The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1960-01-29
Rep. Leroy Anderson
Reports TO You From
The Nations Capitol

WASHINGTON, D. C.-In my news
report to you this week, would like
discuss briefly the hehind-the.
scenes working groups which produce
the legislative measures finally acted
on by Congress.
Most of the work of Congress is
done in committee. and most of the
spadework is done in subcommittee.
/ am member of two of the hardest
working committees in the Congress,
the Interior Committee and the
Armed Services Committee.
The Interior Committee handles
reclamation, irrigation, Indian affairs,
public lands. mines and mining, ma
tional parks and many other matters
of great Importance to Montana.
My other assignment, the Armed
Services Committee, handles legisla-
ton concerning Air Force bases, mis-
sile bases. Army posts, shipyards,
military housing, the Army, Navy, Air
Force, Marines and Coast Guard, to-
gether with much other legislation
pertaining to our national defense. In
a world of constant Communist
threat, of changing weapons, of inter-
continental missile and hydrogen
bombs, decisions must be the right
ones or your survival and mine is in
doubt. With more than $40 billion,
over half of the national budget, go
ing into national defense, the work
of this Committee becomes most i'm
portant to us as taxpayers, too.
In opening the first meeting of
1860, Chairman Rivers of South Caro-
lima stated that in the 1859 session
our subcommittee had put in more
hours of work, held more hearings,
acted on more bills and gotten more
through the House than
any subcommittee in the history of
the Armed Services Committee. He
said. this was the result of hard work |
and the fact that the subcommittee |
members were exceptionally well in
formed. To make our decisions, we
must be aware of developments in all
,he far-flung and global defenses of
our nation.
To gather such information for the
I spent much of October
and November during the congress
,ional recess inspecting military in
stallations in the Middle and Far
East, while other members of the
committee inspected bases in Alaska,
his country and elsewhere abroad.
During this first meeting of our COM
nittee. in connection with the very
irst bill before us, l had to advise
he other members of the committee
# the results of my inspections of
laval vessels on loan from the United
states to other countries in Asia. !
| am fortunate in my assignments
the Armed Services Committee, I
ital to the defense of America and t
oncerned with more than half of /
very tax dollar that comes to Wash t
lgton; and the Interior Committee,
ital to the economy, welfare and /
evelopment of Montana. lie
Durum Wheat-A Senate durum +
heat bill, grossly discriminatory t
gainst Montana growers, was passed \
v the Senate late in last years ses- r
on. testified before the Senate v
griculture Committee that provi- Q
ons limiting benefits to those who l
lanted nothing but durum wheat {
ould effectively freeze out Mon F
ina. The Senate passed the bill any a
ay, but / was able to stop it in the e
ouse. This week, was happy to
se that the Senate, in an unusual Ii
,tion, has formally requested the O
ouse to return the discriminatory I
lrum bill to them for reconsidera- c
on. The Senate bill had a mild APP r.
caring phrase, but tricky one, p
hich would have limited dur-um acre Ii
re incentives TO those farmers who a.
ant durum exclusively, and this sit A
ltion is true only in North Dakota e
i'd the experimental acreage of Tule O.
Ike, California. U
Teachers-More than 20 men and sc