The Waterbury Democrat., 1946-07-05
Senate Arms for OPA Fight
Toft Camp Continues To Protest
Measures Features Found 10 Be Same As Low Thot Died

NS L0W HUI SlS0
 Washington, July 5-CUPr Sen. Robert A. Taft, (R. Ohio), today resumed his fight with Administration leaders over price control, as- suming the leadership of a group of Senators refusing to bow to pressure from the White House.
 Anti-OPA Senators were ready and well-armed to fight on the Senate floor the new Administration backed bill which would revive the OPA in a modified form for one year.
 The new price fight in the Sen- ate. they predicted would be more bitter than the las It will begin as soon as the bill is called up for Senate debate-either today or Monday OPA foes again will try to end price controls on meat, poultry and dairy products.
 To Carry On Issues
 Taft took charge Of the attack on the bill immediately after 1t was approved, l2 to 5, last night by the Senate Banking Committee. Taft had been working with the commit tee all week to reach an acceptable compromise. but when he was out voted in the shoE-down, he de- cided to carry the issues to the Senate floor.
 He was backed up by a goodly number of Republicans, and prom ised a crashing assault against pro-OPA forces led by Senate Dem- ocratic Leader Alben w. Barkley. Ky. who predicted eventual passage Of the bill in it's present form.
 Sae measure, written in commits tee to meet President Truman's ob- jections to the vetoed extensiou bill, would
 1 Cancel rent increases
 made by landlords since the old
 price law expired Sunday.
 Landlords would not be re- quired to refund money already
 collected as result of the tenn | porary rent boosts.
 ?. Allow producers their 1940
 prices, plus any increased pro- duction costs since then if the OPA deems the higher prices
 necessary to boost production.
 This Barkley- sponsored plan,
 approved g to 8 by the commit tee, knocks out Tafts amend
 ment which drew the bitterest criticism from MT Truman in
 his OPA veto message Taft
 would have set Oct. Ills. 1941. as the base price period and
 would have made price allow
 ances for increased production
 costs without specific rulings
 on whether they were necessary
 to increase output.
 B Allow distributors, whole
 salers and retailers their June
 29, l946 mark-ups in place of
 Jan. l, l946, mark-ups proposed
 by Senate Republican whip
 Kenneth S Wher1y, Neb This
 plan, which would not require
 any cost absorptions after June
 29 was approved, 10 to '. It was sponsored by Barkley.
 Almost Alike In most other respects, the bill is similar to the old OPA law. It retains price controls on meat, poultry and products-and that was expected to precipitate the bitterest part of the Senate fight on the bill. -..-.-..- T..
 Even the anti-OPA bloc seemed generally inclined to support revival of rent controls,
 Barkley, while predicting that the measure would pass the Senate and be approved by MT. Truman, con- ceded a fierce battle is almost i1l- evitable over the decontrol features. Taft protested that the bill as now written would give OPA the same discretionary powers" that 1t had under the old law.
 Taft reported that at one time yesterday, the Banking Committee agreed to junk controls over meat, poultry and dairy products. A mo- tion made by Barkley to reconsider the vote. he said, was voted down. Porter Wrote Bill-Taft
 Then, Taft said, one Senator in- dicated he wished to reverse his vote on the amendment. A subse- quent attempt to insert the decon- trol provisions ill the bill was de- feated. g to g. Taft had asked the committee to vote for decontrol of the meat, poultry and dairy prod- ucts
 Barkley said that the bill was ac- ceptable to Price Chief Paul Porter who told the committee it could be administered during testimony yesterday. Porter said he would recommend that the President ap- prove the measure.
 Taft wTyly noted that the bill ought to be acceptable to OPA since Porter wrote it." |