Evening star., 1953-08-03
Humphrey Pledges
Efforts to Remdin
Within Limit
BY J. A. O'LeoY

Congress today drove for ad-
journment by nightfall, with the
White House reconciled to no
action at this time to increase
the national debt limit.
Senate Majority Leader Know
land said after a White House
breakfast conference that the
administration hopes to avoid a
special fall session on the debt
issue, but will not know definite
ly until September tax collec-
tionS are added up.
The House laid the ground
work for adjournment by pass
ing a resolution fixing January
6 as the date for the convening
Of the 1854 session. This reso-
luton would not interfere with
the Presidents constitutional
power to call Congress back
earlier if he desires.
Resolution Adopted.
Both houses also passed a res
olution appointing a committee
to notify the President that Con-
gresS is about to adjourn and to
ask if he has any further COM
munications.
The way for adjournment was
cleared at White House break
fast meeting of President Eisen-
hover with his Congressional
leaders and Secretary of the
Treasury Humphrey. They said
they hoped by careful manage
ment to meet Government obli-
cations until January within the
present debt limit of $275 bill
lion.
Shortly after the White House
meeting broke up, Secretary
Humphrey issued a statement
promising the administration
would use every effort to re-
trench in order to delay action
on raising the debt limit as long
as possible.
But he reiterated that the
present debt limit severely re-
strictS flexibility" and makes
more difficult the problem of
administering the Governments
fiscal affairs.
Issue Discussed in Senate.
Meanwhile, however, debate
over the debt issue broke out on
the Senate floor despite the IL
to-4 dcision of the Finance Com
mittee on Saturday to shelve I'M
til the next session the admin
1stration bill to raise the ceiling
to $500 billion.
The debate was touched off
when Senator Byrd, Democrat,
of Virginia, who led the sue
cessful fight against the Presi-
dents request, arose to explain
why he felt it was not necessary.
The Senate recessed at 1887
am. to attend the Taft funeral
service, and arranged to recon-
vene at 1:30 pm. with four
major bills and few minor ones
scheduled for action.
The House has only two of
those four bills awaiting action.
The four are:
l. The $6.6 billion foreign aid
money bill.
2. The $615 million miscel-
laneous supplemental bill con-
tanning Korean relief money.
3. The 81 billion budget for
the State, Justice and Commerce
Departments.
a. The one-year extension of
the Reciprocal Trade Act.
Byrd Voices Fears.
Senator Byrd charged today
that if Congress had agreed now
to $500 billion debt ceiling, it
would have paved the way for
a later increase to $500 billion,
and added then we would go
straight over the brink of f1nan-
cial disaster"
The Virginian filed Treasury
statement which showed that in
only four months out of the next
IL would the debt exceed the
present $275 billion ceiling. He
told the Senate it could be kept
from going above the ceiling by
reducing temporarily a cash bal
ance of $6.5 billion the Treas
ury has on deposit in 10000
banks throughout the country.
Senator Douglas, Democrat, of