Evening star., 1942-02-16
Committee Reports
Departmental Funds
With Plea for Thrift
$221 ,069, 700 Allowed
Stote, Commerce, Justice
Units and Judiciary
By J. A. FOX.

! The House Appropriations Com
mittee today reported out bill
recommending appropriations
totalling 1921, 1870 for the
State, Justice and Commerce De-
partments, and the Federal judi
ciary for the next fiscal year, and
at the same time served notice
that no effort should be spared to
cut down on nom defense expen-
ditureS.
The committee will review the
record made in this particular at
the time of the hearings on the bill
next year." said the report accom-
panying the measure. which was in
charge of a subcommittee headed by
Representative Rabaut, Democrat,
of Michigan.
The appropriation proposed is a
decreaSe-in round figures of $780,
| 432 900 under the amount available
for the three departments and the
courts for the current year, and
about $13,744 900 above budget esti-
mates. The reduction is due to the
non-recurrence of an item of $780,
000, 900 for landing fields that was in
the bill this year; the net increase
over budget estimates is the result
of the committee action boosting
the allotment for pilot training from
10000, 900 to $50 ,000, 900.
Figures Watched Carefully.
The subcommittee the report
made clear. went carefully into the
estimates for each unit of the four
establishments. directing personnel
cuts where it was believed that needs
had been over-eStimated by admin
istrative authorities. and calling for
elimination OF unnecessary duplica-
tions of work. In some instances,
increases were permitted.
1t also was emphasized that the
subcommittee desired to be kept In
touch with developments calculated
to increase expenditures over the
amounts allowed in the bill. At the
same time. it was made clear that
there was no desire to hamstring the
operations of any agency.
Economies in. governmental op-
Grafton may be achieved in two
ways" the report said. Congress
can reduce appropriations for any
agency of Government or refuse to
appropriate at all for any particular
activity, or the administrative
branch of the Government can cur
tail activities after appropriations
are made in such a way as to cause
unexpended balances to accrue that
in turn revert to the Treasury as
saving.
THE latter course is much easier
of attainment for the reason that
expenditures are made on a day-to-
day basis, and retrenchment in eX-
penditures can be made with the
greatest amount of reason being
applied throughout the course of
the year as the means and methods
of effecting the savings. On the
other hand, reductions in appropri-
ations which must be made year
in advance of expenditure must, in
the very nature of things, be some
what arbitrary.
Economy Review Asked.
1T is suggested to the three cabi-
net officers under whose jurisdiction
the departments of the Govern
ment are supplied with funds in the
accompanying bill, and to the ad-
ministrator of the United States
courts, that they cause review to
be had of every proposed item of
expenditure during the next fiscal
year with the view of ef1ecting
every possible economy in the ex-
penditure of appropriated funds"
Appropriations for the next fiscal
year, compared with the last fiscal
year, follow: State, $26, 1894 400 and
$24, ,801 1872; Justice, $S4,438 900 and
$74,148,1 100; Commerce, $97 ,307 900
and $3.50, ,284,178; Judiciary, $12,-
429, TOO and $12, 368,655.
Prefacing the statement with the
observation that approximately rs
per cent of the activities Of the
three departments are feeling the
impact of the war program, the
committee report said that never
theless it's hearings had developed
that there is some lack of under
standing" among administrative Of
ficers as to the degree in which
they are bound to use appropriated
funds for specific purposes and
that it was desired to clear this up.
Some Leeway Allowed.
1T Is recognized that, particularly
1see EXPENDTTUREs. Page A-l23