Show Bruc Dru karts charts washington digest Roosevel ts latest budget has congress pretty badly muddled arguments ifs is 1 suggestions and suppositions leave solons in daze leaders in congress to seek facts for themselves by WILLIAM BRUCKART service national press washington D 0 washington congress Is pretty badly muddled up over the latest roosevelt budget of estimated expenditures tures and receipts tor for the governments ern ments next fiscal year and well it may be there were thousands of greater and lesser items of government cost dumped into its legislative lap at once the otter other day but these were not alone there were arguments and its and suggestions gest ions fons and suppositions and an official defense of the policy that for 11 years has seen government income fall tar far behind the expenses 11 years of deficits and alona with these things came a proposal by the president to add a special tax or a tax for a special purpose national defense in view of the fact that few persons have been able to arrive at an absolute slon on the financial ecsi problem submitted by mr Rog roosevelt sevelt some of the more influential leaders of congress have taken the lead in a plan to find out for themselves men like senator pat harrison the old mississippi wa warhorse r who has been senator chairman of the harrison senate committee on finance for years and who once missed being democratic leader of the senate because president roosevelt wrote a letter to dear alben barkley of kentucky senator harrlson harrison has support in the move and I 1 am told that he is determined to get et affirmative action the harrison plan calls tor for something new in congressional policy he would have a joint committee of 12 senators and 12 representatives divided equally among two senate and two house committees to do some spade work on the new budget the budget for the year beginning next july 1 it Is a thing never at tempee before and may or may not be a wise course since it smacks of utilizing a great new power by con gress but this much can be said for the first time it if the harrison plan eventually is adopted congress will get some information through its own channels instead of accepting the unsupported statements the wishful thinking and the planned ex tension of power by the bureaucrats intent upon preserving their agencies annual federal budget on once ce comparatively simple thing in years gone by the annual federal budget was a comparatively simple thing or as simple as messes of figures could be made its proposed items of expense were set down and totaled the anticipated r venue revenue e was calculated but such Is not the case with the current budget nor any in the last few years vears since operations of the federal government have become as general as flies files around the bam in midsummer times thries have changed indeed here is i a budget that covers the astound tag ing total of it Is smaller by than the last one and that reduction was described by mr air roosevelt Koo sevelt as a first step toward gradual accomplishment of a balanced budget but the total of proposed expenditures shown was circumscribed with a handful of its the amount of will remain that way if cuts are made from last years totals in public works in federal jobs in camps in relief and farm benefits and it if there are no other increases voted except for a vast program of expansion in the army and navy on the basis of the budget calculation the governments income will be in the next fiscal year if congress will my lay a special tax for paying the cost of a part of the cost of expanding the army and navy the president said this tax should be made to yield thus on the basis of the budget the government will be in m the red next year it all things remain as planned to this point by a total of the president in tends however to cut that way down by using up some odds and ends of money lying around among the government owned corporations by executive order the president can restore to the federal treasury funds loaned by it to the various corporations he said there was something like in tills bils pot of gold and that will be used to reduce the deficit further budgets these days merit earnest consideration and there you have it it 1 all of 0 f the things go through as planned and if 11 there is not another request from any office or agency ol of gov crement and if there Is as much tax collected next year a as calculated and if the proposed national de tense bense tax is passed and collected the government deficit tor for the fiscal year that ends june 30 1941 will be senator harrison may be wrong or he be may inny be right in his proposal to have congress do something about understanding this and subsequent budgets but it must be said there Is something about the condition of budgets these days that merits earnest consideration these latter day budgets somehow remind me of the broomstick horse that I 1 used to ride when I 1 was a kid that broomstick had at least 20 different names but it was always the same broomstick and my imagination was never successful in transforming it there was merited applause from congress tor for mr Roosevel ts declaration that ho he was prepared to curtail tail spending he tossed some cold water on that enthusiasm however by a statement of policy that he did not favor too much curtailment at one time rather government support for the many functions now a part of the federal structure ought to be tapered off there was not too much pleasure about that among the real supporters of an economy policy and there was considerably less when attempts were made to analyze the true results I 1 have a hunch bunch that more dl disappointment ap is due the budget that was sent to congress the other day in my opinion is not going to be nearly all that will be needed in the way of money it is just a guess that I 1 here make the totals for relief and for agricultural benefits and public works etc are not nearly large enough for 12 months if an election falls within that year so the forecast I 1 offer is that requests will be in the hands of congress in january 1941 for deficiency appropriations to cover expenditures that have run short present national debt runs right close to line there is however still another if to be ba considered mr roosevelt advised congress that it if all conditions materialized as he expected the national debt on june 30 1941 would be that is right close to the line for the pros pres ent law limits the national debt to it was suggested that the administration was able to stay under the limit only by taking away sonie some of the funds from the in laws and stepchildren known as government corporations that probably is proper for the government gave each of them money with which to set up housekeeping it was more important to the administration tra tion however since it thereby became necessary to ask congress to raise fhe be limit of the national debt a request that was sure to raise a one cannot survey the budget and all of its possibilities and probabilities without wondering what ties lies in the future whether this is the reason behind the action of the conservatives in congress who seek to end this spending spree of seven long years or whether the conservatives are worried about future burdens of taxes the fact remains there should be some tangible policy laid down and that policy must come from congress the present administration will not do it each year there have been statements about a balanced budget in the future take a look at this general division of where the federal money Is being spent and I 1 think you will agree there is a critical need tor for a general revamping of the functions of the government at washington national defense work belief programs agricultural programs 11 public works and investments interest on the public debt pensions retirements and regular operating expenses |