The Executive Budget and Appropriations by Congress

Archive Report

Budget and Appropriations

Republican Gains and the Power of the Purse

The first month of the 1943 session of Congress was marked by the emergence of a persistent demand, among members of both parties in both houses, for a stricter control of government spending, and for renewed employment of the “power of the purse” as a cheek upon government policies.

The new assertiveness of the Legislative Branch, in this as in other fields, is generally attributed to the restoration, by the 1942 congressional elections, of a closer balance of party strength in Congress than has existed at any time since President Roosevelt's first inauguration in 1933. The President's party holds an overall majority of 18 in the Senate, but a majority of only 9 in the House—and ...

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