Evening star., 1961-07-16
Education Bills
BdckersPIay
Waiting Game
BY ROBERT X. WALSH
Star Staff Writer

Administration supporters oi
three Federal aid-to-educatior
bills which are stalled in the
House Rules Committee saic
yesterday they probably woulc
mot try to pry them out until
Congress acts on the embattled
foreign aid bill.
A Rules Committee meeting
scheduled for Tuesday on other
measures could open the way
for a possible showdown vote
on whether to hold hearings
on the school aid legislation.
It was believed doubtful, how
ever, that such a motion would
be made for or against those
bills on Tuesday or in the
near future by any Of the COM
mittee's Is members.
Last Resort
Backers Of the bills planned
no attempt at this time to by
pass the. Rules Committee and
force any or all Of the three
bills to the House floor. House
sources close to the tangled
and bitterly controversial situ-
alton reported that "there has
been only the most general
kind Of discussion" Of the ad-
visibility Of q discharge petit
ton, suspension Of the rules
or other parliamentary meth
DDS Of bringing up bills blocked
in the Rules Committee.
They explained that such
devices, If used at all, would be
employed only as q last resort.
They added that, as matters
stand now, it might be ex-
tremely difficult to persuade at
least 2l9 House members to
sign a discharge petition. They
also were uncertain that a
two-thirds majority vote could
be obtained in the House at
this time for passage Of any
Of the three bills under sus-
pension Of the rules.
The main reason for decid-
ing to let the situation simmer
a little longer, they said, was
that q knock-down drag-out
fight in the Rules Committee
or in the House on the aid-to.
education issue within the next
few weeks might gravely en-
danger the administrations
drive for congressional enact
ment Of foreign aid authoriza-
ton and appropriation bills.
Meanwhile, according to au-
thoritative sources, continued
efforts will be made behind the
scenes to save the school pills.
Bills Approved
That task admittedly has
grown more difficult. The Sen
ate early this year passed a bill
for Federal aid to public schools
for classroom construction or
teachers salaries. The House
Education and Labor Commit
tee has approved three bills.
The biggest would aid public
elementary and secondary
schools for construction or
teachers salaries. A second
would authorize assistance to
colleges. The third would
amend the National Defense
Education Act BY permitting 40
year, low-interest loans to pri-
vate and parochial schools forl
facilities for teaching science,
mathematics, foreign languages
and physical fitness.
The Rules Committee voted
9-6 last month to take no ac-
ton on the first two bills at
least until the third came from |
the Education and Labor Com
mittee. At that time Demo-
cratic Representatives Delaney
OF New York and O'Neill of
Massachusetts voted with two
Southern Democrats and all
five Republican members to
await the third bill.
Now that the third bill, with |
its provisions for some paro-
chial and private school loan
assistance, has joined the other
two in the Rules Committee,
Mr.. clancy said last week it
would be a "fair inference" tol
predict he would vote against
clearing any Of the bills. He
indicated he might change his
course in the unlikely event