The Cliffhanger

Once upon a time the U.S. Senate Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee sat down to begin hearings on the confirmation of Lewis L. Strauss, former chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission and one of the ablest and thorniest figures in U.S. public life, as Secretary of Commerce. At that time an informal poll of the committee members showed that Strauss would win committee approval by a vote of 14-3. Last week, two months and 1,739 rancorous pages of testimony later, Strauss finally did win the committee's approval--by a cliffhanging vote of 9-8 (the squeaking majority came from the six committee Republicans, plus Democrats John Pastore of Rhode Island, Frank Lausche of Ohio and Strom Thurmond of South Carolina).

Most of Strauss's troubles were caused by New Mexico's Democratic Senator Clinton Anderson, senior Senate member of the Joint Congressional Committee on Atomic Energy and a longtime Strauss foe, who filled page after page of the hearing record with charges of extraordinary bitterness. But Lewis Strauss contributed to his own problems: despite his obvious abilities as a public servant, he made a poor witness, angered Democrats with his argumentativeness. embarrassed Republicans with his evasiveness.

With his confirmation moving to the Senate floor, Strauss was still in deep trouble. Clint Anderson was working furiously against him, had made the Strauss case a Democratic confidence vote in Anderson himself. Lewis Strauss, no man to sit idle, was doing his own spadework. dropping in on Senators' offices to enlist support. An informal tally last week showed 46 Senators favoring Strauss, 45 against--and seven key votes undecided. Among those undecided was Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson, whose decision might well make the difference. But Johnson was in no hurry to make up his mind: he planned to study the long hearing record this week, probably will bring the Strauss confirmation to a vote next week.

Also in Congress last week: P: The Senate and House passed separate wheat bills, both opposed by the Eisenhower Administration. The Senate pegged price supports at 65% of parity for farmers who plant full allotments, 75% for a 10% acreage cut, 85% for a 20% cut. It also set $35,000 as the maximum individual payment in any calendar year. The House offered a choice of planting full acreage at 50% of parity, or 75% of acreage at 90%, made $50,000 the maximum payment. Agriculture Department experts estimated that the Senate bill would cost an additional $150 million to $200 million, the House bill $110 million. The U.S., with no acceptable legislation in sight, could prepare for another scandalous surplus.

P: The House authorized (294-128) a total of $480,500,000 to be spent next fiscal year on civilian space research and exploration.

P: The Senate, by voice vote, passed a bill to increase federal income taxes on U.S. insurance companies from $319 million this year to $500 million. The bill had the endorsement of 34 life insurance companies who write 70% of U.S. life insurance. They would have had to pay even more under an old tax formula, which was to take effect again this year when current stopgap formulas expire.

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