Work Done

Congress was in a holiday mood. Only a few days of the session remained. But amidst the high jinks and the swan songs, the work ground on.

Last week the House:

P: Voted to raise eight top Army and Navy commanders to five-star rank (see ARMY & NAVY).

P: Tightened existing wartime anti-sabotage legislation, increasing the maximum sentence of a convicted saboteur to 30 years (old maximum: two years).

P: Increased its members' clerical budgets by $3,000, from $6,500 to $9,500 a year.

The Senate:

P: Confirmed the nomination of suave Career Man Alexander Kirk as Ambassador to Italy.

P: Extended the sweeping second War Powers Act to Dec. 31, 1945. The House passed this bill eight days earlier.

Both Houses:

P: Froze the Social Security tax at 1 % for 1945. This was the third time in three years that Congress has kept this tax from increasing to 2%, as provided in the original Social Security Act. It was also a defeat for Franklin Roosevelt, who had asked for the increase.

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