DEMOCRATS’ POWER

Taranaki Daily News, 5 January 1935, Page 5

DEMOCRATS’ POWER

WASHINGTON CONGRESS FLOOD OF LEGISLATION _-ru ■ r nrr nil , “SOCIAL SECURITY” FLAN HOUSE AWAITS MESSAGE

By Telegraph—Press Assn.—Copyright. Rec. 7.35 p.m. Washington, Jan. 3. The 74th. Congress, which is predominantly Democratic as a result of the November elections, was convened to-day and after a brief organisation session was adjourned until to-morrow, when President Roosevelt will present his annual message to the joint session of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

With more than a two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives Democrats overrode the Republican opposition and elected Mr. Joseph Byrns Speaker in succession to Mr. Henry Rainey, who died on August 19, 1934. Under Mr. Byrns’ direction Democrats immediately tightened the parliamentary rules to allow the Administration leaders to maintain a firm hand on legislation. The law permitting legislation to be forced out of committee by the presentation of a petition with 145 signatures was repealed, making at least half the names of the House necessary. As is customary a flood of legislation was advanced, but little without the President’s support is likely to become law. In all 2400 Bills have been presented, the first being a highly controversial measure ordering the Treasury to pay veterans 2,000,000,000 dollars in adjusted compensation certificates not due until 1945. The President’s message to-morrow is expected to deal at length with the socalled “social security’’ programme. A report on relief administration affairs and other important features of the “New Deal” Treasury figures was published today. It showed that the half-yearly deficit at December 31 reached the unprecedented figure of £339,800,000, indicating that the year will end with a deficit of £600,000,000. The public debt is up approximately £900,000,000 from December, 1933, to £5,570,000,000.