Evening star., 1948-03-30
1900 VA Jobs
Saved in House
Deficiency Bill
Committee Reports
Measure Creating
More U. S. Positions
By Joseph Young

The House Appropriations
Committee today approved a
1882, ,407,7S2 deficiency appropria-
tion bill saving 5000 Veterans
Administration jobs and Great
ing more than 700 new positions
in the State and Commerce De-
partments.
The measure provides new funds
for atomic weapons and research
for military road work in Alaska,
and for the verbal war with Russia,
1t also includes new grants for re-
lief work in Army occupied coun-
tries.
The bill. scheduled to come be-
fore the House for a vote tomorrow
or Thursday, is 66.31l.47S below the
amount President Truman had
asked. Most of the cuts we're in
funds sought for the Maritime Com
mission, the Post Office Department
and the Air Force clothing budget.
3 Million Voted for Voice"
-Four hundred new jobs in the
State Departments overseas infor-
nation program were approved by
the committee. as well as 3l4 new
positions for the Commerce Depart
ment's export controls program.
The committee voted $1,000 900 of
the $5,120,000 the State Department
had asked for the Voice of Amer
lea and other informati ton programs.
The committee also provided
enough funds for the Maritime
Commission to enable that agency
to retain the $50 employees in its
vessel-operating program. 1t also
authorized the commission to draw
from its reserve funds if it wanted
to hire an additional 400 employees.
The committee gave the VA So
100000 to pay the salaries of 5000
of the $500 employees who were
slated for dismissal These funds
will pay fer their salaries until June
80, and the committee indicated
that it will supply additional funds
in VAS regular 1949 appropriation
measure to continue the 5000 Jobs
in l949.
VA Request Cut in Half.
Chairman Edith Nourse Rogers Of
the House Veterans Committee and
Representative Mccormack, Demo-
crat, OF Massachusetts, had intro
duced resolution asking Congress
to give VA $4,000 900 to save the
bulk of the $500 jobs. The COM
mittee cut this request in half,
About 400 VA employe es in WASH
ington were due to be fired. and
the committees action today is ex-
pected to save considerable num-
ber of these jobs. The committee
gave Veterans Administrator Gray.
discretion in determining which
5000 employees should be retained.
Approximately 200 OF the 400
State Department joos opening up
in its overseas information program
will be in Washington. The remain.
der will be overseas.
Army Fund Cancelled.
The Appropriations Committee
Cancelled $200,345, 900 in money pre-
viously appropriated for the Army.
mostly for the Finance Service The
Army itself had proposed a $780,
900, 900 cancellation.
| Not penny was cut from the
s150,000, 900 asked by the Atomic
Energy Commission. all of it in
contract authority for which Con-
gress will put up the actual cash
later. The new authority increases
/ to 1863 ,091 1863 the amount the COM
mission will have at its disposal
this year.
The committee admonshed the
commission to move forward with
all possible speed in its research
programs, both in the wartime and
peacetime uses of the newly dis
covered secrets"
Will Insure Production.
It acted after Carroll L. Wilson,
general manager of the commission,
emphasized what he called the ur-
gency of meeting the armed services
requirements for atomic weapons.
Most of the new money, Mr. Wilson
told the committee at closed ses-
sion, will be directed toward insur-
ing the continuity of production OF
fissionabl materials, the fabrication
of these into weapons, and the con-
duct of research and development.
Without elaboration, Mr.. Wilson
said the military interest goes far
beyond atomic bombs
He added that production facil-
tiles for weapons are being dispersed
and duplicate sources for weapon
! See APPROPRIATIONS, Pg. A-5)