Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-07-31
Talk Delays House OK
OF $1l.5 Billion Bill
BY ROBERT X. WALSH
Star Staff Writer


BY ROBERT X. WALSH
Star Staff Writer
The House shared some of
the Senate's embarrassment
today, by having had to delay
passage of a big bill yesterday
because Of lengthy talk and a
quorum question.
A final vote on an $11.5 bill
lion Independent Offices ap-
preparation bill was put off
early last night when a Mis-
souri, Republican demanded to
be shown whether a quorum
was present.
Under a previous agreement
to conduct no roll calls on the
first two days of this week. the
automatic roll call neceSsitated
by Representative Halls move
was delayed until tomorrow.
Similarity to the Senate sit
uation ended there. Unlike
the Senate's 10-hour struggle
to muster two quorums last
Saturday, the House yesterday
held three such calls which
brought floor attendance rang
ing from 254 to 381 of its cur
rent 436 members.
The quorum calls, however,
took up an hour-and-a.
quarters time and thus helped
to drag the session into the
early evening. The legislative
day might have lasted even
longer except that Republicans
had been invited to an "Old
Frontier" party.
Sends 2 Bills to Senate
The House nevertheless add
ed to the Senate's current woes
by dropping two more appro-
priation and authorization bills
on the Senate's doorstep.
1t approved a Senate House
conference bill earlier yester-
day authorizing $3.7 billion for
. the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration, includ-
ing about 1858 million for
lunar and other outer space ex-
ploration. 1t also adopted an
1885 million conference COM
mittee appropriation bill for
the Interior Department.
How soon the Senate can
take final congressional action
on those bills depends on the
length of the present filibuster
against the communications
satellite bill. Several other con-
ference bills, mainly the $48
billion Defense Department
money bill, await final passage
in the Senate.
Funds for rs Agencies
The $11,5O1,1 41,0 900 bill ten
tatively adopted by the House
late yesterday, subject to the
roll call tomorrow, provides OPP
Grating funds for about rs Fed
eral agencies. The total is about
81 billion below the admins
tration'S requests. Half of the
cut resulted from House APP
preparations Committee rejec-
ton of an administration re-
quest for 1858 million to start
an extensive fallout shelter
construction program.
Although no attempt was
made to restore that item in
the House yesterday, Represen-
tative Holifield, California
Democrat who heads the Joint
Congressional Committee on
Atomic Energy, described the
cut as "a body blow to the
Presidents program" He said
that much of the civil defense
program was "reeling in con-
fusion" because of COMPRESSION
al GOODNESS or public apathy.
Limit on College Expenses
Prolonged by the three ear
lier quorum calls, the debate
on the bill continued more than
five hours. The only major
amendment adopted was that
of Representative Miller, De-
mocrat of California, chairman
Of the House Science and As
tronautics Committee.
This would put a Is per cent
limit on indirect expenses
which colleges and universities
and other non-profit institu-
lions could charge to the Gov
eminent in handling Federal
grants for research.
Representative league, De-
mocrat of Texas, wanted to
knock out a 20 per cent limita-
ton provision in the bill. The
Miller amendment was adopted
with an understanding that the
overall problem of such indirect
costs would be explored by
House committees especially
concerned with research grants.
The issue was similar to a
20 per cent limitation which
the House voted last week in
the Defense Department Ap-
preparation bill. That limita-