Evening star., 1953-05-15
Group
Cuts HowardU.
Budget 54 Pei.
$3.50, 900 Voted;
Building Projects
Are Struck Out

The House Appropriations
Committee today chopped 54 per
cent off the 1854 budget request
for Howard University. by grant,
ing only $2,26O,0OO of a request
for $4.8 million.
The biggest cut was $1.9 mil
lion for continuation of the uni
versity's big building program
This money was to have been
used to proceed with construction
of a new administration building
and a new law school building.
which have not yet been put un-
der contract.
The committee went further
and expressed hope the Federal
Budget Bureau would not lift its
freeze order on new construction
not yet substantially underway.
unless compelling reasons were
found for doing so.
Cuts Health Institutes Budget.
For the National Institutes of
Health at Bethesda, Md, the
committee granted $61.5 million,
a reduction of 1924 million from
the original request of the Tru-
man administration but $5.2 mil
lion above the revised budget
presented April IA.
In this connection the COM
mittee took the Budget Bureau
to task for prohibiting for sew
eral weeks the hiring of person.
mel to staff the new Clinical
Center of the National Insti-
tutes. This was to have been
opened last month but was held
up, apparently. because of the
impending reorganization in
connection with the new Health,
Education and Welfare Depart
ment.
The committee said in it's re-
port. Congress has always given
it's whole-hearted support to this
project" recalling that over $50
million had been appropriated,
including funds to open the CEN
ter last month.
"The desires of Congress
could not have been misunder-
Stood" the committee said. I'm
view of other action taken by
the budget director on matters
related to this bill, the COM
mittee finds it difficult to under
stand this action to delay the
opening of the center in direct
contravention of the desires of
Congress and of all principles
of good administration"
1t said it was including suf-
f1cient funds to open the center
as quickly as possible. This now
is expected in June.
Cites Drop in Enrolment.
In the case of Howard Univer-
Sity. the committee cut $4,000
from a request for $2.7 million
for salaries and expenses. 1t said
the enrolment at the university
has dropped every year since
1948 and the estimated gross en-.
rollment for 1853 is only 81 per
cent of that for 1948. It said
the amount now recommended is
about 10 per cent above that
granted in 1948 and that. even
allowing for increased salaries
and other costs. this is liberal
appropriation"
The committee disallowed all
of a requested additional $55, 900
for plans and specifications, say
ing balances carried over
from prior appropriations pro-
vide $274,872 for this and the
next fiscal year.
In denying the $1.9 million for
proceeding with the Howard
University building program, the
committee said it was advised
that no funds would be required
under the Budget Bureau freeze
order placed on construction on
which a substantial start had
not already been made.
Asks Freeze Not Be Lifted.
1.-THE committee desires that
the Budget Bureau not lift this
order unless there are compel
ling reasons for doing so that
have not yet been called to the
committees attention." it added
1T is difficult to reason that a
continuing expansion of the
physical plant is necessary when
the enrolment has been sub
stantially decreasing"
An item of $4,000 was ap-
proved for a new vacuum pump
for the steam distribution sys-
tenn at Howard University. But
the committee disallowed funds
for an additional turbo generator,
saying that if the university
needs more electric power than
can be supplied by the present
plant, this should be bought COM
mercially.
The committee said it lacks
the technical knowledge that is
apparently necessary to under
stand why it is so much cheaper
for St. Elizabeths Hospital to
purchase power commercially
that they recently took out their
generators and sold them, and
so much cheaper for Howard
University to generate their own
electricity that they should buy
additional generating equip
ment."