Evening star., 1953-06-04
The AoMtieol Am


1t Offers q Solution to Annual
Appropriations MoeIstrom
By Gould Lincoln
With the Eisenhower administration
shooting for q balanced budget In fiscal
year 1864 tough aSsignment-it
would seem stupidity itself to turn down
or pigeonhole any real aid toward the
desired end. Yet that may be the fate
of the Byrd omnibus. or one-package
appropriation bill unless House leaders
have q change of heart. The measure,
q concurrent resolution amending the
Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946.
passed the Senate by q wide margin.
In the House. however the opposition
comes from important Republicans and
Democrats.
Senator Byrd, Democrat, of Virginia.
author Of the proposal, is confident that
If the resolution Is adopted and Con-
gresS places all appropriations in one
bill, instead Of the present dozen sepa-
rate measures and If it fixes annual
limitations on obligations for expendi-
ture from new appropriations and on
balances carrying over from prior ap-
propriationx laws, the path Of the
budget balancers will be much smoother.
Indeed. he contends that members Of
Congress, and even the man on the
street, will have clear understanding
Of what Is being done. an understanding
which is impossible under the present
system of separate bills. put through
one at time. The consolidated appro-
priation bill, as proposed in the Byrd
resolution, must also show in It's text or
preamble o current estimate from the
Secretary of the Treasurer Of overall
Federal receipts expected for the fiscal
year. When the bill is put through,
every one should know with reasonable
certainty what the financial situation
Of the Government is to be during the
coming fiscal year.
Process Explained. ...
Congress ordinarily acts on new ap-
propriations without exercising annual
control over expenditures from sums
appropriated in earlier bills but which
have not been spent. These unexpended
balances, which may reach huge total
of 500 billion by June 80, raise havoc
with efforts to balance the govern
mental budget. Any attempt to balance
the budget by limiting new appropria-
tions, under existing conditions. would
require excessively heavy reductions
in the current fiscal year. AS the
supporters of the Byrd proposal have
explained, it is annual expenditures.
rather than annual appropriations,
against the current annual revenue
which pile up deficits. 1t is annual
deficits which increase the public debt.
Therefore, fixing some limitation upon
the balance Of unexpended funds
should reduce expenditures. BY the
terms Of the Byrd resolution, Congress
would write into each consolidated ap-
preparation bill, as well as supplemental
and deficiency bills, annual limits on
all items which propose obligations for
expenditure beyond a fiscal year, as we'll
rs annual limitations for expenditures
carrying over from prior fiscal years.
When it is understood that expendi-
lures may be made from the unex-
pended balances of old appropriations
and the total of those balances Is
running close to 500 billion-as well
as from current. new appropriations.
the difficulty which the budget bal
ancers face is clear enough. This Is a
situation with which the Byrd proposal
undertakes to deal. by limiting the
amounts which may be expended in any
fiscal year from these old appropria-
tiOnS.
Long Time Goal.
The single-package appropriation bill
has been the aim of Senator Byrd for
years. He offered measures similar to
the present concurrent resolution in
1047. 1949 and 1851. Hearings were held
and each one Of these measures was
favorably reported from the Senate
Rules Committee. In 1940, the Senate
passed such q resolution, but 1t died
in the House. The single-package bill
also has had support In the House.
Former Chairman Cannon Of the House
Appropriations Committee, Democrat.
Of Missouri, prevailed upon his commit
tee to handle the annual appropriations
In Q single bill In 1850. This was done
and. despite criticism, the method
adopted them did some good. Its oppo-
nentS in the House, however. were
strong enough TO defeat Mr.. Cannon's
efforts to have O single bill the fol-
lowing year.
The present Byrd proposal differs
materially from the singlo-bill plan
which was used in 1850. In that year
the House Appropriations Committee
merely assembled all appropriation bills
into one measure, without making pro-
vision for either control or limitation
Of annual obligations. No attempt was
made to relate expenditures called for
by the omnibus bill with the estimates
Of Federal receipts.
Opponents of the single-package ap-
preparation bill have claimed that the
one big bill slowed UP congressional
action on appropriations. The fact.
however. Is that the amount Of time
consumed in House and Senate in
debate Of the single bill in 1850 was
less than the amount Of time con-
Sumed in debating the separate bills
in. either the year before or the year
after. The consolidated bill proposed
may be divided into titles, correspond
ing to the several appropriation bills
now considered in Congress-and these
titles may be handled by appropriation
Subcommittees.
The Congress and the country are now
more fully aware of the difficult situa-
ton which has arisen because appro-
priations have been piled upon un-
expended appropriations, without any
real regard for the estimated reve-
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