Evening star., 1953-04-08
So.7 MiIIioninW Wages
Included in Proposed
Commerce Fund Cut

The Is per cent cut promised
by the Commerce Department
would include a $9.7 million drop
in salary and office expenses and
slashes ranging from 81 million
to $118 million in major activity
outlays, a House Appropriations
subcommittee disclosed today.
Secretary Weeks, who previ-
ouSly said he was reducing his
departments $1.1 billion budget
by at least $165 million, told the
subcommittee he will lop off
$3.50 million and probably more.
His comments on those savings
for the fiscal year starting July
were in recent testimony given
out today.
Subcommittee Chairman Clev-
enger. Republican, of Ohio, as
we'll as Representative Taber,
Republican, of New York, chair
man of the full committee, said
their group undoubtedly would
make further cuts before the
bill reaches the House floor.
Personnel Cuts Overall.
The Civil Aeronautics Admin
istration, Maritime Administra-
tion, Bureau of Public Roads, and
the Census Bureau were cut
most. The National Bureau of
Standards, Weather Bureau,
Coast and Geodetic Survey,
Bureau of Domestic and Foreign
Commerce. and the Patent Office
had reductions ranging from
100000 and SIT million.
The $9.7 million trimming of
personnel and administrative
costs is an overall estimate COW
ering most divisions and bureaus.
Mr.. Weeks and his department
associates did not indicate how
much applied to salaries alone.
Here are the main reductions
Secretary Weeks made in the
budget requests submitted last
January by former President
Truman:
Ship construction - Entire
$118.5 million item stricken out.
Bureau of Public Roads-Re-
duced from $593.9 million to
$578.9 million, mainly by cutting
IS million each from outlays for
access roads. forest highways and
from Inter-American highways.
Airport Aid Reduced.
Civil AeronautlcS AdminiStra-
tion-Cut from $1,000 million to
$140,9 million. The biggest single
Slashes resulted from elimination
of $50 million for the Federal
aid airport program. and a reduc-
ton from $30.2 million to $22.7
million in the contract authority
liquidation program for airport
aid.
Other CAA cuts included So
million from the air navigation
facilities, and elimination of an
earlier proposal for SIS million
for an additional Washington
airport at Burke, Va.
MI. Weeks assured the sub
committee there would be no let
down in air safety or national
security by limiting some radar
and other programs.
Census Bureau-Cut from $30.5
million to $20.4 million, the big
gest being from $21 million to
$11.5 million for a census of
business, transportation, manu-
featuring and mineral industries.
Bureau of Standards - Cut
from $91 million to $1.1 million,
the bulk of the saving caused by
a decision not to build addi-
tional laboratory facilities at this
time.
Weather Bureau Cut from
$27.5 million to Syst million,
mostly in salaries and expenses.
Coast and GeOdetic Survey
Cut from STAT million to $12.9
million.
MI. Weeks explained that the
net cut recommended for mari
time activities will be $50 mil
lion, despite the $118.5 million
to be saved by not building new
ships. He requested a $40 mil
lion increase in the $25 million
originally asked to pay overdue
bills for ship operating -differen-
tial subsidies.