Evening star., 1945-04-16
BridgesUrge
MoreHomeRu|e
For District
Would Retuin Final
Control in Congress,
Senator Declares
BY DON S. WARREN.

eO1 DlluSSo, VcpuUllCdil, VI
New Hampshire, today joined the
growing list of members of Congress
to propose that residents of the
National Capital be given much
greater degree" of home rule.
Testifying before the joint COM
mittee studying means of stream
lining" and otherwise improving the
efficiency of Congress, Senator
Bridges protested that under the
present system, congressional COM
mittees must deal with entirely too
many details of municipal govern
ment.
An active member of the Senate
District Committee since he came
to the Senate nine years ago, Sen
ator Bridges did not suggest just
what hCme rule plan be adopted,
but stressed that it was essential
that Congress retain ultimate con-
troll.
Favors Modified Plan.
"I would not want to go as far as
some advocates of suffrage" he said,
land I think the question should be
approached with reason, but Ger
tainly the District should be given o
much greater deglee of home rule
than it now has"
Senator Bridges added that Con-
gress must retain some supervisory
power, o. veto power, over the acts
of the city government, SO that it
would never lose ultimate control
over the seat of the Federal Govern
ment But he asserted it would be
sound" to broaden the scope OF
power Of the city government.
When asked by committee mem
bers for more specific suggestions,
he pointed out that Congressional
committees and the House and Sen
ate now must devote time to long
lists of minor bills" Members of
Congress, he declared, simply do
not have the time to investigate
the reasons or needs for all such
measures and if Congress were to
limit it's control to some inter
mediate" degree between full con-
troll and none he felt it would be
most appropriate"
Would End Appropriation Plan.
In his discussion of matters on
the national level, Senator Bridges
suggested that the practice of max
ing permanent appropriations
which remain available indefinitely
until eXpended-should be abolished.
Speaking as ranking minority men,
Der of the Senate Appropriations
Committee, the New Hampshire
Senator contended that the pres
ent system amounts to surrender
on the part of Congress" because
once permanent appropriation
measure becomes law Congress
cannot repeal it except with execu-
tive approval or passage by two
thirds vote over executive disap-j
proval." Under his proposal, all ap-
preparations would be subject to an
nual reviews and action.
Senator Bridges disagreed with
earlier suggestions that each State
send to Washington an official
agent to take care of many of the
"errand boy" tasks now dumped on
the desk of each member of Con-
gress by constituents. When he
said he thought there were better
ways to relieve members of Con-
gresS of extra loads of work, Senator
White, Republican, of Maine and
Representative Cox, Democrat, of
Georgia, supported him. They sug-
gested the appointment of special
State agents for such work might
tend to undermine the standing
of the member of Congress or to
conflicts between the State admin
lstration and the States Senators
or Representatives
Uurges Reduction in Committees.
Senator Bridges also urged that
the number of committees of the
House and Senate be greatly re-
duced, so as to reduce the committee
demands on each member of Con-
gress. For the Senate, he suggested
that there be no more than IA
standing committees. When Senator
LaF'ollette, Progressive, of Wiscon-
sin, chairman of the Joint Commit
tee, asked for details, he said he
would suggest merger of the Sen
ate, Naval, Military and National
Defense Committees, merger of the
Banking and Currency Committee
with the Finance Committee, and
consolidation of the Audit and Con-
troll Committee with the Appropria-
tions Committee.
Senator White interjected that he
had been working on similar sug-
gestions. Warnings were heard that
terrific resistance" might be en-
countered from Senators now on
committees proposed for merger
with others. Chairman LaFollette
declared, however, that he antici-
pated that the increasing load of
complicated problems facing Con-
gress would create a demand of its
own for adoption of more efficient
organization of congressional COM
mittees.
Senator Bridges proposed that
the staff of the legislative counsel
be enlarged and that the Legisla-
tive Reference Service be given a
few additional highly qualified"
employees.
He proposed also that each Sem
ator be given an executive assistant,
to be paid not less than $4,000, and
that funds for this purpose be ear
marked" so that they could not be
spent for anything else; that retire.
ment be provided for each Senator
and Representative; that members
Of Congress be granted allowances
for living expenses while in WASH
ington, and that at some time not
less than six years hence increased
pay be provided for members of
Congress.
To afford Congress a better over
all picture of Federal aid being grant,
ed or proposed for programs in the
States, Senator Bridges proposed
that all such appropriation items be
referred to a single subcommittee,
instead of being scattered among
many. He urged also that with the
excention of items relating tn neces-