Evening star., 1962-07-25
Aid Funds
7 More Tests
In the House
BY ROBERT X. WALSH
Star Staff Writer

Congressional approval Of a
$4.6 billion foreign aid author
ization bill gave the Kennedy
administration and legislative
leaders hardly a breathing spell
today in preparing for two even
tougher tests.
These involve bills actually
appropriating funds for eco
nomic and military assistance
to foreign countries and per-
mitting the United States to
buy 500 million in United Ma
tions bonds. Both are headed
for rugged workouts in the
House.
The House Foreign Affairs
Committee expects to report out
a q. N. bond buying authori-
zation bill next week. The
Senate passed q similar meas
ure, 1922, last April. Opposi-
ton in the House and the COM
mittee is much stronger, but
Democratic leaders hope to get
Rules Committee clearance for
House action early in August.
Sees Unwise Spending
The foreign aid money bill
currently is being considered by
a House Appropriations Sub
committee headed by Repre-
sentative PaSSman, Democrat
of Louisiana. AS in past years
he is convinced that too much
is being spent on foreign aid
and, moreover, that much is
being spent unwisely and
wastefully.
The authorization bill sent
to President Kennedy set a
ceiling Of $4,672,0 100000. AS
passed by the House late yes
terday. 22l-162. in concurrence
with the Senate which approved
1t 56-27 last week, this measure
was a compromise version
worked out by a conference
committee. The final total is
about $206 million less than
Mr.. Kennedy requested.
Mr.. Passman has made no
secret Of his determination to
keep actual appropriations for
the 1868 fiscal year well un-
der the $4.6 billion ceiling. He
also wants to keep it under the
$50 billion appropriated by
Congress last year.
The foreign aid appropria-
ton bill seemed likely to come
out Of the House committee by
mid-August. BY the time 1t
goes through House and Sen
ate and the inevitable Senate
House conference COMMITTEES,
however, it probably will be
one Of the last bills Congress
passes before adjournment.
Criticism Of foreign aid legis-
lation has been unusually Sc
we're this year. Many House
members report their constitu-
ents are asking more questions
and indicating more dissatis-
faction with the size, distri-
button and administration OF
foreign aid funds and programs
Criticize News Accounts
In House debate on the au.
thorization bill yesterday, Re-
publican Representatives Cur
tis Of Missouri and Judd of
Minnesota and Democratic
Representative Pucinski Of IL
linois took the press to task
for various news accounts.
The two Republicans COM
planned that stories sometimes
tended to describe decisive votes
on foreign aid as a victory for
President Kennedy and a de-
feat for Congress. Mr.. Pucin-
ski deplored what he called d
tendency to list Poland as a
Communist country" and in
clude it under headlines such
as Congress Votes Aid to
Reds"
Representative Laird, Repub-
lican Of Wisconsin, disassoci-
ated himself from the criti-
cism. He declared the authori-l
zation bill gives the President
considerable leeway to allow
aid to some Communist-con-
trolled countries and amounts
to a victory" for the Presi-
dent.
Several other m e m b ersI
charged that the compromise
bill is much milder than the
bill originally passed by the
House July IL.
In any event, final passage
by the House yesterday showed
practically the same number
voting against the compromise
bill as against the original bill,
when the vote was 250-162. Alb
sentees accounted mainly for
the smaller affirmative vote.
As q prelude to the forth
coming debate on proposed
buying Of U. N. bonds, several
House members proteste d
against conference committee
elimination of an original Il
House amendment banningI
United States payments to the
U. N. for special purposes, such
as financing operations in the
Congo. until all other coun-
tries paid back assessments.
In Line With Administration
In other respects, the final
version Of the authorization
bill also is more in line with |
administration ruichae than