Evening star., 1951-03-04

The 82d Congress, In session
now for two months, has demon
strated that it's preoccupation is
national preparedness-and that
other issues and measures are
likely to receive little of its time
and attention for the present. In
view of the war in Korea, it may
be called a war Congress, al
though the measures it has taken
and is taking are designed to halt
the cnrush of world conflict.
BY demonstrating great strength,
Congress believes. the United
States will be able to check an
onrush of Russian Communist
aggression.
No great volume of completed
legislation can yet be credited to
Congress. It has, however, meas
ures of tremendous Importance on
the legislative ways, which seem
sure of ultimate enactment.
Among them is the universal mill
tary training and service bill.
The Senate is about to pass the
bill, and the House Armed Serv-
ices Committee is completing
hearings on a similar measure.
If this bill is written into law. not
only will the Selective Service Act
be materially changed, but pes
manent system for building and
maintaining trained adequate mil
itary reserves will be set up. This
is something the Nation has never
had.
In the works, too, are the bills
to provide the necessary funds for
our military effort: the annual
appropriation bills which authorize
the expenditures. Also, new bill
to raise the money which is to
be expended-the tax bill of 1851.
The administration and large
number of influential members of
Congress are agreed that the mill
tary effort must be paid for as
we go, rather than cared for by
further increasing the country's
mammoth national debt.
Matter of Taxes
Delayed for time by struggle
in the House Appropriations Com
mittee over the so-called omnibus
or one-package appropriation bill,
none of the regular appropriation
bills have come before the House
for action. However, now that the
one-package bill has been dis
carded, hearings are under way on
six of the nine major appropria-
ton bills. Hope is expressed by
some members of the Appropria-
tions Committee that it may be
possible to pass before Easter the
Treasury and Post Office appro-
priation bill, the Labor and Fed
eral Security appropriation bill
end possibly the Interior and
Agriculture appropriations bills.
This is an ambitious schedule.
The bills for the armed services
gre still in the making.
The House Ways and Means
Committee, pressed by President
Truman for speedy action on an
administration bill to raise $40
billion additional revenue by high
el and new taxes, has been hold
ing hearings. According to the
Presidents budget, it will take
$16.5 billion in new revenue to
meet the necessary expenditures
this year. He has asked for the
$40 billion right away, through
increased personal and corporate
income taxes and excise taxes.
The other $6.5 billion are to be
written into law later.
Right here is one of the serious
differences between the White
House and Capitol Hill. The
leaders handling new tax legisla-
ton insist that before any new
and increased taxes are levied.
they are going to take hand in
cutting down expenditures for the
Government outside of tho mill
tary. Some of them like Senators
Byrd of Virginia, Douglas of Illi-
nois and George Of Georgia, all
Democrats, say that 1t will be pos
sible to lop $6 to 50 billion off the
presidential budget-and so make
unnecessary q very considerable
part of the new and added taxes
requested by the President.
Eventually Congress will provide
whatever funds are necessary for
the war and defense effort, just
as it will provide for raising the
necessary manpower and for eco
nomic controls. There will be
many differences of opinion, freely
expressed, however.
The Congress will settle down
to work on the long legislative
haul more actively, it is believed,
once there has been some action
In the Senate-and possibly in
the House-on the policy of send
ing American troops, ground
forces, to become part of the
Eisenhower NATO army. This
subject has occupied the Senate
q large part of the session and.
more particularly, it has taken
up the time of both the Foreign
Relations and the Armed Services
Committees which have been hold
ing join hearings on it. The
Senate will, it is predicted, ap-
prove the policy and leave to the
President and the military lead
ers the decisions on how many
and where the men are to go to
Western Europe.
One measure of major impor-
tance to the preparedness effort
Is the so-called ship-construction