Evening star., 1946-08-09
u. 5. Agencies Fight
Sharp Personnel Cuts
Before Budget Bureau
Stuff Reduction Ordered
By Dirksen Amendment
To Deficiency Bill
By joseph YOUNG

Federal department and agency
heads are meeting daily in closed
sessions with Budget Bureau Off
cials in an attempt to ward off
| the drastic personnel cuts de-
creed by the Federal Pay Act of
1916, it was learned today.
| The Budget Bureau will make
final decisions in regard to the
number of employees that must be
fired to conform with economy pro-
visions and is currently summon
ing the heads of the various de-
partments and agencies to present
their estimates of personnel needed
to conduct their business efficiently
Some agencies already have
started pruning their stats, but not
to any great degree. The most siz-
able cut yet announced was made
by the War Department., which is
sending 30-day discharge notices to
$500 of it's employees here.
Stable Cuts Forecast.
Budget Bureau officials say there
will be stable personnel cuts dur
| ing the next year, but that there is
a chance that some agencies will
be more fortunate than others in
the matter of retaining personnel.
1t all depends on what kind of a
case each agency can present to
Budget Bureau officials to justify
their plea for not-too drastic per-
sonnel cuts.
Since the so-called Dirksen
amendment was passed by Congress
in June calling for an 100000 re-
duction in Federal personnel by
June, 1947, the Third Deficiency Act
was passed and gave the Budget
Bureau more discretion in determin-
ing the rate of layoffs A question
| still to be settled is whether the De-
| ficiency Act supersedes the intent of
the Dirksen amendment to the pay
bill
| While the Third Deficiency Act
states that it is not the intention of
the act to alter or modify the per-
sonnel ceiling set up by the Dirksen
amendment and states that any in
crease in personnel granted one
agency must be offset in another,
the act contains the following sig
nificant provision:
"If the director of the Bureau of
the Budget shall find and so certify
to the President that any such off
setting reduction would be mimi
cal to the public interest, such off,
setting reduction, subject to the
Presidents approval, may be waived
in whole or in part in writing by the
Director of the Bureau of the Bud
get, and such action by such official
shall be published promptly in the
Federal Register with a statement
of the reasons therefor"
The pay acts observation-disclosures
amendment calls for the Federal
payroll to be cut to. 100000 en-
ployes by July /, 1947. At present,
the total Federal payroll numbers
1922 900 employees.
Officials of the War Department,
the Governments largest employer.
indicated that the department will
do its best to comply with the Dirk
sen provision, which calls for the
department to reduce it's present
staff of approximately 100000 CLASH
fed employees to 10000 by July /,
l947. However, the Navy Depart
ment has indicated that it would be
seriously hampered in it's work if it
has to cut its classified staff of
nearly 100000 classified employees to
100000, as required by the Dirksen
amendment.
Job Ceilings Set Up.
Quarterly ceilings were set up for
agencies other than the War and
Navy Departments. This means
that although War and Navy can
| fSea pEPC0NNET pooo Ao1