Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-02-20
.BudgetEconom,
Drive Gets Test
in House Today
Vote Scheduled
On Reduction of
Agency Funds
BY ROBERT X. WALSH

The first segment of President
Eisenhower's $72 billion record
breaking peacetime budget comes
up for a House vote today amid
charges by many-but not all
Republicans that a Democratic
drive to cut Post Office Depart
ment appropriations is capri
cious or false economy"
The test will turn on a Re-
publican effort to restore $50
million which the House Appro-
priations Committee cut from
the administration recommended
ton for the departments operat-
ing expenses during the fiscal
year starting July l..
The outcome seemed uncertain.
Some powerful Republicans, no
tably Representative Halleck of
Indiana, who generally sides
with White House proposals, say
they will not support an amend
ment to salvage the $50 million.
Proposals Stirs Clash
General bate for several
hours yesterday afternoon theo-
retically dealt with a combined
So 1874 $4,000 appropriation bill
Tor the Post Office and Treasury
Departments and the Tax Court.
But the controversy centered al
most entirely on whether the
proposed $50 million slash in Post
Office Department outlays would
force drastic curtailment in mail
service as we'll as the discharge
|of many employees.
The Presidents budget asked
$7l8,83l 900 for the Treasury
The committee trimmd this to
$69l 1854 900. The original budget
requested $3,250, 1000. 900 for the
Post Office Department. The
committee reduced this to So
l92,O00,000. A requested 81 AGO.
600 for the Tax Court was un-
changed.
Although this Ss5 million dent
represented a decrease of little
more than 2 per cent under the
total sought for those two de-
partments. the postal part of it
aroused an unusually long and
acrimonious dispute in the House !.
2 Members Differ
Representatives Gary. Demo-
crat Of Virginia. and Garfield.
Republican Of New Jersey, rank
ing members Of the appropria-
tons subcommittee that handled
the bill. were thoroughly at odds
on whether the postal reduction
was justified and whether it
would harm essential public
services.
The Virginia member noted
that numerous messages from
all parts Of the country are de-
manding that the Post Office
Department be given what the
President asked. Mr.. Gary
charged that most of those
protests not only make "extrav-
agant claims" but also come
from people who have never seen
the bill but want to influence our
votes"
He contended that the appro-
priation bill actually provides an
increase for the postal service.
He explained it would supply
SCOT million more than was APP
propriated for the current fiscal
year. About Sl62 million of the
increase is for contributions to
the civil service retirement and
disability fund and the remain
ing $44 million is for services
above the present level he said
How can anyone logically
claim that the fact that we have
reduced the Presidents budget
request, while increasing last
years appropriations, will dis
place employees on the payroll?"
he asked. THAT claim is obyi-
ously ridiculous"
Says It's a Step
AS for the overall totals urged
by the committee, Mr.. Gary said
the cut was at least a start to-
ward "a reduction in the inflated
Federal budget"
THE question before the
House." he said, lis whether
Congress is going to exercise its
prerogative and cut the budget
'or let bureaucracy run wild"
Mr.. Garfield agreed the big
budget should be cut wherever
possible and reasonable. But he
'contended that the move to
lower the Post ONCE Depart
ments appropriation was IAN
arbitrary reduction in an honest
budget carefully prepared by an
economy minded business type
management" The way to meet
the problem Of department def
icits is to increase postal rates,
he suggested.
Post Office Department off,
See FUNDS. Page Al