February 16, 1966
Page 3028
AMENDMENTS TO PUBLIC LAW 86 -- AN ACT TO ESTABLISH AN ADVISORY COMMISSION ON INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, the Subcommittee on Intergovernmental Relations, of which I am the chairman, recently released its "Report on the 5-Year Record of the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations." This survey was based on hearings held by the House and Senate Subcommittees on Intergovernmental Relations in May 1965 on the operations of the Commission. Those proceedings revealed that the Commission has achieved a high level of competence and productivity in its continuing and vital study of problems affecting intergovernmental relations at the Federal, State, and local levels. The Commission, composed of members from all levels of government, has developed a reputation for sound legislative recommendations and meticulous staff work. This was attested to by some 19 witnesses, among them the senior Senator from South Dakota and the senior Senator from North Carolina, as well as 47 of the 56 reports and statements submitted by State and local officials and organizations, professional and public interest groups, and other interested individuals.
I shall not attempt here to summarize the accomplishments of the Commission; the report of the subcommittee details this record thoroughly. But it should be remembered that the far-reaching economic and social legislation of the past 5 years cannot be realized unless and until we have improved intergovernmental machinery to provide a high degree of coordination and cooperation among administrators and programs at all levels of government. It is precisely in this area that the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations is making a vital contribution.
During the course of the hearings last year, several witnesses suggested changes in Public Law 86-380, the act which established the Commission in 1959. The subcommittee has studied these suggestions and recommends five for consideration by the Congress. These have been incorporated in the bill which I am presenting today.
Most of these changes are minor and of a corrective or procedural nature.
First, changes in names of two organizations named in the original act require correction.
Second, an amendment is proposed which will allow a member of the Commission to serve until his reappointment, or until his successor is appointed. This will eliminate gaps in the Commission at those times when there are delays in appointments and reappointments to the Commission.
Third, an amendment is proposed to set the salary of the Executive Director of the Commission at level IV of the Federal Executive Salary Act of 1964. This would be equal to salaries paid to such Federal positions as members of regulatory commissions, assistant departmental secretaries, and the Chairman of the Tariff Commission, and would conform with the original intent of legislation which set the Executive Director's salary at a level comparable with the heads of small Federal agencies.
Fourth, a minor change in the wording of the original act concerning compensation of Commission members who are not full-time Federal, State or local officials is proposed. Use of the word "shall" in the original act has resulted, in at least one instance, in a mandatory construction by a State attorney general which prevented a State legislator from accepting appointment on the Commission.
Finally, a fifth proposal would permit State and local governments and their organizations, as well as interested nonprofit organizations, to contribute funds toward supporting the operation of the Commission.
The bill has been recommended by the subcommittee and incorporates these five changes. I believe it will strengthen the Advisory Commission in its continuing work of resolving critical Federal, State, and local questions.
I ask unanimous consent that the bill be printed in the RECORD.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The bill will be received and appropriately referred; and, without objection, the bill will be printed in the RECORD.
The bill (S. 2927) to amend the act entitled "An act to establish an Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations," approved September 24, 1959, introduced by Mr. MUSKIE, was received, read twice by its title, referred to the Committee on Government Operations, and ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows: