H. R. 4133RY
WAR 2 7 1944,

A BILL MAKING APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE TREASURY AND POST OFFICE DEPARTMENTS FOR

FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 19516HE

AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

96208

Printed for the use of the Committee on Appropriations

UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON: 1944

EX OFFICIO MEMBERS FROM COMMITTEE ON POST OFFICES AND POST ROADS

EVERARD H. SMITH, Clerk

THE UNITED STATES SENATE,

SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEEE ON APPROPRIATIONS,

Washington, D. C. The subcommittee met at 10:30 a. m., Senator McKellar (chairman) presiding.

Present: Senators McKellar, Hayden, Maybank.

Senator MCKELLAR. All right, the committee will come to order.

TREASURY DEPARTMENT

LETTER FROM DEPARTMENT RELATIVE TO ESTIMATES

First, we have a letter from the Department, dated February 16, which we will make a part of the record at this point.

(The letter follows:)

TREASURY DEPARTMENT,
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY,
Washington, February 16, 1944.

Hon. KENNETH MCKELLAR,

Acting Chairman, Subcommittee in Charge of
the Treasury Department Appropriation Bill,

United States Senate.

MY DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: Reference is made to your letter of February 4, 1944, with respect to the Treasury appropriation bill for the fiscal year 1945 (H. R. 133), in which you request information as to any changes in the bill which we hight deem absolutely necessary.

We feel that our estimates for the fiscal year 1945 were so thoroughly gone over ot only by our own Budget and Improvement Committee but by the Bureau of he Budget that the amounts finally submitted to the Congress represented our hinimum requirements to carry on the essential activities of the Department,: The House Appropriations Committee, however, made reductions in practically, 11 of our estimates, such reductions aggregating $14,557,311. In addition, the imitation on the amount to be available under the indefinite appropriation Expenses of loans" (Bureau of the Public Debt), was reduced by $3,000,000, aising the total reductions for the Department to $17,557,311.

The Treasury Department, as you know, is essentially a service agency. For his reason, its appropriation needs to a large extent are subject to the requireents of practically every department and agency in the Federal Establishment, ho rely on this Department for such services as disbursement, procurement, acbunting, the clearance of checks, etc. In addition, there are the Treasury's norhal fiscal and enforcement functions, which include a number of major projects uch as the collection of the internal revenue and the public-debt operations. he Treasury thus is carying a staggering work load under present war condi-, ons. Notwithstanding this, however, and although we feel that the amounts ow provided in the bill as it passed the House will prove inadequate, we are willng, with two exceptions, to endeavor to operate within those limitations, but if