The people's voice., 1959-09-11
Repr. Leroy Anderson
Reports To You From
The Nations Capitol

iidi iuclJ JOlibJ iicto OOCl ICoOlNCd II
some areas. In others it is approaching
a deadlock which might force a specia
session later this fall.
Two of the four issues | have dis
cussed last week have been salts
factorily compromised. A reasonable
labor bill, midway between the House
and Senate versions, was adopted by
a vote of 352 to 81. The Congress
passed bill raising the gasoline tax
by one cent, for % months instead
of the Administration proposal of
u cents for five years. Although l
want good roads, I am against federal
tax increases, and voted against the
increase in the gas tax. This source
of revenue, feel, should be reserved
to the states.
The three issues in which there is
now deadlock are-housing, pub
lie works, and removal of the in
terest ceiling on government bonds.
The bitterness of the conflict is
demonstrated by the fact that the
President has vetoed both housing
bills passed by the Congress, and,
having vetoed the first public works
appropriation bill, it may we'll be that
he will veto the second one also. Hav-
ing won the last election by seating
283 Democrats in the House to 153
we have a feeling that
the voters inundated us to carry out
the Democratic platform of adequate
housing and a reasonable number of
new starts in the field of water and
resource development.
There is no inclination in my party
to permit the President to exercise
government by veto, although that
is clearly his policy. We don't have
a two-thirds majority, even counting
,he Dixiecrats who are actually Re-
oublicans and always vote with them,
even though they are elected under
1 Democratic label. So we can't over
'ide a veto.
The President thinks that if he
Keeps vetoing legislation, he can force
is to abrogate our legislative respon-
abilities, responsibilities which are
'ur sacred trust under the principle |
# division of powers. He thinks that |
he tells us what kind of law he
wants and.vetoes everything else, that
ventually we'll knuckle under. don't
hink we WILL
If there is no housing law, it will
'e because the President twice vetoed |
he best bills the Congress could work
ut.
If reclamation, engineering prof.
cts, and other great public works
'rind to halt, it will be because the
resident has twice vetoed the public
7orks bill, because it included a mod
st program of "new starts" This
) in spite of the fact that the second
i'll was for substantially less than
is own budget requests.
A new area of conflict, just as ex-
losive as the foregoing, is the Presi-
ent's demand that we take the cell
lg off interest rates on long-term
overnment bonds. The House, by a
ote of 256 to 1872, refused to take
lis inflationary step. We're we to
ccede, the governments costs for !
ebt management might we'll go up
Y ten or fifteen billions of dollars.
Next week I'll have few words to
~ about the inflationary effect of 6
lie present high interest policy. This ]
ay we'll be the major area of conflict
special session is called this fall. !
HARLES M. RUSSELL BOOK
have a limited number of the
'-page book, nicely cloth-bound, en-
lied Acceptance of the Statue of
1arles M. RUSSELL" which describes s
e proceedings in the Congress and Il
the Rotunda of the u. S. Capitol a
the time the statue was placed in "
atuary Hall here earlier this year. t.
contains a number of photographs C
ID the text of the various tributes
ven on that occasion. Russell art S
thusiasts should have one of these, A
this is a very limited edition of the W
ok. Just send postcard request y
me here in Washington. tt
ISSOURI RIVER NAVIGATION S
The House Public Works subcom-
ttee has recommended a resolution %,
thorizing the study of slack water fl
vigation on the Missouri River. This p1