1950: United States

A summary of the legislative, judicial, and political events of 1950 in the United States is presented below. Detailed articles on other aspects of the national scene and on the United States in world affairs appear under separate headings.

CONGRESS

When the second regular session of the 81st Congress convened on Jan. 3, 1950, the Democrats controlled both branches, with 262 members in the House of Representatives and 54 in the Senate. The Republicans had 169 in the House and 42 in the Senate. The House also contained one American Laborite, and there were three vacancies. However, neither major party was free of factions. As many as 20 Southern Democratic Senators and 100 Southern Democratic Representatives in the House were expected to join the Republicans in opposition to much of the Truman domestic program, and even some Northern Democrats could be expected to break party ranks. The Republicans were also divided between liberals and Old Guard on domestic issues, and between isolationists and those who supported a bipartisan policy in foreign affairs.

The Truman Program.

'State of the Union.'

In his 'State of the Union' message and in his economic report, President Truman outlined the broad features of the legislation he hoped Congress would enact, although little of it was new. As was expected, he urged repeal of the Taft-Hartley Act, passage of the Brannan Plan to aid farmers, extension of rent controls, middle-income housing, public power development of the St. Lawrence and Columbia rivers, compulsory health insurance, civil rights legislation, Federal aid to education, and expanded social security. In foreign affairs he asked for a three-year appropriation for the European Recovery Program (E.R.P.), military assistance to the Atlantic Treaty partners, and the Point Four Program for technical and capital aid to the world's underdeveloped areas.

Budget.

The budget was the second largest in peace-time history and totaled $42.4 billion against an estimated income of $37.3 billion. Seventy-one per cent or nearly $36 billion was earmarked for national defense, foreign aid, veterans' benefits, and interest on the largely war-incurred debt. Domestic items called for an expenditure of $12.5 billion. The President predicted that the Federal deficit would reach $5.5 billion in 1950 and $5.1 billion in 1951.

Tax Message.

In his tax message the President suggested a 'package' bill to cut excises and also prevent any net loss in revenue by closing certain loopholes in present tax laws. He also recommended changes in taxes on corporate income, estates, and gifts which would 'yield about one billion dollars in net additional revenue.'

Congressional Reactions.

Soon after the opening of Congress, in the face of Republican opposition, President Truman's top lieutenants conceded that he had already lost any possibility of having his way on three major planks in his Fair Deal platform: repeal of the Taft-Hartley Act, enactment of compulsory health insurance, and substitution of the Brannan Plan for the current farm price-support program.

Rent Control.

In order to prevent a 'wave of exorbitant rent increases' which would seriously affect purchasing power, sales, and employment, President Truman urged the extension of rent controls beyond the expiration date, June 30. Various groups such as the veterans, labor, tenants, and consumers supported the extension, while property and real estate interests opposed it on the ground that the housing shortage was 'no longer national in scope.' During the debate on the law's extension Sen. Harry Cain of Washington attempted a one-man filibuster against it, once holding the floor over 12 hours without avail. Senator Wherry's attempt to bury the bill in committee lost. The bill was designed to extend Federal controls through Dec. 31, 1950, and give individual cities the option of continuing them another six months if so desired. The final Senate vote favored the measure 36 to 28 and was then approved by the House 202 to 163. After a conference by both houses to iron out minor differences, the measure was signed by the President.

Civil Rights.

One of the major pieces of legislation recommended by President Truman was the enactment of a civil rights measure. He pledged that his Senate leaders would fight all summer if necessary to get a favorable vote and stated that members of Congress should be forced to stand up and be counted on the issue. Sen. William Langer of North Dakota attempted to get the measure added as an amendment to the oleo repeal bill. It was felt that most Northern Democrats and Republicans, committed to civil rights, would be forced to favor the amendments, while the Southerners would be compelled either to abandon their oleo fight or allow civil rights legislation to pass without a filibuster. The Democrats, however, refused to allow the two issues to be joined, and Langer's amendments were defeated by three-to-one majorities.

Fair Employment Practices Commission.

Led by Eugene Cox of Georgia, an attempt was also made to change the House rules in order to block the F.E.P.C. bill and the entire Fair Deal program. Southern Democrats and Republicans, who had a majority on the Rules Committee, favored the change. They wished to restore the old authority by which the House Rules Committee determined what bills would reach the floor for debate. The new rule allowed legislation to be brought to the floor after the committee had had it for 21 days, provided the Speaker recognize the chairman of the committee that put up the bill originally. The joint effort failed, however, because 64 Republicans deserted party leadership and joined the Administration Democrats to defeat the attempt by 236 to 183. Speaker Sam Rayburn, therefore, had the final decision on the question of bringing up the bill. John S. Lesinski of Michigan, chairman of the Labor Committee, tried to gain recognition, but Rayburn ignored him, which temporarily sidetracked the bill. The Northern Democrats then attempted to gain the signatures of 218 members to bring the measure to the floor.

When it was finally brought up, numerous delaying tactics were used, including a flood of amendments. One of the most important amendments, that of Samuel J. McConnell, Jr., of Pennsylvania, was to substitute a voluntary F.E.P.C. for the old Administration measure by setting up a fair employment commission without enforcement powers, only the power to investigate and recommend. Southerners joined with 104 Republicans to put the Administration measure aside in favor of the McConnell substitute by a vote of 221 to 118, but the final vote was postponed after a night session lasting 15 hours. When the vote was taken the next day, 240 voted for the watered-down bill, against 177, including the Southerners, against it. It was a major defeat for the Administration.

Meanwhile, in the Senate, 18 Southern Democratic Senators had banded together to 'fight to the end' against the F.E.P.C., but other Senators had been just as determined to have the measure passed. A resolution to enforce closure lost, 55 to 33, with 22 Democrats and 33 Republicans voting for, and 27 Democrats and 6 Republicans against. It was thus apparent that the measure was doomed to defeat in the 81st Congress.

Oleomargarine.

In the first session of the 81st Congress the House had passed a bill repealing Federal taxes on oleomargarine, but the Senate had failed to act. However, it came up early in the second session. The measure would wipe out the 10-cent-per-pound tax on yellow colored oleo. Senator Fulbright was one of the leaders in the fight for repeal. Various attempts were made to kill repeal, including several amendments, such as the one backed by a group of Senators from dairy states to prohibit shipment of yellow margarine in interstate commerce. By 59 to 20 the Senate approved repeal, which had been approved by the House, 262 to 106. Since President Truman had campaigned in 1948 on the promise to repeal the taxes, his signature was inevitable.

Constitutional Amendment Proposed.

The Senate approved a constitutional amendment drastically revising the system of presidential election by continuing the present apportionment of electoral votes but without choosing actual electors. The electoral vote of each state would be apportioned according to its popular vote and would require a candidate to have at least 40 per cent of the electoral vote to win. If no one received such a percentage, then the Senate and House, sitting together, would choose the President from the two top candidates. Senate approval was by a scant necessary two-thirds margin, 64 to 27. The Democrats had backed the measure almost unanimously, but the Republicans were divided, with Henry Cabot Lodge leading its supporters, and Taft at the head of the opposition. When the amendment came up in the house, it failed to win even a simple majority.

Loyalty Hearings.

Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy of Wisconsin, a chief critic of Secretary of State Dean Acheson, charged that 57 card-carrying Communists were or had been recently employed in the State Department. Although no names were mentioned at first, McCarthy's figure was later revised to 80, and the Senate voted unanimously to investigate the charges. Maryland's Sen. Millard E. Tydings promised 'neither a witch hunt nor a whitewash.' Deputy Under Secretary of State for Administration John Peurifoy had admitted that since 1947 some 202 out of 17,000 State Department employees had resigned in loyalty investigations. Although two had been discharged as security risks, none had been dismissed on the basis of nonloyalty.

Lattimore Investigation.

McCarthy finally declared that he would allow his case to stand or fall on the evidence against one man, Owen J. Lattimore, director of the School of International Relations of Johns Hopkins University. F.B.I. Director J. Edgar Hoover testified in behalf of Lattimore, who at one time had been employed briefly by the State Department as a special agent in Japan, and who had often been an adviser on Far Eastern affairs. Hoover flatly denied that Lattimore had ever 'advocated or supported the cause of communism either within the United States, in China, in the Far East or anywhere in the world,' even though Louis Budenz, a former high Communist Party official, had accused him of being a member of a Communist cell. Lattimore was finally and completely cleared of all charges by the Senate subcommittee under Tydings. Sen. Bourke Hickenlooper, a Republican committee member from Iowa, refused to accept the blanket endorsement of the majority.

Congressional Opinions and Tydings Report.

The McCarthy controversy continued in and out of Congress for the remainder of the year, with his Republican colleagues divided as to the wisdom of his tactics. Early in June seven Republican senators issued a 'Declaration of Conscience' in which the McCarthy tactics were denounced and repudiated. The document was signed by Smith of Maine, Ives of New York, Tobey of New Hampshire, Aiken of Vermont, Hendrickson of New Jersey, Thye of Minnesota, and Morse of Oregon, all members of the liberal faction of the party.

After several weeks of investigation and three million words of testimony, the Democratic majority on the Tydings subcommittee issued a report which denounced McCarthy's tactics and underwrote the loyalty of the State Department. All of McCarthy's charges were repudiated. The report also urged a careful restudy of the principle of congressional immunity. McCarthy called the report 'a green light to the red fifth column in the United States.' A minority report, signed by Henry Cabot Lodge, severely criticized the Democratic members of the committee for 'lacking impartiality,' and branded the whole investigation 'superficial and inconclusive.' Senator Hickenlooper signed neither report, since he felt the investigation had been 'completely inadequate.' The Senate finally voted 45 to 37 to accept the Tydings report, which seemed to put an end to further investigations.

Internal Security.

One of the direct results of the McCarthy episode, however, was the strengthening of internal security. Shortly after the outbreak of hostilities in Korea there was widespread feeling in the United States for stronger laws guaranteeing the internal security of the country. In view of this, the President sent a message to Congress in which he asked that the statute of limitations in espionage cases be extended and that the Justice Department be given authority to check more closely on deportable aliens. In addition, he recommended that new authority be created for guarding military installations, and that the law dealing with aliens trained in espionage be strengthened.

Mundt-Ferguson Bill.

In Congress, however, there was general belief that the President's recommendations did not go far enough. The Mundt-Ferguson bill, supported by most Republicans and many Democrats, went far beyond and aroused the opposition of the President. It set up a three-man board to decide what organizations are 'Communist political' or 'Communist front' and required these organizations to list officers and file financial reports. It denied passports to their members and prohibited their use of the mails or radio unless the material was labeled Communist in origin. All such groups were required to list all their members' names and addresses. President Truman declared that the bill was a threat to everyone's free speech and would drive the Communists underground while not injuring their organization, but the House passed the measure by an overwhelming vote, 354 to 20.

McCarran Bill.

Sen. Pat McCarran of Nevada introduced an even more sweeping bill. In order to defeat it Administration leaders presented an alternate bill which proposed that Communists and other possible subversives be placed in detention camps during war emergencies, but this was defeated 45 to 29. Later the detention camp provision was placed in the McCarran bill, which passed 70 to 7. As was to be expected, President Truman vetoed the measure, with a 5,000-word warning, but the House immediately overrode the veto without a word of debate by 286 to 48. In the Senate, however, action was not quite as hasty, and a filibuster against the bill was attempted by Senator Langer. Truman's own Senate lieutenant, Scott Lucas of Illinois, who had originally voted for the bill, indicated that he would vote to override the veto. The next day the Senate voted 57 to 10 to override the President's veto, and the McCarran measure became law.

Executive Branch Reorganization.

In line with the proposals made by the Commission on the Reorganization of the Government (Hoover Commission), President Truman submitted to Congress 21 new proposals which covered about 20 per cent of the Hoover recommendations. Unless voted down by either house of Congress they would go into effect in 60 days. These proposals would (1) transfer statutory powers to the heads of the Treasury, Justice, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, and Labor departments; and (2) transfer to the chairmen of the National Labor Relations Board and the Civil Aeronautics Board and 5 commissions (such as Interstate Commerce, Federal Trade, Federal Power, Securities and Exchange, and Federal Communications) administrative authority now held by the members collectively.

Opposition and Approvals.

Two of the proposed plans encountered strong opposition. One was to place the Comptroller of the Currency directly under the control of the Secretary of the Treasury, a move which was killed by the Senate, 65 to 13. The other proposed that the post of general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board be abolished and authority be placed in the chairman of the board. The Senate also killed this, 53 to 30. By the end of May the President had submitted 25 plans for reorganization. Twenty-one of them would have become law by May 24 unless Congress had taken negative action on them. At the time of the deadline, the Senate had killed 5 and approved 6, and the remaining 10 became law without Senate action. This meant that about 35 per cent of the Hoover Commission recommendations had been put into effect. The most important of the plans were the creation of the General Services Administration, the reorganization of the State Department, and the plan to abolish the Maritime Commission. Later the Senate killed Plan 24, which was to have placed the now independent Reconstruction Finance Corporation (R.F.C.) under the Department of Commerce. But it did approve Plan 22 to transfer the Federal National Mortgage Association from the R.F.C. to the Housing and Home Finance Agency. The House also killed, 249 to 71, the plan which was to have created a welfare department.

Displaced Persons.

After a 13-hour session in which 130 amendments were offered and 20 roll calls were taken, the Senate, 58 to 15, approved the Kilgore bill liberalizing the admission of displaced persons (D.P.'s) into the United States along much the same lines as a bill which had passed the House the previous year. The Senate version called for various changes in the Displaced Persons Act of 1948. It allowed increases in total admissions from 205,000 to 341,000, removed the provisions that 40 per cent of the D.P.'s must be from the Baltic countries and 30 per cent farmers, and made it possible for more Catholics and Jews to be admitted. The 1948 act was extended for another year, and the total to be admitted, including all categories, was 359,000.

Housing.

In accordance with President Truman's recommendations, Congress attempted to pass a new housing measure to help middle-income families earning $2,800 to $4,400 per year. The plan called for the Government to grant loans to housing co-operatives, a provision branded as socialistic by its opponents. An amendment by John W. Bricker of Ohio to drop the co-operative section from the general housing bill was carried by a vote of 43 to 38. As amended, the bill was passed in both houses by a voice vote. In general it provided $4 billion for the Government loans, but was without the co-operative features.

Natural Gas.

President Truman vetoed the controversial Kerr gas bill, which would have exempted from Federal price regulations so-called independent producers not affiliated with pipelines. Speaker Rayburn had supported the Kerr bill, and so did Senator Connally. The President said that he was opposed to the bill because the nature of the product makes it vital for the Federal Power Commission to have authority to regulate sales of natural gas by independent producers, which supply more than 80 per cent of all gas produced. There was no serious attempt to pass the bill over the veto.

Statehood for Alaska and Hawaii.

The House approved bills for statehood for both Alaska and Hawaii. Both the Democratic and Republican party platforms had endorsed statehood for the two areas, but the Senate failed to act in this session of Congress.

Social Security.

In 1949 the House passed, 333 to 14, a bill to liberalize the Social Security law. The Senate failed to act in the first session of the 81st Congress, but the issue came up again in 1950 when the Senate Finance Committee approved a bill more liberal in some respects than the House version. Eligibility requirements were lowered and benefits were to be increased about 90 per cent. About 8.3 million additional persons would be covered. The Senate finally passed its version, 81 to 2, but some important adjustments had to be made in the two houses. The House finally approved a compromise measure. The section in controversy sharply cut down the authority of the Secretary of Labor to withhold unemployment compensation funds from a state when he holds that state's compensation system fails to meet Federal standards. The final roll call in the House on the acceptance of the compromise was 374 to 1, but it did not reflect sentiment on the disputed section. Most of the debate was on the Knowland section of the Senate measure, which provides that, if the Secretary of Labor so desires, he can stop payment to the state for 90 days. However, most of the difficulties were finally ironed out by the Conference Committee, and the bill was signed into law. It was approved by the Senate without dissent.

In its final version, the bill added almost 10,000,000 to the 35,000,000 persons already eligible for benefits. It increased old-age benefits by an average of 90 per cent, with the maximum individual pay up from $45 to $80 a month and the maximum family benefit from $85 to $150 a month. Coverage was extended to 5 million self-employed, 1 million full-time farm laborers, 1.4 million state and local government employees, 600,000 employees of nonprofit organizations, and several smaller groups of workers previously excluded. It froze the payroll tax on employers and employees at the present rate of 1½ per cent until 1954. After that it will increase gradually until it reaches 3¼ per cent in 1970. It also increases the maximum annual salary taxable for social security purposes from $3,000 to $3,600.

Economic Controls.

The House by a smashing 382 to 12 vote passed a bill to give President Truman a free hand to clamp on sweeping price-wage-rationing controls if he deemed it necessary. The measure went far beyond the powers the President had requested to control production and credit in view of the nation's preparedness drive following the outbreak of the Korean war. The legislators voted the extra standby authority against war inflation. The Senate approved controls, 85 to 3. Overriding administration opposition, the Senate wrote into the emergency measure a provision directing the President to put wage and price controls into effect simultaneously and virtually across the board if he invoked them at all.

Rivers and Harbors.

During the debates in the Senate on the $1.5-billion rivers and harbors appropriation bill, Douglas of Illinois offered amendment after amendment to slice considerable items which he branded as useless or wasteful, but he had almost no support except from Byrd of Virginia. By a vote of 53 to 19 the Senators approved the entire bill, and the House followed suit.

Appropriations.

General.

The House appropriations bill for 1950-1951 was one of the longest in history, calling for a total of $29 billion, which was a reduction of roughly 5 per cent from the President's request. Republicans strongly criticized the bill and indicated they would seek further reductions, but instead various amendments approved during House debates added $458 million, the largest item being $300 million for aircraft procurement. However, an 'economy bloc' drive canceled out $1 billion. The bill as a whole was then passed and sent to the Senate. The House action was considered a setback for the Administration.

Defense.

The bill recommended military expenditures of $12,465,000,000, a cut of $180,000,000 from the Administration request and $396 million less than that allocated for the previous year. Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson was probably largely responsible for the requests not being higher, since he insisted that 'trimming away the fat,' especially in the Defense Department's civil functions, would not impair the efficiency of the service. During debates on the defense portions, General Eisenhower was asked to testify regarding a statement he had recently made criticizing such cuts as were being suggested. He called for even a larger appropriation than the President had requested. But President Truman, while denying that there was any fundamental difference between him and Eisenhower, insisted that the recommendations which he had made in his budget message were sufficient, even though there was strong pressure to increase the appropriations, especially for the Air Force and the Navy and Marine air arms.

European Recovery Program and Point Four.

President Truman had requested $3.1 billion in new E.R.P. money and reappropriations of unexpended 1949-1950 funds. The House passed, 287 to 86, a bill that cut $250 million from the total, making the ceiling $2.85 billion. The Senate, 60 to 8, finally passed the bill authorizing $3,122,450,000 in foreign aid, after Point Four authorization was approved, 37 to 36, following the refusal of the Senate, 41 to 33, to shelve the plan altogether pending further study. Senator Taft's amendment to cut the measure $500 million lost by a tie vote, 36 to 36. Thus, the Foreign Assistance Act of 1950 was finally approved by large majorities, 247 to 88 in the House, and 47 to 27 in the Senate.

Omnibus Bill.

The Senate passed and sent to the President the Omnibus Appropriation bill, which called for $36.2 billion. It contained a directive to the White House to cut nondefense items by $550 million; it cut $77 million off the $763-million rivers and harbors section and directed that none of these projects should be undertaken unless they were ready for completion or contributed to the war effort. Altogether, as a result of the various appropriations, the nation faced a bill for 1951 of about $63 billion. This included $43 billion for defense and military aid, $2.5 billion for economic assistance, and $17.5 billion for domestic nonmilitary expenditures.

National Defense.

Immediate Measures.

Immediately after the Communist attack on South Korea on June 25, the House quickly approved a $653-million appropriation bill, which included a $50-million item for South Korea. The House also approved the one-year draft extension law, 315 to 4, and the Senate unanimously. The Senate rushed through the Mutual Defense Assistance Program, 66 to 0. The measure authorized another $1.2 billion to arm Western Europe and to provide at least $16 million more for Korea and the Philippines. The House approved it, 362 to 1, Vito Marcantonio opposing.

Additional Measures.

In order to meet the demands of the general world situation, the President submitted supplemental estimates of appropriation needs and asked that the strength of the armed forces be increased from 1,458,000 to 2,103,000. This would mean an extra defense appropriation of $10.5 billion, which would increase the defense budget for the fiscal year by nearly 80 per cent. Congress did not hesitate to grant the request.

Defense Production Act of 1950.

The President also repeated his request for authority to impose limited economic controls, including curbs on consumer and mortgage credit, power to establish priorities and allocations, especially on essential materials, and power to grant loans to industry for expanded production. While Senator Taft felt that the powers requested by the President were 'much too great,' Bernard M. Baruch, appearing before a congressional committee, urged an all-out mobilization with price, rent, and wage controls and rationing immediately. Baruch's proposals lost in the committee, 10 to 9. The President's recommendations were then accepted by the committee 20 to 1. The final vote in the House was 383 to 12. The measure, when passed, was called the Defense Production Act of 1950.

Tax Proposals.

Higher taxes were needed to meet the emergency in order to absorb some of the inflationary pressure and to help keep up mobilization requirements. President Truman declared that rearmament made a comprehensive tax revision necessary. He proposed two immediate rate increases. For individuals there would be a return to tax rates that had applied before the tax reductions of 1945 and 1948 and that would apply for the last quarter of the current year, when the basic withholding rate would rise from 15 to 18 per cent. This was expected to produce $3 billion in added revenue annually. The President proposed raising corporation rates from 25 to 45 per cent, applied retroactively for the entire year. This was to yield about $1.5 billion. With the closing of some loopholes, the annual increase for the entire program was estimated at about $5 billion.

Emergency Appropriations.

The Senate and House conferees agreed on an emergency defense bill carrying an estimated $17 billion to build up the U.S. military machine and help arm U.S. allies. The bill in its final form provided $3,166,403,000 for the Army, $3,734,291,000 for the Navy, and $4,450,400,000 for the Air Force. New war planes would total 5,300. An item of $79,000,000 was provided for the 'Voice of America' program to counteract the Soviet Union's propaganda. A huge $1,222,500,000 arms aid bill was signed by the President.

Special Session.

The 81st Congress, which had recessed September 23, reconvened for a special session on November 27. President Truman presented a five-point 'must' program, calling for a $50-million item to aid drought-stricken Yugoslavia, extension of rent controls, an excess-profits tax amounting to between $3 billion and $4 billion, statehood for Hawaii and Alaska, and a supplementary military appropriation. All except the statehood request were granted.

Excess-Profits Tax.

The major domestic item before the session was the excess-profits tax on corporations. The House-approved measure provided a 75 per cent tax on profits in excess of what it called normal, defining normal profits as 85 per cent of average profits for the best three years in the four-year period 1946-1949. Such profits would be taxable at the present top corporation income levy of 45 per cent. It was estimated that the tax would bring in around $3,300,000,000 from corporations in 1951. The Senate version called for increasing the surtax from 20 to 22 per cent, thus making the maximum combined normal and surtax paid by corporations 47 per cent. The House bill had left the present surtax rate unchanged. A compromise was effected which placed the excess profits at 77 per cent. The combined tax may not exceed 62 per cent of any company's income. Firms earning less than $25,000 are exempt from both taxes.

Rent Control.

One of the most important pieces of legislation requested by President Truman was the extension to March 31, of the rent control act, which would otherwise expire on December 31. Both Houses generally approved extension, but they differed on the question of whether it should be for 60 or 90 days, with the Senate favoring the shorter period. The Senate passed its bill by a vote of 55 to 28, and House passage came on a 221-152 roll call an hour later.

Proclamation of National Emergency.

On the evening of December 15 President Truman broadcast to the nation and announced that the next day he would issue a proclamation declaring a national emergency. He followed this by making appointments to top defense posts and asking Congress to restore certain World War II powers permitting him to adjust defense contracts and cope with other aspects of the mobilization program. Specifically, he requested the quick passage of legislation reviving authority he held under Titles One and Two of the first War Powers Act of 1941. Title One permitted him to 'create, consolidate, transfer or abolish' Federal agencies. Title Two allowed him to modify contracts to avoid 'undue delays in production.'

Civil Defense Program.

Following the recommendations of the President, the Senate and House conferees agreed on a three-year $3.1-billion civil defense program. The measure created the Civil Defense Agency under a civilian administrator, giving him authority to make preparations against enemy attacks, including construction of air-raid shelters, creating an attack warning system, and stockpiling vital materials. In case of a civil defense emergency, the President could grant the administrator practically unlimited powers to help a local target area. He could seize any equipment or facilities he needed to help the stricken locality, and he could mobilize almost all Federal activity for civil defense. These powers could be exercised without limitation by any other law. However, such an emergency could be proclaimed on a nation-wide basis only upon a formal presidential or congressional finding that an enemy attack had actually occurred or was anticipated. The measure also authorized the R.F.C. to lend municipal governments up to $250 million for building projects such as subways and underground parking garages which can serve as air-raid shelters. It provided for Federal grants to help pay for projects built entirely for civil defense. States would have to match Federal contributions.