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Show Bruckart's Washington Digest Delegation of Authority to So Many Agencies Seen Dangerous Clause in Act Hands Over to Unelected Officials Right To Say What Congress Meant in Language of Law; Makes Many Little Dictators. By WILLIAM BRUCKART WNU Service, National Press Bldg., Washington, D. C. WASHINGTON. Subcommittees of the house committee on appropriations appropri-ations have started consideration of the various bills through which money is supplied each year for running run-ning the federal government Among the first measures was that appropriating money for the so-called so-called Independent offices. These are the agencies that operate at loose ends, so to speak, run their own shows, make rules and regulations regula-tions which have the full force of regular laws and otherwise conduct themselves as they see fit. The head men of each of these units of government and there are 46 listed in the one appropriation bill are named by the President of the United States. They are not elected by the people. The nearest approach to direct responsibility to the citizens is that appointment of the head men must be confirmed by the senate. Senate consideration, considera-tion, however, is limited only to the top executives. Scores of policymaking policy-making officials beneath the first rank are picked without taxpayers having any sort of say-so. It is well to recall just here that each of these agencies was legally created by congress. That is, laws were passed which established the several boards, bureaus, commissions, commis-sions, administrations or whatever other names they have. Many of us believe there are too many of them, that the federal government is messing around in too many different dif-ferent fields. Yet, the fact remains that these agencies do exist and consideration of them and their powers pow-ers seems timely since the appropriations appro-priations to run them are being examined ex-amined now. The laws by which these agencies were created are, in general, sufficiently suf-ficiently specific to define their jurisdiction. The thing that causes trouble for the country, however, is one little paragraph that was included in-cluded in each bill by which the particular agency was given life. That paragraph reads, in effect: authority is hereby given for the promulgation of such rules and regulations reg-ulations as the agency deems necessary neces-sary for administration of this act Makes Many Little Dictators Instead of One Big One That is the rub. That one section of law gives to these arms of the federal government power that even the most highly trained lawyer can not fully calculate. On the surface it seems safe enough, since the law's terms are definite, but what the provision pro-vision actually does is to hand over to groups of unelected officials the right to say what congress meant in the language written into law. And, most important of all, when congress began to delegate such authority years and years ago, it began to build up within the federal government a form of dictatorship. The condition differs from the dictatorship dic-tatorship of Hitler and Stalin only in the fact that there are dozens of little dictators instead of one big dictator. In the one appropriations bill which I mentioned, there, may be even a thousand little dictators if one considers all of the head men, the bureau chiefs, the division divi-sion officials, the hard boiled lawyers law-yers who think their job is to persecute per-secute rather than enforce laws. I am quite sure that the above paragraph does not fully set forth all of the possibilities. The outline thus given, however, ought to be sufficient to awaken citizens to the dangers inherent in continued delegation dele-gation of authority to various branches of the government. It calls attention to the sad fact that nothing at all has been done within the government to correct probably the most dangerous trend in official administration. Perhaps, I ought to qualify the statement that nothing at all has been done within the government. There was a feeble attempt some years ago out of which it was hoped there would be some corrective program emerge. A committee was named and, as far as I have been able to run down the facts, it managed man-aged to hold a few meetings. The story is that the meetings became so earnest on one or two occasions that mention was made of the purposes pur-poses of the committee. But they were soon forgotten and the committee com-mittee gradually succumbed to creeping paralysis. Delegation of New Power to Executive Officers Goes On Through all of the years, therefore, there-fore, there has continued to be a delegation of new power to executive execu-tive officers of the federal government. govern-ment. It is nearly as bad in the state governments. Moreover, through all of the years, officials of these agencies being human have continued to reach for and obtain, more power than was ever intended to be in their hands. There is no mushroom that can grow faster than a federal agency, once it gets in proper soil and temperature. It is well to remember, also, that there are many types of mushrooms that are poisonous. All of this brings us to what the American Bar association is trying to do. It brings to the front seat efforts made by a special committee commit-tee of the association by way of getting get-ting legislation through congress to fence in these boys and girls on public pub-lic payrolls so that the rank and file of citizens have a chance. The special committee is headed by Col. O. R. McGuire, who lately resigned as an attorney in the General Gen-eral Accounting office. Colonel McGuire Mc-Guire saw the black death approaching, approach-ing, and he believes the disease of granting more and more power to executive offices of the government is surely going to reach the vitals of our republican form of government govern-ment unless drastic medicine is given. I am not prepared to say that the bill which Colonel McGuire almost single-handedly pressed before congressional con-gressional committees is the proper corrective measure. There have been loopholes found in it, plenty of them. There has been opposition to it from among members of the national na-tional lawyers' group. Doubtless, other weak spots will be found. But it must not be said that the principle of checking the vicious trend is wrong; and it seems to be an opportune op-portune time for real work to be done. The American Bar association associa-tion is big enough, its members have brains enough, its membership has power enough, to force something through congress. Whether it is the McGuire bill as it stands, a modification modifica-tion of that or a completely rewritten rewrit-ten measure, the bar association had better assert itself in the interest of the public. Lawyers Objects of Barbed Darts From the President The American Bar association and lawyers generally have been subjected sub-jected to barbed darts from President Presi-dent Roosevelt. On one pretext or another, Mr. Roosevelt has put tacks in the seats of lawyers' pants ever since he entered the White House. Fundamentally, that criticism always al-ways has been based in the President's Presi-dent's belief that lawyers were not working in the public interest. Here, then, it seems to me, is a fine opportunity. op-portunity. Inasmuch as the association's asso-ciation's governing body meets early in 1940 and inasmuch as 1940 is a year of national elections, why, I ask, does not the bar association get busy? Why not demand of the candidates can-didates for the House of representatives representa-tives and the senate a pledge that they act on some legislation that will partially restore a representative representa-tive form of government as distinguished distin-guished from the thousand little dictators dic-tators now running our federal machinery? ma-chinery? And in connection with what may be done in seeking a solution for the problem, I want to suggest a rather simple method. Let congress create a joint committee of representatives and senators who would be empowered empow-ered to pass upon all of these rules and regulations that are issued in the countless offices of government. Not only the 46 independent teachers' teach-ers' pets, but all arms of the federal fed-eral government having the right to set up enforcement powecs. It long has been regarded as a prerogative of congress to inquire into the operations of the executive branch of the government. Congress Con-gress has been jealous of that prerogative, pre-rogative, as it should be. If it would create such a committee as I have suggested, therefore, it would be a means of preventing the evils of a million rules about which congress now has nothing to say and it would restore to congress, as the elected representatives of the people, the authority which it has foolishly given away. And if there needs to be face-saving on badly drawn laws, congress would be able to do that without having to admit that it is, cr has been, wrong. Even Lawyers Stumped at Meaning of Many Documents An exposition of all of the phases of such a problem as government rules and regulations is extremely difficult. Comparatively few lawyers law-yers in Washington can understand all of the intricate language and purposes of the piles of printed documents that emerge every day from federal agencies, and these lawyers, or many of them, have devoted lives to constant study of such stuff. Imagine for yourself, therefore, what a fix you, untrained in law, would be in if you attempted to fight your own battles with an arrogant, self-appointed interpreter of federal policy. One of the many reasons why 1 am stressing the necessity for correction cor-rection of this condition at once is that our government has expanded so rapidly in the last six years. Where there were rules and rcgula tions affecting only business a few years ago, there are now great vol umes of rules and regulations af feeling you and me. as individuals |
