Evening star., 1950-03-21
House Appropriations Group Urges Billion Package Budget
Drastic Anti Deficiency Bill,
Curb on Fund Transfers Asked
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man estimated in January that
spending in the year starting July
l. 1850, will total ,438,757, ,406
The House committee figured to-
day that after allowing for fixed
charges and foreign aid, spending
under its bill will be held to SAL
459. 9.268,346. This difference gives
the net saving of $979,489,O 900 ac-
complished in the omnibus bill.
The stringent new anti def
cheney rule would impose a penal
ty Of $4,000 or two years in jail
on any Government official who
knowingly and wilfully exceeds
apportionment of funds to make
appropriations last a year. The
45-year-old existing law fixes pen
alties of 500 or one month.
The House committee also called
on the Budget Bureau to simplify
its annual book of estimates here
after. and served notice that it
wants the Government to get
away from the practice of asking
for contract authority in addition
to the cash appropriated each
year. The committee points out
that in this bill it has allowed
only one-third as much as last
year in contract authorizations.
Defense Gets Lions Share.
National defense gets the lions
share of the total appropriation,
$12.825, ,342 800, but even that took
a cut of s2o3,332, 700 from budget
estimates. The defense trimming
was mainly in maintenance items
based on the Committees hope for
lower price trends. Counting con-
tract authority, the defense budget
is $3.50 billion.
The deepest cut was in the In
dependent Offices chapter, from
which $433.271,317 was slashed
and half of that came from the
Veterans Administration. The to-
tai allowed the VA, $5,801, 1872 ,795,
is $205,832, ,2O5 under the budget
estimates. Most of the reduction
$104 million. came from veterans
readjustment benefits.
The Atomic Energy Commits
sion also felt the pruning knife,
and was criticized in the COM
mittee report for some of its man
agement practices. The Acc gets
$647 100000 in cash, a cut of
$61 100000. 1t also was given con-
tract authority in the sum of
$3o0,150,00o. which represents a
cut of s33,350,0O0. This makes
an overall cut of $95,330,0O0.
Other departments covered by
the bill, with the total allowed,
and the cuts sustained, follow:
Legislative branch-S56, 1922, ,45O,
4 cut of $8,473,946. CThis covers
expenses of the House and main
tenance Of Capitol Hill buildings.
The expenses of the Senate will be
added when the bill reaches that
body.
State, Justice, Commerce and
Judiciary-$1,11 ,110.870,462, a cut OF
$73,165, ,435.
TreaSuryPost Office.
Treasury-Post Office payable
from general fund of Treasury
$947 .105,000 a reduction of S184,-
050;600. A large part of this say
ing results from recent legislation
increasing postal rates by $125
million, and thereby relieving the
Treasury of that much of what
it contributes to the Post Office
bill.
Labor Department and Federal
Security Agency-s2,271 .o99, ,614.
. reduction of 0,972,886.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS cut
Of $42,245,745.
Interior-s621, ,634,130, a cut OF
$47,617,375.
Civil Functions Covering flood
control, river and harbor work.
s632. $4,000, cut of $780,
247,5o0.
Chairman Cannon. sponsor of
the single money bill for the
Government as whole, will take
his king-size measure to the floor
for debate next week.
1t consist of 431 pages, with
more than 10000 words. But the
House will have an opportunity
to consider each of it's II titles
separately. before voting on the
measure in it's entirety. Long
advocated by Senator Byrd,
Democrat, of Virginia, it's chief
purpose is to give the members of
both houses a glimpse of what
they will be asked to allocate for
all Government functions before
they approve funds for any one
ACTIVITY.
Bears Out Prediction.
The bill reported today bears
out Chairman Cannon's advance
prediction that the new process
would make a substantial saving
possible.
The committee has complained
that, in the 20 years since the
Budget and Accounting Act passed
the annual budget document
has become so complex "as to
make ready analysis of the mass
Of detail presented difficult
almost to the point of futility.' y
The report recommends that
further simplif1cation of the an
nual budget book be given first
priority by the Budget Bureau for
next year. The committee con-
cndoS tho hI1roop y,,oJo eoy,, q