from Financial Times 2/9/63
Dempite the hopes aroused by the test ban agreement, Congress seems likely to approve President Kennedy's requests for funds to provide fall=out prot ection throughout the nation. The House Armed Services Committee has overwhelmingly approved a bill that would approprictoe some 200m, for building a national network of fall-out shelters, This will be one of the first items of bisiness before the House of Representatives when it returns from tho * Labour Day holiday.
“hile there is no feeling of urgency behind the bill - fall-out shelter tuilders have been doing poor bisinoss for the past year -— it seems to be widely accepted that the U.S. must be prepared for the eventuality of miclear war, The bill will provide 175m. for the establishment of shelter facilities in public buildings such as schools and minicipeal officas, providing protection for about llm. people. ‘Some 7Om. shelter spaces have been olroady marked and made available in existing tildings, The rest of the funds will be used to provide protection in Federal buildings ond to make a further study of shelter noeds.
The authorisation is for one year only, instead of the five-year $2,000m. programme that had originally been proposed by the idministration, There had been fears that such a long-term programme would be seriously open to abuse by contractors and it was strongly opposed by the House Appropriations Committee. —, This committee which controls Government expenditure, is not yot committed to supr ort of the more limited Eill now under consideration, but its supporters seen confident of succesa,