FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION 9/ 



him during the period when estimates are being prepared. It 

 is the duty of this bureau official to assemble the estimates 

 and arrange them for inspection by the chief of bureau. 

 This done, they are then revised and put in form for trans- 

 mission to the supervisor of estimates. After examination 

 by the Secretary and his assistants, they are put in final form 

 and transmitted to the Treasury Department to be incor- 

 porated in the book of estimates. It is in this form that 

 they are transmitted to Congress. 



Section seven of an act of March 4, 1909, provides that : 



If the estimates for appropriations, . . . shall exceed the estimated 

 revenues the Secretary of the Treasury shall transmit the estimates 

 to Congress as heretofore required by law, and at once transmit a 

 detailed statement of all of said estimates to the President, to the 

 end that he may, in giving Congress information of the state of the 

 Union and in recommending to their consideration such measures 

 as he may judge necessary, advise the Congress how, in his judg- 

 ment, the estimated appropriations could with least injury to the 

 public service be reduced so as to bring the appropriations within 

 the estimated revenues; or, if such reduction be not in his judgment 

 practicable without undue injury to the public service, that he may 

 recommend to Congress such loans or new taxes as maj^ be neces- 

 sary to cover the deficiencj'." 



This is the only statutory provision requiring or author- 

 izing the executive branch to exercise any supervision over 

 the estimates as a whole. Even this is merely an advisory 

 power and is exercised, if at all, after the original esti- 

 mates have been transmitted to Congress. It was, however, 

 used with notable effect during the period of declining rev- 

 enues following the outbreak of war in Europe in 1914. 



As head of the administrative department of the govern- 

 ment, the President may, of course, exercise a very salutary 

 influence over his subordinates in the general policies to be 

 followed in the preparation of estimates. No doubt this has 

 often been done. 



Of the fifteen regular or usual appropriation bills which 

 are annually submitted to the House of Representatives, 

 only six are prepared by the Committee on Appropriations. 

 The remainder are prepared and submitted by various other 



«35 Stat. L. 1027. 

 7 



