Evening star., 1944-02-06
Toward an Open Forum in Congress

resolution provides that one-half the
time for oral questioning shall be in
charge Of the chairman of the commit
tee which invited the official, while the
remainder shall be allotted for distribu-
ton by the committees ranking minor
ity member.
Thus, on any pending public issue,
the House would be given the first
hand viewpoint Of the executive agency
concerned with it. The cabinet member,
or agency head, on his side, could form,
from open discussion. fairly clear idea
of congressional sentiment. Such a full
and free exchange of views, Mr. Kef-
auver believes, would insure much more
harmonious functioning of the Govern
ment.
II had been reading for long time"
he said, "of earlier efforts in Congress
to promote closer harmony through the
appearance of Executive officers on the
floor. AS you may know, several res
olutions similar to mine have been con-
sioered In previous sessions. notably in
1861 and 1881. The basic idea, too, has
been the backing of a number of names
notable in American policy history
Presidents Taft and Wilson, Elihu Root,
Henry L. Stimson. Herbert Hoover,
when cabinet member; John W. Davis,
and others.
Il was moved to introduce the present
resolution one day last fall when Secre-
tary of War Stimson, Undersecretary
Of War Patterson and Gen. Marshall
spoke to the House in an informal ses-
sion on war plans in the auditorium
OF the Library of Congress.
What they had to say was extremely
interesting, and the House, or many
Of u.s. listed to them for four hours.
But, under the circumstances, we had
no chance to ask questions. I thought
how much better it would have been
had We received them in our own cham
ber, under House rules, and have been
permitted to ask pertinent questions.
THAT seemed psychological moment
to introduce the resolution-and I did
immediately"
Plan Is Widely Favored.
Since Mr.. Kefauvers resolution was
introduced in the House there have
been two preliminary debates on it. A
majority of members who spoke IA
vored the legislation, and a poll of
executive officials recently taken by a
press association showed that most
Of the Presidents branch of the Gov-
ernment also are well-disposed toward
the idea.
Interestingly enough, it appears that
the trainers of the Constitution, despite
their insistence on system Of checks
and balances" intended that members
of the Presidents official family should
appear in both the House and Senate
to discuss legislation This is proven
by the fact that they frequently were
called to appear before the first Con-
gress.
President Washington, it is known,
went to the Senate several times to
advise on treaties but, angered at what
he considered the caustic and recalci-
trant attitude of some of the Senators,
became embittered and declared he'd
"be damned If I ever go back again."
Historic Precedents.
Entries in the early congressional
journals record the appearance of a
number of officials from the executive
branch. For instance, on July %, 1789,
there is this entry:
1.-THE Secretary of Foreign Affairs
CMr. Jefferson) attended agreeably to
order, and made the necessary explana-
tions'
And on August %, 1899:
1.-THE Senate again entered on execu-
tive business. The President of the
United States came into the Senate
chamber, attended by Gen. Knox (Sec-
retary of War; and laid before the
Senate the following statement of the
facts. -"
The House journal for the same
month records the presence OF the Pres
ident and his Secretary of War there.
There are many other such entries
But for some reason these visits