LEGISLATION TO ESTABLISH A JOINT COMMITTEE ON THE BUDGET

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP65B00383R000100010001-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 18, 2003
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: April 23, 1963
• Content Type: MFR

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23 April 1963
SUBJECT: Legislation to Establish a Joint Committee
on the Budget
1. On 23 April, I talked with Walter Reynolds, Staff Director
of the Senate Government Operations Committee, regarding legislation
which has been introduced in the Congress to establish a Joint Committee
on the Budget.
2. Referring to the Committee's hearings on the current bill,
S. 537, and noting that similar legislation has been reported by the
Committee and passed by the Senate in every Congress since the 82nd
only to die in the House, I asked Mr. Reynolds if he could give me
some of the reasons for House opposition. Mr. Reynolds indicated
that in past Congresses the focal points of opposition in the House
have been Speaker Rayburn and Representative Clarence Cannon,
Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations. Mr. Reynolds
referred to the increasing animosity between the House and Senate
Appropriations Committees specifically referring to the subject of the
House's contention that all money bills must originate in that body. He
said that in the hearing to which I referred, his Committee has, in his
opinion, set forth sound reasons, based on extensive research by his
staff, that the Constitution of the United States does not necessarily
preclude the Senate from originating appropriation bills. Mr. Reynolds
regards this as a significant breakthrough in this area of controversy.
He mentioned in passing a number of factors such as the House's
irritation at references to the Senate as the "senior body" and other
areas of friction between the two houses, pointing out that in his opinion
the House Appropriations Committee deliberately delays action on
appropriation bills until late in a congressional session forcing the Senate
to consider these measures in haste.
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3. Mr. Reynolds also stated that much of the opposition in the
House is based on an erroneous assumption that the establishment of a
Joint Committee on the Budget would deprive the Appropriations Committees
of certain of their perogatives. In response to my question as to the
Senate Appropriations Committee's position on these bills, he said, in
confidence, that the Senate Appropriations Committee has, in fact, asked
Senator McClellan to introduce the Joint Committee bills. He said that
the function of such a Joint Committee would be to review how appropriated
funds are expended, an area given little attention by the Appropriations
Committees under the present system. In this regard, he cited as an
example the field of research and development where there is much
waste and duplication among Government agencies. He specifically
mentioned AEC and NASA in this regard. He also mentioned that former
Speaker Rayburn ahad opposed Joint Committees in general and had
opposed the establishment of the JCAE which, in Reynold's opinion, should
never have been established as a Legislative committee, for it took away
from the Science and Astronautics Committees areas properly under their
jurisdiction.
4. This was obviously a subject on which Mr. Reynolds had
very strong feelings, for he spoke at great length on it. From my con-
versation with him I feel that he is optimistic that in time this type of
legislation will eventually pass the House (he mentioned that Representative
Ben Jensen, ranking minority member of the House Appropriations Com-
mittee, had introduced in the House a bill introduced by Senator McClellan
in the Senate). However, I think he is realistic enough to know that
although the changes maybe better,-it is still doubtful that favorable House
action will be taken in this Congress.
STAT
Assistant Legislative Counsel
Original - Subject file
2 - Comptroller
1 - Leg. Counsel chrono
OGC/GLC:jmd (25 April 1963)
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