Illinois Congressmen's 

 Vote on Vital Issues 



Two of the most important domestic 

 issues considered by the second ses- 

 sion of the 79th Congress were the 

 extension of price control beyond June 

 30, 1946, and the Case and Hobbs labor 

 bills. 



Position of the Illinois Agricultural 

 Association on price control as set forth 

 in its policy resolutions at the 31st annual 

 meeting consisted of three major points; 

 controls should be applied equitably to 

 •industrial prices, farm commodities and 

 wages; all controls should be revoked as 

 -apidly as supplies come into reasonable 

 normal balance with demand, and con- 

 sumer subsidies should be removed as 

 rapidly as possible, and price ceilings 

 should be adjusted accordingly. 



The lAA board of directors on April 

 19, in support of this policy resolution, 

 issued a statement calling for the elimi- 

 nation of consumer food subsidies rapid- 

 ly and according to a definite schedule 

 terminating not later than Dec. 31, 1946, 

 adjustment of retail price ceilings to off- 

 >et the subsidy removal, removal of all 

 OPA controls, except possibly rent and 

 1 very few scarce items, by March 30, 

 1947, and adjustment in ceilings to re- 

 flect increased costs of production. 



Wolcott Amendment 



This position of the lAA on price con- 

 trol was embodied in several of the 

 imendments presented in the House 

 during the debate on the extension of 

 OPA beyond June 30, 1947. One of 

 these amendments was that introduced 

 by Representative Wolcott. It provided 

 for the liquidation of consumer subsidies 

 on a definite schedule and provided that 

 adjustment be made in ceiling prices in 

 lieu of such subsidy payments. The 

 amendment also provided the ceiling 

 prices would reflect all increases in cost 

 of production to producers incurred since 

 Jan. 1, 1941. The vote of Illinois repre- 

 sentatives on this amendment is printed 

 in the next column. This amendment 

 was adopted by a vote of 245 to 150. 



When the new OPA bill was being de- 

 bated in July, 1946, in the Senate, the 



lAA urged Illinois senators to support 

 the Reed amendment for the removal 

 of grain price controls and the Wherry 

 amendment for the removal of live- 

 stock price controls. The vote on these 

 two amendments by the Illinois Senators 

 are printed below. 



Case BUI 



Another important piece of legisla- 

 tion supported by the lAA was the Case 

 bill. Stated objectives of this bill were 

 to encourage settlement of disputes be- 



tween labor and management by collec- 

 tive bargaining and by conciliation, medi- 

 ation and voluntary arbitration, thereby 

 reducing strife, strikes, and lockouts. It 

 also was aimed at making labor unions 

 as responsible in fulfilling contracts as 

 industry. The measure passed the Sen- 

 ate by a vote of 49 to 20 and the House 

 by a vote of 230 to 106. It was vetoed 

 by the President June 11, and the House 

 failed to override his veto by a slim 

 margin of five votes. The voting rec- 

 ord on passage of the Case bill is pre- 

 sented below. 



While the Case bill failed to pass, the 

 Hobbs bill, supported by the lAA was 

 signed by the President July 3 and be- 

 came law. It was passed by a voice vote 

 in the Senate June 21, and had been 



?assed by the House on Dec. 12, 1945. 

 he Hobbs bill extends the Federal Anti- 

 Racketeering Act to intimidating practices 

 of labor unions, which previously had 

 been exempt. 



Another imjx>rtant measure which the 

 lAA supported, but which was defeated 



t 



The abbreviation "N.V." means not voting; the abbreviation "G.P." means 

 general pair, that is, position not made known, and the abbreviation "P.F." means 

 paired for, that is, in support of the measure. , , 



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L A. A. RECORD 



