Evening star., 1960-07-03
Congress Still Faces
D. c. Finance TonqIe
District Bills BIossomed in June,
Including Historic Suffrage Law


who unanimously urged at
hearings a Southwest or other
site to save the Dolley Madison
and Benjamin Tayloe houses
on the historic square.
Congress directed the ad-
ministration to proceed with a
524.5 million executive Office
building west of the square.
UNEMPLOYMENT - The
House passed a bill sponsored
by Representative baut,
Democrat of Michigan, to CEN
tralize authority in the Com
miSSionerS and halt planning
throughout the city until the
Southwest area is half rebuilt.
Senate subcommittee hearings
were held on a separate bill
urged by Commissioners. 1t
would permit redevelopers to
move into business as we'll as
residential areas and arch 9Th
street S.W. with a Federal
building. The subcommittee
wanted to study the Rabaut
proposal before voting the
Commissioners bill up or down,
despite assurances from city
officials that the two measures
do not conflict.
CAPITOL EXPANSION -
The House was insisting last
night that $5 million should be
spent to buy two blocks oi
land near the Capitol for future
expansion of congressional ac-
tivitieS. By a 165-30 vote, the
House stood by its guns after
the Senate had eliminated the
fund. Senators indicated they
would accept the item.
HOME RULE The House
waylaid for the fifth time in
10 years a Senate passed bill.
This time, the Senate asked
for an elected mayor and city
council. A band of supporters
in the House rallied 203 sig
natures on a discharge petition
to pry another bill for a ter
ritorial government from the
House District Committee. Such
petitions require 219 signatures.
Another 11th-hour attempt
to win a House vote on the
issue is due in August.
TRANSPORTATION-A res.
olution establishing an area
commission to regulate transit
and fix fares cleared the House
A Senate Judiciary subcommit-
tee voted to send the resolution
to the full committee, where
action is probable in August.
Private companies Jared even
less we'll. A House-passed bill
freeing Maryland and Virginia
transit firms from the same
taxes from which the DC.
Transit System is exempted
was bottled I'D in a Senate
subcommittee.
Another bill to separate
sightseeing and mass trans
portation operations of DC.
Transit was debated spasmod-
ically by the House. There was
no vote. An identical measure
awaits Senate District Com
mittee action.
CRIME-A backlog of delin-
quency cases kept piling up as
the House District Subcommit-
tee handling a juvenile court
Judge bill refused to bulge. The
Senate last year sent the House
legislation to add two judges
to the one-judge bench. House
Subcommittee Chairman Davis.
Democrat of Georgia, has in
sisted that jurisdictiona
changes would solve the prob
lem better than appointment
of new judges.
Legislation to abolish the
mandatory death penalty for
flrst-degree murder cleared the
House and the Senate District
committees. Both measures
make death by electrocution the
basic penalty, unless Jurors
unanimously recommend life
Imprisonment. If jurors can't
agree, then the judge may i'm
pose death or a life sentence.
TOURISM - The Antietam
battlefield grounds were ordered
preserved in time for the 1862
centennial celebration of the
bloody battle in the War Be-
tween the States. Efforts to
establish a national historical
park along the C&O Canal were
stymied, but will be revived in
August.
The House blocked a vote
on a bill of Representative
Foley, Democrat of Maryland,
for purchase of land. The Sen
ate then swiftly cleared a COM
promise of Senator Beall, Re-
publican of Maryland, to fix
the park within Federally
owned canal land.
Again last week the House
blocked vote on the Bea,l
substitute. putting the issue up
to the House Interior Com
mittee.
BUDGET-The Commission
erS' original bid for a S252.7
million spending bill was the
victim of uncertainties over