Congress' Week

THE CONGRESS As the bill cutting individual income taxes 10 1/2 to 30% reached the Senate floor last week, Democrats took a new line. Said elder tax statesman Walter George: all he wanted was to wait until June 10. Then the appropriations bills would be through and Congress would have a better idea of what expenses would be. He did not see how the 1948 budget could be cut more than $2,786,000,000. But if the G.O.P, could save $3 billion, he would support the tax cut himself.

Colorado's Eugene Millikin, Finance Committee Chairman, was unimpressed. According to his estimates, enactment of the tax-cut bill will still leave a surplus of over $5 billion next year--provided that Congress cut the budget by $4 1/2 billion, as pledged by the Senate. So the Senate wouldn't wait for George. On a straight party vote the motion was defeated 48-44.

In the House, Republicans were desperately trying to make good on at least the Senate's promise. They approved the 11% cut of the Navy's appropriation, despite the Navy's agonized pleas that it would mean a reduction of 82,000 men below authorized strength. But the cuts did not come easy. The truth was that Harry Truman had made most of the easy ones himself in his budget message. But chief G.O.P. axman John Taber strove manfully.

His appropriations committee tore a $383 million chunk out of the Agriculture Department's budget. Funds for the school-lunch program, crop insurance, the land-use and conservation program were sharply sliced. The appropriation for insurance of farm-tenant mortgages was cut from $15 million to $1,000,000. Secretary of Agriculture Anderson wailed that the cut (32%) would deprive veterans of the money needed to start farming, deprive small farmers of subsistence loans, destroy the price support of perishable farm products.

At week's end, the Republicans sat back to take stock. The week's efforts had brought House budget cuts to a total of $2,046,698,889 (including a highly dubious $800 million reduction in tax-refund estimates).

Last week the Senate:

P: Passed and sent to the White House the $350 million foreign-relief bill.

P: Passed and sent to the House a bill establishing a National Science Foundation with Government funds for research in engineering, mathematics and biology, allotting 25% of the estimated $20 million-a-year funds to state control.

P: Heard that House-Senate conferees were on the point of agreeing to a labor bill substantially the same as the Senate version (TIME, May 26).

The House:

P: Received from the Foreign Affairs Committee a bill permitting the State Department to continue its informational activities (including the "Voice of America") under the new name, Office of Information and Educational Exchange.

P: Received from its Post Office Committee a bill raising rates on domestic air mail from 5-c- to 6-c-, on special delivery from 13-c- to 15-c-, and on all newspapers & magazines, to swell receipts by $100 million annually.

P: Worked out kinks as usual in the House gymnasium (see cuts).

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