¹ The statistics are as of the opening date of each Congress.

² The three changes were Senator Downey to the chairmanship of the Civil Service Committee, Eilender to Claims, and Bilbo to Pensions.

³ The fifteen changes in the standing committee chairmen were: Representative Spence to the chairmanship of the Banking and Currency Committee, Allen to Census, Barden to Education, Worley to the Election of President, Vice President, and Representatives in Congress, Domengeaux to Elections Committee No. 1, Klein to Enrolled Bills, O'Connor to Indian Affairs, Bell to Insular Affairs, O'Toole to Library, Murdock to Memorials, Boykin to Patents, Buckley to Pensions, Burch to Post Office and Post Roads, Peterson (Fla.) to Public Lands, and Robinson (Utah) to Roads.

⁴ See Official List of Members of the House of Representatives, Dec. 9, 1943, 78th Cong., p. 15. The party division at the beginning of the 78th Congress was as follows: in the Senate, 57 Democrats, 38 Republicans, 1 other; in the House, 222 Democrats, 209 Republicans, and 4 others.

⁵ For a table of party leadership in the Seventy-seventh Congress, see this Review, Vol. 36, p. 292. The five changes were: Representative Ramspeck of Georgia became Democratic Whip, Representative Doughton of North Carolina became chairman of the Democratic Caucus, and Representative Crosser of Ohio became chairman of the Democratic Steering Committee. Representative Arends of Illinois became the Republican Whip and Representative Woodruff of Michigan became chairman of the Republican Caucus.

⁶ Unanimous consent procedure business includes bills called up out of order, by request, from the Unanimous Consent Calendar, and from the Private Calendar, all of which are passed without objection.

⁷ Four were called up and “laid on the table.”

⁸ Thirty-five resolutions carried the clause “without intervening motion except one motion to recommit.”

⁹ H.Res. 360. See also H.Res. 206 and H.Res. 330; also H.Res. 275 and H.Res. 292 providing for sending bills with Senate amendments to conference. On September 20, the House adopted a rule (H.Res. 302) providing that the time for debate on a motion to “suspend the rules and pass House Concurrent Resolution 25 shall be extended to 4 hours, such time to be equally divided … and said motion to suspend the rules shall be the continuing order of business of the House until finally disposed of.” The House, on June 30, adopted an unusual rule providing that “during the remainder of the week ending July 3, 1943, it shall be in order to consider conference reports the same day reported to the House notwithstanding the provisions of clause 2, Rule XXVIII.” H.Res. 278.

¹⁰ H.R. 2869 and S. 660.

¹¹ 77th Cong., 2nd Sess.

¹² See H.R. 1366, H.R. 1860, H.R. 2703, H.R. 2798, H.R. 2936, H.J.Res. 147, H.Res. 292, and S. 972.

¹³ See H.R. 7, H.R. 2887, and H.Res. 29.

¹⁴ H.R. 7 and H.R. 2887.

¹⁵ In the First Session of the Seventy-seventh Congress, a total of 649 laws were enacted, of which 397 were public and 252 private; in the Second Session, a total of 836, of which 453 were public and 383 private.

¹⁶ Each house played a more important rôle in legislative activity than the above figures show. Of the 795 measures passed by the House, 420 were House bills, 140 Senate bills, 32 House Joint Resolutions, 5 Senate Joint Resolutions, 12 House Concurrent Resolutions, 8 Senate Concurrent Resolutions, and 178 simple House Resolutions. During the Session, 4,568 bills and resolutions were introduced in the House, of which 3,903 were House bills, 210 House Joint Resolutions, 64 House Concurrent Resolutions, and 391 House Resolutions. House Committees made 982 reports. Of the 702 measures passed by the Senate, 258 were Senate bills, 237 House bills, 19 Senate Joint Resolutions, 28 House Joint Resolutions, 9 Senate Concurrent Resolutions, 12 House Concurrent Resolutions, and 139 Senate Resolutions. During the session, 1,971 bills and resolutions were introduced in the Senate, of which 1,611 were Senate bills, 105 Senate Joint Resolutions, 29 Senate Concurrent Resolutions, and 226 Senate Resolutions. Senate Committees made 628 reports.

¹⁷ The House passed 22, but one (H.J.Res. 208) was left pending in the Senate.

¹⁸ For a thorough analysis of these appropriations, see Appropriations, Budget Estimates, etc., by Sheild, Marcus C., clerk to the House Committee on Appropriations, and Everard H. Smith, clerk to the Senate Committee on Appropriations, pp. 1–735.Google Scholar

¹⁹ The rules of the House and Senate contain a prohibition against including legislative provisions in an appropriation bill, but if no one makes a point of order against a proposed legislative provision being so included, it will be included, with majority approval of both houses. By a two-thirds vote in the Senate, and by the use of a special rule in the House, legislation might be included in an appropriation bill, points of order to the contrary notwithstanding. Note the comments by two Representatives on this situation. Representative Fulmer said: “Does not the gentleman think that the Committee on Rules acted wisely in that the Committee on Appropriations has taken over all the legislative functions of the Committee on Agriculture? In fact, this bill contains more legislation than any appropriation bill that has ever been presented to the House since I have been a member during the past 22 years” (C.R., p. 3421). Representative Dirksen said: “May I make one allusion to this question of points of order that may be raised? I do not know how you are going to write an appropriation bill that does not have some legislative provisos in it. If I went to the trouble to take this bill and start with page 1 and strike out every provision that technically, at least, seems in violation of the rule which interdicts the insertion of legislation in an appropriation bill, I probably could reduce it to 30 pages the first time over. Then if you devote yourself more assiduously to the job, there would probably be less than half the original bill remaining. Frankly, I do not know how you are going to do the job, when you deal with anything like the Department of Agriculture, with innumerable bureaus and agencies, countless functions, dealing with the production and distribution of food. It is enough to baffle anybody. I expect if I remained at this type of labor for a quarter of a century I would only have scratched the surface of the problems which one constantly encounters in this task” (C.R., p. 3432).

²⁰ The House devoted 1,268 pages of its proceedings to debate of the appropriation bills, while only 588 pages of the Senate proceedings were so consumed.

²¹ See section below on investigating committees.

²² Only a few, if any, of the roll-call votes show division on straight party lines.

²³ See H.R. 2869 and S. 1108.

²⁴ Originally, both the House and Senate Banking and Currency Committees reported their bills with a proviso to outlaw subsidies. Subsequently, Administrative objection to this prohibition caused both committees, after they had reported their bills, to reconsider them.

²⁵ See House Doc. 249. Speaking of his consumer subsidy program, in the veto message, he stated: “It should and must be continued.”

²⁶ H.J.Res. 147.

²⁷ S.J.Res. 103.

²⁸ H.R. 2218.

²⁹ An amendment to prohibit the use of funds for operation of the Silver Purchase Acts was eliminated from the act in conference after having been approved by the House and rejected by the Senate.

³⁰ H.R. 1648

³¹ See P.L. 102.

³² P.L. 90. The law provided $50,000 for the liquidation of NRPB by August 31, 1943, and $11,642,200 for the liquidation of the HOLC “at the earliest practicable date.”

³³ P.L. 129.

³⁴ P.L. 135.

³⁵ Representative Dirksen made the following remarks to the House about this case: “Mr. Speaker, let me suggest something to the membership of the House that I think has very, very serious implications. On the 21st of April, a subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee brought in a recommendation with respect to three persons employed in the Government, and in two of the cases the subcommittee recommended that they were unfit to continue in the Government service. Those two are employed by the Federal Communications Commission.

“Five days later, on the 26th of April, the Federal Communications Commission had a meeting. They examined into the qualifications and the fitness of those on whom the congressional committee had already passed. Let me say that 3 of the Commissioners, of course, dissented, but 4 of the Commission concurred in this report, some 26 pages long.

“The last sentence of that report is as follows: ‘In the light of the foregoing, we find no basis or reason for the dismissal of Watson, Schuman, or Dodd from employment of the Federal Communications Commission.’

“The question that this Congress is going to have to determine is, Are we going to tell the Federal Communications Commission what it must do or is it going to tell us what we shall do? If one agency prevails in a case of this kind, make no mistake, it will completely destroy the supervisory legislative power of the Congress (C.R., p. 4218).

³⁶ No bill on either of these two subjects was reported.

³⁷ See Senate Report 502.

³⁸ October 19–22.

³⁹ The subjects of investigation were: Civil Service Personnel (H.Res. 16), Small Business (H.Res. 18), Wild Life (H.Res. 20), Federal Communications Commission (H.Res. 21), Progress of War by Military Affairs and Naval Affairs Committees (H.Res. 30), Air Activities (H.Res. 33), Cost of Farm Products Process (H.Res. 38), Merchant Marine and Fisheries on National Defense (H.Res. 52), Petroleum by Interstate and Foreign Commerce (H.Res. 58), Un-American Activities (H.Res. 65), Budget Estimates and Administrative Expenditures (H.Res. 69), Grade Labelling (H.Res. 98), Jurisdiction of Government Agencies (H.Res. 102), Investigation of Government Personnel to Determine Fitness (H.Res. 105), Federal Security Administration (H.Res. 119), Defense Housing Program (H.Res. 121), Conditions in Puerto Rico (H.Res. 159), Roads (H.Res. 243), Public Lands (H.Res. 281), and Air Commerce (H.Res. 307).

⁴⁰ The subjects were: Conservation of Wild Animal Life (S.Res. 246 of 71st Congress), Silver Purchase Act of 1934 (S.Res. 187 of 74th Congress), Marketing of Wool (S.Res. 160 of 74th Congress), Administration of Civil Service Laws (S.Res. 198 of 75th Congress), Small Business (S.Res. 298 of 76th Congress), Truman Committee (S.Res. 71 of 77th Congress), Gasoline and Fuel Oil Shortage (S.Res. 156 of 77th Congress), Senatorial Campaign Expenditures (S.Res. 235 of 77th Congress), Use of Fuels West of the Mississippi River (S.Res. 319, 77th Congress), Post-War Economic Policy (S.Res. 102, 78th Congress).

⁴¹ C.R., pp. 2755–2802.

⁴² See H.R. 2968, War Agencies Appropriation Bill, and H.R. 2935, Labor Federal Security Appropriation Bill.

⁴³ Two treaties were acted upon during the session, both of which were ratified: a convention with Mexico on consular offices, and relinquishment of extraterritorial rights in China.

⁴⁴ See C.R., p. 8903. This quotation was taken from remarks by Senator Vandenberg.

⁴⁵ C.R., pp. 8903–8904.

⁴⁶ See Senate Document 25. Senator Smith, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, stated at the time of the conflict: “I intend to stick by my guns and vote to override the veto, but when the master cracks the whip, most of my colleagues seem to run for cover. The New Deal has messed up the whole farm situation, and I hope a tornado blows along in 1944 and sweeps every New Dealer from Washington.” See Washington News Service ticker for Apr. 3, 1943.

⁴⁷ On November 1, the President submitted a 23-page message to Congress, “Outline of Food Program.” See House Doc. 347.

⁴⁸ The President wrote Congressman Doughton a letter, dated February 17, in which he stated: “I told you that I hoped the Public Debt Bill could be passed with out adding amendments not related to the subject, but that if the Committee thought otherwise, I would later write you my views….

“When the act of October 2, 1942, was passed, it authorized me to adjust wages or salaries whenever I found it necessary ‘to correct gross inequities and also aid in the effective prosecution of the war.’ Pursuant to this authority, I issued an Executive Order in which, among other things, it was provided that in order to correct gross inequities and to provide for greater equality in contributing to the war effort, no salary should be authorized to the extent that it exceeds $25,000 net after the payment of taxes. Provision was made for certain allowances in order to prevent undue hardships.

“The legality of the Executive Order was attested by the Attorney General prior to its issuance. No Executive Order is issued without such approval.”

⁴⁹ See House Doc. 101.

⁵⁰ See Wall Street Journal, Feb. 16, 1943.

⁵¹ It is reliably reported to the writer that the President sent the message to the Secretary of the Senate with the understanding that it be not taken to the Senate floor until late in the afternoon. Likewise it was a known fact that Senator Connally, author of the bill, was leaving Washington for Canada on a late afternoon train. Senator Lister Hill was acting as floor leader during Barkley's absence. It was reported to Hill that the veto message was in the Secretary of the Senate's office, but was not to be brought out until the later afternoon. Hill, a staunch supporter of the Connally Bill, defied the plan and immediately had the veto message taken in on the Senate floor and called up before Senator Connally left for Canada. Within less than half an hour, the Senate had overridden the veto.

⁵² H.R. 2935, P.L. 135.

⁵³ H.R. 1762, P.L. 90.

⁵⁴ See Senate Docs. 48 and 54.

⁵⁵ See P.L. 90.

⁵⁶ H. J. Res. 113, H. J. Res. 122.

⁵⁷ For remarks by Senator Gillette on this matter, see the Record for June 2, pp. 5274–5275.

⁵⁸ See the Washington City News Service (ticker) for Apr. 14, 1943.

⁵⁹ Ibid., Aug. 12, 1943.

⁶⁰ Ibid., July 5, 1943.

⁶¹ Ibid., July 9, 1943.

⁶² See C.R., p. 7987.

⁶³ See S. 796.

⁶⁴ H. R. 2869.

⁶⁵ A section of this article dealing with “Congressional reform” has been omitted for the reason that the subject is dealt with in the article that follows and will be considered further in an article to appear in the June issue. Man. Ed.