ECONOMICS, BUSINESS, AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES

1972 2nd Session, 92nd Congress

American Telephone & Telegraph Co.: investigate (see bill S. 3060), 832.

832; January 24, 1972; Muskie is shown as an original cosponsor of S. 3060, a Harris (D- Oklahoma) bill intended to provide the Federal Communications Commission the resources to undertake a rate investigation of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company. Before 1984, when an antitrust action finally split it into multiple companies, there was only one U.S. phone company, A.T.&T., which manufactured, installed, and serviced all of the nation’s telephones. As a regulated monopoly, A.T.&T was nominally under the regulatory authority of the FCC, but at the end of 1971, the FCC voted to abandon a planned investigation of the phone company’s rates, in part claiming it lacked the resources to undertake such an investigation. At this period, the phone company was under increasing criticism for its high long-distance rates, its services and its influence over state utilities regulators.

Fire prevention and control: assist States in establishing systems for (see bill S. 963), 3749.

3749; February 14, 1972; Muskie is added as a cosponsor of S. 963, a Montoya (D- New Mexico) bill to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture (through the Forest Service) to cooperate with and provide financial and other help to states and other public bodies to help prevent and control fires in rural areas.

Milk: support at not less than 90 per cent of parity price (see bill S. 3195), 5737

5737; February 28, 1972; Muskie is added as a cosponsor to a Mondale bill, S. 3195, to provide price support for milk at not less than 90 percent of the parity price. Efforts by the Nixon administration to reduce the parity price for milk in the prior year had been reversed when the President decided to use such a policy reversal to demand campaign funds from three dairy industry groups, a fact that became known with the 1996 release of Watergate-related Nixon tapes: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/nixon/103097milk.htm. The Nixon parity milk price was set at 85 percent.

Wheat and Wheat Foods Research, Education and Promotion Act: enact (see bill S. 3276), 6178.

6178; March 1, 1972; Muskie is listed as one of the original cosponsors of S. 3276, a Dole (R- Kansas) bill to enable wheat producers processors and end-product manufacturers to finance and administer a coordinated program of research, education, and promotion to maintain and expand markets for wheat and wheat products for use as human foods within the U.S. Dole billed this as an industry-led effort to recover market share for wheat products.

Rural areas: establish job-producing industrial and commercial establishments in (see bill S. 346), 6789.

6789; March 3, 1971; Muskie is added as a cosponsor to S. 346, a Pearson (R- Kansas) bill to develop incentives to establish commercial and industrial establishments in rural areas as a means of creating more job opportunities.

Wheat and feed grain programs: require advance payments to producers participating in (see bill S. 3293), 8245.

8245; March 6, 1972; Muskie is added as a cosponsor to a Mondale (D- Minnesota) bill to reinstate an agriculture policy which the Nixon administration had set aside in 1970, under which farmers who agreed to participate in the set-aside program received approximately half of their funding immediately after planting in spring, for a savings in interest payments on the loans they otherwise were forced to take out for planting. Wheat and feed grain prices were unusually low in 1971.

Story of the Maine Forest Fire Disaster, A. H. Wilkins, Journal of Forestry, 20221.

Northeastern Forest Fire Protection Compact: anniversary, 20221, 20223-20224

Maine: 1947 forest fire, 20221, 20223-20226.

Quebec Joinder, A. E. Eckes, American Forests, 20224.

New Brunswick Joins Fire Compact, 20225.

Table: Forest Fire statistics, 20226.

20221; June 8, 1972; Muskie makes a statement describing the Northeastern Forest Compact, an agreement between northern New England states and some Canadian provinces to jointly train for fire fighting in the region, an agreement that arose in the wake of a disastrous Maine fire in 1947.

News and scientific and educational matter: encourage dissemination through the mails (see bill S. 3758), 24948.

24948; July 24, 1972; Muskie is added as a cosponsor to S. 3758, a Nelson (D- Wisconsin) bill providing favorable second-class mailing rates to magazines and newspapers. This bill was a reaction to the recently-created U.S. Postal Service’s plan to increase second-class mailing rates by 143 percent over five years; the Nelson bill would have retained current rates for the first 250,000 copies of any journal or paper mailed, and then would have phased in increases over a 10 year period.

Oil Imports: U.S. flag vessels, 25462.

Maritime programs: bill (H.R. 13321), to authorize appropriations for certain, 25462

25462; July 26, 1972; During debate on H.R. 13321, authorizing maritime programs, Muskie announces he will vote against a Committee amendment which would require that at least 50% of all imported crude oil be carried in U.S.-flag tankers. The oil cargo preference provision in the bill was opposed by the major oil companies, which built and used tankers flying flags of convenience, but Muskie opposed it because higher-cost American ships would raise the cost of crude oil, particularly for the New England region, to which all crude oil was transported by tankers.

Commercial fishing vessels: compensation for damages caused by foreign vessel (see bill S. 3771), 26655.

26655; August 3, 1971; Muskie is added as a cosponsor to S. 3771, a bipartisan bill introduced by the Senators from Massachusetts, Senators Kennedy and Brooke, to establish a $5 million fund for the purpose of compensating U.S. commercial fishing vessel owners for damages to their boats or gear caused by foreign owned vessels. The immediate cause of this bill was the case of a Gloucester, Mass., fisherman named Louis Biondi, whose boat was sunk by an East German fishing vessel.

Fishing vessels: compensation for damage to U.S., 28679

Foreign Fishing vessels: damage caused by, 28679

28679; August 17, 1972; Muskie makes a statement describing the shortcomings of the existing system to compensate fishermen for damage to their boats or gear caused by foreign flag vessels, and points out that the bill he cosponsors would provide for direct government compensation, replacing the existing system under which the U.S. government was first required to apply to the foreign government for compensation and then, if denied, could only reduce the foreign aid assistance to the country involved. Following the 1967 signing of the Convention on Conduct of Fishing Operations in the North Atlantic, increasing numbers of Soviet and East European fishing vessels began making their appearance in traditional U.S. fishing waters, and by the early 1970s, clashes with U.S. fishermen had became more common.

Farm Agency Charges Groups Tried To Rig Potato Futures Prices, Wall Street Journal, 30702.

Chicago Mercantile Exchange: manipulation of price of potato futures on, 30702.

Potato futures: manipulation of prices, 30702.

30702; September 14, 1972; Citing a news story about the attempt of several potato producers and processors to manipulate the price of potatoes on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Muskie notes that this example of attempts to artificially drive down potato prices is a good reason to ban potato futures trading altogether, as his bill would do.

ENERGY

1972 2nd Session, 92nd Congress

Rural electrification program for 1972: appropriations for (see S. Res. 232), 2308.

2308; February 2, 1972; Muskie is added as a cosponsor to S. Res. 232, a Chiles (D- Florida) resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that the remainder of the appropriated funds for the rural electrification program for fiscal 1972 be immediately released by the Office of Management and Budget. This impoundment of $107 million in appropriated funds was one of several similar efforts, where the Nixon administration did not wish to formally veto an authorizing or appropriations bill, but instead tried to deny program funds, which could be done quietly and by executive order.

Dickey-Lincoln School Project, by, 23566.

23566; June 30, 1972; During debate on H.R. 15586, the water and power development and the Atomic Energy Commission appropriations bill, the manager of the bill, Senator Stennis (D-Mississippi), asks that a statement by Muskie about the Dickey-Lincoln hydroelectric project be printed in Muskie’s absence. The statement makes the point that opposition to the project by the House has prevented an important source of power in New England from coming on line.

ENVIRONMENT, NATURAL RESOURCES, WILDLIFE

1972 2nd Session, 92nd Congress

Noise Pollution Control Act of 1972: enact (see bill S. 3342), 8224.

8224; March 14, 1972; Muskie is a cosponsor, with Senator Tunney (D- California) of S. 3342, the Noise Pollution Control Act of 1972. A provision of the 1970 Clean Air Act had authorized a one-year study of noise pollution, and this bill was the result of that study’s findings, which outlined the human health effects of excessive noise and the fact that technological controls on most forms of noise pollution were already available.

Supersonic aircraft: landing rights and noise and boom limitations, (see S. Res. 284), 9444.

9444; March 22, 1972; Muskie is listed as one of three Senators, with Cranston (D- California) and Pell (D- Rhode Island), introducing a resolution, S. Res. 284, expressing the sense of the Senate that any treaty granting U.S. landing rights to supersonic airplanes must be in compliance with noise limits for all other aircraft, and that no sonic boom be permitted over U.S. territory or within 3 miles of the coast. At this time, the U.S.-supported SST airplane proposal had been abandoned, but the British-French consortium developing the Concorde supersonic airplane had continued its work and it was clear that its primary route would be transatlantic.

Aircraft noise levels: minimum (see S. Res. 285,288), 9445, 10428.

Supersonic aircraft: relating to sonic booms (see S. Res. 289), 10428.

9445; March 22, 1972; Muskie is shown along with Senators Cranston (D-California) and Pell (D- Rhode Island) introducing a resolution, S. Res. 285, expressing the sense of the Senate that U.S. negotiators at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) shall take the negotiating position that all subsonic aircraft flown in international commerce meet noise levels established by the ICAO in the previous year. The development and widespread adoption of jet aircraft for civilian flights, along with expansion of the U.S. air fleet, was at this time creating a severe and widespread conflict between residents living near airports and the industry, and in several cases, the courts were ordering cities to buy up and eliminate the housing in the flight path approaching major airports. The potential cost to the cities of complying with such orders was set against the expensive but known technological capability of retrofitting existing airplanes so as to dramatically reduce their engine and exhaust noise.

10428; March 28, 1972; Two moderately revised Senate resolutions, S. Res. 288 and S. Res. 289, governing, respectively, the International Civil Aviation Organization’s noise standards and sonic booms from supersonic aircraft were reintroduced by Muskie, along with Senators Cranston (D-California) and Pell (D-Rhode Island).

Wisconsin Resources Conservation Council, by, 10322

10322; March 27, 1972; Congressman Obey (D-Wisconsin) inserts a Muskie speech to the Wisconsin Resources Conservation Council criticizing the Nixon Administration for its environmental record with respect to industry polluters, and for its attempts to weaken the Clean Air Act and opposition to a stronger Clean Water Act. Muskie mentions his own presidential candidacy in the course of his speech, which ironically enough was ended by his poor showing in the April 4 Wisconsin primary.

Atomic Energy Act of 1954: amend relative to temporary licenses for nuclear power reactors, 17735.

Nuclear Power reactors: bill (S. 3543) authorize temporary operating licenses for certain, 17736.

17735, 17736; May 17, 1972; During debate on S. 3543, a bill providing for expedited procedures for the issuance of temporary operating licenses for nuclear power plants in case of power shortage, Muskie notes that changes to the bill submitted by the Administration have made it acceptable, because the temporary license procedure no longer seeks to eliminate or curtail the opportunity for public hearings on safety and environmental threats.

United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, 18954-18956.

Report: United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, Scope Paper, 18956.

Environment: Stockholm conference on the human, 18954-18956

18954-18956; May 25, 1972; Muskie criticizes the position of the U.S. team at the Stockholm Environment conference for what he says are predetermined positions that are not conducive to the development of a strong international pollution control regime.

Letter: EPA certification of 1973 motor vehicles, E. B. Staats, by, 20799. .

20799; June 14, 1972; Muskie asked the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of the Congress, to inquire about the adequacy and reliability of the testing for auto emissions being carried out by the auto companies. Senator Eagleton (D- Missouri) inserts the resulting GAO report in the Record, including Muskie’s letter. This is an instance of a case where writing a law and then following up to see how the law is actually working in practice throws some light on the gap between the intention of the law and its actual functioning in practice.

Offshore facilities: require prior approval of adjacent coastal States before construction (see bill S. 3844), 25166.

25166; July 25, 1972; Muskie is shown as a cosponsor of S. 3844, a Boggs (R- Delaware) bill to require the permission of coastal states before offshore facilities adjacent to their territories can be licensed for construction. At this time, the introduction of supertankers for oil transportation and of containerization to replace freighter transport was beginning to revolutionize world trade, and there were many unknown factors about these new forms of shipping. In particular, as ships seemed to be built larger and larger, the question of whether existing ports could accommodate the new behemoths led to speculation about the use of offshore facilities for unloading and, because of then-recent major oil spills, the potential for major environmental catastrophe. The legal regime governing offshore platforms remained splintered among federal, state and international protocols, and this bill was a move to ensure that the states could retain control of the law of torts for damage liability.

National Land Use Policy Act of 1971: amend bill (S.632) to enact, 28180

28180; August 15, 1972; Muskie is shown as cosponsor of a Boggs (R- Delaware) amendment to S. 632, the Land Use Policy Act. The goal of the land use bill was to encourage the states to establish policies for future land use, and the Boggs proposal was to include “conservation and preservation of natural resources” among the enumerated land uses, such as agriculture, recreation, mining, forestry and so forth.

Federal-aid Highway Act of 1972: amend bill (S.3939) to enact, 30215, 31250.

30215; September 12, 1972; During the Public Works Committee’s consideration of the Federal-aid Highway Act of 1972, S. 3939, Muskie and Senator Cooper offered an amendment to eliminate the ban on cities using the Urban System funds in the Highway Trust Fund for rail-based mass transit systems. When the amendment was rejected by the Committee on a 7-8 vote, they proposed to offer it to the full Senate during floor debate on the bill. The letter advising their colleagues of this intention, signed by Muskie and Cooper, explains their amendment. The Highway Trust Fund was created in 1956 with a 1972 expiration date, and by this time was generating substantial controversy as the need for mass transit became evident while the dedicated gas tax funds allocated to highways seemed disproportionate.

31250; September 19, 1972; Muskie speaks on the amendment he cosponsored with Senator Cooper (R-Kentucky) during the debate on the federal aid highway bill, describing the growing frustration of state governors with increased auto congestion and sprawl.

Land and Resources Planning Act of 1972: amend bill (S.632) to enact, 30398

Land and Resources Planning Act of 1972: bill (S. 632) to enact, 30398

Text: Amendments (Nos. 1521-1525) to S. 632, 30398. 30399

30398; September 13, 1972; Muskie offers five amendments to the Land and Resources Planning Act, S. 632, to modify the measure’s overly broad grant of authority to the State level of government, and to ensure that its effect would not be to supercede federal pollution control laws.

Land Use Policy and Planning Assistance Act of 1972: bill (S. 632) to enact, 31072, 31074, 31076, 31079-31081, 31083, 31086, 31087, 31089, 31091, 31188-31191, 31196, 31208, 28515-28517.

Land Use Policy and Planning Assistance Act, by, 31072.

List: Programs which will be affected by S. 632, 31080

Letter: Land Use Policy and Planning Assistance Act, A. E. Pritchard, and W. R. MacDougall (sundry), 31196, 31197.

Table: Federal programs by States, 31196.

List: Department of the Interior programs, 31198.

Land Use Policy and Planning Assistance Act of 1972: amend bill (S.632) to enact, 31086, 31195, 31201, 31205, 31208.

28515-28517; August 16, 1972; Muskie makes a statement about S. 632, the Land Use Policy and Planning Assistance Act, saying that the four days of hearings on the bill were not adequate and that its policy goals are incoherent. The statement is a prescient forecast of the “smart growth” debate that began in the late 1990s, as suburban sprawl and traffic congestion threatened to undermine the living standards Americans had achieved by then.

31072; September 18, 1972; Muskie makes his opening statement during debate on S. 632, the land use planning bill, stressing the lack of policy guidance in the bill and the likelihood that this would in fact lead to bureaucratic policy choices made at the federal level rather than planning choices developed at the State and local level.

31079-31081, 31083; September 18, 1972; During debate on S. 632, the Land Use Policy and Planning Assistance Act, Muskie engages in a debate with Senator Jackson (D-Washington) about the meaning and effect of a provision in the bill that would withhold federal funds from a State which did not comply with the land use act.

31086; September 18; This is an error. There is no Muskie text on this page.

31087, 31089; September 18, 1972; During the debate on the land use planning bill, Muskie and others debate the meaning of a Jordan (R-Idaho) amendment which stipulates that if a State’s land use plan results in the diminution in value of a piece of land, the owner of that land has the right to seek adjudication in a court of competent jurisdiction. Although it seems clear enough that the language does not augment (or detract) any property owner’s rights under existing law, it is not clear that all involved in the debate completely grasp this fact.

31091; September 18, 1972; When Senator Hanson (R-Wyoming) calls up an amendment to eliminate the bill’s economic sanctions on States, a discussion ensues about its meaning and the suggestion is made that the discussion be carried on the following day. Muskie makes the comment that it would be just as easy to vote right away.

31188; September 19, 1972; Muskie speaks briefly on a Talmadge (D-Georgia) amendment which makes the explicit statement that the bill gives no authority to the federal government to

alter the traditional zoning authority of the states, arguing that since the bill sets up certain criteria as important in land use planning, it implicitly would allow states and localities to be prodded by the federal government into adopting land use plans that follow these criteria.

31191; September 19, 1972; Muskie debates Senator Miller (R-Iowa) over the latter’s amendment to change the procedural requirements in the bill by deleting a phrase that references opportunities for public input into the planning process. He insists on a roll call and the amendment fails.

31196; September 19, 1972; Muskie calls up and debates his amendment to transfer the administration of the land use program from the Interior Department to an Office of Land Use Policy in the Executive Office of the President. Muskie argues that Interior lacks the broad expertise and experience needed to deal with non-federal lands, particularly urban areas, which are the focus of this bill.

31199; September 19, 1972; Senator Hansen (R-Wyoming) calls up his amendment to strike the sanctions in the bill which would permit the federal government to withhold funds for airport construction, highway construction and recreational programs to encourage the states to comply with the bill. Muskie mentions that if the bill had reached the floor with meaningful guidelines as to what constitutes sound land use planning, he would support economic sanctions as a means of achieving compliance, but under the current condition, where the bill contains no guidelines, he will support the Hansen amendment.

31201; September 19, 1972; Muskie calls up his amendment which is designed to specify policy guidelines to govern land use planning. His argument is that the bill’s language is vague rhetoric whose substance will inevitably be fleshed out by the federal employees administering the program and that it is important that the Congress establish clear guidelines for the administrators to help prevent this kind of development.

31205; September 19, 1972; Muskie calls up his amendment which would require states to reimburse local governments when state land use plans have the effect of eroding or reducing a local government’s tax base.

31208; September 19, 1972; Senator Cook (D-Kentucky) offers an amendment modeled on a Muskie amendment which modifies the bill so as to reduce the effect of language about a State’s “determinative” authority over land use planning, and briefly discusses it with Muskie before the amendment is accepted. Then Muskie calls up an amendment he developed with the Senators from Vermont to preserve federal environmental laws in the development of state land use plans, an amendment which is accepted.

Report: Environmental Quality, Congressional Action Fund, 31175

31175; September 19, 1972; Muskie endorses a report on Environmental Quality from the Congressional Action Fund, noting that it represents a single source for a wide range of current environmental statistics and information.

Federal-aid Highway Act of 1972: bill (S.3939) to enact, 31250-31253, 31258, 31261, 31284, 37310

Report: Use of Trust Fund for Mass Transportation, by, 31252.

Randolph, Jennings: tribute, 31283.

31250-31253; September 19, 1972; During debate on S. 3939, the Federal-aid Highway Act of 1972, Muskie makes the argument for opening up the highway trust fund for mass transit alternatives that would include rail.

31258, 31261; September 19, 1972; Muskie and Senator Randolph (D-West Virginia) debate the merits of the Cooper-Muskie amendment, which permits localities to use the urban aid funds in the highway bill for rail-based mass transit systems as well as buses.

31284; September 19, 1972; After the conclusion of the debate on the highway bill, Muskie expresses his admiration for the Chairman of the Committee, Senator Randolph (D- West Virginia) who opposed the Cooper-Muskie amendment, and says that anything he may have said in the heat of the debate should not be seen to detract from his overall admiration for the Chairman. It is not unusual for Senators to placate the chairmen of committees on which they serve when they have taken opposing sides on an issue. At this time, the issue of opening up the highway trust funds had become an extremely controversial and emotional one.

37310; October 18, 1972; During discussion of the final conference report on the Federal-aid Highway bill, Muskie makes the point that the reason there is only a one-year extension of the program is to facilitate a renewed effort in 1973 to enact the provision that would permit the urban aid funds in the highway program to be used for mass transit alternatives, including rail-based systems. The Senate had adopted the amendment but the House did not, and the conference on the bill was therefore extremely difficult.

Report: Committee of conference, 32658.

32658; September 28, 1972; Muskie submits the conference report on S. 2770, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act amendments of 1971, and asks that it be printed.

Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1971: bill (S.2770) to enact, 33692-33694, 33702, 33706-33708, 33711.

Report: Analysis of Federal Water Pollution Control Act, by, 33694.

33692-33694, 33702; October 4, 1972; Muskie brings to the floor the conference report on S. 2770, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, and makes a statement describing the actions and decisions of the conferees. This measure had been passed in the Senate in November of 1971, but was not finalized until the end of the 1972 session. It marked a significant shift in both the financing of waste water treatment facilities and in the regulatory regime designed to clean up the nation’s waterways.

33706-33708; October 4, 1972; During debate on the conference report on the water pollution control bill, Muskie reassures Senator Griffin (R-Michigan) that the bill’s language will not lead to the defeat of a lawsuit brought against a mining company for dumping waste into Lake Superior; reassures Senator Beall (R-Maryland) that the funding needs of the Blue Plains Regional treatment plant had been recognized by the conference committee; and explains to Senator Buckley (I- New York) that the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to set water quality standards will override that of the Atomic Energy Commission and other federal agencies.

33708; October 4, 1972; Senator Jackson (D- Washington) questions the decision of the conference committee to broaden language which exempts the Environmental Protection Agency itself from the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and Muskie points out that in the course of writing that Act, he and Jackson had agreed that it would not be applied against federal environmental administrators and agencies.

33711; October 4, 1972; Senator Nelson (D- Wisconsin) questions Muskie further about the interaction between NEPA and the clean water law, and reaffirms that nothing in the new bill would prevent a state establishing a water quality standard more stringent than the federal one.

33717; October 4, 1972; Senator Bayh (D- Indiana) explores with Muskie the wording and intent of the language in the conference report respecting the right of citizens to sue under its provisions.

Federal Water Pollution Control Act, by, 33751.

33751; October 4, 1972; During discussion of the Federal Waters Pollution Control Act amendments conference report in the House of Representatives, Representative Jones (D - Alabama) explains the effect of exempting the Environmental Protection Agency from the provisions that govern most federal agencies under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and in the course of that explanation, he quotes from a Muskie statement on the matter.

Environmental Noise Control Act: proposed amendment, 34465.

Noise Pollution Control Act of 1972: amend bill (S. 3342) to enact, 34465.

34465; October 10, 1972; Muskie introduces an amendment to S. 3342, the Noise Pollution Control Act, which would permit states and localities to bar the sale of products which exceed local noise standards.

Public Works, and Economic Development Act of 1972: amend bill (H.R. 16071) to enact, 35350.

Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1972: bill (H.R. 16071) to enact, 35361-35363.

35350; October 12, 1972; During debate on H.R. 16071, the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1972, Muskie is shown as a cosponsor of a Williams (D- New Jersey) amendment to restore House-passed language to reinstate assistance to workers dislocated by environmental programs and to provide low-interest loans to employers who can demonstrate that an environmental standard has caused their costs to escalate so as to create the risk of job loss.

35361-35363; October 12, 1972; During debate on the Williams amendment to the economic development act, Muskie describes what he terms “environmental blackmail” in which companies threaten to close plants, not because environmental controls are forcing them to, but in order to lighten environmental controls.

Environmental Noise Control Act of 1972: amend bill (S. 3342) to enact, 35388, 35869, 35417,

Environmental Noise Control Act of 1972: bill (S. 3342) to enact, 35389-35399, 35410, 35417-35419.

Court complaint, United States v. Morristown, N.J., 35391.

Court Judgment, Township of Hanover v. Town of Morristown, 35392.

Text: FAA regulation of 1958, aircraft noise standards, 35394.

Letter: Aircraft noise pollution, R. L. Hurlburt, 35395.

Letter: Noise Pollution Control Act, by Senator Tunney, 35398.

35388-35399; October 12, 1972; During debate on S. 3342, the Environmental Noise Control Act, Muskie proposes an amendment to establish cumulative noise levels at airports and to replace the one-year study of noise issues found in the bill with authority for the Environmental Protection Agency to order flight reductions and other operational changes as a means of noise reduction. Muskie was in the position of seeking to amend a bill he himself cosponsored with Senator Tunney (D- California), but which had undergone changes in the Committee process that he did not support. At this time, growth in air travel and the increased use of high-speed jets were causing an explosive expansion in airport use with concomitant community concerns about noise, congestion and pollution.

35410; October 12, 1972; When debate on the noise control bill resumes, Muskie makes a brief argument for his airport noise amendment, and the vote goes against him.

35417; October 12, 1972; During further debate on the noise control bill, Muskie calls up his amendment to permit states to bar the sale of products which contravene state noise ordinances. The bill essentially preempted all state noise controls except for locally-enforceable ordinances against the use of a noise-emitting product. Muskie’s argument was that since the bill did not establish federal standards, the preemption of state controls had the effect of protecting product manufacturers against the public health.

Federal-Aid Highway Legislation, 36350.

36350; October 14, 1972; Because the Senate had adopted the Cooper-Muskie amendment to the highway bill, permitting the urban aid funds in the bill to be used for alternative mass transit systems, the conference between House and Senate members was initially unable to reach agreement. Senator Cooper reported this failure in a statement showing Muskie as one of the authors. Several days later, the House agreed to a one-year extension to maintain ongoing highway construction projects.

Nixon, Richard M.: games with water bill, 36774

Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972: bill (S.2770) to enact, President's game, 36774

Letter: Water pollution control bill, President Nixon, by, 36774.

Letter: Recommending Presidential approval of S. 2770, W. Ruckelshaus, 36775.

36774; October 17, 1972; During the latter half of 1972, rumors that the President would veto the clean water bill were rife, including statements by presidential advisors. On the Senate floor, Muskie asked why the President had waited 13 days since passage of the clean water conference report to either sign or veto the bill, and suggested that the Congress remain in session through midnight so as to prevent a pocket veto. A pocket veto can occur only when the Congress is adjourned. As long as Congress remains in session, a bill must be vetoed within 10 days or it becomes law without the President’s signature. The system is set up to force the president to act. At this time, President Nixon was facing election to a second term and he was undoubtedly reluctant to veto an environmental bill just three weeks before the election. A pocket veto when Congress has adjourned, which means only that a president must fail to sign a bill, on the other hand, allows for inaction to accomplish the same thing as a direct veto, and with far less public attention.

Cooper, John S.: tribute, 37287.

Letter: Tribute to service on Committee on Public Works, by members of staff, to Senator Cooper, 37288.

37287, 37288; October 18, 1972; Muskie pays tribute to Senator Cooper (R-Kentucky), with whom he worked closely on environmental legislation as well as the path-breaking amendment which finally opened up the Highway Trust Fund for mass transit and which first passed the Senate in 1972. Senator Cooper retired and did not seek reelection in 1972.

Press release: water pollution control program, Environmental Protection Agency, 36871.

Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972: President's veto, 36871-36875, 36877

Nixon, Richard M.: veto of water pollution bill. 36871-36875, 36877.

Grant Authority Contained in S. 2770, Mr. Ruckelshaus, 36871.

Table: Rate of expenditures under S. 2770 by year, 36871.

36871; October 17, 1972; The debate in the Senate on the override of President Nixon’s veto of the clean water bill was successful, as the Senate voted to make the bill become law over the President’s objections, with Republicans as well as Democrats speaking out in favor of the override.

Subcommittee on Air and Water Pollution: activity in 92d Congress, 37733-37738.

37733-37738; October 18, 1972; At the end of the session, Muskie provided a rundown of the work product of the Subcommittee on Air and Water Pollution, covering the major environmental pollution control efforts and the Subcommittee’s oversight of the Nixon Administration’s implementation of the laws.

NATIONAL SECURITY/FOREIGN POLICY

1972 92nd Congress, 2nd Session

Armed Forces: equality of treatment for members in application of dependency criteria (see bill S. 2738), 538.

538; January 20, 1972; Muskie is added as a cosponsor to a Hughes (D-Iowa) bill, S. 2738, to provide for equality of treatment with respect to military dependents. This bill was designed to make certain that women in the military would be able to earn spousal benefits for non-military husbands, just as men routinely earn benefits on behalf of non-military wives.

Bangladesh: recognition of (see S. Con. Res. 55), 1903.

1903; February 1, 1972; Muskie is listed as one of several cosponsors of a Hollings (D- South

Carolina) - Saxbe (R- Ohio) resolution, S. Con. Res. 55, a sense of the Congress resolution urging the President to extend immediate diplomatic recognition to Bangladesh, the nation formerly known as East Pakistan, which declared its independence from Pakistan on March 26, 1971. Because Pakistan’s government had been helpful to the Nixon Administration in its efforts to secretly reach out to the Peoples’ Republic of China, U.S. policy tilted towards Pakistan in the subsequent civil war between the western Pakistani provinces and what was then known as East Pakistan, and which became the nation of Bangladesh following Pakistan’s defeat by a joint Bengali-Indian force in December, 1971.

Russia: persecution of Jews and other minorities in (see S. Con. Res. 33), 1927.

1927; February 1, 1971; Muskie is added as a cosponsor of S. Con. Res. 33, a Proxmire (D- Wisconsin) resolution expressing the sense of the Congress in disapproval of the Soviet Union’s persecution of its Jewish population. During the 1960s and throughout the remainder of its existence as a state, the Soviet Union denied jobs to Jewish citizens who sought to emigrate to Israel, exacted repayment of educational and other benefits from those permitted to leave, staged show trials of Jewish dissidents and sponsored and supported anti-Semitic agitation. The U.S. response took the form of resolutions of disapproval and ultimately, two years after this resolution, in the form of a statute linking a nation’s trading status with the U.S. to its practice of free emigration.

National Week of Concern for Prisoners of War/Missing in Action: designate (S.J. Res. 189), 1927.

1927; February 1, 1972; Muskie’s name is added as a cosponsor of S. J. Res. 189, a Brock (R- Tennessee) joint resolution authorizing the President to designate the week beginning March 26, 1972, as “National Week of Concern for Prisoners of War, Missing in Action.” The return of Americans held in Vietnam continued to be a major and significant political issue throughout the Vietnam War and for many years afterwards.

Foreign Aid: amend bill (H.R.12067) making appropriations for, 2497.

2497; February 3, 1972; Muskie is listed as one of several cosponsors of a Gurney (R- Florida) amendment to the foreign aid bill which would retain the Cuban refugee program instead of stripping it from the bill as the House-passed version does. The refugees from Castro’s Cuba became, throughout the 1960s, a factor in the Cold War political contest between the U.S. and Castro. When in the early 1960s, Castro announced that any Cuban who wished to leave could do so freely, President Johnson promptly responded by welcoming all potential refugees. Part of the special treatment given to Cuban entrants included additional federal reimbursements to the cities and states of resettlement, over and above the normal federal share of welfare funds. By the time this amendment was offered, the Cuban refugee program had been continuing for 12 years and some Americans were coming to see it as anachronistic.

Soviet Jewish Refugee Assistance Act of 1972: enact (see bill S. 3142), 3033, 7767.

3033; February 8, 1972; Notice only of Muskie’s introduction of S. 3142, a bill to authorize the Secretary of State to provide assistance for the resettlement of Soviet Jewish refugees in Israel.

7767; March 9, 1972; Muskie is added a cosponsor to S. Con. Res. 66, a Pearson (R-Kansas) resolution expressing the sense of the Congress that the United States should negotiate for the use of foreign currencies to pay Peace Corps expenses with countries where these currencies are held. This index entry is an evident mistake.

Soviet Jewish Refugee Assistance Act of 1972: introduction, 3044.

Text: S.3142, Soviet Jewish Refugee Assistance Act of 1972, 3045

3044, 3045; February 8, 1972; Muskie makes an introductory statement on S. 3142, his Soviet Jewish Refugee Assistance Act. The bill would have authorized the State Department to spend $85 million for the resettlement of Jews from the Soviet Union in Israel, and was fueled by the sudden rise in the number of exit visas that the Soviet government began to grant in the early 1970s. Although over time it proved that exit visa numbers could be reduced as well as increased, depending on other Soviet goals, at the time of the first large grant of exit visas, many hoped that this marked a permanent shift in Soviet policy, which would, of course, have meant many more immigrants into Israel.

Muskie's Peace Plan for Vietnam, S. Alsop, Newsweek, 3366.

3366; February 9, 1972; Senator Scott (R- Pennsylvania), the Republican minority leader of the Senate, inserts a Stewart Alsop column critical of Muskie’s proposal to end aid to South Vietnam as a means of bringing about a negotiated end to the Vietnam War. Muskie’s argument was that American public opinion simply would not sustain a continued U.S. war effort, while Alsop’s argument was that Americans would not abandon a small ally. In this election year, President Nixon’s election campaign promise of four years earlier, to end the war, had not been fulfilled.

 

Muskie's Plan Calls for a Sellout in Vietnam, C. S. Noyes, Washington Star, 3363, 3660.

3363; February 9, 1972; Senator Scott (R- Pennsylvania) inserts a Crosby Noyes column about Muskie’s Vietnam peace proposal, claiming it is a “sellout” of the nation’s investment in South Vietnam. At this time, Muskie was still the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, and the efforts of the Nixon Administration were directed to undermining that status as much as possible. This was part of the continuing effort, because Vietnam remained a salient issue, despite the fact that the reduction of American troops in Vietnam and the elimination of the draft had helped quiet the campuses to a large extent.

3660; February 9, 1972; Congressman John Hunt (R-New Jersey), using the Crosby Noyes column, suggests that Muskie and others are hoping to prolong the war until after the election. In this instance, the Congressman ascribed to Democratic candidates what became the de facto policy of his own candidate, President Nixon. The war did not end before the November election.

Vietnam War, National Presbyterian Center, by. 4865, 5441.

4865; February 22, 1972; Senator Fulbright (D- Arkansas) notes that the Muskie speech on Vietnam has received wide condemnation and inserts the full text so that Senators may read what it is that has aroused such a strong response from the Nixon Administration. This speech was widely condemned by Republicans as a “sellout” but it actually reflects what by then was the consensus of opinion in Congress and in the country.

5441; February 24, 1972; Senator Hughes (D- Iowa) makes the comment that the Nixon administration has escalated the air war in Indochina along with its “inflammatory rhetoric” against critics, and inserts the same Muskie speech on ending the war.

Vietnam policy, 5143.

5143; February 23, 1972; Senator Church (D- Idaho) inserts three contemporary columns discussing the Nixon effort to forestall criticism of his Vietnam policy in the light of his campaign claim that he had a plan to end the war, and the subsequent evident fact that there never was such a plan.

Community Leadership Conference, New York City, by, 5546.

5546; February 24, 1972; Congressman Bingham (D- New York) inserts the text of a town meeting he held in November 1971, at which Muskie made a brief statement on the war in Vietnam and answered questions from panel participants and the audience.

Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty: continuing, 6201.

6201; March 1, 1972; Muskie makes a brief statement about Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty, whose future had been called into question by the revelation that these broadcasting outlets had been funded from their inception by the Central Intelligence Agency. Radio Free Europe was established as an American-produced broadcaster to the Eastern European countries which fell behind the Iron Curtain, as the sphere of Soviet influence was then called. It began operations in 1951, and in 1953, a Russian-language organization was developed, named Radio Liberty, which began broadcasting into the Soviet Union itself. Throughout the Cold War period, the two Radios expanded their language capabilities and ultimately broadcast in 26 languages.

In 1967, a magazine in the U.S. revealed that the Radios were financed by the CIA, and although President Johnson made the decision to continue government financing openly, the Radios remained a target of anti-war and left opinion. By 1972, the Radios were being financed directly by the State Department, but there were also pressures to abandon them altogether by those who felt that the Nixon policy of detente had made them obsolete. Muskie spoke in support of them.

Excused from United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, 6304.

6304; March 1, 1972; The presiding officer on behalf of the Vice President appoints the Senator from Utah, Mr. Moss, as an alternate to the UN Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm June 6-16 in place of Muskie, who resigned his status as alternate. At this time, Muskie’s planned race for the Democratic presidential nomination was still operative, and the judgment was that there would be no time for him to attend to his duties at the Stockholm Conference in June.

Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty: sense of the Senate relating to support of (see S. Res. 272), 6509.

6509; March 2, 1972; Muskie is listed as one of the cosponsors of S. Res. 272, a bipartisan Humphrey (D- Minnesota) - Percy (R- Illinois) resolution expressing the sense of the Senate in support of continued funding for Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty despite differences in the methods of funding approved in the House of Representatives. The Senate had taken the position that the Radios should be openly government-funded, but because of the controversy over their earlier CIA sponsorship and funding, many members of Congress were uneasy with the direct funding approach. President Nixon later appointed a Commission to review this issue and from its recommendation, the Board on International Broadcasting developed.

Peace Corps: assistance to (see S. Con. Res. 66), 7767

7767; March 9, 1972; Muskie is added a cosponsor to S. Con. Res. 66, a Pearson (R-Kansas) resolution expressing the sense of the Congress that the United States should negotiate for the use of foreign currencies to pay Peace Corps expenses with countries where these currencies are held.

  

Commission on United States Participation in the United Nations: establish (see S.J. Res. 216), 8225

8225; March 14, 1972; Muskie is listed as a cosponsor of S. J. Res. 216, a Williams (D- New Jersey) resolution establishing a Commission on U.S. participation in the United Nations. This resolution followed on the heels of the Lodge Commission’s report, which rendered judgments on United States’ membership in the U.N. on the 25^th anniversary of the establishment of the organization. Its purpose was yet another effort to make Americans understand that the U.N. can only be what its members, all sovereign nations, allow it to be, a point which appears to need iteration on a regular basis.

Secretary of State's Advisory Committee on the U.N. Conference on the Human Environment, R. N. Gardner, 9456.

9456; March 22, 1972; Muskie inserts a statement by Richard Gardner to the Secretary of State’s Advisory Committee on the Stockholm United Nations’ environmental conference, describing the institutional changes he believes are necessary to produce useful results from the forthcoming conference.

Bangladesh and Pakistan: assistance for minority populations in (see S. Res. 282), 12045.

12045; April 11, 1972; Muskie is added as a cosponsor to a Harris (D- Oklahoma) resolution, S. Res. 282, supporting the provision of American cooperation and assistance for minority populations in Bangladesh and Pakistan. When the 1971 Pakistan-India war ended, the portion of Pakistan which was known as East Pakistan claimed independence as the nation of Bangladesh. Living within it were some half-million or more Biharis, Moslems who moved to the State of Bihar at the time of the 1947 partition of India and Pakistan. During the 1971 war, the Biharis supported the Pakistan government, and feared for their safety in the postwar period. The Pakistani president indicated that if there were attacks on Biharis, Pakistan would retaliate against its small population of Bengalis and not allow them to repatriate to Bangladesh. The Indian and Bengali governments both suggested that they might have war crimes trials of some Pakistani officials and soldiers, of whom India held some 90,000 as POWs. In these circumstances, the outlook for renewed violence appeared predictable, and it was to stave off such violence that Senator Harris proposed his resolution, so as to begin to resettle these people and assure their safety.

North Vietnam: terminate all American military activity against and resume negotiation with (see S. Con. Res. 76). 12832

12832; April 17, 1972; Muskie introduces a resolution, S. Con. Res. 76, which expresses the sense of the Congress that all bombing of North Vietnam end as a response to the Nixon Administration’s escalation of the bombing of North Vietnam, an effort Nixon defended by noting that it was a response to a direct North Vietnamese invasion of the south across the Demilitarized Zone which acted as an international boundary between North and South Vietnam at the time. The Nixon Administration also claimed that the bombing was an effort to protect the continued withdrawal of U.S. troops, and in support of the American ally, South Vietnam, whose army was conducting the ground combat efforts without direct U.S. involvement, except for the U.S. support in the form of bombing raids. At this time, most Americans were heartily sick of the Vietnam war effort, but the fact that only 69,000 Americans remained in-country and that draft calls stateside had fallen dramatically, also lessened the salience of the war for many.

Nixon, Richard M.: Vietnam policy, 16408.

Vietnam: President's decision to mine harbors of North, 16408.

16408; May 9, 1972; Muskie reacts to a Nixon speech in which the President announced that he had ordered the mining of North Vietnamese harbors and air strikes against rail lines entering North Vietnam. Despite earlier optimism that the South Vietnamese army was effectively meeting the spring offensive from North Vietnam, this decision suggested to some Americans that nothing much had changed and that U.S. involvement in Vietnam was no closer to ending than in years before.

Committee on Foreign Relations: notice of hearings, 16933.

Nuclear test ban treaty: notice of hearings on, 16933.

16933; May 11, 1972; Muskie announces that he will hold hearings on a Comprehensive Test Ban, and points out that it would be particularly appropriate to take the initiative on this goal as the contemporary Strategic Arms Limitation Talks were progressing.

Foreign Relations authorization Act of 1972: bill (S.3526) to enact, 17577

Department of State, USIA, Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, and Peace Corps: bill (S. 3526) to authorize appropriations for, 17577.

Vietnam: withdrawal amendment to foreign relations authorization bill, 17577.

17577; May 16, 1972; Muskie makes a brief statement in support of the Case-Church amendment which would have required U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam in four months, contingent only upon return of prisoners of war and the safety of withdrawing troops, without the additional contingency of an internationally supervised cease fire.

Foreign Assistance Act of 1972: amend bills (S.3390, H.R.16029) to enact, 20451, 32237.

20451; June 12, 1972; Muskie is shown as cosponsoring a Sparkman (D- Alabama) Amendment No 1223, to S. 3390, the Foreign Assistance Act. The purpose of this amendment was to eliminate an amendment in the Act as reported by the Foreign Relations Committee, which would withhold money to implement the executive agreements with Bahrain and Portugal unless those agreements were submitted to the Senate as treaties. Senator Sparkman’s argument was that in both cases, the agreements continued existing arrangements for a home port for a U.S. Navy ship in Bahrain, and the use of an air base in the Azores, and did not amount to significant U.S. commitments to either country.

32237; September 26, 1972; Muskie is listed as cosponsoring a Church (D- Idaho) amendment to the foreign aid bill, S. 3390, which would have added $35 million in supporting assistance to Israel to the $50 million already in the bill, and preempted a Scott (R-Pennsylvania) amendment restoring $370 million to the bill, of which $85 million would be earmarked for Israel. This is an example of the kind of horse-trading that can occur when competing objectives are presented. LOOK THIS UP AND SEE WHAT SCOTT WAS UP TO – CHECK CQ.

International travelers: Protect from acts of violence and aerial piracy (see S.J.Res. 244), 24321.

24321; July 19, 1972; Muskie is added as a cosponsor to a Ribicoff (D- Connecticut) resolution, S. J. Res. 244, calling for new efforts to protect international travelers from acts of violence and aerial piracy. Although the first aircraft hijacking occurred in Peru in 1931, it was in the postwar period that the use of this tactic as a political tool became more common. In the 1960s, the commandeering of aircraft from Cuba to U.S. ports and vice versa occurred frequently enough to be a source of humor, but when the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine hijacked an El Al plane in 1968, it ushered in a period of intensified aircraft hijacking activity. On May 30, 1972, three men from the Japanese Red Army flew into Lod Airport in Tel Aviv, and proceeded to rake the airport crowd with automatic weapons and grenades. 26 persons were killed and 78 injured in the attack, which was planned by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

Military Procurement: bill (H.R. 15495) authorizing appropriations, 25419, 25698, 26225, 26395, 26396.

Nuclear attack aircraft carrier (CVN-70) funds, 25419.

Trident submarine program: funds, 25698.

Making SALT Work, Los Angeles, by, 25699.

Military Procurement: amend bill (H.R.15495) authorizing appropriations, 25946

Selective Service Act: Hatfield amendment to terminate, 26225.

DD-963 destroyer program, 26395, 26396.

Litton Industries: DD-963 destroyer contract, 26395, 26396.

Cost of the Bargaining Chips, L. H. Gelb and A. Lake, Washington Post, 25701.

Senate Vote on Trident, Washington Post, 25701.

25419; July 26, 1972; During debate on the military procurement authorizations bill, H.R. 15495, Muskie says he will vote for a Saxbe (R-Ohio) amendment to withdraw funds for a nuclear attack carrier, citing both cost and strategic arguments, while others make similar arguments on both sides.

25698, 25699, 25701; July 27, 1972; Muskie joins in the debate over a Bentsen (D- Texas) amendment to H.R. 15495, the military procurement bill, to restore the Trident submarine program to its previous schedule, rather than accept the accelerated schedule the Nixon Administration had proposed. During this period, the successful completion of what was then thought of as the first phase in arms control talks – reducing Soviet and U.S. ABM programs – arguments over military procurement usually cited the need for bargaining chips on the one hand and potential damage to the arms control process on the other. This debate was no exception.

25946; July 28, 1972; Muskie is shown as a cosponsor of a Nelson (D- Wisconsin) amendment to the procurement bill which would have prohibited the use of weather modification or incendiary technology as a weapon of war. At this time, news articles reported on at least three military efforts in the mid-sixties to create “fire storms” in a Central Plains area of Vietnam, as part of the effort to deny the enemy jungle cover, which was also pursued through chemical defoliants. There were also reports of efforts to seed clouds with rain so as to limit enemy movement on the Ho Chi Minh trail.

26225; August 1, 1972; In 1971, the Congress had voted to end the draft by June 20, 1973, and at the time of this debate, there were 11 months of draft eligibility remaining. The purpose of the two-year extension was to give the military the time to develop recruitment systems for an all-volunteer force. During the 1972 debate on military procurement, Senator Hatfield (R-Oregon) offered an amendment to end the draft on December 31 1971, six months before the scheduled end of the draft. In the course of the debate, Muskie announced he would not vote for the Hatfield amendment because he was not in favor of the all-volunteer military force, which he contended would be filled primarily with those for whom civilian life held out no better choices than that offered by the military.

26395: This is an error; there is no Muskie material on this page.

26396; August 2, 1972; Muskie makes a statement on the provision in the military procurement bill that authorizes additional funding to Litton Industries for the possible procurement of additional DD-963 destroyers. Muskie’s argument was that the single-contractor procurement placed in 1970 was a mistake, as he argued at the time for a multiple-contractor arrangement, which would have benefitted Bath Iron Works in Maine, and the delayed delivery and additional costs now coming due prove his argument.

Japanese-American Friendship Act of enact (see bill S. 3872), 26410.

26410; August 2, 1972; Muskie is shown as a cosponsor of S. 3872, a Javits (R-New York) bill to establish the Japanese-American Friendship Act of 1972, a program of educational and cultural exchanges between the U.S. and Japan, to be financed by a portion of the $320 million which Japan agreed to pay over five years upon finalization of the Okinawa Reversion Agreement. The Okinawa agreement returned to Japan the political and security administration of the Ryukyu and Daito Islands, which had been occupied by the U.S. since the 1945 battle of Okinawa, the only land battle in the Pacific war that occurred on Japanese territory. About three-quarters of the U.S. military presence in Japan remains located in Okinawa.

Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty: resolution of ratification, 26769.

ABM Treaty: ratification, 26769.

26769; August 3, 1972; As the Senate debates the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty, or SALT, Muskie and others lay out what they see as the issues in maintaining stability in a bipolar nuclear environment. During this period of the Cold War, stability and predictability were in constant tension with weapons modernization and its costs. In his statement, Muskie makes the observation that the SALT agreement, limiting each side to two ABM sites each, should make the continued MIRVing of missiles unnecessary, a point of view that was strongly contested by supporters of an arms buildup. MIRVing, the acronym for Multiple Independently-targeted Re-entry Vehicles, allowed several warheads to be installed on a single missile, thus hugely multiplying U.S. missile capability.

Israeli Olympic team: sense of Senate on murder by Arab terrorists (see S.358), 29487.

29487; September 6, 1972; Muskie is one of the 92 Senators to cosponsor S. Res. 358, a sense of the Senate resolution condemning the murder of 11 Israeli Olympic athletes at Munich by Palestinian terrorists calling themselves Black September. The Munich Olympics were seen by the West German government of the time as a counterweight to the notorious 1936 Berlin games, over which Hitler presided, and one outcome of this attitude was that security was virtually non-existent at the Olympic Village. Nine Palestinians killed two Israelis in the Village itself, and then took 9 more hostage, demanding the release of Palestinians jailed in Israel. The ensuing standoff and shootout at a nearby NATO airbase left all nine Israeli hostages dead, as well as five of the Palestinian terrorists. In 1999, Mohammed Daoud ‘Udeh, more often known as Abu Daoud, a member of the Palestinian National Council, acknowledged in a book and in an Arab television interview that he was the planner of this attack.

Nuclear weapons: agreement with Russia to limit offensive, 29833, 29834, 30625, 30639-30643, 30659.

Strategic offensive weapons: resolution (S.J . Res. 241) authorizing President to approve an agreement between U.S. and U.S.S.R. to limit, 29833, 29834, 30625, 30639-30643, 30659.

Strategic offensive weapons: amend resolution (S.J. Res. 241) authorizing President to approve an agreement between U.S. and U.S.S.R. to limit, 29833, 30397, 30639, 30691.

Russia: nuclear weapon agreement, 29833, 29834, 30625, 30639-30643, 30659.

29833; September 8, 1972; Muskie offers two amendments to S. J. Res. 241, the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty resolution, explaining that his language would require negotiators of future arms agreements to achieve equality in the deterrent structure between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, rather than forbidding the negotiation of inferior levels of intercontinental weapons.

30397; September 13, 1972; Muskie is listed as cosponsoring two Fulbright amendments to the Jackson amendment to the SALT resolution, Amendments 1514, and 1515, both efforts to require future negotiators to seek parity of weapons with the Soviets rather than numerical superiority.

30625; September 14, 1972; During the debate on the resolution authorizing the Strategic Arms Limitation Agreement, a focus on the instructions to be given to negotiators for the second step in the arms control process led Muskie and others to oppose the Jackson (D-Washington) amendment as being too limited and restrictive, as this excerpt from the debate illustrates.

30639-30643; September 14, 1972; Muskie proposes an amendment to the Strategic Arms Limitation Resolution which would instruct the negotiators of the next arms control agreement to seek overall equality and sufficiency of deterrent power, a position he says is the only sensible basis on which to seek further arms control agreements. This portion of the debate illustrates the extraordinarily convoluted shape that the arms race issue took on, as Senators considered hypothetical scenarios to justify their votes.

30659 [Actual page is 30660]; September 14; Muskie makes a brief statement acknowledging that he will support the interim arms agreement, even though he disagrees with the Jackson amendment language, because he believes the negotiators will not feel bound by it.

30691; September 14, 1972; The Record reflects the texts of two Muskie amendments, 1527 and 1528, to S. J. Res. 241, the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty resolution. It is common for the texts of amendments to be printed in the Record and in some instances, the printed page occurs after the reported debate.

Letter: Right to vote in South Vietnam, President Nixon, by, 30712.

30712; September 14, 1972; Muskie is shown as one of a number of Senators signing a letter to the President protesting the action of the President of South Vietnam in abolishing popular elections in South Vietnam’s hamlets. President Nguyen Van Thieu issued this decree after he had assumed a “six-month” rule by decree in June, 1972, following an election in October 1971 in which he was the only candidate permitted to run. Thieu’s dictatorial actions were an increasingly conspicuous element in the opposition to the Vietnam War, since the only stated U.S. rationale for the war had been to secure the right to self-determination for the people of South Vietnam.

Vietnam: behalf of American POW's and MIA's in North (see S. Con. Res. 97), 32452.

32452; September 27, 1972; Muskie is added as a cosponsor to S. Con Res. 97, a Thurmond (R- South Carolina) resolution expressing the sense of the Congress that the government of North Vietnam comply with the Geneva Convention on the treatment of prisoners of war, and calling on other signatory nations to urge compliance by the North Vietnamese.

Department of Defense: bill (H.R. 16593) making appropriations for, 33132.

33132; October 2, 1972; During debate on H.R. 16593, the Defense Department appropriations bill, Muskie joins in a discussion of the Proxmire (D- Wisconsin) amendment which bars the use of any funds in this bill for the continuation of the bombing over North Vietnam. The Nixon Administration resumed bombing North Vietnam in May 1972, in response to the Easter Offensive from the North, an aerial bombardment campaign that culminated with the 1972 Christmas Bombing.

Uganda: suspend assistance to (see S. Res. 364), 33592.

33592; October 4, 1972; Muskie is added as a cosponsor of S. Res. 364, a Stevenson (D-Illinois) resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that aid to Uganda should be suspended. Uganda gained independence from Britain in 1962, but as in most African nations, the veneer of parliamentary democracy overlay tribal feuds and animosities. In February of 1971, an army sergeant, Idi Amin, lead a coup which displaced the leader of Uganda, Milton Obote, and began what was one of the most spectacular episodes of murderous strongman rule in all Africa. It is estimated that as many as 500,000 Ugandans may have died under his regime. In August 1972, Amin expelled all Asians from Uganda, expropriating their property, and also expelled Israeli diplomats and military advisors. In November 1972, the U.S. ended diplomatic relations with Uganda.

There Is Going To Be a Silence, Cleveland City Club, by, 36759.

36759; October 17, 1972; Senator Stevenson (D- Illinois) publishes a speech by Muskie on the central foreign policy issue of the time: the need to end the war in Vietnam. Muskie spoke on the fourth anniversary of Nixon’s October 9, 1968 promise to end the war in Vietnam, and quotes Nixon’s claim that if a new president couldn’t end the war by 1972, he shouldn’t be re-elected.

Our Indochina Policy, Northwestern University, Senator Stevenson, 37288.

37288; October 18, 1972; Muskie inserts a speech about the Vietnam War and the political campaign by Senator Stevenson (D- Illinois) which questions the Nixon Administration’s integrity, economic policies, and failure to end the Vietnam conflict, despite Nixon’s four-year-old promise to do so. By October of 1972, Muskie had long withdrawn from the presidential contest following his poor showing in the April 4 Wisconsin primary, and the Democratic presidential nominee was Senator McGovern (D- South Dakota).

HUMAN RESOURCES

1972 2nd Session, 92nd Congress

Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention Act: extend provisions of (see bill S.3080), 1303.

1303; January 26, 1972; Muskie is shown as one of the original cosponsors of S. 3080, a Kennedy (D- Massachusetts) bill to amend the Lead Based Paint Poisoning Prevention Act. The existing program authorized federal funds for community based screening programs; this bill would expand the screening programs and in addition provide for lead paint detection and eradication efforts.

Emergency Employment Act Amendments of 1972: enact (see bill S. 3092), 1751.

1751; January 31, 1972; Muskie is shown as a cosponsor of S. 3092, a Mondale (D- Minnesota) bill to increase authorizations under the 1972 Emergency Employment Act from $750 million to $1.5 billion, to increase the amounts made available to areas where unemployment is above 6%, and to eliminate the 10 percent matching amount that localities had to provide, with the goal of increasing public works jobs to 400,000 in the current year.

Letter: Military retirement annuity attachment, 2441.

2441; February 2, 1972; Representative Martha W. Griffiths (D- Michigan) inserts a letter to Muskie from a woman who describes her plight after being left in Germany by her husband, a military retiree to whose pension benefits she has no claim. At this time, the military services were loath to enforce family support payments and there was no provision in law providing for dependents’ benefits in the event of a separation or divorce. Muskie was a sponsor of a bill to establish dependents’ benefits.

Health Care for the Elderly, by, 2789.

2789; February 7, 1972; Senator Church (D- Idaho), the Chairman of the Special Committee on Aging conducts a colloquy on the state of the elderly in the U.S. nine weeks after the White House Conference on Aging, and challenges the Administration to follow up on the goals of the Conference, and includes the text of a Muskie speech on Health Care for the Elderly, which has been submitted for reproduction because Muskie was unable to participate in person.

School Bus Safety Week: proclaim (see S.J. Res. 4), 3057.

3057; [This is a typographical error; the correct page number is 3067]; February 8, 1972; Muskie is added as a cosponsor to S. J. Res. 4, a Javits (R- New York) resolution authorizing the proclamation of School Bus Safety Week.

National Arthritis Month: designate (S.J. Res. 180), 3332.

3332; February 9, 1972; Muskie is added as a cosponsor to S. J. Res. 180, a Roth (R- Delaware) resolution authorizing the President to proclaim May each year as National Arthritis Month.

Social Security Act: eliminate monthly premium requirements for certain persons covered under supplementary medical insurance program (see bill S. 3127), 4443.

4443; February 17, 1972; Muskie is added as a cosponsor to a Mondale (D- Minnesota) bill, S. 3127, whose purpose was to eliminate the monthly health insurance premium paid by Medicare recipients for their coverage under Part B of the Medicare program, the portion which covered physician’s visits outside a hospital setting. At this time, just over 25% of the elderly had incomes below the poverty level, and the $67 annual premium had doubled from its $36 level in five years.

Office for the Aging: establish (see bill S. 3181), 5737.

5737; February 28, 1972; Muskie is added as a cosponsor to S. 3181, a Church (D- Idaho) bill to provide for the establishment of an Office for the Aging in the Executive Office of the President to fulfil the purposes of the Older Americans Act.

Victims of Crime Act of 1972: enact (see bills S. 2994, 2995), 6789, 7261.

6789; March 3, 1972; Muskie is added as a cosponsor of S. 2995, a Kennedy (D- Massachusetts) bill called the Victims of Crime Act, which is a bill the Senate passed the previous year providing for insurance protection for public safety officers. This bill is an effort to work in tandem with the House to approve an insurance program so it can become law.

7261; March 7, 1972; Muskie is added as a cosponsor to S. 2994, a McClellan (D- Arkansas) bill to provide for the compensation of violent crime victims, to make grants to states for the payment of compensation, to authorize an insurance program and death and disability benefits for public safety officers and civil remedies for victims of racketeering. This bill consolidates a number of separate proposals on which hearings have been held.

Older person legislation sponsored by, 7811, 7812.

7811, 7812; March 9, 1972; In a brief statement, Senator Church (D- Idaho) describes in some detail the proposals Muskie has made for the elderly. Church was the Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, and as such, a spokesman for the Democratic Party on issues affecting this population group.

White House Conference on the Handicapped: call by the president (see S.J. Res. 202), 8245.

Office of the Handicapped: establish (see bill S. 3158), 8245.

8245; March 14, 1972; Muskie is one of many Senators added as cosponsors of two Williams (D- New Jersey) proposals, S. 3158, a bill setting up a separate Office of the Handicapped within the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, and a joint resolution, S. J. Res. 202, calling for a White House conference on the Handicapped. At this time, the term “disabled” had not yet come into popular use, and the term “handicapped” was not seen as a derogatory one.

Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1972: enact (see bill S. 3148), 8400.

8400; March 15, 1972; Muskie is added as a cosponsor to S. 3148, a Bayh (D-Indiana) bill to provide for a comprehensive and coordinated approach to the problem of juvenile delinquency.

The bill would create a National Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, provide greater direction and funding for juvenile justice administration, and provide juveniles with similar civil right as adult offenders.

Economic Opportunity Amendment 1972: enact (see bill S. 3193), 9271.

9271; March 21, 1972; Muskie is added as a cosponsor to S. 3193, a Nelson (D- Wisconsin) bill to provide for the continuation of programs authorized under the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, as well as the proposed child care program which was included in the bill in 1971. The President’s December 10 veto of that bill has necessitated the development of a new one, which was introduced in February, 1972.

 

Milk: price support at not less than 85 per centum of parity (see bill S. 3357), 10425, 11645.

National Bikecology Week: designate (S.J. Res. 191), 10425.

10425; March 28, 1972; Muskie is added as a cosponsor to a Mondale (D- Minnesota) bill, S. 3357, to provide price support for milk at not less than 85 percent of the parity price, and to a Cranston (D- California) resolution, S. J. Res. 191, to designate May 1-7, 1972 as “National Bikeology Week.”

Although Senator Mondale initially proposed milk price supports at 90% of parity, he revised that to stay in line with the economic stabilization program, which sought not more than 3% price increases nationwide, along with wage increases of not more than 5.5%.

Cranston says the point of a National Bikeology Week is to illustrate that the bicycle can be a viable alternative to the automobile for routine trips, and that an annual week helps make the point. The first such week was declared in 1971 and more than 50 cities participated,. Cranston hopes more will do so this year.

11645; April 6, 1972; Muskie is again shown added to same Mondale bill S. 3357. This was probably an oversight in the process of making certain a bill’s cosponsors were properly recognized.

Department of Health: establish (see S. 3432), 10937.

10937; March 29, 1972; Muskie shown as one of cosponsors of S. 3432, Ribicoff (D- Connecticut) bill to create a Department of Health by transferring to it all of the health programs that existed in 23 agencies, as well as the 40-plus programs within the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. Ribicoff had served in the Cabinet as Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare in the Kennedy administration, and based his proposal on the claim that the Department of Health, Education and Welfare was too large to be manageable.

  

National Science Foundation: study conversion from defense to civilian economy (see bill S. 32), 11534.

11534; April 5, 1972; Muskie is added as a cosponsor to S. 32, a Kennedy (D- Massachusetts) bill, the National Science Policy and Priorities Act, a 3-year authorization for $1.8 billion to focus research to accelerate the process of using scientific knowledge and apply it to the problems facing civilian society such as traffic gridlock, pollution control and abatement, medical monitoring and diagnosis. An element of focus at this time was the effort to shift from an emphasis on military research and development to the civilian sector.

Social Security Act: amend bill (H.R. 1) to increase benefits and raise earnings base, 11537, 12832, 13740, 13743, 15896, 19134, 32488, 33885.

11537; April 5, 1972; Muskie is added as a cosponsor of a Stevenson (D- Illinois) amendment No. 955 to H.R. 1, the Social Security Amendments of 1972. The Stevenson amendment 955 was a proposal to provide comprehensive post-hospital rehabilitative services by recognizing providers of post-hospital services as direct providers under Medicare and formally acknowledging in Medicare law the full range of potential services provided to Medicare patients.

12832; April 17, 1972; Muskie is added as a cosponsor to a Church (D- Idaho) amendment No. 999 to H.R. 1, the Social Security Act amendments of 1972. The Church amendment would raise social security benefits by 20% instead of 5% as provided in H.R. 1, based on the recommendation of the Social Security Advisory Council which reviewed the proposals for benefit increases and found that a 20% raise was necessary to bring the poorest beneficiaries up to the poverty level. The argument was made that while the national poverty rate was 11%, the rate among older Americans was 25%. There were 4.7 million older social security recipients with incomes below the poverty level, many of them elderly widows. The effect of the 20% increase was to raise average benefits for a couple to $269 from $223; and for an individual from $133 to $162 per month.

13743; April 20, 1972; Muskie is shown as a cosponsor of a Tunney (D-California) amendment to H.R. 1, The Social Security Amendments of 1972. The Tunney amendment was intended to set aside no less than 5 percent of the funds provided for child care in the welfare reform provisions of the bill for the purpose of training child care staff.

15896; May 4, 1972; Muskie is added as a cosponsor to Tunney (D- California) amendments numbered 1030 through 1040. These amendments were to liberalize the earnings and property tests for social security beneficiaries and for the elderly on welfare, to try to streamline the administration of both programs so people eligible for both need undergo only one administrative process. More than 3 million elderly, blind or permanently disabled who relied on welfare payments to survive. These amendments would require payments to all to at least reach the poverty level of $167 per month per individual and $215 per couple, to prohibit the use of other property to disqualify people from these payments, such as insurance policies or small private pensions; the insurance would be factored at cash value only and pensions up to 75% percent of poverty level and 50% on the dollar over that would not be counted against benefits.

19134; May 30, 1972; Muskie is listed as a cosponsor of a Nelson (D-Wisconsin) amendment, to close several tax loopholes, including the oil depletion allowance, the Accelerated Depreciation Range write-off for equipment, and to tighten the alternative minimum tax to ensure that all taxpayers paid at least some taxes.

32488; September 27, 1972; When the Senate considers the substance of the Mansfield (D- Montana) proposal, which raised from $1680 to $3000 the outside income a Social Security recipient could receive without forfeiting any Social Security benefits, Mansfield asks that the cosponsors of his proposal be listed, and Muskie’s name appears along with the 73 others who have cosponsored. This amendment was initially introduced as a bill, S. 4001, on September 19.

33885; October 5, 1972; Muskie is listed as a cosponsor on a Mondale (D- Minnesota) amendment designed to allow the 20 percent social security benefit increase to be passed through directly to recipients without being offset by cuts in food stamp entitlements or increases in rental costs under subsidized housing programs. Muskie briefly describes the dilemma of raising the total income of persons whose other benefits are tied to income levels which have not increased.

Supplementary Education Services for the Handicapped Act of 1972: enact (see bill S. 3407), 11645.

11645; April 6, 1972; Muskie is added as a cosponsor to a Williams (D- New Jersey) bill, S. 3407, to supplement education services for the handicapped by authorizing the purchase of television, theater production, and telecommunications aids for the deaf, and sensory and communications aids for the handicapped under the Supplementary Education Services for the Handicapped. Senator Williams participated in the first-ever interview conducted by teletype at the Mount Carmel Guild in New Jersey and became interested in the technology and the ways it could be used to overcome disabilities. for the handicapped.

Black Lung Benefits Act of 1972: bill (11R. 9212) to enact, 12902.

12902; April 17, 1972; During debate on H.R. 9212, the Black Lung Benefits Act, Muskie makes a statement in support of the bill, which the Senate approved. At this time, despite passage of the 1969 law limiting the amount of coal dust permitted in mines and providing for compensation for miners with Black Lung, the Nixon administration was doing its best to limit claims by miners and the bill was an effort to correct this situation.

Menominee Restoration Act: enact (se S.3514),14115.

14115; April 25, 1972; Muskie added as cosponsor of S. 3514, a Proxmire (D- Wisconsin) bill, to restore federal recognition to the Menominee Indians of Wisconsin, which had been withdrawn in 1961, following a the award to the tribe of $7.6 million to compensate for the mismanagement of their tribal timber assets by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The Termination policy was an Eisenhower era proposal intended to apply ultimately to all Indian tribes, but its supporters failed to realize that although the Bureau of Indian Affairs provided education and health services, these were generally substandard in quality. When the Menominee asked for a distribution of $5 million of their legal award, Congress tied the release of the money to termination, and federal recognition and services ended in 1961. The tribe exhausted much of its assets in attempting to bring roads, sewage systems, schools and the hospital up to Wisconsin state standards, and was forced to start selling some of its land by the end of the 1960s. The bill was an effort to restore federal recognition of the tribe and with it, the education and health services the tribe had been unable to provide for itself.

Sudden infant death syndrome: relating to (see S.J. Res. 206), 14667.

14667; April 27, 1972; Muskie is added as a cosponsor to S. J. Res. 206, a Mondale (D-Minnesota) joint resolution relating to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome [SIDS], a condition which afflicts otherwise healthy newborns who cease breathing as they sleep.

Controlled Substances Act: identification of each schedule II dosage unit produced and remove certain barbiturates schedule III to schedule II (see bills S. 3538,3539), 15065.

15065; May 1, 1972; Muskie is added as a cosponsor to two Bayh (D- Indiana) bills, S. 3538, requiring manufacturer identification of each unit of a Schedule II drug produced and S. 3539, which would shift 4 types of barbiturates from Schedule III to Schedule II. These bills were a response to the growing problem of amphetamine and barbiturate abuse by teenagers, and the ready availability of both "uppers" and "downers" diverted from legal production for street sale. A Schedule II drug is more strictly controlled throughout its distribution than a Schedule III drug.

Letter: Funds for Neighborhood Youth Corps program, Senator Magnuson, by, 15139.

15139; May 1, 1972; Muskie is shown as one of the Senate signatories on a letter to Senator Magnuson (D- Washington) the Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, asking for a larger commitment of funds for the summer jobs program for low-income youth.

Microwave radiation: research into chronic effects of (see bill S. 3487), 15894.

15894; May 4, 1972; Muskie’s name is added as a cosponsor to a Tunney (D- California) bill, S. 3487, to amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for research into the chronic effects of microwave radiation. Microwave radiation is absorbed near the skin, but at this time efforts were being made to determine if there were other, potentially harmful, effects as well.

Passamaquoddy Indian Tribe: legislation for relief of, 20441.

Passamaquoddy Indian Tribe in Maine: for relief (see bill S. 3695), 20441.

20441; June 12, 1972; Muskie introduces a private bill, S. 3695, on behalf of Senator Smith (R- Maine)and himself, to overcome a statute of limitations on a suit filed by the Passamaquoddy Indians of Maine alleging the mishandling of tribal funds and lands held in trust for them by the State of Maine. Muskie’s statement describes the technical nature of the problem, which is that the suit must be bought by the federal government on behalf of the Indians, and says that since the suit had been before the Department of Interior before the statute of limitations had run, it would be unfair to allow the time to run out and then use that fact as a reason to deny the tribe its day in court. Although most private bills are designed for the relief of a problem affecting one particular individual, and are therefore not openly described in the Senate, this is an example of a private bill which would affect only one specific situation, but which is nonetheless a matter of public policy.

Letter: Discontinuing Postal Academy Program, by, 21140.

21140; June 15, 1972; During a debate on the appropriation for Labor and Health, Education and Welfare in the House of Representatives, Congressman Mikva (D- Illinois) argues in favor of the Postal Academy Program, a project operating in 6 inner cities in which high school dropouts are recruited to improve their educational achievement so as to get their G.E.D. certificates. When it was created, the U.S. Post Office, which operated the program, offered jobs to graduates, and it was a success. In 1972, however, the head of the newly created Postal Service declined to continue to operate the program, although funds were available. Muskie and others in Congress wrote letters to the Administration asking that something be done to continue the program, which Congressman Mikva included in his comments in the House debate.

Law enforcement officers: pay tribute to on Law Day, May 1, 1973 (see S.J. Res.228), 21631.

21631; June 20, 1972; Muskie is added as a cosponsor to a Hollings (D- South Carolina) resolution, S. J. Res 228, to pay tribute to law enforcement officers on the occasion of Law Day, May 1, 1972. Law Day was created in 1958 and is an annual proclamation by the sitting president to honor American liberty under law by appropriate celebrations and activities.

  

Food, Drug, and Consumer Product Safety Act of 1972: to enact (see bill S. 3419), 21846.

21846; June 21, 1972; As the Senate takes up S. 3419, a bill to provide for consumer protection as part of the Food, Drug and Consumer Product Safety Act, Senator Moss (D- Utah) asks that the bill’s cosponsors be listed, and Muskie’s name is listed along with several others.

Emergency Unemployment Compensation Program: 6-month extension (see bill S.3704),22600.

Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970: suspend requirement for determining if there has been a state "off" indicator (see bill S. 3705).22600.

22600; June 27, 1972; Muskie is added as a cosponsor of a Magnuson (D- Washington) bill, S. 3704, to provide for a 6-month extension of the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program, and of S. 3705, a bill to amend Section 203(2) of the federal-state extended unemployment compensation act of 1970. During periods of continued high unemployment, it was common for the Congress to extend the benefit period for those who had been unable to find work. This practice continues today.

Roosevelt Campobello International Park Commission: unemployment compensation benefits for employees of (see bill S. 3763), 22798.

22798; June 28, 1972; Notice of Muskie’s introduction of S. 3723, a bill to provide the same unemployment compensation benefits as are available to federal workers to the U.S. citizens who are employed at Roosevelt Campobello International Park.

Roosevelt Campobello International Park Commission: provide unemployment compensation to employees of, 22853.

22853; June 28, 1972; Muskie explains that his bill, S. 3723, to provide U.S. citizens who work at the Roosevelt Campobello International Park with unemployment and workers’ compensation benefits is necessary because these workers, although U.S. citizens and taxpayers, and covered by the Social Security Act, are also employees of an international organization, the Park’s Commission. The Park was established by U.S.-Canadian treaty in 1964, and the international commission which runs the Park was part of that creation. The Social Security Act specifically bars employees of international organizations from receiving unemployment and workers’ compensation benefits.

Letter: Legal services for elderly poor, to P. V. Sanchez, by, 23264.

23264; June 29, 1972; During debate on S. 3010, the Economic Opportunity Amendments of 1972, Senator Cranston (D- California) describes the compromises made in the development of the Legal Services Corporation, and includes a letter urging the administration for a greater commitment to legal services programs. Muskie is one of the a signatories to this letter. This debate reflects the ongoing effort by the Nixon administration to dismantle the War on Poverty by depriving its programs of adequate funding.

Comprehensive Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Prevention, Treatment, and Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1972: enact (see bill S. 3644), 27228.

27228; August 8, 1972; Muskie is added as a cosponsor to S. 3644, a Hughes (D- Iowa) bill to amend the Comprehensive Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Prevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation Act, a 3-year extension of the 1970 law, which was due to expire in 1973. It continued the program of grants to the states for alcoholism treatment and added a requirement that local hospitals accept alcoholics in need of emergency hospitalization, to overcome the reluctance of many community hospitals to accept such patients.

Summer food service programs for children: amend bill (H.R. 14896) relating to funding, 27913.

27913; August 11, 1972; Muskie is shown as a cosponsor of a Case (R- New Jersey) amendment to the National School Lunch Act, H.R. 14896, to eliminate a provision in the bill that would have permitted the placement of vending machines in the public schools by eliminating the authority of the Agriculture Department to regulate such placements. The fight over school vending machines was in its early stages at this time, and was limited to organizations whose proceeds or activities benefitted the school directly.

Full Employment and Job Development Act of 1972: enact (see bill S. 3927), 28634.

28634; August 17, 1972; Muskie is shown as one of the cosponsors of a Javits (R-New York) bill, S. 3927, providing for a full employment policy to fulfil the goals of the 1946 Full Employment Act. This post-war law had a long influence on economic thought and in the early years of the 1970s, neither party was willing to abandon the goal of “full employment.” The Javits bill, accordingly, was actually a bipartisan Javits-Mondale (D-Minnesota) bill and its 13 cosponsors included 3 Republicans. By the next decade, however, the goal of full employment was rarely mentioned and today it is virtually forgotten. The bill would have established an independent agency to oversee and direct the public service programs authorized by other laws.

Survivor benefit plan: establish (see bill S.3905), 29453.

29453; September 6, 1972; Muskie is added as a cosponsor to S. 3905, a Bentsen (D-Texas) bill to establish a survivor benefit plan for career members of the Armed Forces. The bill created a survivor benefit program for widows and dependent children similar to that in place for federal workers in the civil service to take the place of the existing three programs of survivor benefits which did not reach all widowed military spouses.

Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act: amend bill (H.R. 8389) to amend, 31047.

31047; September 18, 1973; Muskie is listed as one of the cosponsors of a McClellan (D-Arkansas) amendment to the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act, H.R. 8389. The amendment contains four separate proposals which the Senate had passed before as individual free standing bills: the compensation for victims; group insurance program for public safety officers, death and disability benefit program for public safety officers, and compensation for the victims of racketeering. This amendment was offered on the floor by Senator Mansfield (D- Montana) as a substitute for the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe streets Act as a way to get the provisions into the bill and thus into conference before the end of the session.

Social Security Act: liberalization and automatic adjustment relative to earnings test (see bill S. 4001), 31151.

31151; September 11, 1972; Muskie is one of the 71 Senators who are shown as cosponsors of a Mansfield bill, S. 4001, to increase from $1680 to $3000 the amount of outside income a Social Security recipient could receive without losing Social Security benefits, and to reduce the loss of benefits when outside income rises above $3000. This was part of the effort to reduce poverty among the elderly, which at this period stood at about 25% of all elderly Americans.

Consumer Protection Organization Act of 1972: bill (S. 3970) to enact, 32727, 32728.

32727; September 28, 1972; During debate on the Consumer Protection Organization Act, S. 3970, Muskie makes a brief statement about the bill. The tenor of his remarks reveals the extent to which this, like other consumer protection efforts, was the target of a misinformation campaign aiming to defeat the proposal.

Employee pension and welfare benefit plans: strengthen and improve protections and interests of participants and beneficiaries of (see bill S. 3598), 33317

33317; October 3, 1972; Muskie is added as a cosponsor to S. 3598, a Williams (D-New Jersey) bill designed to protect workers’ pensions for their lifetimes. At this time, some 30 million workers were covered by private pension plans to which they contributed through payroll deductions. The only federal oversight of the resulting pool of $113 billion was a series of reporting requirements and in the case of criminal culpability. The bill proposed to establish minimum vesting terms, to require plans to be fully funded over a 40-year period with a federal reinsurance program in case of plan terminations, created a voluntary system of portability for vested employees, and provided for greater disclosure to workers of the plan’s provisions.

Social Security Amendments of 1972: bill (H.R. 1) to enact, 33882, 33883, 33952.

33882, 33883; October 5, 1972; During debate on H.R. 1, the Social Security Amendments of 1972, Muskie speaks on a Mondale (D- Minnesota) amendment which sought to protect the 20% increase in Social Security benefits against hikes in subsidized housing or cuts in food stamps

33952; October 5, 1972; During debate on H.R. 1, the Social Security amendments, Muskie speaks on a Nelson (D- Wisconsin) amendment dealing with repeal of a tax benefit, the Accelerated Depreciation Range for business purchases of goods and equipment which allowed a 20% faster writeoff for tax purposes, but which was widely criticized at the time for costing as much as it returned in economic growth.

Older Americans Comprehensive Service Amendments of 1972: enact, (see bill S. 4044), 33408.

33408; October 3, 1972; At the conclusion of the debate and after an 89-0 vote for passage, Muskie was listed among a handful of other Senators as cosponsors of the Older Americans Act.

Worker Alienation Research and Technical Assistance Act of 1972: enact (see bill S.3916), 35694.

35694; October 13, 1972; Muskie is added as a cosponsor to S. 3916, a Kennedy (D-Massachusetts) bill called the Worker Alienation Research and Technical Assistance Act of 1972. Senator Kennedy cited such problems as increased absenteeism, turnover, grievance procedures, and disciplinary layoffs as counteracting worker productivity, and proposed a program of research and pilot projects to develop changes in training and other workplace routines.

FEDERALISM, INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS

1972 2nd Session, 92nd Congress

Tax-exempt organizations: permit certain to communicate with legislative bodies (see bill S. 3063), 832.

Tax-exempt organizations: permit communications with legislative bodies by, 843, 850.

Text: S.3063, permit tax-exempt organizations to engage in communications with legislative bodies, 843.

Federal Tax Limitations on Political Activities of Public Interest and Educational Organizations, T. L. Garrett, 844.

832; January 24, 1972; Notice only of Muskie’s introduction of a bill, S. 3063, to amend the Internal Revenue Code so as to permit tax exempt organizations to engage in lobbying activities.

843, 844; January 24, 1972; Muskie makes an introductory statement on S. 3063, explaining that this new version of the bill specifies that it applies only to public tax-exempt organizations which use substantially more than half of their revenues for the tax-exempt purpose for which they were created. His original bill, S. 1408, introduced in 1971, did not contain such a provision, and had raised concerns that it might allow lobbying organizations to qualify for tax exemption.

Notice of hearings by Committee on Government Operations, 1036.

1036; January 25, 1972; In Muskie’s absence, Senator Metcalf (D- Montana) announces on his behalf that the Intergovernmental Relations Subcommittee will hold hearings on S. 448, a bill that would require certain regulatory agencies to send their appropriations requests directly to the Congress, rather than channeling them through the Administration. Hearings are scheduled for February 15, 16, 17, 22 and 23, 1972. This proposal was one of the numerous efforts developed at this time to counter the Nixon administration’s efforts to centralize and control all budgetary functions within the Office of Management and Budget, and to make certain that the only budget request numbers the Congress would learn about would be the centrally approved ones. Like all administrations, the Nixon administration disliked the relationships that had developed between Congressional appropriators and the independent agencies whose budgets they controlled.

Notice of continued hearings by Committee on Government Operations, 12623.

12623; April 13, 1972; Senator Metcalf (D- Montana) announces on Muskie's behalf that the Intergovernmental Relations Subcommittee will hold continued hearings on S. 448, a bill that would require certain regulatory agencies to send their appropriations requests directly to the Congress, rather than channeling them through the Administration. Hearings are scheduled for April 18 and 19, 1972. This proposal was one of the numerous efforts developed at this time to counter the Nixon administration’s efforts to centralize and control all budgetary functions within the Office of Management and Budget, and to make certain that the only budget request numbers the Congress would learn about would be the centrally approved ones. Like all administrations, the Nixon administration disliked the relationships that had developed between Congressional appropriators and the independent agencies whose budgets they controlled.

Intergovernmental Cooperation Act 1972: enact (see bill S. 3140), 3033.

Intergovernmental Personnel Act Amendments of 1972: enact (see bill S. 3141), 3033.

3033; February 8, 1972; Notice only of Muskie’s introduction of two bills, S. 3140, the Intergovernmental Cooperation bill, and S. 3142, the Intergovernmental Personnel amendments.

Intergovernmental Cooperation Act of 1972: introduction, 3035

Text: S.3140, Intergovernmental Cooperation Act of 1972, 3036.

 

3035; February 8, 1972; Muskie makes an introductory statement on S. 3140, the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act, pointing out that in the previous decade, grants to the states for various program purposes have ballooned to over 530 individual programs and now make up as much as 20 percent of the revenues of states and localities. The bill is designed to allow the President to consolidate grants and to streamline the auditing process.

Intergovernmental Personnel Act Amendments of 1972: introduction, 3042

Text: Intergovernmental Personnel Act Amendments of 1972, 3043.

3042; February 8, 1972; Muskie introduces S. 3142, the Intergovernmental Personnel Act amendments of 1972, which would establish a program of federal-state fellowships modeled on the White House Fellows program to permit young people to serve in state and local government for a period of a year.

Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970: minimum Federal payments after July 1, 1972 (see bill S. 1819), 3858.

3858; February 15, 1972; Muskie’s name is added along with many other Senators’ as a cosponsor of S. 1819, a Baker (R- Tennessee) bill which amends the Uniform Relocation Act by making a temporary $25,000 federal payment under the law permanent, instead of allowing it to expire on July 1, 1972. The Relocation Act, which was a long-time Muskie initiative, was written with the idea that states and the federal government would share the costs of relocation assistance to individuals displaced by federally-funded projects, such as highways, with federal funding as an initial two-year startup cost. By the time this proposal was made, however, state budgets were in crisis, and states were devising means of avoiding the payments. The solution proposed in this bill was to make the first $25,000 of relocation costs a permanent federal benefit.

Committee on Government Operations: notice of hearings, 6194.

6194; March 1, 1972; Muskie announces that on March 7, the Intergovernmental Relations subcommittee will hold hearings on S. 718, a bill to create a catalog of federal assistance programs, and S. 3140, and S. 3141, the Intergovernmental Cooperation and Personnel Acts,

Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970: amend bill (S. 1819) to amend, 12342.

12342; April 12, 1972; During debate on the relocation act amendments, Senator Brock (R-Tennessee) calls up an amendment of which Muskie is a cosponsor, designed to prevent an overly narrow interpretation of the act, one of the ways in which states had been attempting to evade the costs of reimbursing people who were involuntarily relocated by a federally-aided program.

                         

Advisory committees: standards and procedures governing establishment and operation of (see bill S. 3529), 14098.

14098; April 25, 1972; Muskie shown as cosponsor of S. 3529, a Metcalf (D- Montana) bill designed to establish standards for the operation of advisory committees in the federal government. Advisory committees, of which there were about 1800 at the time, function as guides for policy makers, and the goal of the Metcalf proposal was to make certain that their meetings and records were available to the public, and that the Executive branch review the need for advisory committees systematically, and abolish those which were unnecessary.

State and Local Fiscal Assistance Act of 1972: enact (see bill S. 3651), 19125.

19125; May 30, 1972; Muskie is shown as one of the cosponsors of S. 3651, a Baker (R- Tennessee) bill which was based on the House version of the general revenue sharing program, the purpose of which was to provide a broad response to a widespread fiscal crisis at the state and local level. By 1972, the trend to a broad revenue-sharing proposal had gained strength and was very widely supported by state and local officials nationwide.

Government contracts: prompt resolution of certain disputes (see bill S. 3616), 21785.

21785; June 21, 1972; Muskie is added as a cosponsor to S. 3616, a McIntyre (D- New Hampshire) bill providing for resolution of federal contract disputes of up to $50,000 by creating regional boards of contract appeals, so that smaller businesses do not have the expense of traveling to Washington D.C., and providing for informal hearing processes with deadlines, so as ensure contract disputes are resolved within a reasonable time.

Federal Revenue sharing: amend bill (H.R. 14370) to provide for, 28675.

28675; August 17, 1972; Muskie is shown as a cosponsor of a Metcalf (D- Montana) amendment to the revenue sharing bill, to include Indian tribes as eligible recipients of the local share of revenue sharing funds.

Revenue Sharing Act of 1972: bill (H.R. 14370) to enact, 29886, 29887, 29891, 29899.

29886: September 8, 1972; As the debate on H.R. 14370, the general revenue sharing bill, opens, Muskie makes a statement of support, detailing the ways in which his proposals have been included in the bill.

29891; September 8, 1972; When Senator Metcalf (D- Montana) calls up his revenue sharing amendment, which would allow Indian tribes to receive a share of the funds, Muskie engages in a brief exchange over proposals to change the language which would exclude Maine Indians from coverage.

           

29899; September 8, 1972; Muskie makes a brief statement endorsing the Metcalf (D- Montana) amendment to extend revenue sharing funds to Indian tribes, where those tribes are carrying out some of the same governmental functions as other municipalities.

Report: Committee on Government Operations, 30201.

30201; September 12, 1972; Muskie makes a report on S. 3140, a bill to improve the financial management of federal assistance programs to facilitate the consolidation of such programs, to provide temporary authority to expedite the processing of project applications drawing upon more than one federal assistance program, to strengthen further congressional review of federal grants in aid and to extend and amend the law relating to intergovernmental cooperation. Report 92-1109.

Federal Advisory Committee Standards Act: bill (H.R.4383) to enact, 31225

31225; September 19, 1972; On behalf of Senator Metcalf (D-Montana) Muskie is the floor manager for the conference report on H.R. 4383, a bill designed to streamline and open up the 1800 assorted federal advisory committees in existence. Muskie, who cosponsored the Senate version of this bill, S. 3529, explains the goals of the bill in his remarks.

Federal assistance programs: create a catalog (see bill S. 718), 31494.

31494; September 20, 1972; Muskie is added as a cosponsor to a Roth (R- Delaware) bill, S. 718, which would authorize the creation of a catalogue of federal programs. With over 500 different federal programs of grants to states and cities, catalogues of programs began to popular at this time, as local officials found it impossible to determine the purpose of each and every program in any other way.

Financial Records Privacy Act: enact (bill S. 3814), 31925.

31925; September 22, 1972; Muskie is added as a cosponsor of a Tunney (D- California) bill S. 3814, which would amend the Bank Secrecy Act to prohibit any government agency obtaining individuals’ bank records except with the account holder’s consent, or when a subpoena is served on the individual, or when a probable cause hearing has been held and results in a court order to produce such records. This bill is a response to proposed federal regulations which would have given government significant leeway to search individuals’ private financial records.

Revenue Sharing: Senator Muskie's Doing, D. Larrabee, Maine Telegram, 35902.

35902; October 13, 1972; During debate on the conference report on the revenue sharing bill, Senator Hughes (D- Iowa) notes that Muskie had as much to do with the bill as anyone, and inserts a Maine Sunday Telegram column to that effect. Muskie was not present for this debate.

CRIMINAL LAW, CIVIL RIGHTS, CONSTITUTIONAL LAW

1972 2nd Session, 92nd Congress

Civil Rights Commission Act of 1972: enact (see bill S. 3121), 2460.

2460; February 3, 1972; Muskie is shown as one of the original cosponsors of S. 3121, a Hart (D- Michigan) bill to extend the life of the Civil Rights Commission for a further five years and to expand its jurisdiction to the consideration of discrimination based on sex, one of the recommendations of the 1970 President’s Task Force on the Rights and Responsibilities of Women.

Education Amendments of 1971: amend bill (S. 659) to enact, 4444

4444; February 17, 1972; Muskie is listed as a cosponsor of an amendment No. 874, proposed by Bayh (D- Indiana) to S. 659, the Education Amendments of 1971. The Bayh amendment prohibits the exclusion of any person from a federally-financed educational program on the basis of sex, and was the most far-reaching proposal in the educational field. At this time, a Ford Foundation study had reported that sex discrimination “is still overt and socially acceptable within the academic community” and a lengthy series of House hearings in 1970 had explored in detail the distinctions and disabilities women faced in the academic field.

Death Penalty Suspension Act of 1971: act (see bill S. 1969), 17969.

17969; May 18, 1972; Muskie is added as a cosponsor to a Hart (D- Michigan) bill, S. 1969, to suspend the operation of the death penalty. The practical functioning of the death penalty was being called into question at this time as it became more evident that the majority of those receiving the sentence were minorities, particularly in cases where the victims were white. On June 29, 1972, the Supreme Court ruled that the manner in which the states of Georgia and Texas were carrying out the death penalty constituted “cruel and unusual” punishment within the meaning of the Eighth Amendment. As a result of that ruling, thirty other states suspended executions while state laws were re-written to eliminate those elements of capital statutes the Court identified as being arbitrary. Maine had abolished its death penalty in the nineteenth century and Muskie never supported the death penalty.

Minority businesses, 18950.

Space Age Industries' Challenge to Minority Businesses, Chicago Economic Development Corporation Conference, C. Delores Tucker, 18950.

18950; May 25, 1972; Muskie notes that there is no significant new effort to increase black entrepreneurship, and inserts a speech by C. Delores Tucker, which discusses the need for greater black solidarity and additional specialized training for black businessmen.

Kleindienst, Richard G.: nomination, 20257, 20258.

ITT Corp.: settlement of anti-trust case, 20257, 20258.

20257, 20258; June 8, 1972; In the debate on the nomination of Richard Kleindienst to be Attorney General, the issue of the ITT case was a central concern. ITT (International Telephone and Telegraph) was at the time the eighth largest corporation in the U.S., and had acquired the largest manufacturer of vending machines and a major insurance company, acquisitions the Justice Department’s Antitrust bureau was investigating. On February 29, 1972, an investigative journalist, Jack Anderson, published a memorandum from Dita Beard, an ITT lobbyist, discussing the company’s agreement to give $400,000 to the Republican National Committee for its planned San Diego convention, apparently in exchange for withdrawal of the Antitrust Division’s divestiture order. The memo was dated June 25, 1971, the Republican National Committee voted to have its convention in San Diego on July 23, 1971, and ITT won an out of court settlement of the antitrust case on July 30, 1971.

Contacts between ITT and the nominee, Kleindienst, who was then serving as Deputy Attorney General, raised concerns which were heightened by his and others’ refusal to testify fully at the nomination hearings. By May, 1972, the Republican National Committee had voted to have the convention in Miami rather than San Diego, and by the time of this June debate, the controversy was far from over. Following the revelations of the Watergate scandal, it was revealed that the ITT bribe was known to the President. Kleindienst pleaded guilty to misleading Congress in May, 1974.

Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1972: bill (H.R. 13915) to enact, 34538-34547.

School busing: legislation, 34538-34547.

34538-34547; October 10, 1972; During debate on H.R. 13915, an anti-busing bill, Muskie makes a lengthy statement describing in detail the ways in which the Administration’s proposal would return the nation to segregated schools. The Nixon Administration proposed to allow all litigated desegregation cases to be reopened, and it sought to strip from the federal courts the right to review school desegregation plans. It was one of the political cornerstones of the so-called Southern Strategy which Nixon pursued, to undermine Democrats in the southern states by subtle and not-so-subtle appeals to race.

MISCELLANEOUS

1972 2^nd Session, 92^nd Congress

Dolloff, Maynard C.: NASDA president, 9458.

9458; March 22, 1972; Muskie makes a brief comment on the election of Maine’s commissioner of agriculture, Maynard C. Dolloff to be president of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture.

Stein Maurice M.: eulogy, 23104.

Maurice M. Stein (sundry), 23105.

23104; June 28, 1972; Muskie makes a statement on the sudden death of Maurice Stein, a Maine businessman who was instrumental in forging a marketing program for the egg industry.

Lattimer Massacre Memorial, 30224

Proclamation, Lattimer Massacre Memorial year. 30225

30224, 30225; September 12, 1972; Muskie notes that a labor union dedicated a monument in Hazelton, Pennsylvania on the previous Sunday in honor of miners of Polish, Slovak and Lithuanian descent who lost their lives in a miners’ strike at the Lattimer Mines 75 years before.

POLITICS

1972 92nd Congress, 2nd Session

You Can Trust Muskie, Knoxville (Tenn.) News-Sentinel, 1866.

1866; January 31, 1972; Congressman Duncan (R- Tennessee) comments on a hostile local Tennessee editorial critical of Muskie’s rhetoric. At the beginning of the year, Muskie was still seen by the media as the Democratic front-runner for the presidential nomination. As a result, there was a concerted Republican effort to publicize whatever negative information or commentary about him was available.

Senator Muskie's Disarmers, Rowland Evans and Robert Novak, Washington Post, 5278.

5278; February 23, 1972; Congressman Wyman (R-New Hampshire) inserts an opinion column about a meeting of Muskie advisors which he characterizes as evidence of Muskie’s intention to drastically reduce defense spending. This was another example of the continuing efforts of the administration and the national Republican Party to undercut support for Muskie.

National Voter Registration Act: amend bill (S.2574) to enact, 8017.

8017; March 13, 1972; Muskie is listed as a cosponsor of amendment No. 1042, a Tunney (D- California) amendment to S. 2574, the National Voter Registration Act. The purpose of the bill was to create a National Voter Registration Administration within the Bureau of the Census. The underlying bill here would have provided for voter registration by mail, as a means of dealing with the different and sometimes arbitrary voter registration procedures in place in the different states.

Remarks in House relative to: Florida primary results, 8469.

8469; March 15, 1972; Congressman Abernethy (D- Mississippi) comments on the aftermath of the Florida primary vote, criticizing Muskie’s reaction to Governor Wallace’s win. Governor Wallace (D- Alabama) ran for president four times: In 1964, 1968, 1972 and 1976. In 1968 and 1972 he ran as a Democrat and did surprisingly well in the primaries. In 1972, he won the Florida primary over nine other candidates, including Muskie. He was shot and paralyzed from the waist down in Laurel, Maryland, on May 15, 1972, by Andrew Bremer, which forced him from the presidential race, but he went on to win the 1972 Democratic primaries in Maryland, Michigan, Tennessee and North Carolina. Wallace’s main claim to fame was his resistence throughout most of the decade of the 1960s to desegregation.

Remarks in Senate relative to: Contest for nomination, 9015.

9015; March 20, 1972; Senator Scott (R-Pennsylvania), the minority leader of the Senate, makes what he may have considered to be a witty observation about the political polling on Muskie and Senator Humphrey (D- Minnesota).

Letter: Views on monopoly and corporate abuses, R. Nader, by, 9479.

9479; March 22, 1972; Senator Harris (D- Oklahoma) says he is introducing the presidential candidates’ views on corporate power by way of a Ralph Nader letter requesting candidates’ responses to a series of questions on antitrust policy. These illustrate both the political pieties of the time and the very different styles of the candidates in responding to the Nader request. Nader made such requests – which many candidates saw as thinly veiled threats – throughout the 1970s because his reputation as a crusader for consumers was then at its height. It is no longer as unassailable.

Voters Registration Assistance Act of 1972: enact (see bill S. 3420), 12832, 13385.

12832; April 17, 1972; Muskie is added as a cosponsor to a Kennedy (D- Massachusetts) voting registration bill, S. 3420, which is designed to establish a system of federal grants as an incentive to the states to improve and streamline voter registration procedures and also to actually undertake expanded efforts to register those not yet registered to vote.

13385; April 19, 1972; Senator Kennedy (D- Massachusetts) again lists the cosponsors of his voting registration bill, S. 3420, and Muskie’s name appears. It is probable that this listing is meant to establish a definitive list of cosponsors.

Muskie: They Buried the Wrong Man, S. Smith, D.C. Gazette, 19286.

19286; May 31, 1972; Senator Eagleton (D-Missouri) states that Muskie should be the Democratic presidential nominee and inserts an opinion piece about the Muskie campaign: "Muskie: They Buried the Wrong Man" by Sam Smith, published in the May issue of the D.C. Gazette. Eagleton states that while he disagrees with the author's conclusion that the Muskie campaign is irrecovably dead, he believes the author makes a powerful argument in favor of Muskie's nomination.

National Voter Registration Month: designate (see S.J. Res. 245), 21244.

21244; June 16, 1972; Muskie is added as a cosponsor of a Randolph (D-West Virginia) resolution, S. J. Res. 245, which would designate September, 1972 as “Voter Registration Month.”

Edmund S. Muskie, C. La Verdiere, Waterville (Maine) Sentinel, 27742.

27742 [begins 27741]; August 10, 1972; Senator Stevenson (D- Illinois) talks about the media treatment of Muskie and inserts a news article about the Senator and the vice presidential debacle. When McGovern (D- South Dakota) chose Senator Tom Eagleton (D-Missouri) as his vice presidential running mate, news stories about Eagleton’s bouts of depression and treatment with electrical shocks – then a still-common treatment for depression – forced him to step aside, but not before a protracted and embarrassing period of indecision by the McGovern campaign.

SENATE

1972 92nd Congress, 2nd Session

Appointed conferee, 3159, 12447. 27307, 30508, 34281

3159; February 8, 1972; Muskie is appointed a conferee on S. 3122, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972.

12447; April 12, 1972; Muskie is appointed one of the conferees on S. 2770, the Water Pollution Control Act Amendments.

27307; August 8, 1972; Muskie is named a conferee on S. 1819, the Uniform Relocation Act.

30508; September 13, 1972; Muskie is named a conferee on H.R. 4383, to authorize the establishment of a system governing the creation and operation of advisory committees in the Executive Branch of the federal government.

34281; October 6, 1972; Muskie is appointed a conferee on S. 3939, the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1972.

Memorials of legislature Maine, 6195.

6195; March 1, 1972; Senator Smith (R-Maine) for herself and Muskie introduces a joint resolution passed by the Maine state legislature expressing its support for a constitutional amendment to provide for the offering of voluntary prayer in the public school system.

Senate: authorize each Member to employ student interns (see S. Res. 275), 12358.

12358; April 12, 1972; Muskie is added as a cosponsor to a Stevens (R- Alaska) resolution authorizing Senators to employ student interns, and providing additional funds for each Senate office to employ students. Although many interns did spend part of the summer in Senate offices each year, not all of them were paid, making it difficult for students from lower-income families to take on internships. At the same time, Senators from smaller states receive a smaller office allowance than those from larger states, and in a considerable number of cases, use their office funds fully for full-time staff.

Summary, 92d Congress, 1st session: activity by, 14277-14279.

14277; April 25, 1972; Senator Eagleton (D-Missouri) introduces a brief but comprehensive list of the major legislative activities Muskie undertook in 1971, including significant hearings and legislation in a wide variety of issue areas. This list, although it reads like a campaign document, was published well after Muskie had formally withdrawn from the presidential race.

Ellender, Allen J.: eulogy, 27019.

27019; August 7, 1972; Muskie gives a brief eulogy on Senator Ellender (D- Louisiana) who died at age 81 on July 27, 1972. Ellender was elected to the Senate in 1936 and serves six consecutive terms, becoming President Pro Tempore of the Senate in the 92^nd Congress.

McClellan, John L.: tribute for service as chairman of Committee on Government Operations (S. Res. 355), 28250.

28250; August 15, 1972; Muskie was one of the members of the Senate Government Operations Committee which produced a resolution honoring the Chairman, Senator McClellan (D-Arkansas) for his long service. Although some members spoke, there is no Muskie text at this location.

Senate: privilege of the floor, 31067, 33692, 35393.

31067; September 18, 1972; Muskie requests that staffers, Leon Billings and Don Alexander, be given the privileges of the Senate floor during the course of debate on the land use bill.

33692; October 4, 1972; At the opening of debate on conference report on the water pollution bill, Muskie asks that several members of the Public Works Committee staff be granted the privileges of the Senate floor.

35393; October 12, 1972; During debate on the noise pollution act, Muskie makes the request that a staff member of Senator Tunney’s, and a staff member of Senator Hart’s be given the privileges of the Senate floor. Towards the end of a session, when there is usually a shortage of time and a great many things to be accomplished, it is not unusual for the individual Senator who has been holding the floor to make a request such as this. It serves to save the Senate’s time when additional Senators do not need to seek and receive recognition to speak.

Cloture motion, 32997, 33400.

32997; September 30, 1972; Muskie is shown as one of the signatories on the cloture petition filed by Senator Javits on S. 3970, the consumer protection agency bill.

Cloture is the term used to describe the process by which a filibuster can be ended in the Senate. At the time of this vote, the requirement was that a cloture petition, signed by no fewer than 16 Senators, be presented to the Senate, by being formally presented to the desk where Senate business is filed, and that a cloture vote, a vote on the petition, be held no sooner than 48 hours thereafter. A successful cloture vote at this time required the affirmative votes of two-thirds of the Senators in the Chamber at the time, a high hurdle to overcome. Signing a cloture petition was a way for a Senator to indicate stronger-than-average support for a position in favor of or against the pending legislation.

33400; October 3, 1972; a second cloture petition on the same bill also has Muskie shown as a signatory. It is a common practice to file more than one cloture petition on the same bill, as a means of ensuring at least two or more chances to vote on ending a filibuster against a bill, and it is common for the same Senators who sign the original cloture petition to add their names to any subsequent ones.

Tributes in Senate, 34547, 37279.

34547; October 10, 1972; At the close of Muskie’s speech on equal educational opportunity, Senator Hart (D-Michigan) compliments him on it. Hart served on the Judiciary Committee and had been a leader in civil rights debates since the middle of the 1960s.

37279; October 18, 1972; The Senate Majority Leader, Senator Mansfield (D- Montana) briefly pays tribute to Muskie for his successful defense of the water pollution control bill over the President’s veto.

President pro tempore: thanks of the Senate to (see S. Res. 385*), 37321.

37321; October 18, 1972; As the session prepares to wrap up, Muskie presents a resolution expressing the thanks of the Senate to the President Pro Tempore, Senator Eastland (D-Mississippi) for presiding over its proceedings. This is a routine resolution approved at the end of every Congress, and is usually presented and approved at the same time as the President is notified of the adjournment of the two Houses of Congress.

TAX, BUDGET, FISCAL POLICY

1972 2nd Session, 92nd Congress

Income Tax: allow business deduction for certain expenses to enable individual to be gainfully employed (see bill S. 3227), 5381.

5381; February 24, 1972; Muskie is shown as a cosponsor of S. 3227, a Tunney (D-California) bill to permit a business expense deduction for household and child care expenses incurred by working women to enable them to be gainfully employed.

Tax Reform Act of 1972, by, 10425.

Tax Reform Act of 1972: enact (see bill S. 3378), 10425.

10425; March 28, 1972; Muskie becomes a cosponsor of a Nelson (D- Wisconsin) bill, S. 3378, to reform the tax code, and briefly notes that while the overall goal of reform is broadly shared, there are differences of emphasis and detail among the proposals offered by himself and Nelson, and says he hopes to introduce his own bill to help move the debate along.

Regulating Regulators, K. Mills, Newhouse News Service (series), 27232-27234.

27232-27234; August 8, 1972; Muskie describes the work the Intergovernmental Relations Subcommittee has done in its hearings on S. 448, a bill designed to restore budgetary control of the independent agencies to the Congress rather than the Office of Management and Budget, and submits news stories illustrating the case. The use by the Nixon administration of the OMB to reduce independent agencies’ budgets before they were submitted to the Congress became one of the issues that helped produce pressure to reform the Congressional appropriating process itself.

Debt limit: amend bill (H.R. 16810) to limit Federal expenditures and provide temporary increase in, 35966.

35966; October 13, 1972; Muskie is shown as a cosponsor of a Magnuson (D- Washington) amendment to H.R. 16810, the debt limit bill, which would affect a “trigger” requirement that was made law two years earlier as part of the extended unemployment benefits program. The trigger requirement was at the time having the perverse effect of limiting eligibility for the extended 13 weeks of unemployment benefits in precisely those states which had persistent and unchanging high levels of unemployment, because it depended upon the jobless rate being 120 percent higher than the prior two years’ jobless rate.

Internal Revenue Code of 1954: amend bill (H.R.7577) to amend section 3306 of the, 36275

36275; October 14, 1972; Muskie is shown as a cosponsor of a Javits (R-New York) amendment to H.R. 7577, a tax bill, to eliminate a triggering requirement in the unemployment compensation benefits law which was preventing the jobless in high-unemployment states from qualifying for an additional 13 weeks of extended unemployment benefits. This same amendment had been offered to the debt limit bill on the previous day by Senator Magnuson (D-Washington), in an late-session effort to attach the language to legislation that become law.

TRADE

1972 2nd Session, 92nd Congress

Shoe industry: economic problems, 18962, 18963.

Economic conditions: shoe industry, 18962, 18963.

Hides: control exports, 18962, 26256

Shoe industry: hide exports, 26256.

Export Control Administration Extension Act: bill (S. 3726) to enact, 26256.

Letter: Shortage of hides in shoe industry, President Nixon, by, 26263.

18962, 18963; May 25, 1972; Muskie speaks about the effect that the Nixon Administration’s economic controls is having on Maine’s shoe manufacturers. President Nixon instituted price controls on consumer products as inflationary pressures grew in the early 1970s. At the same time, Argentina, the world’s second-largest source of cow hides, imposed a virtual export ban on its hides as a means of developing a domestic tanning and manufacturing sector. As a result, the prices of U.S. cow hides were bid up by foreign buyers to whom the Argentine supply was closed, and U.S. shoe manufacturers found themselves competing for domestic hides. Muskie noted that although price controls on shoes were enforced, price controls on hides were not being enforced and the Nixon Administration refused to curtail hide exports.

26256; August 1, 1972; During debate on the export administration act, (which was called the Equal Export Opportunity Act that year), S. 3726, Muskie speaks against a proposal by Senator Curtis (R-Nebraska) which would have retroactively eliminated a Commerce Department ruling to limit cattle hide exports, and would have subjected all Commerce decisions on exports affecting agricultural commodities to a prior clearance by the Department of Agriculture. This debate excerpt illustrates the enduring conflicts between economic sectors, with both sides arguing that their economic well-being deserves priority.

Upholstery supplies: amend bill (H.R. 640) relating to duty free entry of certain, 33594.

33594; October 4, 1972; Muskie is shown as a cosponsor of a Javits (R-New York) amendment to a tariff bill, H.R. 640. The Javits amendment was directed to the extended unemployment benefits program, which at this time was subject to a state-based trigger provision that provided an additional 13 weeks of benefits for jobless workers only in those states whose unemployment rate was 120 percent of its unemployment rate in the previous two years. Although this amendment appears to be an example of an entirely unrelated provision being tacked onto another bill, in fact the tariff bill had been amended by the Finance Committee to incorporate a provision dealing with unemployment insurance, a common practice whereby end-of-session bills are often loaded with unrelated amendments in an effort to move them quickly through the legislative process.

East West Trade Relations Act: amend bill (S. 2620) to enact human rights for Russian Jews. 33659.

33659; October 4, 1972; Muskie is one of the 72 cosponsors of the Jackson (D- Washington) amendment to the East West Trade Relations Act, S. 2620, which would condition normal trading relations with the Soviet Union on the right of emigration, particularly for Jews. In 1970, the Soviet Union developed a schedule of exit fees and charges which it claimed were intended to repay the state the cost of educating a citizen whose departure deprived the state of the benefits of that education. These fees began to be implemented in August, 1972, and were denounced as a form of ransom, because it was expected that they would be paid largely by U.S. Jewish organizations. Earlier in 1972, in pursuit of the policy of detente with the Soviet Union, the Administration had agreed to provide credits for the Soviet purchase of American wheat; when the Russians secretly purchased almost $1 billion worth of wheat, effectively eliminating U.S. stores, many Senators who were broadly in favor of East-West trade, like Muskie, became willing to tie the question of trade to other policy issues.

HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS

1972 2nd Session, 92nd Congress

International City Management Association, by, 31710-31712.

31710-31712; September 21, 1972; Senator Ervin (D- North Carolina) inserts the text of a Muskie speech to the International City Management Association, in which Muskie argues for open and accessible government, both at the federal and the local level, and offers his suggestions for some ways to achieve that.

International City Management Association, Graham W. Watt, 32384.

32384; September 26, 1972; Muskie inserts the text of a speech by the former city manager of Portland at the International City Management Conference, discussing the challenges facing urban management professionals.