Evening star., 1951-06-14

20 days would save 1902 million.
Works on Graduated Plan.
Senator Johnston, who led the
successful fight on the Senate floor
last night to beat the leave-re-
duction amendment of Senator
Douglas, Democrat, of Illinois by
a vote Of 36 to IS. said his COM
mittee is working on a graduated
leave-reduction plan, based on
seniority, and hopes to agree on
the bill soon.
That was one of the main argu-
Iments used last night by Senator
Johnston to defeat the Douglas
rider to the Labor Department
Federal Security 1852 money bill.
Senator Johnston contended the
rider usurped his committees
Jurisdiction over the leave legis-
|lation and that his group Is cur
lrently engaged in drafting such
Legislation.
The Senate group is drafting
bill to give 13 days annual
leave to employees with less than
five years of service, 1914 days
for S to Is years of service. and
26 days for more than Is years.
The other telling argument used
by Senator Johnston and echoed
|by other Senators was that the
Douglas rider to reduce annual
leave to 20 days and sick leave
Ito Is actually still would have
left the Government liable to en-
lploye leave claims for the extra
six days.
In a move to avoid having the
rider ruled out Of order because
lit would be considered legislation
as part of an appropriations bill,
Senator Douglas drafted 1t as a
lcurtailment of leave funds. The
rider provided that no money could
be used to pay the annual leave
Of employees in excess Of 20 days.
Senator Johnston and others
declared this would not have
changed the basic law and would
not have relieved the Govern
ment Of its legal obligation. to
pay employees for the unused six
days accumulated leave in later
years.
The narrow defeat of the Douglas
rider does not mean that most
Senators are opposed to cutting
Federal employe leave benefits.
On the contrary, most Senators
who voted against 1t stressed that
they favored reducing leave, but
they said they want it done as
Irregular legislation and not as part
'lof an appropriations bill.
Douglas Confident.
Ironically enough. during the
early part of the debate. when
lit looked as II the Douglas rider
would pass, Senator Chavez. who
was handling the Labor-FSA bill
for the Appropriations Committee
loffered to accept the Dougla:
amendment. However, the con.
lfident Senator Douglas declined
lIthis, preferring a record Senatt
vote so that, when the bill went
'ito House-Senate conference. ths
Senate conferees would be under
strong Senate instruction to pres.
for the retention of the rider.
The picture soon changed, how
ever, with a number of Republi
cans switching over to Senatol
Johnson's side on the issue of tn,
riders ineffectiveness to preven
), future leave claims and the righ
: of the Senate Civil Service Com
mittee to handle the legislation
Senator Douglas bitterly criti
cized the Civil Service Commission
and the Budget Bureau. charginI
/ them with failing to initiate leav
. |revisions. The Illinois Senator sal,
| his leave amendment on a Gov
ernment-wide basis would saw
about 5000 million a year. Hat
the rider been adopted, Senate
Douglas would have sponsored an
!. other rider to the Post Of1c
!. money bill to increase the presen
is days annual leave of posta
workers to 20 days.
Following the defeat Of tn
, amendment, Senator Dougla
! sought to have a provision ap
! proved that would have require'
the Senate Civil Service Commit
tee to come forth with a leave re
duction bill by July Is. This wa
a~ a