Evening star., 1947-02-23
Congress Too Hosty
In Limiting Budget
New Fund-C Control Plan Requires
Estimates Before Hearings
By Gerard D. Reilly

1NeW FunQ.AOntrOi flan REQUIRES
Estimates Before Hearings
By Gerard D. Reilly
Although the La Toilette -Monroney
Act reorganizing the Congress is prop
erly regarded as forward looking piece
of legislation, it Is becoming increas-
ingly clear that at least one of its pro-
visions is of dubious value. This is the
section directing Congress to establish a
legislative budget.
Under this portion of the act the
committees which handle revenue bills
and the committees which handle ap-
preparation bills in each house are re-
quired to meet at the beginning of each
session of Congress. After consultation
and consideration of the budget recon-
mendations of the President these COM
mittees are directed to report to their
respective houses an estimate of re-
ceipts and expenditures. The difficulty
with this section is that it requires this
report to be filed on February Is and to
contain recommendation for the
maximum amount to be appropriated
The recommendation is to be accom-
panied by a resolution adopting the
budget and fixing a ceiling on the forth
coming appropriations.
Until the passage of the La Toilette
Monroney Act the preparation of the
Federal budget was considered purely
executive function The itemized list of
proposed appropriations for each de-
partment and agency of Government is
transmitted by the President to Con-
gress on the day after his message on
the state of the Union. This, of course
does not mean that the executive budget
is binding upon Congress since in pass
ing appropriation bills either house can
revise or reject any item contained in It,
1t did mean. however, that with respect
to any reductions made by Congress the
agency affected he'd been afforded en-
opportunity for hearing before both
the House and Senate Appropriation
Committees and a consideration of its
case on the merits. The only aspect of
finaiity to the Presidents recommended
tions lis that no agency may ask its
subcommittee on appropriations for an
amount in excess of his budget estimate
AS result of the limited period avail
able to Congress to frame budget, the
joint committees are now compelled to
act without an opportunity for scien-
tific appraisal of the merits of the par
ticular items Consequently the budget
ary proceedings in the House and Sen
ate and in the Republican caucuses have
been distinguished more for partisan
prejudice than for sober legislative
thought. While informed persons would
agree that with the cessation of hos
tilities it became incumbent upon the
President and Congress to adhere to q
budget which would bring about sig
nif1cant reduction in the national debt.
apparently the majority leaders in Con-
gress have given little or no thought
to the question of whether the best way
Of attaining this was to cut expendi-
lures or to increase the tax rates. In
stead the Republicans accepted as party
gospel the theory that Federal expendi-
lures were much too high and that the
Presidents budget could be reduced
anywhere from six billion to four billion
dollars.
Inasmuch as the Republican leader
ship in both branches took the position
that the joint legislative budget COM
mittees were justified in making such a
n 10 trrit inn
cific items in the present budget which
are to be reduced or omitted, it is appar-
ent that that both the six billion and
the four billion figures were picked out
of the air. The only approximation
which either of these figures bear to the
arithmetic of the problem is that If
Representative Knudsen, the new chair
man Of the Ways and Means Committee
Is permitted to carry out his pledge of
20 per cent reduction in income taxes,
the estimated loss to the Treasury would
be close to four billion dollars.
OF course, 1t is understandable that
after long years Of Illustration, apostles
of economy in government are naturally
resentful of a budget of 81 billion dol
lars. But to strike out blindly without
considering the merits Of the functions
which the Federal Government would
necessarily have to abandon under the
proposed legislative ceiling is to pursue
course which would defeat the under
lying policies Of the La Follette-M Mon
roney Act. BY and large the purpose OF
this legislation was to enable Congress
to act upon information and mature
consideration, rather than upon passion
and prejudice. To realize this objective
the act not only limited the unwieldy
size and number of committees but also
made provisions for stating them with
expert advisers. But before placing
this scientific committee machinery to
work on the highly technical problem
Of putting OUR fiscal house in order,
Congress is now acting in vacuum on
question having tremendous repercus-
sions upon OUR fate abroad as well as
upon our domestic economy.
X X y X
1t is common knowledge that the
bulk of the Presidents budget is made
of car+oip 0irreSIrih1a itopS' Soma of