Evening star., 1953-12-18
Simpson Backs
Early Action on
WorksProgranl
Chairman States
View as Officials
Rush City Budget
By John w. Stepp

By John w. Stepp
Chairman Simpson of the
House District Committee, today
indicated he favors early con-
Sideration of the proposed Dis
trict public works improvement
program at a joint session of the
fiscal subcommitttees of the
House and Senate District Com
mitteeS.
Mr.. Simpsons view came as
District officials raced against a
Wednesday deadline to lay out
the fiscal 1855 city budget and
the $306 million public works
program as individual presenta-
tions to Congress.
1t was revealed only yester-
day that the budget would not
contain any of the public works
items slated for fiscal 1855 and
that the works program would
be entirely separate.
To Confer With President.
Representative Simpson ar
rived in Washington today for a
White House meeting tomorrow
with President Eisenhower.
Chairman Case of the Senate
District Committee, who also is
comforting tomorrow with Mr..
Eisenhower. said yesterday he
hoped to discuss the works pro-
gram at that time.
Mr.. Case, Republican, of South
Dakota said he feels the pro-
gram is of such Importance to
both the Federal and District
governments that he feels justi-
fed in calling it to the Presi-
dents attention. It also was
understood Senator Case believes
that the President should rec
ommend the $306 million works
program in his January message
to Congress.
Mr.. Case announced earlier
that he will recommend public
hearings on the program at a
joint meeting of the fiscal sub
committees of the House and
Senate District Committees.
The new plan for separate
presentation of regular and
works budgets came to light
yesterday. It was learned that
Capitol Hill budget experts found
the original single-package pro-
posal unacceptable and advised
the Commissioners to change it.
Required by Budget Bureau.
Chairman Taber of the House
Appropriations Committee and
Chairman Wilson of the House
appropriations subcommittee for
the District insisted that the
Federal Budget Bureau requires
the changed format.
The District, with Budget
Bureau blessings, had drafted
the regular 1855 budget to inte-
CRATE with the works program in
such a way that Congress could
act on the 1855 appropriations
at the same time it was author
1zing the works program with its
Federal loan, higher Federal pay
ment and increased taxation
features.
Budget authorities concluded,
however, that this. in effect,
would be submitting an unbal-
anced budget for 1855. The rea-
Soning was that in the one-pack-
age formal the 1855 budget would
contain a number of items for
which no revenues were avail
able or authorized.
Would Be Acted on Separately.
Under the new design, the 1855
budget would be acted on sep
arately.
1t would be stripped of all pub
lie works projects that would be
paid for with money from the
general fund. This fund pays for
such construction as schools,
health and welfare installations
and sewers.
Some of the works program
projects that would be financed
by the highway fund also would
be deleted from the 1855 budget.
That is due to the fact that some
of the highway construction pro-
posed in the works program must
be financed by a higher gaso-
line tax and by Federal loans.
Only the capital outlay sched-
uled for the water system in 1855
would remain in the 1855 budget.
While these projects have been
technically Incorporated into the
$3O6 million public works pro-
gram, they we're authorized by
Congress three years ago, and
funds are available to pay for
them.
No CutbackS.
None of the deletions, it was
emphasized. represent any cut
back in the works program. One
official explained that under the
new change-of-fo formal order, the
public works projects that were
itemized in the 1855 regular Dis
trict budget are being shifted to
the works program special legis-
q lation, which would be consid-
cred separately from the 1855
budget itself.
If Congress approves the works
program provisions as to prof.
ects and financing, those parts
applying to 1855 would be SUBJ
mitted as a supplement to the