Evening star., 1950-08-07
Leaders Hope 10 Get
Decision This Week
On Economic Curbs
By J. A. O'Leory

Congressional leaders went back
to work today with high hopes of
agreement this week on economic
controls and taxes to prevent in
f1ation in the present emergency.
The Senate Banking Committee
called a closed session on the con-
troll bill with every indication it
will give President Truman the
free hand he asked for to decide
If and when price and wage CELL
ings should be applied.
The Senate Finance Committee
resumed the job of looking for
$5 billion of new taxes. partly
from corporations and partly
through higher individual income
tax rates.
Meanwhile, the House and Sen
ate Appropriations Committees
still face the task of ironing out
their differences over the $34.2
billion omnibus appropriations
bill, to cover the regular require
ments of the Government for the
current fiscal year.
Hope for Brief Recess.
After they get that settled, Ap-
preparations Committed members
still must pass at least one more
supplementary money bill carry
ing the extra funds the President
has requested for national de-
fenSe and for military aid to
friendly nations since the fighting
started in Korea.
Still in the background also is
the final agreement on the ex-
panded Social Security program,
which may be acted on in both
houses this week.
House and Senate floor mana
gers hope they can get all of
these must" bills to the President
before Labor Day and then slow
down for a month or two, even
if they cannot adjourn because
of the unsettled state of the world.
Many members who face stiff
fights for reelection in Novem-
ber could get home to campaign
during the showdown period. Dur
ing that time members who stay
in Washington would convene
every third day, and be ready to
call their colleagues back if Pres
ident Truman should ask for any
more emergency legislation.
No Agreement on Details.
The Senate is in recess today,
and the House plans to consider
minor bills while the Banking
Committees try to agree on the
economic control bill.
The House decided Friday to lay
aside the control bill until Tues
day after three days of tentative
voting. which indicated that, while
most members favored some form
of price. wage and rationing au-
thority. they could not agree on
details.
At one point the House adopted
a plan that would have required
President Truman to pull the
trigger" invoking both price and
wage controls If the general cost
of living index rises S per cent
above the June Is level.
Sees Increased Field
The next day the House re-
scinded its action after President
Truman had objected to the pro-
posal as one which might invite
S per cent increase in prices. The
reversal motion was carried, how
ever, by a combination of Repub-
lican and Democratic votes.
Late Friday leaders decided it
would save time and produce
better results to lay the bill aside
for few days and give the Bank
ing Committee a chance to work
out a price-wage control formula
that opposing factions could agree
on.
AS the Senate Finance Commit
tee went back to the search for
new taxes. its chairman, Senator
George. predicted that if rates are
raised to produce $5 billion on
the basis of the present economy,
the expansion of industry to-
carry out the defense program
may raise the actual new tax
yield to So billion or $40 billion.