Evening star., 1961-03-06
Schoo|AidBi||
Hit by Area
Congressman
Package Measure
Puts Bind on
ImPucted Regions
BY JOHN ROSSON
Star Staff Writer

Star Staff Writer
President Kennedy's contro-
versial proposal for Federal
aid to education has placed
Washington area Congressman
in a political bind the likes of
which they haven't encoun-
tered in many a day.
The difficulty is that the
President combined his over
all school aid proposal with
the time-honored program of
Government payments to Fed
orally impacted school areas.
The latter is particularly i'm
portant to nearby Maryland
and Virginia, both overflowing
with Federal employees and
thus recipients of large i'm
pacted-area funds.
Because the programs - for
the first time-are combined
in a single bill, the Congress-
men find that as of now they
will have to choose between
general Federal aid to schools,
which three of them oppose
outright, and the impacted-
area funds, which all of them
support.
Either way they vote, they'll
be caught. they argue.
We're damned if we do and
we're damned if we don't" one
complains.
Obviously irate at the pre-
dicament in which they find
themselves are Representatives
Smith Of Virginia and Lankford
of Maryland, Democrats, and
Representatives Broyhill of Vir-
ginia and Matthias of Maryland,
Republicans.
Charges "Blackmail"
Mr.. Broyhill, perhaps the
most perturbed, says the Presi-
dent in putting the two pro-
posalS in the same bill sis in
dulging in legislative black
mail" trying Ito force the
proponents of impacted-area
funds to vote for overall Fed
eral aid to schools"
That way" Mr.. Broyhill
adds. "he Cthe President hopes
to get a bigger congressional
vote in favor of school aid"
Otherwise, the Virginian con-
tinueS, the conservative mem
bers of Congress would vote
against it.
Mr.. Broyhill. Mr.. Smith and
Mr.. Matthias are numbered
among the conservatives.
The solution to the problem,
as far as the conservatives are
concerned, would be separation
of the plans. but this may prove
difficult.
The four are very hopeful"
that the House Committee on
Education and Labor, headed
by Representative Powell,
Democrat of New York, a
strong school-aid advocate, will
take the impacted-area pro-
poSal out of the main bill before
it reaches the House floor.
Observers. however, say the
chances are slight.
If he doesn't" Mr.. Broyhill
declares, "a group of US will
fight the issue when it gets to
the floor"
The positions of Mr.. Broyhill,
Mr.. Smith and Mr.. Matthias
are pretty clearly drawn. ALL
including Mr.. Smith, the Demo-
crat-are opposed to wide
spread Federal aid to education,
period, and no doubt would vote
against the bill if the impacted-
area provision was deleted.
Mr.. Landlords position, how.
ever, is bit more complicated.
He is opposed to the combined
bill for almost the opposite
reason.
A strong supporter Of the
President during last years
campaign, Mr.. Lankford does
favor Federal aid to schools,
but does not "at all" approve
Of the Presidents proposed
cuts in the impacted area funds.
Thus, if he votes in favor of
general aid. he also would be
voting for the cut in impacted
area funds.
He, too, maintains he would
be criticized either way he
voted. because school boards in
nearby Maryland-like those in
Virginia-rely heavily on the
impacted area funds.
While the argument about
the combined bill RACES on, the
four area Representatives are
lining up support for Matthias
bill calling for extension of the
present, uncut impacted area
program, which expires on
June 80. This would eliminate
the cuts proposed by Mr.. Ken
nedy, which, incidentally, also
were called for by former Pres
ident Eisenhower before he left
office.
Senate hearings on the
Presidents program are sched-
uled to begin this week, prob
ably tomorrow. House hearings
are expected to get under way
next week.
Proponents of the bill say
impacted-area funds have been
paid the nearby areas for 10
years, and that there has never
been a complaint that the Gov
ernment has interfered in
area school affairs. They also
argue that Government work.
ers rather than having bur-
dened those areas economically,
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