Numerous additional items of potential expenditures were uncovered in the course of the hearings which increases this estimate of expenditure very materially. Then, in addition to the acts of Congress establishing permanent automatic appropriations, there are numerous decisions of the Comptroller General, having the effect of acts of Congress, directing the ear marking of certain funds, called "special funds ", in the Treasury to be also automatically disbursed. A list of the laws, so far unearthed, providing for permanent appropriations, arranged chronologically, is to be found in appendix B. The constitutional rights of Congress as the guardian of the purse strings of Government have been utterly ignored. Article I, section 9, paragraph 7 of the Constitution provides: No money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law, and a regular statement and account of the receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published from time to time. While these advance permanent appropriations seem to be in compliance with this section of the Constitution in that such appropriations are technically "made by law ", nevertheless a fair interpretation of the language clearly indicates that the intention. was to conserve the rights of each Congress to control and supervise appropriations and did not vest in any particular Congress the right to anticipate the action of subsequent Congresses and practically foreclose their privilege to exercise their constitutional rights. The constitutional provision is a salutary one aimed to safeguard the Federal Treasury and to preserve the right of each Congress to exercise control over current appropriations as well as to follow up their judicious expenditure, but it is to take a strained liberty with the language of the Constitution to contend that any one Congress has the right to usurp this privilege and bind all subsequent Congresses as to the propriety of, or necessity for, any particular items of expenditure. The Budget and Accounting Act of 1920 is based on the philosophy of democratic Government underlying this provision of our Constitution. A LITTLE OF PAST HISTORY Congress has spasmodically, but at long intervals, voiced protests against the growth of these permanent appropriations, but no general reform has been attempted. In 1910 the Subcommittee on Permanent Appropriations, under the chairmanship of the Honorable George R. Malby, held hearings which led to the adoption of a provision in the Sundry Civil Appropriations Act of June 25, 1910, repealing the permanent appropriations for the Steamboat Inspection Service and the Shipping Service. The Malby investigation later led to the adoption of a provision in the Sundry Civil Appropriation Act of August 24, 1912, which repealed the provisions of a former law under which the appropriation for the United States Customs Service was half permanent and half annual. Later the Steamboat Inspection Service, the Shipping Service, and the Customs Service appropriations have been made on the basis of annual estimates which have been justified each year before the Appropriations Committee and provided for in the annual supply bill. No calamity has ensued, and public business seems to have gone on as usual. In the Sixty-third Congress, second session, the Subcommittee on Permanent Appropriations under the chairmanship of the Honorable William P. Borland, held extensive hearings which resulted in the repeal of the permanent appropriation for the Reclamation Service by section 16 of the act of August 13, 1914. The report of the Borland committee is interesting and emphasized this statement: The committee believes that no new legislation should be enacted relating to the Reclamation Service without providing: First, that the annual estimates be submitted to Congress of the expenditures of the Reclamation Service; and second, that no new projects be begun without express authority of Congress. So it was that the Sixty-third Congress asserted and resumed its rights, but, as it so happened, as to only one phase of these constantly growing usurpations of past and dead Congresses. It left many of these vicious laws untouched. 66 Since that time, laws have been repeatedly enacted, tying the hands of subsequent Congresses, and have added to the list of these back-door automatic appropriations" whereunder millions of dollars have been annually withdrawn from the Treasury without the slightest scrutiny, supervision or control of current Congresses. THE SEVENTY-SECOND CONGRESS The issue as to permanent appropriations was thereafter allowed to lie dormant until the Seventy-second Congress when the Honorable Joseph W. Byrns, the then chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, revived the Subcommittee on Permanent Appropriations, under the chairmanship of Hon. Anthony J. Griffin. The other members were Hon. William C. Wright (now deceased), Hon. William W. Hastings, Hon. Louis Ludlow, Hon. Michael J. Hart, Hon. Burton L. French, Hon. Frank Murphy, and Hon. John Taber. This committee initiated a study of the whole panorama of permanent appropriations but the researches necessary could not be concluded before the end of the Seventy-second Congress. This committee had a number of meetings in executive session and made a somewhat superficial examination of the various items disclosed in the Annual Budget for the purpose of classification of the items and study of the laws affecting them. To assist in that work the aid of the Bureau of Efficiency was enlisted. It later submitted a very valuable report carrying all the departments of Government and giving the history of the laws whereby these funds and permanent appropriations were initiated. During the pendency of the committee's deliberations the Senate voiced its resentment at the amazing increase of these "back-door" permanent appropriations and in the appropriation bill for the Treasury and Post Office Departments inserted an amendment abolishing all permanent appropriations (with a few exceptions); but, on learning that this committee was making an intensive study of this subject, the amendment was withdrawn.. THE SEVENTY-THIRD CONGRESS The new chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, This committee concluded its hearings on Monday, April 2, 1934, ANTHONY J. GRIFFIN, Chairman. TILMAN B. PARKS. THOMAS S. MCMILLAN. GLOVER H. CARY. EDWARD W. Goss. R. B. WIGGLESWORTH. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 1934. FIRST EXECUTIVE SESSION The subcommittee met at 10:30 a.m., Hon. Anthony J. Griffin Present: Messrs. Griffin, McMillan, Cary, Goss, and Wigglesworth. Each title was given a separate agenda number and cross refer- TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1934. SECOND EXECUTIVE SESSION The subcommittee met at 10:30 a.m., Hon. Anthony J. Griffit Present: Messrs. Griffin, McMillan, Cary, Goss, and Wigglesworth. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1934. THIRD EXECUTIVE SESSION The subcommittee met at 10:30 a.m., Hon. Anthony J. Griffin Present: Messrs. Griffin, McMillan, Cary, Goss, and Wigglesworth. permanent and indefinite appropriations, including special and trust THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1934. FOURTH EXECUTIVE SESSION The subcommittee met at 10 a.m., Hon. Anthony J. Griffin (chair- Present: Messrs. Griffin, Cary, and Wigglesworth. The subcommittee continued its study and consideration of the FIFTH EXECUTIVE SESSION The subcommittee met at 10 a.m., Hon. Anthony J. Griffin (chair- Present: Messrs. Griffin, McMillan, Cary, Goss, and Wigglesworth. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1934. STATEMENTS OF W. A. JUMP, BUDGET OFFICER; C. W. WAR- BURTON, DIRECTOR OF EXTENSION WORK; H. I. LOVING, CHIEF OF FINANCE, FOREST SERVICE; E. A. SHERMAN, ASSO- CIATE FORESTER; L. F. KNEIPP, BRANCH OF LANDS, FOREST SERVICE; C. W. KITCHEN, ASSISTANT CHIEF, BUREAU OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS; C. L. FINCH, DIVISION OF COTTON MARKETING, BUREAU OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS; AND Mr. GRIFFIN. We will first take up the item of meat inspection, asking for certain information with respect to this item. Have you see that letter, Mr. Jump? Mr. JUMP. I have. Mr. GIFFIN. Are you prepared to make a statement in regard to it? Mr. JUMP. Yes, sir; I believe so. Mr. GRIFFIN. You may proceed by making a general statement. if you prefer. Mr. JUMP. Before speaking on this item, I would like to say a word for the information of the committee in a general way to this effect, that the Department of Agriculture, I believe, has a good reputation with this committee for coming before it well prepared with some systematic plan of presenting to the committee the things that we are asked to explain. However, I am afraid we will lose that reputation this morning for the reason that we have not had time to prepare the data covering these permanent items in a systematic way. Last year when I received a letter from this committee asking about this subject I prepared some quite extensive data. As you will recall, we were merely asked then to be prepared to come up here on these items, but we were never called upon at that time. This year we did not get your request in time to make the kind of systematic presentation that we would like to make. The clerk of the subcommittee said if we could possibly appear for a hearing here on Wednesday he would like to have us do so, and we are here on that basis. Some of these items are so obscure that it is difficult to pick them up on short notice. I should like to have had a week or 10 days to prepare to meet your purposes this morning. That, gentlemen, is more or less of the background of the testimony that we are in shape to give this morning. Mr. GRIFFIN. Have you followed our statement in preparing your data? Mr. JUMP. I have found that what we had prepared last year would be valueless for this year's purposes, because the figures would all be back figures. From my talk with the clerk, I understand we are to deal not only with permanent appropriations that are active and in constant use, but also with permanent appropriations which are no longer active and which are really dead and buried so far as we are concerned. I did not understand this last year, so that the presentation of the list we prepared then would be valueless to the committee now. Mr. GRIFFIN. Does that cover the statistics which are requested in our letter? Mr. JUMP. Yes, sir; but it would only come up to the fiscal year 1933, because since we prepared that data we have the fiscal years 1934 and estimates for 1935. I would like to give the testimony today, and later on file with the committee a systematic presentation of it. I believe we will be able to satisfactorily answer your questions in a general way this morning. Now, you sent up a letter in which you asked several questions about the meat-inspection item, and I think I can answer them at this time. Mr. GRIFFIN. I will ask the question: First of all, the committee would like to know the amount of the appropriation for the next fiscal year. |