Evening star., 1950-08-25
House Is Told
Budget Will Go
To $50 Billion
But Omnibus Bill
Is $2.3 Billion Under
Amount Requested
By }. A. O'Leory

The Federal budget for the year
ending next July will hit close to
the $50 billion mark, Chairman
Cannon of the House Appropria-
tions Committee told the House
today.
In spite of this large total, how
ever, he said the final agreement
reached by conferees last night on
the first omnibus budget bill Con-
gress has ever attempted is So
10,760,723 less than the depart
ments asked for.
Mr.. Cannon's forecast of a
$59,470.137.708 overall budget
adds to the omnibus bill $16.7
billion emergency money bill still
awaiting House and Senate pass
age to build up the defenses of
the United States and her Allies
in view of the Korean crisis.
Final Figures Available.
Mr.. Cannon's summary is sew
eral billions higher than the
estimate of $57 billion some
Congressional observers have been
predicting.
The difference appears to be
due to the fact that final figures
are now available on $2.1 billion
OF contract authorizations and
borrowing authority of $599 mil.
lions in the omnibus bill in addi-
ton to cash appropriations. When
these items are added to the cash,
the omnibus bill reaches a total
of $36,141, ,590,425.
Also entering into the overall
figure of nearly $50 billion are
the So-called permanent annual
obligations of the Government,
such as interest on the national
debt. which are not carried in
the appropriation bill, but must
be met by law.
The House began debate at noon
On the final provisions of the
omnibus bill and expects to act
on it within a few hours.
Floor fights may occur on sew
eral details. including the Spanish
loan added to the bill in the Sen
ate. The Senate proposed a 500
million loan, which the House con-
ferees recommend be cut to $62.5
million.
Emergency Measure Next.
AS soon as the omnibus con-
ference report is out of the way.
the House will take up the $l6.7
billion emergency supplemental
bill.
The last dispute among the
conferees on the omnibus bill
was on the question of how
much to cut from the funds of
non-defense agencies as a general
economy move. This was settled
last night with an agreement.
directing the Budget Bureau to
shave off $3.50 million from items
that would not impair national
defense.
This replaced the conflicting
economy amendments the House
and Senate had proposed sepa-
rately. The compromise saves as
much as the Senate's Byrd
Bridges plan, but it gives the ad-
ministration more leeway in max
ing the reductions. The Senate
plan listed the agencies it wanted
to exempt. and then ordered the
others to take 10 per cent cut.
It is a smaller cut than would
have resulted from the House
economy amendments, which
started out by ordering a fiat
$500 million cut and then ordered
percentage cuts in personnel and
travel funds.
The House also had voted to
prohibit the filling of more than
10 per cent of the vacancies that
occur in non-defense agencies.
All of these House curbs are
dropped from the conference
report.
Appointments to Be Temporary.
Before agreeing yesterday to
drop these personnel restrictions
from the omnibus bill, however,
House Appropriations leaders had
added to the emergency defense
bill a new personnel order, de-
signed to keep new Government
(See APPROPRIATIONS, A-30