Show Bruc Bru karts charts washington digest 1940 congress sets the stage for executive legislative battle both republican and democratic congressional members are ready for tussle over president roose belts bud budget et and spending plans by WILLIAM BRUCKART national press washington D C washington congress soon will have completed the second month of its 1940 meeting and the most significant thing to come out of the session is a situation containing all of the elements necessary for another good battle between the legislative and executive branches of the governa government ent it is much too early to enter a forecast that president roosevelt and his opponents democrats and republicans will come to grips but a slip of even small caliber on the presidents part would throw him into the path of a substantial section of the congressional membership ber ship that is exactly what some of the opponents hope will happen it is conceivably a thing which mr roosevelt and the new dealers hope will be avoided the condition stems from mr Roosevel ts budget message As I 1 reported to you early in Jan january jancay the presidents bud budget get declarations sounded real A good many folks suggested however that these pronouncements had come at the very beginning of the session and predicted a change in the scenery be tore fore the end those president roosevelt observers appeared to feel that the president was playing a bit of politics with the general subject of economy spending but congress generally decided to take the president at his word if they appeared to be saying the president really wants economy if he wants to reduce government spending boy oh boy we will be with him in a big way so it has come to pass that the presidents own proposal conceivably can throw him into a place where plainly he does not wish to be at least from a political standpoint heretofore it will be recalled there have been frequent declarations tor for reduction in government spending and each time it has been overcome by backdoor operations of new dealers economy minded legislators dominate scene As tar far as the play has progressed on the open stage the economy minded members of the house and the senate appear to dominate the scene they have cut deeply into several of the presidents pet projects they have cut or have proposed to cut deeply into the presidents program for national defense for which mr roosevelt had ideas costing billions as against former years when the cost of army and navy development was measured in hundreds of millions moreover the legislators have shown courage in nicking agricultural spending for a good many millions and that hurt secretary wallace and his crew now all of this has been going on when the inner circle of new dealers still are clamoring tor for continuation of the fun they have been having in spending taxpayers money there is some doubt too that mr roosevelt has changed over completely attention might be called in this connection to the fact that in the national budget itself mr roosevelt lett numerous avenues of escape from what appeared to be a definite commitment towards retrenchment as stated in the budget message secretary wallace touched off the match on one of these mr roosevelt said the agriculture appropriations had been squeezed down by the budget bureau to the very limit if the funds were sufficient according to the president there had to be a continuation of good business i ua rn taz SECRETARY WALLACE A good many of the folks in the department part ment of agriculture have heam b as saying both publicly and p that the volume of business is going to slide off during the late winter and spring thus more money will be needed wallace wants share of government spending in the complaints by secretary wallace is another the secretary feels that there is no logic in cutting the total expenses of the government completely out of his share of the swag he fails to understand why the cuts have not been made proportionately in amounts of estimates for other agencies of government I 1 think he has his teeth in something there but why pass over this point to suggest that if and when the congressional enthusiasm for economy wanes it will be easier to vote money for the agriculture program than for any other it is just plain good politics I 1 imagine many members of the house and the senate feel that way too they be lieve they can always find justification for voting money to farmers while none can say definitely what goes on in the presidents mind there are many who believe mr roosevelt oo sevelt would have preferred to see congress raise the present debt limit from to rather than take him so seriously on the suggested reduction in in spending it seems logical he offered three propositions in his message retrenchment in expenditures raising the debt limit and laying new taxes now most anybody knows that congress will do very little about new taxes in an election year that left a choice between the curtailment of spending and raising the debt limit the debt limit is more than just a sore spot it is practically a carbuncle on the neck of congress because there are so many thousands of letters coming in as a warning against getting the nation further into debt nothing was left therefore but the program that would reduce available funds for the fun loving spenders these things present a picture which seems to show that the presidents strategy may have tailed failed that is to say he may have expected that congress would take the proposition of raising the debt limit as the easiest way out of its dilemma it is sheer conjecture of course yet it has a basis in any sound analysis of what has happened president Is missing economy sound waves undoubtedly however the presidents advisors have failed to catch the sound waves that are reaching congress from back home there is a trem tremendously heavy mail on the subject of waste and spending and debt arriving in congressional offices this reaction is highly important por tant it reveals something more than just a desire on the part of many voters to see the government spending brought within bounds it discloses I 1 believe quite a definite trend away from new deal ideals because somehow there is a growing conviction in many sections of the country that it is the reforms that are costing money this word from home has resulted thus far in offsetting the great pressure of various groups who are vociferous in their demands for more money we had a flock of young voters the american youth congress around town ten days ago and their leaders were unanimous in their calls for more money they were as well trained as any college cheering section that I 1 ever have seen of course they may win out yet but at the moment they are not winning much support tor for added money As of this time then congress surely has gone forward in a most determined fashion to cut off some of the excess spending it has resisted pressure thus tar far the battle lines are well weil formed thus far |