The union times., 1948-07-03
Housing, Living Costs Need Action
Record Of 8Oth Congress Shows Plain People Of US. Forgotten Minimum Wages, Health Insurance,
 Civil Rights, All Go Down The Drain

EOEgOUen- wages, f1ealtn Insurance,
 Civil Rights, All Go Down The Drain
 Will President Truman put the Republicans on the spot by calling the Both Congress back to clean up it's mound of unfinished business? That's the question being asked especially after meeting last week of Is Congress siona Cabinet and Democratic National Committee big with President Truman.
 Labor officials pieces business two of them spelled out in the COP paform which Congress has done almost literally nothing l8 months of law 1.-The Taft-Elender W agner housing bill.
 2-Federal aid to education.
 3-Measures to bring down high living
 Everybody Mad
 Even conservative newspapers indignant over the death of the TEW bill in the closing hours of Said the independent Republican Philadelphia Inqurer The disgracefu failure 8Ot Congress to provide comprehensive program for meeting the housing shortage can be corrected in only House and Senate should be reconvened bv their leaders and kent in seso until they have discharged their duty The TEW b pass ed by the Senate eight weeks the blueprint of sOund vigorous attack of most serious problems. It should be revived If it nt the Both Congress will the people down.
 Labor leaders urging Truman recall Congress
 after the two major party conventions end By then m lions ot especially veterans will realize that they have lost all practical possibility of obtaining years to result of the clumsy but ruthless collision between the real estate lobby and of dicaOria pO cal bosses.
 They predict the home building industry toO will wake in the several days and find that the hatred of public housing by the builders Washington Obby the reactiOnary crowd in Congress stop order O the housing that builders had expected this 
 Education Neglected
 The closing hours of the sessions sharp objections the only bill that provides federal funds aid chOO appropriation of $6OOOOOO schools sections of the country where the population increased sharply because of the location of plants Senators Ball (R, Minn) and Taft R Oho) both expressed objections this fund.- The $6OOOOOO appropriated is in contrast to the $SOO, OOOOOO proposed in measure okayed by the Senate which was blocked by Labor Committee Chairman Fred Hartley (R, N.J.) in the House.
 As for antinaon measures Congress failed even to act on the fiscal proposals made after lengthy crOsscouny hearings by the Joint Committee the Economic Report
 On balance, the COP Congress spectacular failure Except for the bipartisan foreign policy which had the whole hearted support of all of organized labor except those dominated by Communists there l 8Oh sessions activities It did allow the Mundt-Nxon antiCOmmunist bill die as urged by both AFL and CIO. also rejected the universal military training proposals of the Defense Department
 Achievements" Of Both Congress
 its great achievements in the fields of labor and social legislation:
 l-Passage of the Taft-Hartley law
 2-Passage of the POrtalto-POrtaI which, under the pretex of preventing suits for back pay by workers who weren't paid for time required in starting and finishing weakened the Fair Labor Standards Act
 3RemOved from social security vendors and about 75OOOO outside saesmen and other workers; froze the cial security payroll taxes at %.
 4-Passed dilued loosely constructed which removes many units from controls.
 Rased the of 85OO 900 cassifed federal employees flat $33O and 48OOOO postal workers S45O year. 6-P Passed the BulwnkleReed bill exempting railroads from the antitrust laws.
 The Peoples Legislation
 And here of the proposals that Congress rejected or pgeOnhOled
 l-Kasng the legal minimum wage from the present 4Oc to from 7Oc $ Extending the social security to workers who don't benefit.
 2ApprOpriating 100000 to bring the educational ot the poorer states the level of the better 3-Ciyil rights legislation. Anti-ynchng b permanent FEPC b anipoll tax bi prohibition of segregation in the armed forces all were reegaed to the scrap heap
 4-NatiOnal health insurance
 5-A housing program aimed to encourage buidinp of UUO,uOO homes year by private builders oOOOO OWcOs public housing units over the next 10 years the Taft-Ellender- w. Wagner bill.
 6-Socal security extension-o more workers with bob CT benefits and with disability added to the program. ~ F partment = ~ ~ ~