Evening star., 1951-07-30
Speedy Senate Action
Passes D. {. Budget;
Conference Tomorrow
Measure Restores Cut
OF 10% Voted by House
In Federal Contribution
By Don S. Wurren

The Districts biggest budget,
calling for an outlay of $138.4I
million. was passed today by the,
Senate in a matter of seven min
utes.
1t now goes to a conference
with the House and the first meet
ing of the House and Senate!
managers of the bill probably will
be held tomorrow.
Every effort is to be made to-
speed final passage of the bill,
officials indicated, to all public
assistance recipients whose checks
have been held up by the delay
in handling the supply bill.
The bill as drafted by the SEN
ate subcommittee, headed by Sem
ator Hill of Alabama, was ap-
proved without a single change
and with only the briefest of ex-
|planation by two Senators.
One of the major changes in the
Senate bill is to restore the Fed
eral payment toward District ex-
Ipenses to the full $12 million au-
Ithorized in the 194r revenue act.
The House had sliced 10 per cent,
or $1.2 million, off this total in an
economy move. q
Other Major Changes.
Other major changes from the
House bill include:
The addition of $3.50, 900 too be-
gin program of f1uoridation of
the city's water supply as means
of preventing decay in the teeth
of children.
An increase of 100000 over the
$500,000 granted by the House in
payment to nine private hospitals
for caring for the Districts in
digent patients.
The restoration of $250,000 to-
funds for the Police Department.
to permit continuation of the s.
day work week by providing for
pay for police who volunteer to
work on sixth day.
An outlay of an additional
100000 over the House total for
Gallinger Hospital. mainly for
personnel to staff the new pediat-
rics-crippled children's building.
Increases in Personnel.
And, an additional $4,000 for
scattered increases in personnel
for variety of city agencies.
Senator Hill told the Senate the
fluoridation program was to be
self -liquidating because the extra
item was placed under the Water
Department budget which would
be financed out of water service
rates.
Senator Ferguson, Republican,
of Michigan, who has waged a.
campaign to slice 10 per cent off
the personnel funds for all Gov
ernment agencies. told the Senate
he was not insisting in such cut
in the District budget He said he
was not doing so because the
pending bill was for municipal
operation and not directly associ-
ated with Federal outlays.
Bill Was Held Down.
In addition, Senator Ferguson
told his colleagues that the Dis
trict bill generally was held down
to the levels of the 1851 appro-
priations as to the number of
city workers. He said he was not
in agreement on all items in the
bill as it came to the Senate but
that he thought some of these
issues could be ironed out in the
conference with the House.
AS soon as the Senate had
passed the bill by voice vote,
Senator Hill won approval of al
motion that the Senate insist on
it's amendments and ask for a
conference with the House.
Named as Senate conferees, inI
addition to Senator Hill, were
Democratic Senators O'Mahoney
of Wyoming, Mcclellan of Arkan-
sas, and Neely of West Virginia
and Republican Senators F'ergu-
son and Wherry, of Nebraska.