Evening star., 1943-04-17
House May Take Up
D. {. Supply Bill
Late Today
Mohon Points Out
Measure Contains No
Controversial Items
BY JAMES E. CHINN.

IVlS0S0IS NV
Controversial Items
BY JAMES E. CHINN.
The House may begin consid-
Grafton of the 1914 District ap-
preparation bill late today, and
certainly on Monday, according
to the present program of the
leadership.
The measure, providing $54. .789 ,434
to finance the municipal govern
ment through the new fiscal year
beginning July l., was favorably re-
ported to the House yesterday by
its Appropriations Committee.
Representative Mahon, Democrat,
of Texas, and chairman of the Ap-
preparations Subcommittee which
wrote the bill, said 1t contained no
controversial items and he expected
1t to go through the House speedily.
Supplemental Items to Come.
Although the bill provides little
less than $55 1000 900 to operate the
District in the coming fiscal year,
supplemental estimates to be SUBJ
mitted later by the Commissioners
through the Budget Bureau are ex-
pected to raise the total to about
$50 ZOO, 900, which would be the larg-
est budget in history.
The principal item in the contem-
plated supplementals estimated at
S. 1888 $3.50 would provide the recently
approved salary increases for police,
firemen, school teachers, and other
District employees. OF this amount,
S2,109,625 is needed to meet the sal
airy raises for the period beginning
last December L. through June 80
this year, and $3,673,7O for the II
months beginning July /.
Estimates Not in Shape.
The supplementals were not added
to the regular appropriation bill
before it was reported to the House
because the Commissioners did not
have them in final shape. 1t is
| planned now to have them included
either in the regular bill before
action on it in the Senate or have
the supplemental items considered
independently later on in a special
bill
The Commissioners estimated that
the District would wind up the
present fiscal year, June 30, with a
surplus of about $6,00O,OOO which
would be sufficient to carry the
supplemental estimates that may be
added to raise the final budget for
| the 1914 fiscal year to about
S60,00O000.
House leaders originally had plan
ned to begin consideration of the
District bill soon after it was re-
ported yesterday, but delay in pas
sage of the agriculture appropriation
bill which preceded the District
measure in the House, caused an
alteration in their arrangements.
The House may take final action on
the agriculture bill early this aft
ernoOn. however. paving the way for
immediate consideration of the Dis
trict bill.
Calls for Debt Payment.
The bill as reported provides that
the District pay off S6,850.000 of its
debt to the Federal Government in
the coming fiscal year, an increase
of S4,000,000 over the amount it was
scheduled to repay in the current
fiscal year. This higher payment
would reduce the Indebtedness of
the District to s4,482, ,504
The repayments would be made as
follows: For public works, 81 700 900:
for advances under the Lanham Act.
$3.50 ,000 for an advance of ST 900 900
under the Blackout Act, and for re-
payment of Sl,000O00 of the funds
advanced under the Capper- -Cramp-
ton Act
The Commissioners as we'll as the
House Appropriations Committee
figured it would be the part of good
business to pay off the Indebtedness
as soon as possible, and make
substantial advance toward this goal
in the new fiscal year because the
estimated revenue which the District
will have available for new con-
struction projects cannot be used
because of Government restrictions
on critical materials. In fact the
committee, in encouraging debt re-
payments, suggested the need of
planning postwar construction now
to relieve an anticipated unemploy-
ment situation.
S1,285,S32 Surplus Seen.
Even with payment of $6,850,000
toward the Districts Indebtedness
IN the new fiscal year and providing
salary increases for municipal en-
ployes, the committee was advised
the District would wind up the next
fiscal year ending on June 80, 1914,
with an estimated paper surplus in
the general revenue fund of ST 1885,
1872.
This surplus figure was arrived at
by allowing for charges to be made
against the general revenue fund
in other appropriation bills for the
Districts share of the expenses of
maintenance of the United States
Court of Appeals for the District and
or Freedmen's Hospital
Estimates of the general fund
revenue for the 1914 fiscal year are
S44, cts 900. Adding to this amount
a Federal payment of $6,000,000. and
the estimated surplus of s6,1O8, ,181
to be brought forward at the close
OF the present fiscal year, gives
total estimated general fund reve-
1ue availability in the new fiscal
year of $56,783,181.
Oil Pipe|ine Terminal