Evening star., 1948-06-14
Senate 10 Meet
Tonight toAct
On Fund Bills
Leaders Push Drive
To Wind Up Work
For Adjournment
By the Associoted Press

hepuDllCdn ledQeTS put LQe
Senate on an overtime schedule
today as Congress drove to wind
up it's business and adjourn next
Saturday.
Acting Republican Leader Wherry
told reporters there will be night
session of the Senate tonight.
The chamber is scheduled to vote
at pm. on legislation to extend
the Reciprocal Trade Agreements
Act.
Senator Wherry said he hopes the
Senate can pass tonight bills to
provide funds for the Interior De-
partment, the Navy and a number
of Government corporations.
He said debate on the long range
farm bill is scheduled to start to-
morrow.
Half a dozen major bills may be
brushed into discard in the drive
to have Congress quit Saturday.
Congressional leaders have said pri-
vately only a reversal of adjourn
ment plans can save the oleomar-
garine tax repeater, pay raises for
Federal employees, the anti-Commu-
mist bill. tidelands measure, and
anti-lynch bill and an anti-poll tax
proposal.
Recall Provision Sought.
While there is no certainty that
Congress will close for keeps at the
eEd of the week. that is the target
being aimed at by Speaker Martin
and Senator Taft, Republican, of
Ohio.
Both believe they can make it.
And barring a change of mind,
when the House and the Senate ad-
journ Saturday they will quit until
next January unless Republican
leaders recall the legislators before
then. The recall provision is a
string Speaker Martin wants to
tie to the adjournment resolution
Without it, only President Truman
could reconvene Congress.
In addition to the usual depart
mental money bills which always
clog up the closing days calendar,
there are on the must docket bills
to:
l. Draft men 10 through Is into
the armed services.
This has passed the Senate and
seemed likely to clear the House
Rules Committee later today.
Public Housing Issue.
2. Set up a housing program.
The Senate has passed the Taft
Ellender- Wagner bill, with a public
housing section which the House
leadership doesn't like. The House
Banking Committee, upsetting its
leadership, has approved the Senate
plan but still needs rules COM
mittee clearance before it can take
the bill to the House floor.
This clearance is virtually Ger
tain, with Republican leaders ready
to fight on the floor to knock out
the public housing provision backed
by Senator Taft. They think they
can do it.
3. Extended the Reciprocal Trade
Agreements Act by which the
United States has been making
tarif-eutting contracts with foreign
governments.
The administration wants a
straightaway three-year extension.
The House will vote today on a COM
promise one-year extension without
the congressional veto but with a
requirement that the President must
explain to Congress his reasons for
any agreements that exceed rates
approved by the Tariff Commission.
4. Finance the foreign aid pro-
gram.
The House cut the European
Asiatic economic help funds upwards
of a billion dollars. The Senate
Appropriations Committee has voted
to restore most of the House cuts,
and the Senate is expected to fol-
low its lead.
Fund Bills to Come Up.
In addition to these four bills,
Congress must approve appropria-
tions for the year beginning July l
for number of Federal agencies,
including the Army and the Navy.
Except for a final "catch-all' bill,
these measures have cleared the
House and either are on the Senate
docket or are in Senate-House Con-
ference Committees working out
compromise figures.
The usual number of non-con-
troversial measures will slip through
before adjournment, but caught in
the last-minute logjam, with big
question marks over them. are;
/. The long grange farm bill. 1t is
tabled to be debated in the Senate
but House leaders don't like IT, In
stead, they want the Senate to go
along on a House-passed measure
continuing until June 80, 1850, with
a few changes. the existing price
support program on farm products
Prospects are the House bill will
win out.
2. Pay raises for Federal en-
ployes. Docketed for Senate ac-
ton but the bill doesn't fit into
House plans. There may be COM
promise to give raise to postal
workers only.
8. Repeal of oleomargarine taxes.
The House has passed this but it
will take a near miracle to get 1t
through the Senate.
l.