, Dis
trict day, and unless a special rule
Is granted giving the measure pre-
ferred status, it could not be
reached again until May q, where
1t might be caught in the adjourn
ment jam.
Quorum Again Lacking.
Again there was a lack of a
quorum at the committee session
today, as there was yesterday and
Monday. That point, however, was
not made until snag was struck on
one major issue. after at least tenta-
tive agreements had been reached
on other issues, according to reports
heard following the closed meeting.
Efforts at compromise were aban-
doned over the issue of the McGehee
subcommittee proposal to limit
payments to one-third of the earn
1ngs received by the worker in his
base period d'-the II months pre-
ceeding application for jobless aid.
Labor spokesmen had contended
that this was not liberal enough.
The McGehee plan on this point
was defeated by 5-to-4 vote for
elimination of the clause, which
would have left provision calling for
q maximum benefit payment of SIG
for basic duration of 10 weeks.
Restriction Approved.
Voting for elimination of the re-
striction sponsored by Mr.. McGehee
were Mr.. Eberharter and Repre-
sentatives Hunter of Ohio, D'Alesan-
dro of Maryland, Michael j. Ken
nedy of New York, all Democrats,
and Representative Bolles, Repub-
lican, of Wisconsin, according to
reports. Those said to have voted
to retain the restriction were Repre-
sentatives Dirksen of Illinois, Bates
Of Massachusetts, and Goodwin, all
Republicans, and Mr.. McGehee.
It was reported the nine members
present today agreed to change the
law to increase the basic duration of
benefit payments from Is to 18
weeks, to raise the maximum ben
eft payments from SIS to SIG a
week, to establish minimum ben
eft payment of Sc tthere now is no
minimum) and to reduce the eligi-
bility requirement to one that the
unemployed worker must have
earned but $125 during the previous
year.
McGehee Explains Position.
Mr.. McGehee, who declared he
would issue formal statement later
explaining "just how far" his group
was willing to go to meet demands
of labor spokesmen, said he had
agreed: To restore to the "compro-
mise" bill provision for extra pay
lnents to persons having dependents;
to include provisions for disabled
children over the age of Is; to re-
store labor demanded provisions
concerning rules for benefit pay
ments when applicants for aid were
involved in labor disputes; to in
clude provisions for payment Of
persons partially unemployed" and
to give some ground on the restric-
ton clause as to maximum benefit
payments.
"But," he said, "those members
from C. I. o. districts insisted that
there should be fiat payment OF
SIG week for 18 weeks, without
regard to how little the person may
have earned in the past year down
to $125, and that is where we split"
The District now has benefit
reserve fund of more than $l7,5O0,-
900. This is expected to exceed
$40, 600 900 by the end Of this year
If the law is not amended. While
payroll tax collections last year
amounted to some $6, 100000, bene-
At payments totaled less than
3l.500,0Oo.
Possibility that any corrective ac-
tion at this session of Congress
might fail was seen last night by
Secretary-Treasurer Sidney r. Katz
of the local Industrial Union Coun-
ell of the c. I. O., and he charged
that if no amendments were adopted
the responsibility would rest with
the Washington Board OF Trade.
Citing several features IN the
latest McGehee bill, which he de-
clared5 were unsatisfactory and not
in line with the more liberal State
acts, Mr.. Katz issued a press state
ment in which he said:
District employers should be
warned that the high pressure
lobbyists who have come into the
District to destroy unemployment
compensation will, in the process,
trample not only on District work.
ers but also on District employers.
"As result of the reactionary
bill, H. r. 9619, which MIR. McGehee
introduced at the behest Of these
lobbyists, 1t may be that no change
win be made In the law at this ses-
sion. Failure to do this would be
traceable directly to the Board Of
Trade and any other group that
follows along with this anti-un-
employment compensate crowd.
"If the District law is not changed,
1t will cost District employers well
over 81, ,O00, 900 and in January, 1941,
the unemployment compensation tax
can and will 60 as high as per cent
for some employers"