Evening star., 1948-01-04
MurshulI Aid Plan,
Curbs on Initiation
Hold Spotlight
By J. A. OLeoY

Congress will raise the curtain
Tuesday on a momentous elec-
tion-year session in which the
top issues will be the Marshall
plan for European recovery and
how best to stabilize economic
conditions at home.
The first week will be prologue,
with President Truman submitting
his program in three separate COM
munications, while the Republican
leaders on Capitol Hill confer on
procedure.
Without waiting for the session
to start, the Senate Foreign Rela-
tions Committee has made plans to
begin public hearings Wednesday
morning on the Marshall plan, un-
der which Mr.. Truman already has
asked for a four-year, $4,000, 900, 600
program to help Is European ma
tions avert economic collapse and
Communism.
The administration estimates &c.
800 OO0, 900 of the total will be
needed for the first Is months of
the program, starting April 1.
Time Is Important Factor.
The two big points of controversy
are expected to be the amount in
volved and the method of admin
istering it, but one source close to
the administration indicated yes
terday that Democrats and Repub-
licans may not have too much
trouble getting together on the
kind of agency that should handle
the foreign aid.
If this hope is borne out, the size
of the fund would remain as the one
major battle-ground. Time also is an
important factor, but advance COM
ments of influential members as to
the length of debate have left little
hope of completing action on the
Marshall plan by April, when this
long-range program is intended to
follow-up the current interim aid
plan.
House Speaker Martin has pre-
dicted the COP leadership will lose
no time in putting an income tax
cut through the House this month,
but Senate Republicans may wait
for some indication of how the
Marshall plan is shaping up before
they pass the tax reduction measure.
Cut in Budget Awaited.
Also tied up with the Marshall
plan is the question of how much
Republicans will try to slash from
Mr.. Trumans budget for the fiscal
year starting July 1.
Here again, Speaker Martin has
forecast that the House will shove
through at least two of the dozen
annual departmental appropriation
bills in January, and that the Re-
publicans will try to effect savings
wherever possible.
With this as a background, all
eyes will be focused this week on
Mr.. Truman's summation OF what
this session should do.
Both houses are expected to con-
fine the opening sessions Tuesday te
the routine formalitieS of notifying
the President they have assembled
and are ready to receive his COM
munications.
Mr.. Truman will respond by sub.
mitting his general message on the
State OF the Union Wednesday; 6
report on the economic outlook Fri
day, and his budget message the
following Monday.
40 Billion Budget Expected.
The budget is expected to be neal
the $4,000, ,000, 900 mark.
While awaiting the President!
messages, the Senate Republican
Policy Committee, presided over by
Senator Taft of Ohio, will meet to-
morrow afternoon to begin going
over some of the issues they know
will face them early this year, aside
from the Marshall plan and taxes
Some of these other subject are
Extension of Federal rent control
which expires at the end of Febru.
ary (the District Committees have
a month longer to decide what tt
do about the District law.
Extension of the Reciprocal Trade
Agreement Act. which expires II
June.
To Discuss Other Controls.
A new long-range agriculture
program, to succeed the parity
price support plan, which expires a
the end of this year.
In addition to extension of rem
control. there is expected to be com.
(See CONGRESS, Page A-6)