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University Daily Kansan Supplement
The 88th Congress- Challenge for Kennedy
By Arthur C. Miller
The off-year elections this November left a big "IF" hovering above the legislative hopes of the New Frontier.
This "IF" is whether the new 88th Congress will react favorably to legislation which the Kennedy administration is seeking to make law.
Had the Republicans won the election, marked by the heaviest voting in an off-year election since 1558. President John Kennedy's programs for Medicare, federal aid to education and others (such as his tax cut plan) would have suffered severe setbacks. And, while a Democratic victory in no way assures passage of these programs, it gives the Kennedy machine a foundation on which to build.
The big "If" shadowing Kennedyism hovers in both houses of the new 88th Congress, and that "If" will ultimately determine whether the New Frontier proposals will pass or fail.
What's the outlook when Congress convenes in January?
The 88th Congress will be more liberal in the Senate than the 87th and less conservative in the House. This is not to say, however, that the House is more liberal. It is just less conservative.
The House, always ready to give Kennedy trouble, will be a bit more congenial, but cannot be expected to wave Kennedy banners in wild enthusiasm. The President will have to win much more public support for his program than was evidenced in this year's election.
The Senate, which has given the President little trouble during the past two years, will give him less trouble in the next two. If the loss of major senatorial opponents such as Homer Capehart from Indiana rubs fear into other strong antagonists, then the Kennedy program may win enough support for approval.
During the first half of Kennedy's reign, the young leader reflected a sense of caution and conservatism in his actions. The President has been criticized by many in his own party, privately rather than publicly, for not taking a bold approach. These Democratic critics will be returning to Washington and are expected to urge him once again to take the bold approach and exploit the party victory. It is likely, however, that the President will interpret the elections as proof that his conservative tactics were correct.
By examining the probable outcome of several significant New Frontier measures, in both the House and Senate, some indication of the new Congress is discernible.
Medicare
Several other areas where the New Frontier may run into opposition are:
Medicare will, no doubt, again be the most controversial issue on the JFK agenda. The Senate did not actually debate and vote on the Medicare issue in the last session. A motion to table, and thus kill, the Anderson-Javits proposal passed by a vote of 52-48.
- Farm Program — Kennedy's last farm proposal was defeated in the 87th Congress. A new, watered-down version may avoid the harsh criticism its predecessor had.
- Civil Rights - Republican gubernatorial victories in key states having large Negro populations may have added impetus to the demands that Kennedy sign the anti-segregation bill for federal housing.
Tax Cut
to the House floor. The vigorous opposition of Republicans, some conservative Democrats and the American Medical Association will determine the outcome of the bill.
Using the voting records on this motion and adding the expected votes of the new senators, it appears that the president of the Senate, Lyndon B. Johnson, may have to break a tie when the measure comes up for consideration. As in the last session, all 100 senators will probably vote on the issue. If that happens, assuming there are no changes in voting from the motion to table the bill, there will be a 50-50 tie.
As might be expected, the more conservative House will be a big stumbling block in getting the Medicare bill into the President's hands. The bill died in a House committee in 1960.
- House Rules Committee—Administration supporters will seek to enlarge this committee when Congress convenes. In the past, it has been an obstacle to many Kennedy programs. The battle to enlarge it may be the biggest fight in the new Congress.
Such a program, acceptable to both labor and business, seems an impossibility. What's more, the two lawmakers who will have the most control over the final outcome — Rep. Wilbur Mills, D-Ark., chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee, and Sen. Robert Kerr, Oklahoma millionaire who wields tremendous influence in the Senate Finance Committee — have qualms about public reaction to tax cuts when the government is running in the red.
President Kennedy already has made it plain that he will seek across-the-board cuts in individual and corporation income taxes. He will ask Congress to offset part of the revenue losses by plugging existing tax "loopholes." It is the President's belief that no significant cut in unemployment is possible until business receives a tax cut.
The big question, then, is whether the measure will even make it
Aid to Education
Thus, after an examination of the likely New Frontier issues to come before the 88th Congress, it can be said that while the Kennedy administration may find Congress a little more cooperative, there is nothing for the Kennedyites to get cocky about. Most New Frontier measures will probably meet with heated opposition, and, perhaps, barring a sudden reversal in political thinking, the President has another two year-battle on his hands.
There is little doubt among political prognosticators that Kennedy will again try to win support for federal assistance to colleges and universities. Although both chambers passed bills for aid to higher education last session, they were unable to agree on a single version. Unless the administration can find some way to resolve the religious controversies surrounding these programs, the request for aid to public elementary and secondary schools is foredoomed.
Arthur C. Miller is a senior in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the William Allen White School of Journalism at KU. He also is working for the Kansas City bureau of United Press International.
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