Evening star., 1948-11-14
byrd TO Reiniroduce
Omnibus Money Bill
For Federal Budget
By J. A. oLeory

!
Senator Byrd, Democrat, of Vir.
ginia, announced yesterday he will
ask the new Congress to adopt hi.
plan to put the entire Federal bud.
| get into one instead Of a dozer
appropriation bills each year.
The Virginia, leading advocate
of economy, believes Congress coule
act more intelligently in deciding
how much should be spent tor each
branch of Government If 1t had the
whole picture before it at one time
Under present procedure, when thu
Presidents overall budget reaches
the Capitol in January it Is broken
up into at least IL appropriation
bills, which are passed one by one
over . six-month period.
Senators Byrd and Butler, Repub-
lican, Of Nebraska joined forces
last year in proposing an omnibus
money bill, and managed to get
their resolution reported out Of the
RulessC Committee unanimously. Con-
gress adjourned, however, without
passing 1t, and 1t will die on Janu-
ary 8, along with hundreds Of other
pieces Of unfinished business.
To Press Resolution.
Senator Byrd said yesterday he
will reintroduce 1t early in the new
session, and press for passage
Even If the House and Senate take
kindly to the plan, however, 1t
probably could not be put into prac-
tice until 1850.
The appropriation bills for next
year viii be. starting through the
legislative mill In January under the
piecemeal system, with a dozen SUBJ
committees each considering sep
arately one segment of the budget
The Byrd plan still would permit
the House and Senate Appropriation
Committees to divide the omnibus
money bill into IL. titles, each cor
responding to one Of the separate
departmental bills.
The needs of each department OF
group Of departments could still be
considered by separate subcommit-
tees, specializing in the problems OF
National Defense, Agriculture OF
Interior.
Difference Is Cited.
The big difference would be that
all of these varied needs of the
Government would 60 to the floor o1
the House and Senate in one pack
age. When the full membership OF
Congress voted it would know how
much was being proposed for each
function of government, and coulo
weigh the relative merits of each
ALLEGATION.
Under the present system Con.
gress may decide in January OF
February how much to allocate fol
the Treasury, Post Office or Agri.
culture Departments, and may not
know until May or June how much
it will have to spend for the Army
Navy or Interior.
Even under an omnibus bill, there
would still have to be one or more
deficiency bills at the end of one
session, or the beginning of the
next, to take care of unforeseen re.
quirements.
| Criticism Is Cited.
One of the chief criticisms levelec
at the consolidated appropriation
bill plan is that it would encourage
log-rolling between groups interested
in different appropriation items
Senator Byrd is satisfied log rolling
would be no greater than at pres.
ent. az
Another argument raised agains
the change is that it would taxi
too long. Senator Byrd believes
this objection could be overcome b!
cooperation between the two
Houses, including the possibility o
joint hearings to get the basic in
formation from each department.
In 1916 Congress took step in tn,
direction of closer budget contro
by writing into the Congressional
Reorganization Act a requirement
that the two Houses place an overall
ceiling on spending at the start o.
each session.
Two years of experience indicate
however, that this ceiling figure be-
comes mercy a desirable goal, not
binding on either body later in the
year as it passes separately on th'
IL departmental appropriation bills
/ No Arbitrary Ceiling.
The Byrd proposal does not In
volve any arbitrary ceiling, bu
would enable the House and Senat.
to know how much their committee
had in mind spending for all de-
partments before acting on any ont
department.
Last year, the Senate Rules Com
mittee recommended that the Byre
omnibus appropriation bill plan b
made an amendment to the budget
ceiling section of the Reorganiza'
ton Act, and it probably will b.
presented in that form when 1t i
revived in January.