Imperial Valley press., 1940-12-16
Bruce Cation
In Washington

WAStIINol YIN, DtC' lO.-n SiOuC
no larger than a mans hand is be-
ginning to rise in front of the ad-
ministrations projected spending
program at the next session CT
congress.
Everybody agrees that defense
appropriations will be as generous
as they were last summer, If not
more so. But lines are beginning
to form for real opposition to other
forms of spending. More important,
there is going to be determined
and effective resistance to even de-
fense spending of the blank check
type.
At tie moment this opposition
centers in the able person of Con-
gresham Clifton Woodrum of Viz
ginia. cne of the mcst influential
members Of the appropriations COM
mittee and a long-standing leader
of the economy bloc. Standing with
him. in all probability, will be Sen
ator Pat Harrison of Mississippi,
boss Of the Senate Finance COM
mittee. Other important figures in
both houses will also be lined up.
INFORMAL GROUP
MIGHT BE SET UP
Strategy will be to try to get
members of the House Appropria-
tions and Ways and Means COM
mittee to agree on a general pro-
gram for economy. Such a program,
as Woodrum sees 1t, would nave
two principal points;
Ito prevent any unnecessary
expansion or extension of regular
government services or New Deal
agencies under the guise of de-
tense measures.
2.-To keep appropriations down
to budget estimates in all cases,
making sure that all moneys APP
propriated 20 for specific purposes
and are not Jumped together to
be spent at the administrations
discretion.
If the house leadership could be
brought TO okay a program, Spc-
CiaI committee could be set up by
vote of the house TO SCrutlntze all
appropriation bills and see that
they conformed 10 these two points,
If that isn't posSible-and it prob
ably won't be, since the administra-
ton is already moving to fight the
interested members prob
ably will rally around Woodrum IN
a more or less informal committee
or bloc to do the same sort OF job.
Point is that if the bulk of the
Appropriation and Ways and
Means committee members go
alcng with this idea, as seems like
". such an informal committee
would be almost as effective as one
set up by action of the whole house.
CLAIMS CONGRESS
CAN HURRY
Woodrum is especially emphatic
about the blank check matter.
There's no need for that sort
of appropriation with congress here
all the time he says. They can
get money quickly in any emer-
gency through regular channels
This fall. for example, the defense
commission people put IN hurry-
up call for money for defense hous-
ing. They appeared before the APP
preparations committee at 10 one
morning and explained that the
matter was urgent, that each day
counted. We took the item they
were concerned about out of the de-
ficiency bill and rushed it. By the
next evening it had passed both
houses and been signed by the
president"
Woodrum doubts any important
savings can be made by cutting
down on regular appropriations. As
long as congress keeps a given bu-
reau or agency in existence and
gives it a job to do, that agency
must have money Small sums may
be Whitfield off here and there,
perhaps. but the saving is insig-
nificant.
His big objection to the blank
check system is that compare
lively modest sum can be allecated