SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS FOR 1951 HEARINGS BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS UNITED STATES SENATE EIGHTY-FIRST CONGRESS SECOND SESSION AN ACT MAKING SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS 70750 Printed for the use of the Committee on Appropriations UNITED STATES WASHINGTON: 1950 SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS FOR 1951 THURSDAY, JULY 13, 1950 UNITED STATES SENATE, COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS, Washington, D. C. The committee met, pursuant to call, at 10:30 a. m., in room F-37, the Capitol, Hon. Kenneth McKellar (chairman) presiding. Present: Senator McKellar, Hayden, Thomas, McCarran, Maybank, Kilgore, Wherry, Cordon, and Young. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY-NATIONAL GUARD BUREAU STATEMENT OF HON. EDWARD J. THYE, UNITED STATES SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF MINNESOTA ADDITIONAL FUNDS URGED Chairman MCKELLAR. The committee will come to order. All right, Senator Thye, you said you wanted us to hear you. Senator THYE. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, in looking over the appropriations bill and giving thought to the fact that our Regular Army troops are being called from the United States into foreign service, knowing that we are faced with a critical world situation wherein we cannot foresee what may happen from one week to the next, and knowing that our own internal strength in the United States will be dependent upon the National Guard, it just seems to me that we should increase the appropriations for the National Guard even above the budget recommendations. AMOUNTS IN PENDING APPROPRIATIONS BILL Chairman McKELLAR. Senator, let me call your attention right there to the action of the House and the Senate committee. The House bill provided for $212,400,000, an increase of $1,700,000 over the budget estimate. The Senate committee allowed $210,500,000. Senator THYE. Mr. Chairman, I have in my hand the report that accompanied H. R. 7786, and I find on page 286 of this report that the Army National Guard, in the 1950 act, received $216,000,000. The estimate for 1951 is $210,700,000. The House bill provided $212,400,000. The amount recommended by the Senate committee was $210,500,000, which is a decrease of $5,500,000 under the 1950 act. The figures that I find in this report show that the over-all decrease in the Senate bill would be $1,900,000 under the House bill, and it was that which I had in mind when I made mention of it on the Senate floor yesterday afternoon. I had also talked with Maj. Gen. E. A. Walsh, my own former adjutant general of the National Guard in the State of Minnesota, who is now president of the National Guard Association. Having asked General Walsh about the budget or the appropriation needs for the National Guard in order that we might have a strong National Guard in view of the world crisis, and having had his counsel and having discussed it with him for several weeks, when the appropriations bill came up I commenced to study it from the standpoint of whether I would want to offer amendments on the Senate floor. The amendments that I had in mind to offer would increase the amount by reinstating the deduction of $1,900,000 in the Senate bill under the House bill. APPLICATION OF TABER-THOMAS AMENDMENT Senator THOMAS. At that point I might suggest that the House bill did not take into consideration a reduction made by the Taber-Thomas amendment, and the Senate bill does take into consideration that reduction. So, this amount in the bill now is the amount less the 10 percent reduction as provided by the Taber-Thomas reduction amendment. So that is what you are discussing now, whether or not we will stand for the reduction as made. Senator ROBERTSON. If you will yield there, I also call attention to the fact that a substitute has been prepared for the Taber-Thomas amendment and I think has been sent to the desk. It will be acted on next week, perhaps. It exempts all these military items from its cut. So as you have pointed out, when we were framing the subcommittee reports we had not contemplated that we would have a "super-duper” cut, so we applied, although it would not be too far above the House, this estimated cut. POSITION OF MILITARY ESTABLISHMENT IN REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDS If I may do so at this point, I would like to suggest that there are some witnesses here from the Defense Establishment who will explain why they do not approve this request, although if the National Guard is to be called to active duty the expense will be transferred from this fund to the regular military appropriation. We should permit them to come in because they will testify, and there is nothing really secret about this matter. It might be helpful if they heard the reasons now advanced for the increase and considered that in connection with the reasons that they are going to present against the increase. AMOUNT FOR AIR NATIONAL GUARD Senator THYE. Mr. Chairman, unless Senator Thomas had a further statement, I note here in the report on page 291, the Air National Guard, the 1950 act shows $114,690,000. The estimated 1951 is $103,935,000. The House bill is $103,935,000. The amount recommended by the Senate committee is $103,935,000. We have a decrease of $10,755,000. Senator CORDON. Over what? Senator WHERRY. The budget estimate is the same. |