Evening star., 1945-05-28
Congress Told
|tShou|d Shift
Detail Work
Budget Director
Cites D. G. Control
As One of Burdens
BY DON S. WARREN.

- ssS VI -
BY DON S. WARREN.
Budget Director Harold D. Smith
today advised Congress it could make
a more effective attack on the prob
lens of a necessarily complicated
modern government by sticking to
establishment of broad legislative
principles and giving up administra-
tive details.
Testifying before the joint COM
mittee considering means of mod
ernizing congressional operations
he submitted suggestions as to how
Congress might keep itself better
Informed, obtain a better spread OF
work among its members and COM
mittees and rid itself of time-con-
Stunning work.
On the latter point, he joined the
numerous earlier witnesses who have
urged that Congress free itself of
the burden of acting as the munich
pal council for the National Capital
Also he recommended that it divest
itself of the non-legislative work of
handling the hundreds of private
claims against the government.
Cites Private Claims.
mo extensive study is necessary
to identify some of the activities of
which Congress could appropriately
rid ITSELF" he told a hearing con-
Quoted by Representative Mon
roney, Democrat, of Oklahoma.
For example, non-legislative
procedure should be devised for
handling the hundreds of private
tort claims which place demands on
the time of many members.
ut would also be advantageous for
Congress to relieve itself of the
time consuming burden of acting as
a municipal council for the District
A detailed analysis of the work of
Congress. would bring to light other
types of work which might be done
elsewhere, thereby leaving the time
of the legislative branch free for the
consideration of more important
matters"
Fav0rs More Home Rule.
Mr.. Smith did not present any
detail plan for relieving Congress of
its task of legislating for the District,
but when asked to elaborate, said he
favored a greater measure of home
rule. He recalled that the Budget
Bureau of some years ago had given
up its former complete control over
the District budget and leaves de-
tails to the commissioners.
Taking the position that under
the constitutional system Congress
should not attempt to administer"
and hold that as a practical matter
it cannot do so, Mr.. Smith offered
the following suggestions:
That it might prove helpful if
Congress were to place ceiling on
the length of service a member of
Congress could have on any single
committee-as a means of promoting
general knowledge of subjects among
House and Senate members and pre-
venting development of specialists"
on certain subjects.
That all Federal appropriation
bills might be consolidated in one
measure as a means of promoting
uniformity of policy on appropria-
ton of funds and shortening the
time now devoted to the handling
of long list of supply bills.
Need Better Information.
That means should be found for a
better flow of information between
Capitol Hill and the Executive de-
parJments and that the Budget Bu-
reau staff could be used much more
freely in this regard.
That central Office of inquiry be
established, either as an agency at
tached directly to Congress, or at
some Executive agency such as the
Budget Bureau, which would serve
members and committees of Con-
gress in the collection of factual data
on government work and problems
That more adequate stats be pro-
vided for the leadership of the House
and Senate. He made the point that
while substantial" part of the
work of Congress is carried on in
completely nonpartisan manner"
the responsibility in the final analy-
sis was party responsibility.
In fact, he said, lone of the great
contributions of the Anglo
can nations to the art of govern
ment is the two-party system, and
representative institutions seem to
operate most satisfactorily when a
fairly high degree of agreement pre-
walls within the ranks of the ma
jority party
Cites Disadvantages.
In his discussion of a ceiling on
committee service for individual
members, Mr.. Smith contended that
while long service on a single COM
mittee develops expertness in al
member there are of setting disad-
vantages. The concentration by an
individual member on a single sub
ject, he said 'is likely to deprive
the House as a whole of his con-
sidered judgment on other issues.
Over-devotion to a particular seq
ment of legislation may narrow the
legislators vision"
Moreover, the tendency to de-
velop expertness in individual COM
mittees whose word is generally ac-
cepted by the House as a WHOLE"
he continued, strikes at a basic
principle of the representative pro-
cess-that public issues will be free
ly debated and judged by the peo-
pies chosen representatives with
keen sensitivity to public opinion.
District 0pk Fnfnrre<