Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-03-07
DC. Health Officials
Ask Million More
Congress Gets
Direct Plea for
Added Funds
BY MIRIAM GUTENBERG

BY MIRIAM GUTENBERG
The Health Department has
asked Congress for nearly a mil.
lion dollars more than the Com.
missionerS requested, with the
lions share to go to District
General Hospital, it was learned
today.
The Commissioners are still
not aware of all that was asked.
although they were on hand for
some of it.
The House Appropriations
subcommittee concern about
the hospital apparently opened
the door to the Health Depart
ment to ask for non-hospital
Items.
Listed Needs Eat Request"
Officially, an agency cannot
request more than what appears
in the Presidents budget unless
a subcommittee member raises
la question about other needs.
Health officials, while not reveal
| ing the details of what they
sought, insisted the items not
Included in the Presidents bud
get were brought out at the re-
quest of the subcommittee"
Actually, another plan had
been advanced to bring some
Health Department needs to the
attention Of Congress. This was
what happened:
| Commissioner Robert Nc
Laughlin, after long conferences
with medical officials at District
General Hospital, decided that
some Of the items could be justi-
fled for supplemental budget
request while others technically
wouldn't qualify.
He proposed that the doctors
get up a proposed modification
or amendment of the 1857 budget
requests to present when the
budget reached the Senate, since
it was considered too late to
raise these questions before the
House Appropriations Subcom-
mittee handling the District
budget.
Commissioners Bypassed
Health officials were instructed
to pare their requests to a mini
mum. Commissioner McLaugh-
lin conferred with health officials
lon these budget requests a few
weeks ago and has since pressed
the Health Department to get
) its proposals to the District
Building so the other Commits
Isioners could be aware of them,
IItoo. ..... a.
4 The proposed revisions haven't
reached the Commissioners vet.
I Meanwhile, health and hospi-
tai officials appeared at closed
sessions of the appropriations
subcommittee. The m m b ers
were particularly interested in
the plight of District General
Hospital. with its shortages of
staff. drugs and other supplies.
They did ask for and get a list
of the hospitals most pressing
needs and one or more of the
Commissioners were on hand at
the session to hear about them.
Enough questions were asked
for the Health Department to
lget in a number of other budget
requests previously rejected by
the Commissioners. ~
+ Mclaughlin Critical
Commenting on the situation,
Mr. Mclaughlin said the Com
missioners "still haven't had a
formal presentation of what was
under discussion three weeks
ago"
He said the District Com
misSioners should have been
consulted by the Health De-
Ipartment officials in preparing
their list of extra proposals and
declared they are building
precedent which might very well
be followed in the future by all
departments
Some. if not all, of these items
were urged at the secret ses-
sionS:
Nearly 100000 more for Dis
Itrict General Hospital to pro-
vide more adequate budget for
drugs and other supplies. on
which the hospital faced a $175,-
900 deficit this year before $780,
900 was put into the pot from
savings at st. Elizabeths Hos
|pital; to provide for making q
number of temporary positions
permanent, particularly practical
nurses now on the temporary
roles; to provide new psy-
chiatric team for the hospitals
lpsychiatric division and to A.
nance other staff and equipment
items.
Nearly a score or more public
health nurses at a cost of $780,
1000: almost as much to provide
Is mental health jobs; more
than $4,000 for dental work:
more than $4,000 for food and
public health inspectors; more
than $4,000 for a civil defense
co-ordinator and secretary and
nearly $4,000 for legal psychiat-
rio services.
More Items Added
Commissioner Laughlin is still
waiting for the Health Depart
ment's official proposals. The
Health Department, however, is
waiting to see what the House
committee does with it's requests.
Meanwhile. it has added a few
more items to both the hospital
and health proposals.
While the hospital requests
would remain in a two-to-one
ratio over other health needs, the
proposals being drafted for pres
entation to the Commissioners
now run we'll over million doll
/ lars.
The original budget sent by
the Health Department to the