Muskie Congressional Record: 1975 Explain

ECONOMY, COMMERCE, FISHERIES

1975 1st Session, 94th Congress

Forest service: further insect and disease control programs (see S. 34), 212

212; January 15, 1975; Notice only of Muskie and Hathaway (D- Maine) introduction of S. 34, a bill to deal with the spruce budworm problem. There is no additional information printed in the Record, so it is most likely that this is identical to S. 4213, a bill introduced in December, 1974, granting specific authority to the Forest Service to enter into cost-sharing plans with the State of Maine to control and eradicate the spruce budworm. The spruce budworm is a long-term permanent pest of cool evergreen forests, which does its damage through its larvae eating the growing buds at the tip of each tree’s branches. Populations of this pest periodically erupt in Maine and other northern states, threatening the extensive evergreen forest cover of the region.

Inflation's Grip Tightens on Poor, J. T. Wooten, New York Times, 3317

3317; February 18, 1975; Muskie speaks about the impact that extremely high rates of inflation are having on the living conditions of low income people and those on fixed incomes, such as the elderly, and includes a news story highlighting some cases. Inflation during this period was running well above 10 percent per year and unemployment was reaching over 8 percent, so the plight of low income people was particularly difficult at this time.

Emergency Marine Fisheries Protection Act of 1975: enact (see S. 961), 5272

5272; March 5, 1975; Muskie is shown as cosponsor of S. 961, a Magnuson (D-Washington) bill to extend U.S. fisheries jurisdiction 200 miles from U.S. shores.

Emergency Marine Fisheries Protection Act of 1975: introduction, 5310

5310; March 5, 1975; When Senator Magnuson (D-Washington) introduces his bill to extend the jurisdiction of U.S. fisheries administration and protection, Muskie as a cosponsor, speaks in support of the proposal. At the time, the 200-mile administrative limit was seen as an interim step until the final Law of the Sea negotiations would produce an international treaty. When the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea was finally developed in 1982, President Reagan announced that the U.S. would not be a party to it.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: legislation to disapprove a budget deferral for funds for, 5726

Budget deferral legislation to disapprove for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration funds, 5726

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Funds: disapprove President's deferral (see S.Res. 102), 5726

5726; March 7, 1975; Muskie introduces S. Res. 102, a resolution disapproving of the deferral of funds for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, pointing out that while the deferral of $6.8 million may not be large, it will undercut research and sea grant funds which Maine needs to protect its fisheries sector.

U.S. fishing zone: extend to 200 miles, 5779

5779; March 7, 1975; Muskie notes that the Maine legislature has voted in favor of extending the U.S. fisheries zone 200 miles, and passed a formal resolution to this effect.

Antitrust Enforcement Authorization Act of 1975: enact (see S. 1136), 6007

6007; March 11, 1975; Muskie is shown as a cosponsor of a Hart (D- Michigan) bill, S. 1136, to authorize increased funds for the Federal Trade Commission and the Antitrust Division of the Justice Department to combat the escalating price increases in food and fuels by confronting the restrictive trade practices that help support inflationary price increases. The bill would have provided $25 million to each agency, in lieu of the $12.5 and $17 million appropriation each respectively worked with at the time.

Credit: prohibit age discrimination in granting (see S.483), 6030

6030; March 11, 1975; Muskie is added as a cosponsor to S. 483, a Brock (R-Tennessee) bill amending the Consumer Credit Protection Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of age. Brock had served on the National Commission on Consumer Finance, which found that some credit companies were using arbitrary age standards to deny credit to retirees.

Coal: regulation of surface mining, 6201

Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1975: bill (S. 7) to enact, 6201

6201; March 12, 1975; During debate on S. 7, the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, Muskie speaks in support of the bill, and clarifies his understanding of the way that the measure would interact with environmental pollution control laws, including the Clean Air Act and the clean water statutes.

New England Firm Decides to Stay, J. D. Moorhead, Christian Science Monitor, 6286

6286; March 12, 1975; Muskie talks about how the integrity of Maine workers has persuaded one heavy manufacturing plant to remain in Maine rather that moving closer to its Midwestern supply and sales points.

Federal Mine Safety and Health Amendments of 1975: enact (see S. 1302), 8138

8138; March 21, 1975; Muskie is shown as a cosponsor S. 1302, a Williams (D-New Jersey) bill on mine safety. The purpose of the bill was to create a common set of safety standards for coal and other miners to replace the separate safety regimes governing coal miners and metallic miners, to shift administration of mine safety from the Department of the Interior to the Department of Labor, and to provide for an orderly procedure and appellate court appeal for the promulgation of mine safety regulations.

Right to Financial privacy Act of 1975 enact (see S.1343), 8681

8681; March 26, 1975; Muskie is shown as a cosponsor of S. 1343, a Cranston (D- California) bill which would have modified the law to require that bank customers be notified if their banking records are surrendered to any government agency. At this time, a 1970 requiring notification of the IRS for transactions over $10,000 was spurring increased review by the agency of banking transactions and increased subpoenas of banking records, but the law at this time treated all such records as possessions of the bank. The bill would have granted explicit legal recognition to the expectation of privacy that individuals have in their financial records.

Letter: Amtrak service, by, 11189

11189; April 22, 1975; Senator Church (D- Idaho) inserts a letter to the Department of Transportation complaining that the clear intent of Congress, to provide some form of passenger rail service to all 48 of the contiguous states was being thwarted by a decision of the Department. Muskie, as one of the Senators from a state not serviced by passenger rail, was a signatory to this letter. At this time, six of the lower 48 states did not have passenger rail service.

Council on Wage and Price Stability: bill (S. 409) to confer additional authority on, 13224

13224; May 6, 1975; During debate on S. 409, a bill to extend the authority of the Wage and Price Stability Council, Muskie expresses regret that the committee reporting the bill could not agree to grant the body broader investigatory powers, rather than a simple extension of time, and explains that it would be the only federal agency monitoring the economy for incipient signs of shortages and price rises in a broad range of products. Inflation at this time was still running in the double digits, and there was broad agreement that something should be done, but very little agreement on what that something should be.

Present Plight of the Potato Growers, by, 14768

14768; May 16, 1975; During Senate debate on S. Res. 122, a resolution urging the Secretary of Agriculture to purchase potatoes for domestic and overseas food distribution programs, Senator Hathaway (D- Maine) expresses support for the resolution and inserts a Muskie statement of support. Muskie was evidently not present for this discussion. The problem addressed by the resolution was the large overstock of potatoes produced by the previous harvest, which had caused prices to plummet to record low levels.

Maine: spruce budworm problem, 15367

Appropriations: bill (H.R. 5899) making second supplemental, 15344, 15367

Spruce budworm: control, 15367, 30461

Maine, Canada Test a Magic Bullet, John P Wiley, Jr., Smithsonian (publication), 30461

15344; May 20; 1975; Muskie speaks about home heating costs, particularly for the low income, and notes that a home winterization project in Maine has successfully reduced heating costs for a number of homes already, and urges that additional funds be allocated, so that similar programs can take advantage of the summer to prepare for winter’s heating needs.

15367 ; May 20, 1975; During consideration of the second supplemental appropriations bill, H.R. 5899, Muskie urges swift action so that the $3.975 million Forest Service share of the cost of spraying for the spruce budworm infestation can be available in a timely fashion. The damage done by this pest begins with warm spring weather, as the larvae tunnel into emerging buds to feed. In 1975, two-thirds of the Maine spruce-fir forest was infested by the spruce budworm, the larval stage of a small moth which becomes invasive and damaging on a multi-decade basis, threatening stands of evergreens across the northern tier of the states and into Canada. Generally, outbreaks are more common when there are broad stands of mature balsam fir and other evergreens available. In managed forests, therefore, infestations are predictable based on the overall age of the trees.

30461; September 26, 1975; Muskie notes that the Smithsonian Magazine has published an article about the year’s effort in Maine and eastern Canada to spray forest area to control the spruce budworm infestation. Although there was broad agreement within Maine government that aerial spraying was necessary, there was also some controversy about the widespread use of pesticides and the use of public funds to protect what were, in essence, private resources. Maine’s forests are almost all privately owned.

Small Business Problems, Smaller Business Association of New England, by Senator McIntyre, 15667

15667; May 21, 1975; Muskie notes that Senator McIntyre (D- New Hampshire) spoke to a number of small business associations during their annual visit to Washington, touching on their complaints about paperwork expenses and tax issues.

As Maine Debates How to Save Its Timber From Budworms, Pests Keep the Upper Hand, S. Margolies, Wall Street Journal, 21774

21774; July 9, 1975; Muskie notes that the Wall Street Journal has investigated and reported on the fight against the spruce budworm infestation in Maine, as well as on disagreements within the state on forest management practices and the costs of controlling the infestation. The large national newspapers often feature Maine-centric reports during the summer months, although Maine is not a state that receives a great deal of national press attention otherwise.

Appalachian Regional Development Act: bill (S. 15 13; H.R. 4073) to amend, 23367

23367; July 17, 1975; Muskie makes brief remarks on S. 1513, the Appalachian Regional Development Act, noting that it incorporates other regional commissions, including the New England commission, which has been invaluable in the energy crisis and the fuel allocations the shortages have caused.

Maine's Long-Term Future, H. Smith, Maine Business Indicators, 24098

24098; July 22, 1975; Muskie discusses a new development in Maine, the creation of the Commission on Maine’s Future, an idea created by former Governor Curtis and implemented by current Governor Longley, to have a number of the State’s officials and planning professionals consider the outlook and the preferences of the public and lay out a road map for future decades. In the 1970s, many people retained a substantial amount of faith in the concept of planning, so a body conceived on these lines was not automatically dismissed.

Maine's Fishing Industry, Thomas Business Review (sundry), 24282-24284

24282-24284; July 23, 1975; Muskie talks about a number of issues dealing with the Maine fisheries and provides several articles that focus on these issues. At the time, the major issue was the ongoing Law of the Seas conference within the U.N. framework and the ongoing increase in the number of foreign fishing vessels off American coasts. In the 1970s, many nations, including the entire Eastern Bloc of European nations, began to aggressively subsidize fisheries operations, with the result that many of these vessels began entering non-traditional fishing grounds and encroaching on U.S. fisheries, among others. At the time, international law recognized a 3-mile territorial limit for each nation with oceanic borders, but not fisheries rights or any other rights beyond the 3-mile limit. American fishing vessels took advantage of this in waters off Latin American countries, leading to the expansion of national claims to territorial rights over the open seas, a shift which was subsequently taken up by the U.S. At this time, for instance, Muskie favored a 12-mile territorial limit and a 220-mile economic limit.

Department of Transportation and related agencies: bill (H.R. 8365) making appropriations, 24959, 24960, 24980-24983

Supersonic aircraft: noise, 24959

Table: Federal-aid highway funding, 24980

24959, 24960; July 25, 1975; Muskie makes brief remarks on the Department of Transportation appropriations bill, to the effect that the sums recommended fall within the First Concurrent Resolution on the Budget which the Senate adopted in May, and that they therefore represent a responsible approach to national transportation needs overall.

24980-24983; July 25, 1975; During debate on the Transportation Appropriations bill, Muskie engages other Senators in discussing how and why states have managed to create a spending level for highway construction that is roughly $1 billion above the amount provided in the congressional budget resolution, and argues that the amount of spending needs to be held down if the budget process is to be meaningful.

Department of Agriculture and related agencies: bill (H.R. 8561) making appropriations, 24998, 25003, 25004

24998; July 25, 1975; Muskie responds to an inquiry about an amendment to the Agriculture Department appropriation, to report that it seems to be within the budget ceiling. This very short excerpt illustrates the way in which his budget responsibilities began to claim him a reputation as "Senator Scrooge", during a time when the Senate was taking the budget process seriously.

25003, 25004; July 25, 1975; Muskie discusses the appropriations bill for the Department of Agriculture, noting that while it remains within budget limits as written, a supplemental appropriation is expected to be needed, which could push up the total of spending for the year above that contemplated in the budget resolution.

Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government Appropriation Act, 1976: bill (H.R. 8597) to enact, 25114, 25115

25114; 25115; July 26, 1975; Muskie comments on the Treasury appropriations bill, H.R. 8579, and joins a brief discussion about a productivity program which would be underfunded by the amount then in the bill.

Fishermen: loans to cover costs of damages caused by foreign vessels (see S. 2193), 25315

25315; July 28, 1975; Notice only of the introduction of S. 2193, a bill by Muskie to provide authority to the Secretary of Commerce to make available loan funds to assist fishermen in covering the costs of damage to their vessels incurred by disagreements and other encounters with foreign fishing vessels.

Text: S. 2193, Fishing Vessels Claims Act, 25390

Fishing industry; legislation to cover the costs of damage caused by foreign vessels, 25390

25390; July 28^th, 1975; [actual page is 25389] Muskie makes his introductory comments on S. 2193, the Fishing Vessels Claims Act, arguing that the system under which fishermen are required to apply for compensation when their vessels or gear are damaged or destroyed by foreign fishing vessels is cumbersome, slow, and leaves the fishermen to bear the costs of the damage while negotiations with foreign governments are under way. Muskie’s bill, by contrast, authorizes the immediate payment of funds to cover the damage, which may be turned into a loan at interest if the claim is not proven, or into a grant if the claim is demonstrated. At this time, the clashes between local fishermen and foreign vessels and their crews were becoming intemperate and there were numerous allegations of purposeful damage being caused by foreign crew members to incapacitate U.S. fishing vessels or their equipment.

Construction resources: promote more efficient use (see S. 865), 26293

26293; July 31, 1975; Muskie is shown as a cosponsor of S. 865, a Buckley (I-New York) bill to provide greater flexibility in the construction and use of federal buildings. The bill would have permitted public-private cooperative construction and use of office buildings and the renovation of existing buildings for federal use. The bill was an effort to encourage architectural excellence in public construction.

Mail rates: educational publications (see S. 2015), 27339

27339; September 2, 1975; Muskie is shown as a cosponsor of S. 2015, an Eagleton (D-Missouri) bill to maintain the tradition of allowing second-class postal mailing rates for educational institutions. With the change in status from a federal operation to the U.S. Postal Service in 1970, the Service began to be forced to look for ways to save money, and it had determined at this time that brochures and spring course offerings by colleges and universities did not qualify as "periodical" publications, and were therefore ineligible for second-class mail rates. The bill was intended to restore this mailing status to those 84 colleges which had already been denied it and to preserve the tradition for the future.

Milk: price support (see SJ. Res. 121), 30457

30457; September 26, 1975; Muskie becomes a cosponsor of S. J. Res. 121, a Humphrey (D- Minnesota) resolution to provide for quarterly adjustments of milk price support levels. In 1974 the Congress had enacted a farm bill providing for quarterly adjustments of milk price supports, but President Ford pocket vetoed it after Congress had adjourned. He then again vetoed a 1975 farm bill. This resolution was an attempt to permit more frequent price support adjustments than once a year.

Fishing industry: tax status (see S. 2410), 32341

32341; October 8, 1975; Muskie is added as a cosponsor to S. 2410, a Hathaway (D- Maine) bill to recognize fisheries associations as "agricultural" associations eligible for tax exempt status. At this time, mink-raising, soil testing and marriage to farmers had all been recognized by the Congress and the I.R.S. as "agricultural" activities, which qualified their associations for tax exempt status.

Lobster fishing industry: legislation relating to taxation of, 32827

Income tax: legislation relating to the lobster fishing industry, 32827

Tax Status of Sternmen on Fishing Boats, Peter B. Sang, Maine Bar Bulletin, 32827

Text: S. 2518, relating to taxation of the lobster fishing industry, 32829

32827, 32829; October 9, 1975; Muskie makes his introductory remarks on S. 2518, dealing with the tax treatment of sternmen on fishing vessels. In Maine and other parts of New England, it was common for men to go out in a fishing boat with the owner of the boat to help haul lobster traps in exchange for a part of the day’s catch. When the Internal Revenue Service decided that these informal working arrangements must be altered to incorporate the concept of tax withholding by the boat owner on behalf of the sternmen, Maine fishing communities were outraged and disrupted by the requirement. Sternmen were not permanent crew employees on a particular boat; they had no contracts for salary payments of any sort and on a bad trip, could well expect to see nothing in the way of a catch as payment for their day’s work. The concept of an informal working environment was one the I.R.S. did not embrace, so Muskie moved to introduce legislation to make clear that sternmen were self-employed and payment of taxes was their own direct responsibility, not the responsibility of the boat owner.

American Economy, National Tire Dealers and Retreaders Association, by, 32906

32906; October 9, 1975; Muskie makes a speech before a group of businessmen, assaying the economic lookout and the effort Congress has taken to restore its role in the budget making process. The economy in 1975 was still staggering from the overall effects of the inflation of the early decade and the Arab oil embargo and price hikes, with an 8.3 unemployment rate, but there was growing hope that the worst of the shock of energy price hikes was over.

Financial Institutions Act of 1975; bill (S. 1267) to enact, 39962, 39963

39962, 39963; December 11, 1975; During debate on S. 1267, the Financial Institutions Act, Muskie points out that one of the potential revenue effects of the bill will be to make it harder to achieve a balanced budget in the future, and notes that he regards it as his duty, as Budget Committee Chairman, to alert the Senate to potential revenue-losing proposals.

Silk yarns: amend bill (H.R. 7727) to suspend duty on certain, 41244, 42044

Fish and fishing: tax treatment for certain, 41244

Maine: tax treatment for fishermen, 41244

Tax Ruling for Fishermen, Fisheries Communications, 41244

41244; December 17, 1975; Muskie becomes a cosponsor of an amendment which would deal with the self-employment status of certain fishermen, on which he has introduced a bill, and with the tax problem created by an I.R.S. ruling holding that a nonprofit fisheries publication does not involve "agriculture" and therefore cannot have tax exempt status under Sec. 501 (c)(5). Although at this time the I.R.S. had ruled that associations of farm wives, organizations that performed soil tests, and persons raising fur-bearing animals for their pelts were all "agricultural" it had ruled against the commercial fisheries newsletter.

42044; December 19, 1975; Notice only of the introduction of amendment 1075 to H.R. 7727, with a list of cosponsors. Because revenue bills must originate in the House of Representatives, it is common for Senators to attach unrelated amendments to minor trade bills, which fall within the jurisdiction of the Finance Committee and originate in the House.

Customs employees: aircraft exemption relative to certain overtime services (see S. 2312), 42037

42037; December 19, 1975; Muskie becomes a cosponsor of a Burdick (D- North Dakota) bill, S. 2312, which would exempt certain private aircraft entering from Mexico or Canada at night or on Sundays and holidays from the requirement to pay the federal government for overtime pay for customs officials and employees. This measure was introduced but not printed in full or described by its sponsor, Senator Burdick. It is in the nature of a private bill.

Magnuson Fisheries Management and Conservation Act: bill (S. 961) to enact, 42236-42238

Rules Not Followed by Foreign Fishing Fleet, Mary Brewer, Boothbay (Me.) Register, 42238

42236-42238; December 19, 1975; Although final action on the bill was not contemplated until 1976, the Senate began debate on S. 961, the 200-mile economic coastal zone for fisheries, and Muskie makes remarks in support of the measure. Although the measure did not foreclose other nations’ fishing vessels or otherwise claim exclusive territoriality for the 200-mile coastal zone, there was substantial opposition to it from Members who believed that its passage would endanger final action on a Law of the Seas international treaty.

ENERGY

1975 1st Congress, 94th Session

Oil imports: require congressional approval of fees on (see S. J. Res. 3), 215

215; January 15, 1975; Muskie is shown as a cosponsor of S. J. Res. 3, a Kennedy (D- Massachusetts) resolution to require the submission to Congress of any proposed fees on oil imports. President Ford had proposed to add a $3-per-barrel fee to imported oil so as to help reduce demand, a proposal that was broadly unpopular among oil-consuming sectors of the nation.

Oil: relative to tariff on imported (see S. Res 11), 889

889; January 21, 1975; Muskie is shown as a cosponsor of S. Res. 11, a Chiles (D- Florida) resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that the President should not seek to bypass the Congress and impose a $3-per-barrel import fee on oil without Congressional approval.

Oil imports: prohibit for 60 days the imposition of tariffs, fees, and quotas (see S.J. Res. 12), 999

999; January 23, 1975; Muskie is shown as a cosponsor of S. J. Res. 12, a Kennedy (D-Massachusetts) resolution prohibiting for a period of 60 days the imposition of any tariffs or quotas on oil imports and the lifting of all price restrictions on domestic oil. At this time, the so-called "old" oil – oil that had been discovered and pumped before the Arab oil embargo – was restricted to a price of $5.25 per barrel, at a time when "new" oil and imported oil was selling at $13.40 per barrel. This resolution was introduced (and promptly backed by more than 49 Senators) because President Ford had announced his intention of signing a proclamation to begin the import fee on oil by February 1 and to commence raising those oil price controls that existed to bring all American oil up to the world price by April, 1975. In the view of many contemporaries, this action threatened to throw the economy into a renewed recession.

Energy Conservation Month: designate (see S. Res.59), 2613

2613; February 5, 1975; Muskie is shown as a cosponsor of S. Res. 59, a Randolph (D- West Virginia) resolution to promote a voluntary energy conservation effort on the part of the private sector and individual households, and to proclaim an Energy Conservation Month from mid-February to mid-March. The resolution had 67 Senate cosponsors, reflecting the heightened awareness of all Senators that the President’s focus on energy prices and fees, as well as a proposal to limit oil imports, had generated a great deal of public anxiety about what action the federal government would end up taking.

Ford, Gerald R.: proposed tariff on oil imports, 3570

Oil imports: bill (H.R. 1767) to suspend certain imposition of tariffs on, 3570

Energy: costs and conservation, 3570

3570; February 19, 1975; Muskie speaks during debate on H.R. 1767, a bill to reject the proposal to impose a $3-per-barrel fee on all imported oil, making the case that the low-income families had already conserved as much as they could and the proposal to artificially raise the price of imported oil would merely further inflate the costs of energy and other products in Maine.

Economic conditions: utility rates, 8391

Utilities: rate hikes, 8391

Consumers: utility rates, 8391

Report: Fuel Adjustment Clause Actions in the Electric and Gas Utility Industries, 8392

Analysis: Utility Rate Hikes, by D. N. Jones and S. Dovell, 8394

8391; March 24, 1975; Muskie releases a report from the Congressional Research Service based on a survey his Intergovernmental Relations Subcommittee conducted jointly with Metcalf’s (D- Montana) Subcommittee on Reports, Accounting and Management, of the 50 State utilities Commissions on the effects of price hikes in electric and gas utilities. Nationally electricity and gas costs spiked following the 1973 oil embargo and the subsequent steep oil price hikes, and the survey undertook to find how much of those utilities price increases resulted from automatic Fuel Adjustment Clauses, which began to be widely applied to residential customers in the wake of the oil price increases.

Solar Energy: Select Committee on Small Business, by Senator Hathaway, 14662.

14662; May 15, 1975; Muskie commends Hathaway’s (D- Maine) opening remarks at a hearing on solar energy development and the federal role in aiding such development. The interest in energy alternatives was extremely high at this time, and solar energy was seen as the ideal non-polluting and renewal power source to exploit.

Letter: Funds for Emergency Energy Conservation Services. exchange of correspondence between White House and Senator Magnuson, by, 15341

15341; May 20, 1975; Muskie is shown as a signatory on a letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee, urging that funds be provided to continue and expand the winterization projects that help reduce fuel costs by improving the insulation of homes for the low income.

Appropriations: bill (H.R. 5899) making second supplemental, 15344, 15367

Maine: Project Fuel, 15344

Resolutions by organizations: Relative to taxing petroleum-based fuels, Maine Legislature, 17035

17035; June 4, 1975; The 107^th Maine State Legislature produces a resolution urging Congress not to impose a selective federal sales tax on the use of fuel for boating, skimobiles, and non-commercial aircraft, and Muskie duly asks that it be printed.

Strategic Energy Reserves Act of 1975: bill (S. 677) to enact, 21437, 21438, 21440

Energy: bill (S.677) to establish a Strategic Energy Reserve Office, 21437, 21438, 21440

Strategic Energy Reserves Act of 1975: amend bill (S.677) to enact, 21440

21437; 21438; July 8, 1975; Muskie describes the long term budgetary impact of S. 677, the Strategic Energy Reserves Act, which will require up to $900 million over several years for the facilities to hold 700 million barrels of oil, but also $5.5 billion to purchase the oil for storage on the open market. He notes that this cost will become due and will compete with other priorities in the years ahead. In the end, the open market purchase of oil for the Reserve cost substantially more than this early estimate; most open market purchases were made at the end of the 1970s, at a time when oil prices were in the $30-per-barrel range. Oil for the Reserve was subsequently taken in lieu of oil royalties due to the federal government for offshore oil leases.

21440; July 8, 1975; Muskie expresses his support for an amendment offered by Kennedy (D- Massachusetts) to establish a special regional petroleum reserve for No. 2 home heating oil in the New England region. New England’s dependence on home heating oil made it uniquely vulnerable to price and supply disruptions. A New England Reserve of this kind was finally established in 2000.

Taking Oil Off the Shelf, R. Bendiner, New York Times, 21543

Oil: offshore, 21543

Energy: offshore oil, 21543

21543; July 8, 1975; Muskie talks about the potential effect on Maine of President Ford’s proposal for a very rapid expansion of offshore leasing for oil and gas discovery, and refers to a lengthy article which explores some of the effects of the offshore oil industry on nearby states.

Ford, Gerald R.: energy program, 23901

Energy: Federal Energy Administration, Report 23901

23901; July 21, 1975; Muskie makes a broad critique of President Ford’s proposal to undertake a 30-month phased decontrol of oil prices, claiming that the Federal Energy Administration is grossly miscalculating the economic impacts such a massive change would have on other energy prices and overall economic growth. At this time, domestic oil that was in production before the 1973 oil embargo was price-controlled, while oil from new wells sold at the international price. At this time, the price for "old" oil was $5.25 per barrel; the international price for all other oil was $13.50 per barrel.

Energy Research and Development Administration: bill (S. 598) to authorize appropriations, 26411, 26501

Table: Summary of ERDA fiscal year 1976 budget authority and outlays, 26502, 26503

26411; July 31, 1975; During debate on S. 598, the Energy Research and Development authorization, Muskie speaks against a Tunney (D- California) amendment which would have deleted the authorization for funds for the Clinch River Breeder Reactor, on the grounds that it was important that all the unknown information about this technology be explored before a final decision was made to either close down the project or not. The concept of a breeder reactor – a nuclear reactor that would produce as much fuel as it consumed in the form of plutonium – was explored in the 1950s, as industry became more interested in the commercial applications of nuclear power generation. In 1961, two experimental breeders were established in Idaho, and in 1963, Detroit Edison built the Enrico Fermi I power plant, the first commercially operated breeder. None of these experiments was successful; one of the Idaho breeders had to be closed down because of a partial core meltdown, the second produced electricity but new fuel. Detroit Edison found that its Fermi plant produces such extremely expensive electricity that by 1972 it, too, was shut down. The Clinch River plant was intended to be a research breeder, but by 1983, concerns about nuclear waste, nuclear weapons proliferation and overall costs caused the Congress to eliminate all further funding.

26501; July 31, 1975; Muskie discusses S. 598, the Energy Research and Development Administration authorization costs in relation to the Congressional budget resolution agreed to in May, and notes that it is within the ceilings set on the basic functions covered by the bill.

Increasing Gasoline Prices, Phil Pimental, WGAN-TV, Portland, Maine, 26904.

26904; August 1, 1975; Muskie notes that a recent Maine television program explored the problems that higher gasoline prices have caused for gas station owners who sell at retail. Prices at the pump had almost doubled since before October, 1973, when the Arab oil embargo was first imposed, and added to the other inflationary effects of higher crude oil prices throughout the economy, were providing incentives to dealers and oil companies to alter gas stations from full-service to self-service, and make other changes in the structure of the business.

Oil: price control, 27848

Report: Impact of Decontrol of Oil Prices, Congressional Budget Office, 27848

Energy: oil price control, 27848

27848; September 8, 1975; In anticipation of a veto of legislation extending oil price controls for six months, Muskie describes the results of a preliminary review by the Congressional Budget Office of the effects of immediate oil price decontrol, in terms of economic growth, inflation and unemployment.

Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act of 1975: bill (S. 1849) to enact, veto message, 28206, 28475

Report: Impact of Veto of Price Control and Allocation Authority, 28475

Letter: Oil price control and the independent refiner, by, 28481

28206; September 9, 1975; Muskie joins some colleagues in debate of President Ford’s veto of the Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act, and repeats his warnings of the likely impact on the national economy of immediate decontrol of all oil prices, and notes that it appears the President is now seeking to be saved from a policy he himself advocated at the beginning of the year, because his veto message included a commitment to maintain price controls for 45 days to work out a transition to a decontrolled price regime.

28475; September 10, 1975; On the following day, as the Senate takes up the veto message on the Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act again, Muskie speaks about the economic impact of immediate oil price decontrol, and presents a White Paper describing more fully the effects of the President’s policy.

28481; September 10, 1975; In that same debate, Senator Hart (D-Michigan) argues that as long as a two-tier oil pricing structure is in place, major oil companies can limit the supply of "old" price-controlled oil to independent refiners, thus placing them and their dealers in an uncompetitive position, and includes the text of a letter to John Sawhill, the Administrator of the Federal Energy Administration, arguing for some kind of allocation system which would equalize the competitive position of independent dealers with the major oil companies. This letter carried 28 Senatorial signatures of which Muskie’s was one.

Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act of 1975: bill (H.R. 9254) to enact, 28697-28699, 28707, 28710, 28711, 28715, 28716, 30504, 30505, 30507, 30509

Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act of 1975: amend bill (H.R.9524) to enact, 30504

28697-28699; September 11, 1975; Following the failure of the Senate to override the President’s veto of the Petroleum Allocation Act, the Senate was presented with a House-passed extension of fuel allocation authority which the Senate moved to alter slightly to a 60-day extension. Muskie explains his viewpoint of why the additional 15 days are needed, and the Senate proceeds to argue that because the House adjourned for a brief recess until the following Wednesday, this would unacceptably stretch out the extension time beyond what President Ford preferred.

28707; September 11, 1975; The debate over the days of extension continues, with a suggestion that the President’s personal assurance be obtained that he would not send up a decontrol message until the first 45 days of the extension had expired. Muskie says he has no objection to that, but when they tried to reach the President earlier, they were told he was unavailable, so they had no choice but to take what action they believed to be best.

28710, 28711; September 11, 1975; In continued wrangling over the extension of the allocation authority, questions are raised and answered about which House of Congress consulted which, and Muskie takes part in this discussion.

28715, 28716; September 11, 1975; Muskie makes the point that with the failure of the majority to override the President’s veto, the President now has in place the very policy he advocated in February, oil price decontrol, and he objects that the focus of the opposition has shifted to a new issue, the brief suspension of the President’s decontrol authority. Under the underlying law, which had expired as of August 31, 1975, the President had the authority to send up a pricing plan with a requirement that both Houses of Congress act on it within 5 days, or it would take effect automatically. Muskie’s argument was that this was merely a way by which the President could make certain his version of energy pricing policy would become law. By the time this debate had broken out, neither the economy nor the energy price outlook was looking good, and public opinion was very much in favor of some action to bring down prices in some way. In the circumstances, neither side wanted to risk being saddled with the political blame for this state of affairs.

30504, 30506; September 26, 1975; An agreement having been reached between the Administration and the Congressional leadership, Muskie offers an amendment for a modified extension, which includes language that would protect the Senate’s 5-day disapproval resolution against a filibuster, and describes his hope that an accommodation can be reached.

30509; September 26, 1975; At the conclusion of debate on the allocation bill, Muskie makes a brief statement about a survey of state-level energy officials which found many of them having little confidence that price increases in oil products would force conservation upon the public. At this time, public anger over oil price increases also included anger at the OPEC cartel, the oil companies which cooperated with cartel pricing policies and domestic producing companies who were seen as reaping windfall profits from the misfortune of the majority. As a result, there were many who felt that decontrolling oil prices would be an unwarranted reward to oil companies who were seen as not having the national interest as a priority, and mandatory conservation – in other words, rationing – was surprisingly popular.

Passamaquoddy Bay: energy potential, 28869

Energy: potential of the tidal flow in Passamaquoddy Bay, 28869

Petition: Urging the Passamaquoddy Tidal Power Project, 28869

28869; September 16, 1975; With the emergence of the energy crisis, interest was renewed in reviving the idea of generating electricity with the tidal power on Maine’s coast, particularly in Passamaquoddy Bay, and Muskie notes that he has received a signed petition on this subject from 1700 residents of Washington County, Maine.

Natural Gas Emergency Act of 1975: bill (S. 23 10) to enact, 32299

32299; October 8, 1975; During debate on S. 2310, the Natural Gas Emergency Act, Muskie makes a brief comment about an amendment that would roll back new oil prices and decontrol "old" oil over a 60-month period, as well as increasing the price of interstate natural gas.

Report: Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes, Maine, 38928

On article written by Richard Saltonstall about Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes, Maine, 38931

Public Works for Water and Power Development and Energy Research Appropriation Act, 1976: (H.R. 8122) to enact, 38928, 38935, 39936

38928, 38931; December 5, 1975; Muskie defends the Dickey-Lincoln power project against a Brooke (R-Massachusetts) amendment to terminate all preconstruction funding in the bill, making the point that those who say they are against the project on environmental grounds are trying to eliminate the funding of an Environmental Impact Statement which is the only way there will be any adequate assessment of its impact on the environment.

Energy Research and Development Administration: bill (H.R. 3474) authorizing appropriations, Conference report, 39265, 39266

Table: Fiscal-year 1976 budget authority and budget outlays by defense, energy, and research, 39266, 39267

39265, 39266; December 9, 1975; Muskie comments on H. R. 3474, the conference report on the Energy Research and Development Administration authorization bill, saying that while the bill is within the budget ceilings, it constrains the other choices that Congress can made in the Natural Resources and Energy function in the budget.

Energy Policy and Conservation Act: bill (S. 622) to enact, conference report, 41195

41195; December 17, 1975; Muskie announces his support for the final energy policy bill, S. 622, the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, which comprised a number of separately passed bills in one measure, including a small price roll back on oil, with decontrol to world prices phased in over 42 months, several standby authorities for the President to invoke in the case of another embargo or similar disruption, establishment of national oil reserves, auto fuel efficiency standards and appliance efficiency standards and labeling. This measure was developed over five weeks of conferencing between House and Senate members and representatives of the Administration to bridge the divisions that had developed over the course of the year and the many Ford vetoes of various individual bills.

ENVIRONMENT, CONSERVATION, WILDLIFE

1975 1st Session, 94th Congress

Budget deferral: disapproving relative to water program operations construction grants (see S. Res. 70), 2806

Water Program Operations Construction Grants: deferral of budget authority, 2806

2806; February 7, 1975; Muskie introduces a resolution disapproving of a deferral of funds for water treatment construction programs, arguing that with escalating unemployment, particularly in the construction industry, needed and productive jobs can be created to counter the spread of unemployment.

Setting Environmental Standards. G. Fishbein, Washington Post, 5750

Environment: U.S. courts of appeals decisions, 5750

Courts: environmental law, 5750

5750; March 7, 1975; Muskie says a couple of recent rulings by appeals courts, on asbestos in water and lead in gasoline, have effectively reversed the burden of proof to demand that the plaintiff go beyond establishing that there are adverse health consequences to the dispersal of asbestos in water or lead in tailpipe emissions, and instead demonstrate a much more problematic direct cause-and-effect relationship between the substances and specific health outcomes.

Environmental Objectives, International Conference on Biological Water Quality Alternatives, by, 5765

5765; March 7, 1975; Senator Randolph (D- West Virginia) inserts the text of a Muskie speech before the International Conference on Biological Water Quality Alternatives on March 4, 1975.

Muskie spoke about the Supreme Court ruling of February 18, which had found that the deferral and withholding of the waste water treatment funds was impermissible, and noted that biological, sustainable treatment methods would be most valuable for rural communities in place of the costly energy-intensive systems copied from the large cities.

Auto Emissions: EPA Decision Due on Another Cleanup Delay, C. Holden, Science Magazine, 6063

6063; March 11, 1975; Muskie briefly discusses delays proposed in the emission standards under the Clean Air Act, and provides an article discussing his role in these deliberations. One of the most immediate results of the Arab oil embargo and the subsequent massive price increases in oil and other energy costs was that the auto manufacturing industry aggressively sought to delay and weaken the statutory emissions standards in the Clean Air Act, arguing that they imposed a fuel penalty too severe in light of the energy crisis. Muskie took the view that the industry would and intended to use any and all argumentation to evade any legislated standard which might cost it money.

Marine Pollution Control Zone: establish 200-mile (see S. 1341), 8681

8681; March 26, 1975; Notice only of Muskie’s introduction of S. 1341, a bill to establish a 200-mile offshore administrative Marine Pollution Zone

Marine Pollution Control Zone: legislation to establish a 200-mile, 8694

Text: S.1341, to establish 200-mile Marine Pollution Control Zone, 8695

8694; March 26, 1975; Muskie makes his introductory remarks on S. 1341, the bill to establish a 200-mile offshore administrative Marine Pollution Zone which would apply the authority of the Department of Transportation to regulate design and construction for cargo vessels and the authority of the Environmental Protection Administration to establish liability for hazardous substance spills and vessel sewage discharge within 200 miles of the U.S. coastline. At this time, the territorial waters extended for just three miles, and it was Muskie’s contention that this limit was far too close to shore to control the degree of pollution found off American coasts.

Committee on Public Works: notice of hearings, 8720, 12881

Schedule: Clean Air Act hearings, Committee on Public Works, 8721

8720, 8721; March 26, 1975; Muskie outlines a hearing schedule for the provisions of the Clean Air Act, some of which have come under attack as a result of the energy crisis.

12881; May 5, 1975; Muskie announces a series of hearings on the Clean Air Act and its effects on the auto industry and compliance by the auto industry.

American Revolution Bicentennial Advisory Council: appoint New Englanders to (see S.J. Res. 77), 12485

12485; April 30, 1975; Muskie is shown as one of the cosponsors of S. J. Res. 77, a McIntyre (D- New Hampshire) resolution to amend the Act creating the American Revolution Bicentennial Advisory Council by expanding its membership from 25 to 30 persons, and urging that the historical relationship of New England to the American Revolution be taken into account. The 1976 bicentennial celebrations were preceded by the establishment of a Commission and an Advisory Council to the Commission, and President Ford, in appointing the Council’s 25 members had not seen fit to appoint a single citizen from New England, although he did include Anna Chennault, whose immediate connections to the American Revolution remained unclear.

American Folklife Center: establish in Library of Congress (see S. 1618), 12698

12698; May 1, 1975; Muskie is shown as one of the cosponsors of S. 1618, an Abourezk (D- South Dakota) bill for the establishment of an American Folklife Center in the Library of Congress. Although the Smithsonian Institution had been holding a Folklife Festival on the Mall in Washington D.C. since 1967, it was in the early 1970s that the Festival became a larger event and garnered more attendance, with a resultant increase in the general public’s interest in folk culture and background.

National Trust for the Preservation of Historic Ships: establish (see S. 228), 16600

16600; June 3, 1975; Muskie becomes a cosponsor of S. 228, a Kennedy (D- Massachusetts) bill which would establish a National Trust for the Preservation of Historic Ships, on the pattern of other national historic and preservation efforts. This was, in part, a reflection of the interest with which the country faced the celebrations planned for the Bicentennial year, 1976. In that year, a fleet of tall ships made its way along the eastern seaboard and was an extremely popular sight for inhabitants and visitors.

Campobello: FDR's Beloved Island Is a Joy Today, D. R. Larrabee (sundry), 18116

18115; June 10, 1975, Muskie offers a couple of articles about Roosevelt-Campobello International Park, which preserves the summer cottage used by Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his family, and which Muskie was instrumental in creating. Although a bridge connects Lubec, Maine, to Campobello Island, Campobello is Canadian territory. Lubec is generally considered to be the most farthest east of all U.S. towns.

Water pollution: control, 17346, 17347

Environment: water pollution control, 17346, 17347

Wetlands and the Corps of Engineers, Washington Post, 17347

Letter: Water pollution control (sundry), 17347, 17348

17346, 17347, 17348; June 5, 1975; Muskie explains that the changes in law brought about by the 1972 Clean Water Act are designed to limit the loss of wetlands as well as to control the discharge of wastes into the navigable waters of the United States, and says that a press release by the Army Corps of Engineers is nothing but fear-mongering to limit the application of the law by causing an uproar among farmers. The Army Corps of Engineers claimed that the ploughing of a farm field could require an Army Corps’ permit if the language of the regulations was not changed. This is one of the instances in which guerilla warfare was undertaken against environmental laws by groups and organizations which did not think they could successfully fight them on the merits.

Hathaway, Stanley K.: nomination, 18355-18357

Hathaway, Stanley K. nomination, recommit, 18355

Strip Mining Shift Could Hit Hathaway, L. Larsen, Denver Post, 18355

18355; June 11, 1975; Muskie makes a motion to recommit the Stanley K. Hathaway nomination to be Secretary of the Interior, on the grounds that the former Wyoming governor said one thing about strip mining at his hearings and then another as soon as the Senate Committee had voted in favor of his nomination, sending it to the Senate floor for action. On May 6, Hathaway was asked in detail about his views of the strip mining legislation Congress had passed and sent to the President for his signature, and said he believed he could support the bill, but on May 22, after his nomination cleared the Committee, he announced that he favored President Ford’s veto of it. Muskie suggested that this change of mind was disingenuous.

Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972: court decision concerning the implementation of, 18583

Court Decision: Natural Resources Defense Council vs. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, 18583

18583; June 12, 1975; Muskie takes note of a recent District Court ruling which found that the provisions of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act do not permit the States to ignore their responsibilities under the law, even if they do not find industrial or urban waste water treatment needs significant enough to designate a particular region as part of the state’s waste water treatment plan.

Where F.D.R. Sunned, L. Lowry, New York Times, 20065

20065; June 20, 1975; Muskie recommends an article about Campobello Island and the International Park, jointly operated by the U.S. and Canada, which preserves the summer home of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Muskie was instrumental in creating the International Park, and remained a member of the Park’s Commission.

Outer Continental Shelf: provide relief for damages from discharge of oil from (see S. 1954), 21497

21497; July 8, 1975; Muskie is shown as a cosponsor of a Roth (R-Delaware) bill, S. 1954, to amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to provide relief for damages to public or private parties suffered by reason of discharge or oil or gas from the Outer Continental Shelf.

Automobile Fuel Economy and Research and Development Act of 1975: bill (S 1883) to enact, 22879

22879; July 15, 1975; Muskie speaks in favor of legislation mandating the achievement of fuel economy in cars, noting that voluntary agreements by auto manufacturers have proven less than effective in reducing harmful emissions or improving mileage performance.

Coastal Zone Management Act Amendments of 1975: bill (S. 586) to enact, 23080, 23081

23080, 23081; July 16, 1975; Muskie comments on S. 586, the Coastal Zone Management bill and its budget implications, in light of the speed with which the Ford Administration is trying to move to leasing operations for offshore oil and gas exploration, noting that although the budgeted authority for the program is rather high, the actual spend-out rate in fiscal year 1976 should be well below the outlay levels anticipated for this function in the first concurrent budget resolution.

Public Works Employment Act of 1975; bill (S. 1587; H.R. 5247) to enact, 25687-25686, 25693-25695, 25702, 25705, 25708, 25712, 25722-25724, 25728, 25730, 25732-25736

Letter: Public Works Employment Act of 1975, R. E Train, 25689

Letter: Public Works Employment Act of 1975, (sundry), by, 25689

Public Works Employment Act of 1975: bill (S. 1587; H.R. 5247) to enact, to table Talmadge amendment, 25701

History: Development of "Needs" Formula, 25692

25687-25686 [sic], 25693-25695; July 29, 1975; During debate on S. 1587, the Public Works Employment Act, Muskie argues against a proposal to alter the distribution formula by which funds for waste water treatment are disbursed to the states. He makes the argument that formula changes should be developed by a process that includes hearings and examination of the nation’s waste treatment needs, not by a simple population count, as the amendment in question proposes. The question was made more timely because the funds at stake — $9 billion worth — had been impounded since 1973 by President Nixon, and the Supreme Court had voted recently

25712; July 29, 1975; Muskie makes a concluding argument in support of his countercyclical program as the debate on S. 1587, the Public Works Employment Act continues.

25722-25724; July 29, 1975; As the debate over the Muskie amendment to S. 1587 continues, Senator Bentsen (D- Texas) offers an amendment to lower a triggering formula in the amendment so that cities with unemployment rates below 6 percent would be eligible for funding from the program, and Muskie describes how the proposal was created and argues that some triggering device is needed to make sure the funds go only to places particularly hard hit by the jobless rate.

25728, 25730, 25732; July 29, 1975; Muskie and Senator Long (D-Louisiana) debate the distribution formula in Muskie’s countercyclical amendment, with Long arguing that the formula used for the revenue sharing program is a better one and would provide more money to a greater number of states than the Muskie formula. The Senate rejects the Long amendment to the Muskie amendment and passes the Muskie amendment.

25736; July 29, 1975; Muskie answers a query as to how his amendment will affect the overall cost of the public works bill.

Outer Continental Shelf Management Act of 1975: bill (S. 521) to enact, 26036, 26040

26036; July 30, 1975; During debate on S. 521, the Outer Continental Shelf Management Act, Muskie discusses the bill’s effects on the budget resolution which Congress adopted and warns that in light of other similar measures that will be coming to the Senate, care must be taken over the total costs if the budget ceilings are to be preserved.

26040; July 30, 1975; Later in the debate over S. 521, the Outer Continental Shelf Management Act, Muskie notes that the state of Maine has adopted a rigorous program of licensing and regulation to protect against oil spills and to compensate for damages when spills occur, and engages in a colloquy with Senator Jackson (D-Washington), the Chairman of the Committee which reported the bill, to clarify that there is no sense in which the federal law will preempt any state law or claim of jurisdiction.

Emission controls: to achieve air quality, 28652

Table: Automobile, emission standards, 28653 (sundry),18116

Air pollution: impact on public health, 28652

Automobile emission standards: Proposed 5-year delay, 28652

28652, 28653; September 11, 1975; Muskie notes that a new advertising campaign by the auto manufacturers has begun to develop support for a 5-year delay in the attainment of clean air standards set in 1970, and refutes the claim that emission controls can be improved only at extremely high costs to car buyers and severe fuel efficiency penalties.

Environmental Protection Agency: regulating parking, 31715, 31716

31715, 31716; October 3, 1975; Muskie has a discussion with Senator Proxmire (D-Wisconsin) about a House amendment added to the appropriations bill for the Environmental Protection Agency to prohibit the Agency from regulating parking, and clarifies that this does not prevent a state from using parking restrictions as part of a clean air plan, and does not prevent the use of grant funds from the Agency being used in such a manner by a state or local government authority.

Historic Preservation Fund: bill (S. 327), to establish, 34246-34253

34246-34253; October 29, 1975; Muskie and others debate the degree of commitment that the Budget Committee will inherit under S. 327, an authorizing bill for the Land and Water Conservation Fund and the Historic Preservation Fund which was being raised to $1 billion per year as a means of catching up with backlogged land acquisition goals, and Muskie makes the point that even though he considers himself a supporter of the conservation goals of the bill, the budget process, which requires priorities to be balanced against each other, cannot be bypassed.

Federal Oil Pollution Liability and Compensation Act of 1975: enact (see S. 2666), 36405

36405; November 13, 1975; Muskie is a primary sponsor of S. 2666, a Biden (D- Delaware) bill to establish a legal regime to govern liability and compensation for damages and costs caused by oil spills to replace the more narrowly focused laws in effect. The proposal sought to enact a range of oil spill pollution legislation that had been passed in various forms, from the 1970 Water Quality Act, the Ports and Waterways Safety Act of 1972, the 1972 Federal Water Pollution Control Act, the Deepwater Ports Act, the Transalaska Pipeline Safety Act and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, among others.

Sewage: methods for disposal, 36427

Sewerless Society, Harold H. Leich, Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, 36428-36431

Ecology: Flush Times, Newsweek (publication), 36431

36427-36431; November 13, 1975; Muskie says that the collection, transport, and subsequent treatment of water that has been polluted represents a counterintuitive way of dealing with one of the world’s most essential resources, and notes that other ways of dealing with household waste than sweeping it away in multiple gallons of water could be more effective, less expensive, and require relatively little in the way of costs or altered habits.

Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1975: bill (S. 2711) to enact, 40006-40008, 40279, 40280

40006-40008; December 11, 1975; Muskie explains that because the highway bill the Senate is about to debate will authorize spending in Fiscal Years for which no budget resolution has been adopted by the Congress, it is necessary to waive one portion of the Budget Act to allow the debate to go forward.

40279, 40280; December 12, 1975; Muskie notes that S. 2711, the Federal-Aid Highway Act, conforms to the budget resolution, and explains that even though it is a program with its own discrete funding source, the federal gasoline tax, the new budget process and changes in the highway bill itself will give Congress more certainty about the spending allowed for highway construction.

NATIONAL SECURITY/FOREIGN POLICY

1975 94th Congress, 1st Session

Government agencies: necessity of reorganizing (see S. 189), 527

527; January 16, 1975; Muskie is shown as a cosponsor of S. 189, a Nelson (D- Wisconsin) bill to provide for organized Congressional oversight through a joint committee of the Congress of all federal surveillance of citizens, whether by the FBI, the military, the IRS, or the CIA. This was a bill introduced in the prior two Congresses in response to revelations about the FBI’s Cointelpro program directed mostly at disruption of political dissent and groups that engaged in it, as well as the warrantless wiretaps the Department of Justice was using to maintain watch over suspected citizens. In January, 1975, it was learned that the CIA, whose chartering legislation forbids any surveillance or other action aimed at domestic political activity or American citizens, had built up files on over 10,000 Americans, purportedly for the purpose of tracking foreign involvement with domestic dissidents.

Committee to Study Intelligence Activities (Select): establish (see S. Res. 19), 727

727; January 17, 1975; Muskie is listed as one of the cosponsors of S. Res. 19, a Mathias (R-Maryland) resolution to create a select committee, modeled on the Watergate Committee, to study the legal authorities and intelligence activities of the Central Intelligence Agency and other such agencies in government. By this time, the combined effects of the Vietnam War, and the Watergate scandals and discoveries had divulged that the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Central Intelligence Agency has widespread programs of domestic surveillance and informants who concentrated their attention on antiwar protesters, "subversives," supporters of women’s liberation, and the African-American community. There was widespread belief that these agencies’ actions proved there was a need for much greater oversight of them.

Committee on Intelligence Oversight (Joint): establish (see S. 3 17), 998

998; January 23, 1975; Muskie is shown as a cosponsor of S. 317, a Baker (R-Tennessee) bill to create a Joint committee on intelligence oversight. The stated purpose of this joint committee would have been continuing oversight, rather than a backward-looking investigation into what the intelligence community had done in the prior fifteen years.

Committee to Investigate Government Intelligence Activities (Select): resolution (S. Res. 21) to establish, 1428

Intelligence activities: investigation of governmental, 1428

1428; January 27, 1975; During debate on S. Res. 21, a resolution creating a Select Committee on Intelligence, Muskie speaks in support of the Committee, and notes that in the past several years, the Central Intelligence Agency has simply refused to comply with Congressional requests for information on the grounds that it would answer only to the Committee with direct jurisdiction over intelligence.

CIA and Tar Baby, O. Robinson, Maine Times, 2546

2546; February 5, 1975; Muskie provides an analysis of the CIA and its activities in the domestic sphere which were becoming known to the broader public at this time. Although the common belief was that the CIA’s charter limited it to spying abroad and surveillance over non-U.S. citizens, as it became known that there had, instead, been widespread surveillance of U.S. citizens and domestic groups, the need to rein in the agency became more urgent.

Bipartisan Foreign Policy, University of Delaware, by, 4098

4098; February 24, 1975; Muskie notes that a number of Senators have responded to a foreign policy speech by the President, and inserts his own response, which examines how Congressional action in two particular areas – military aid to Turkey and the emigration of Soviet Jews – may have had unintended consequences and calls on the President to implement a bipartisan foreign policy in practice as well as rhetorically.

United Nations Law of the Sea Conference, 4529

4529; February 27, 1975; Muskie is appointed as one of the U.S. participants to the Law of the Sea Conference to be held in Geneva, Switzerland, March 17 - May 10, 1975.

International commerce: condemning discrimination (see S. Res. 100), 5429

5429; March 6, 1975; Muskie is shown as a cosponsor of S. Res. 100, a Schweiker (R-Pennsylvania) resolution condemning blacklisting in international trade. At this period, as the Arab oil dollars piled up, Arab investment banks began to exclude financial firms with Jewish backers from bond issues and other investments, an effort to expand the existing boycott of Jewish businesses into the international financial field.

Foreign aid: amend bill (H.R. 4592) making appropriations for, 7448

Report: Partners of the Americas, National Association of the Partners of the Alliance, Inc., 7449

National Association of the Partners of the Alliance, Inc.: funds, 7448, 7461, 7462.

Letter: Anniversary of Partners of the Americas program (sundry), 7453, 7454

Partners of the Americas Program (sundry), 7454-7461

7448; March 19, 1975; During debate on H.R. 4592, the foreign aid appropriation, Muskie calls up his amendment to provide the same level of funding to the National Association of the Partners of the Alliance as in the prior year, explaining that although most of the work in the Partners program is accomplished through volunteers and donations, the $750,000 that provides for the organization’s basic overhead is impossible to raise but essential to the operations of the program.

Proclamation: POWs-MIAs, Governor Curtis of Maine, 8752

8752; March 26, 1975; Muskie notes that since the ultimate fate of some 1300 Americans imprisoned or missing in Southeast Asia remains unknown, the Governor of Maine issued a proclamation expressing support for the efforts of the families of these personnel to discover what can be known about them.

Vietnam: bill (S. 1484) authorizing funds for humanitarian and evacuation purposes in South, 11466

11466; April 23, 1975; During debate on S. 1484, the Vietnam Contingency Act, Muskie says he will vote to provide for the use of U.S. forces in the event that U.S. civilians are threatened in an effort to leave South Vietnam. At this time, the drive from the North Vietnamese army was well under way, and Saigon fell to the North on April 30, 1975.

Vietnam: immigration of refugees, 13313

Refugees, Vietnamese, 13313

13313; May 7, 1975; Muskie speaks about the refugees from Vietnam who began to enter the country and petitioned to enter the country in the wake of the fall of Saigon and South Vietnam. One element of the antiwar movement was focused on the corruption of some of the leadership of South Vietnam, and their alleged complicity in the failure of the South Vietnamese defense forces to effectively challenge the troops of the North; some of that hostility spilled into the debate over Vietnamese refugees.

Letter: Providing assistance to Vietnamese refugees in the United States, by, 13596

13596; May 8, 1975; Senator Mondale (D-Minnesota) publishes a letter signed by a number of Senators, including Muskie, about the costs of resettling Vietnamese refugees in the wake of the war, and indicating that the signatories are prepared to support legislation authorizing funds for that purpose. Although by the turn of the century there were almost 1 million Vietnamese-Americans, the initial influx of refugees was limited to about 135,000 persons, mostly former government, military and those who had worked with U.S. forces. Subsequent years of emigration and natural growth through American-born children have augmented their numbers.

Global View of "Crowding Out," William C. Cates, Wall Street Journal, 13870

13870; May 12, 1975; Muskie presents an article on international monetary policy. At this time, with the still-growing increases in Arab oil-based current accounts deposits, there were large unknowns about the changes that might develop in international monetary circulation and its effects on the domestic economy. Although much of the oil money was finally inflated and thus devalued, at the time it was not easy to see that outcome.

What Do We Expect of the Military? Philip L. Geyelin, Washington Post, 13875

13875; May 12, 1975; Muskie speaks about the contradictory demands placed on the military in the course of the Vietnam war, and an article that describes the military dilemma clearly.

Letter: Legislation to provide aid for refugees of Vietnam war, Senator Sparkman, by, 14843

14843; May 15, 1975; Muskie is shown as one of the signatories of a letter about Vietnamese refugees that forms part of a submission of materials by Senator Sparkman (D-Alabama), the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, in the course of a debate over providing funding for the settlement of Vietnamese refugees.

Cyprus: military action against, 14994

Turkey: bill (S. 846, 2230) relating to military assistance to, 14994, 26525

Foreign policy: bill (S. 2330) relating to military assistance to Turkey, 26525

14994; May 16, 1975; During debate on S. 846, a bill authorizing the suspension of prohibitions against military assistance to Turkey, Muskie speaks about the difficulties and potential pitfalls of legislatively seeking to conduct foreign policy. Cyprus had suffered a military coup in July, 1974 by the junta then ruling Greece, and a subsequent invasion by Turkey with the result that the island was divided between Greek and Turkish sectors, and immediate U.S. action to deny further military aid to Turkey. Muskie had supported that aid suspension but was having second thoughts about its effectiveness in altering Turkish policy.

26525; July 31, 1975; Although the Senate voted to partly lift the arms embargo on Turkey, on July 24 the House refused to follow suit. Muskie comments on the subsequent situation in Turkey, where the Turks had ordered operations at all 27 U.S. bases cease in retaliation to the House vote. Muskie rejected the effort to blackmail the U.S. government and said he would vote to recommit the bill to the Foreign Relations Committee.

Nuclear test ban treaty: promote negotiations for (see S. Res. 163), 15257

15257; May 20, 1975; Muskie is shown as a cosponsor of S. Res. 163, a Kennedy (D- Massachusetts) resolution reaffirming support for an end to underground nuclear testing for the duration of a Soviet cessation of underground testing, and a renewed proposal to negotiate a Comprehensive Test Ban, to follow up on the 1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty. The President at this time was scheduled to meet with his Soviet counterpart later in the year, and the hope of the sponsors of this proposal was that he could be encouraged to move forward on negotiations.

Future American Foreign Policy, Chicago Council on Foreign Relations, by, 16626

16626; June 3, 1975; Senator Stevenson (D-Illinois) inserts a Muskie speech at the Chicago Council on Foreign Affairs, which examines the way the postwar bipolar U.S.-Soviet balance has become more decentralized and increasingly affected by the actions of third parties which seek independence from the Cold War polarity.

Resolutions by organizations: Commending the President in securing the release of the Mayaguez, Maine Legislature, 17035

17035; June 4, 1975; Muskie inserts a resolution passed by the Maine legislature commending the President on his forceful action in extricating the S.S. Mayaguez and its crew from the control of Khmer Rouge forces in Cambodia. The S.S. Mayaguez was an unarmed merchant vessel working the southeast Asian sea lanes for Sea-Land Services. It was the first fully-containerized vessel. On May 12, 1975, it was following a routine sea lane some 60 miles offshore from Cambodia, but only about 8 miles away from Kao Wai, an island which at the time was claimed by Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam, when it was fired up, then boarded by Kmer Rouge troops and forced to follow the gunboat into harbor at the island. The Ford Administration protested and ordered a counterattack by marines from Subic in the Phillippines, who boarded the vessel and also attacked the island. The crew were released by the Khmer Rouge, but faulty military intelligence about the forces on the island led to an overly hasty evacuation by the marines, which left 3 men behind. Although the entire 39-man crew was retrieved, the U.S. lost 44 men in the effort. It was considered a mixed success at the time and did not do much to bolster President Ford’s political fortunes.

Resolutions by organizations: Concerning aid to Vietnamese refugees, Maine Legislature, 17036

17036; June 4, 1975; Muskie produces a Maine legislative resolution expressing the State’s willingness to do whatever it can to help in the resettlement of refugees from Vietnam.

Military procurement: bill (S. 920; H.R. 6674) authorizing appropriations for, 17041-17043, 17047, 17617, 17618

Table: National defense requirements, 17042

Table: Possible reductions in national defense, 17043

Navy: patrol frigate program, 17618

Letter: Naval shipbuilding program, by, 17619

17041-17043; June 4, 1975; Muskie makes a statement on the budgetary implications of the military procurement bill, S. 920, pointing out some of the areas in which cuts will have to be made if the Senate intends to stick with the numbers in the first concurrent budget resolution.

17047; June 4, 1975; As the Senate debates a proposed amendment to the military procurement bill which would have placed a cap on spending, argument over the effects of such a change leads to a question of Muskie about the prospects for the survival of the President’s cap of 5 percent on active and retired military pay, to which he responds.

17617; 17618; June 6, 1975; There is no Muskie text on page 17617; on the following page Muskie speaks about the patrol frigate, a shipbuilding program in which Maine’s Bath Iron Works plays a role, and includes a letter he sent to Senator Stennis, chairman of the Armed Services Committee.

Commencement, Tilton Academy, N.H., by, 18336

18336; June 11, 1975; Senator McIntyre says that Muskie’s speech at a New Hampshire college was inspiring to the students and deserves wider reading. Muskie spoke about the lessons of Vietnam.

Commencement, G. W. Ball, Bates College, 19297

Invocation: Bates College Commencement, 19297

19297; June 17, 1975; Muskie inserts a speech by George Ball, the Undersecretary of State, given at Bates College in Maine. Ball emphasized the catastrophic possibilities of an unchecked population explosion, a common theme at this period. The theory that a population explosion would ultimately end in worldwide disaster was still ascendant, largely because changes in the rate of population growth had not stabilized by the mid-1970s, and it was unclear if family planning could have widespread effects in underdeveloped nations.

Navy: ship construction, 21772

21772; July 9, 1975; Muskie speaks about how late requests from the Ford Administration, and House efforts to change the funding methods for Navy shipbuilding threaten the budget process and undermine the ability of the Congress to control spending.

Solzhenitsyn, Alexandr: invitation to address Congress (see S Con. Res. 48), 24055

24055; July 22, 1975; Muskie’s name is added to S. Con. Res. 48, a Hollings (D-South Carolina) resolution which would extend an invitation to Solzhenitsyn to address a joint session of the Congress. Alexandr Solzhenitsyn was a Soviet writer who in 1973 published the first volume of The Gulag Archipelago, a history of Soviet slave labor camps. In 1974 he was expelled from the Soviet Union and stripped of Soviet citizenship. At this time, he was paying a first visit to the United States, and President Ford had publicly declined to receive him at the White House, although he was a celebrated international dissident who had risked jail and worse for uncovering the story of internal repression within the U.S.S.R. The Soviet Union practiced extensive censorship and control of expression, including controls on such technology as copying machines, so a practice of "self-publishing", known as samizdat in Russian, where single copies of an article or book chapter were passed on hand-to-hand among individuals, came into existence. The regime sought to suppress this process by arresting suspected writers or others in the loop of samizdat readers, and during the late 1960s and 1970s, more and more Soviet writers took the alternative of having their work published abroad, outside the Soviet Union. This was what precipitated the final expulsion of Solzhenitsyn, although it was also his worldwide fame that probably prevented his arrest and imprisonment. Following his expulsion from the Soviet Union, he ultimately settled in the U.S. and lived for years in Vermont, before returning to Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s.

Foreign affairs: amend bill (S. 1517) authorizing appropriations for administration of, 24269

24269; July 23, 1975; Muskie is added as a cosponsor of a Kennedy amendment No. 689 to the Arms Control and Disarmament agency authorization bill, S. 1517. Kennedy’s amendment took the form of a sense-of-the-Senate resolution asking the U.S. and Soviet Union governments to negotiate an agreement on limiting deployment of naval and other forces in the area of the Indian Ocean. At this time, there was increased attention to the potential of a naval facility to be based on the island of Diego Garcia, which at the time held a U.S. Naval Communications station, and Kennedy’s goal was to prevent a new regional "arms race" between the U.S. and Soviet Union in the Indian Ocean.

Cold War to Cold Peace, A. Friendly, Newsweek, 24279

24279; July 23, 1975; Muskie talks about a column summing up the results of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) talks in Europe, which were launched with the hope of ending the cold war, but in practice merely changed its parameters somewhat. Ironically, in hindsight, it is possible to say that the "human rights basket" dismissed in this piece, actually became a substantial and useful tool for the West in subsequent disputes with the Soviet bloc countries.

Israel: concern over attempts to expel from United Nations (see S. Res. 214), 24897

24897; July 25, 1975; Muskie’s name is added to S. Res. 214, a leadership resolution expressing the Senate’s concern over any attempt to expel Israel from the United Nations. A leadership resolution is sponsored by the bipartisan leaders of the Senate, at this point, Majority Leader Mansfield (D-Montana) and Minority Leader Scott (R-Pennsylvania). By the middle of the decade, a Soviet-Arab-Third World bloc of nations in the U.N. General Assembly made a practice of attacking Israel and supporting Arab and especially Palestinian causes. Although the individual countries’ political agendas all varied somewhat, it is fair to suggest that this outcome was actively sought by the Soviets, since they had no weight in most international councils, and it was used as a way to attack the U.S. and to a lesser degree, its NATO allies. By 1975, in addition, the toll of higher oil prices had roiled economies all around the world, with particularly harsh results for many Asian and African nations, so showing sympathy for Arab-favored causes at the U.N. was one predictable outcome. The U.N. General Assembly had invited Yasir Arafat to speak in November, 1974, and he did so wearing a holstered firearm. Later in 1975, the PLO was offered permanent observer status at the U.N. At this time, there was some reason to fear that a concerted effort might be made to expel Israel from the world body entirely, and the U.S. Senate wanted to send a strong countering message.

Military Procurement Authorizations, by, 26685, 26692

Department of Defense Authorization Act, 1976: bill (H.R. 6674) to enact, conference report, 26686-26690, 26692, 26699-26703, 26706, 26707, 3O557, 30559, 30560

List: Possible reductions in defense, by, 26687, 26688

Military Procurement Authorization Bill Revised Conference Report, by, 30557-30559

Letter: Military procurement authorization conference report, Representative Adams, 30558

Military Procurement Authorization Bill Revised Conference Report, by, 30557-30559

26685-26693; August 1, 1975; Muskie argues that the conference report on H.R. 6674, the military procurement bill, is above the budgeted guidelines for the defense function of the budget and should be opposed on that ground, as well as on the inclusion of a very late budgetary addition in the form of a nuclear strike cruiser added in the House debate.

26699-26703, 26706, 26707; August 1, 1975; In continued debate on the conference report on the military procurement bill, H.R. 6674, Muskie makes the argument that the budget figure for defense spending was agreed to by both Houses of Congress and that if the budget resolution is to have any meaning, it will have to apply to military as well as domestic spending. In this instance, Muskie’s position prevailed and the bill was rejected 42-48. It is extremely rare to see a defense procurement bill rejected in the Congress.

30557, 30559, 30560; September 26, 1975; When the military procurement bill was rejected, the conferees of the Senate and House Armed Services were forced to return to conference, and they emerged six weeks later with a modestly reduced bill, which Muskie said he would accept, even though it is still above the figure for defense spending.

Departments of State, Justice. and Commerce, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriation Act, 1976: bill (H.R. 8121 ) to enact, 27395

27395; September 3, 1975; Muskie briefly discusses the budgetary implications of H.R. 8121, the appropriations bill for the Departments of State, Justice and Commerce, and for the federal judiciary and various independent agencies.

Government intelligence and surveillance activities: Senate action on legislation relative to congressional oversight (see S. Res. 231), 27824

27824; September 8, 1975; Muskie’s name is listed with other Senators as a cosponsor of S. Res. 231, a Nelson (D-Wisconsin) resolution to create a Senate oversight role on the intelligence agencies no later than June 1, 1976. At this time, a Senate Select Committee was investigating the activities of the intelligence community and discovering a range of questionable activities, include widespread domestic surveillance, mail covers and warrantless wiretaps, the infiltration of groups by informers and a range of efforts to disrupt dissident groups and intimidate individuals. The broad sweep of these activities and their prolonged existence in time were making it evident that some kind of continuing oversight of the activities of intelligence agencies would be necessary after the Select Committee wrapped up its report in 1976.

Memorandum: Comments on reordering of priorities between international and domestic programs, Sid Brown, 29093

Military Procurement Conference Washington Post, 29093

Report: Military Procurement Conference Report (sundry), 29094

29093, 29094; September 17, 1975; During debate on the Labor-HEW appropriation, Muskie points out that in several functional categories, the bill is over the budget limits, and includes a staff memorandum responding to the criticism that the Budget Committee’s numbers on defense and non-defense spending are questionable.

Panama Canal: treaty negotiations, 30554

Departments of State, Justice, and Commerce, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriation Act, 1976: bill (H.R. 8121) making appropriations, conference report, 30554

30554; September 26, 1975; Muskie makes a very brief statement on H.R. 8121, a conference report providing funds for the State, Justice and Commerce Departments as well as the federal judiciary and some related agencies. The Panama Canal index notification refers to a statement made by Senator Pastore (D-Rhode Island) about Senate language in the bill which the House had refused to accept. This index line appears to have been mistakenly inserted into the Muskie index, since Muskie made absolutely no reference to the Panama Canal treaty.

Military construction: bill (S. 1247) to authorize appropriations, conference report, 30719

30719; September 29, 1975; Muskie briefly comments on the spending level in the conference report on S. 1247, the military construction bill, and notes that he intends to support the conference report.

Sinai: resolution (S.J. Res. 138) to implement early-warning system, 32748

32748; October 9, 1975; Muskie expresses his support for the second Sinai agreement, negotiated in early September between Egypt and Israel. This was part of the process of ending the Yom Kippur War of October 1973, and resulted in Israel pulling its military forces in the Sinai back about 20 miles, with similar pull back on the Egyptian side. An element of the agreement was that it would include some 200 civilian technicians to guard against encroachment by either party into the buffer zone of the Sinai, which was patrolled by U.N. forces.

Department of Defense: exclude industrially funded personnel from total authorized (see S. 2207), 32841

32841; October 9, 1975; Muskie is added to a Fong (R-Hawaii) bill which would exclude from the count of authorized civilian personnel at the Department of Defense those civilians working in the industrially funded operations of the military. What were known as "industrially funded" operations were primarily the supply and service functions that are performed to maintain the fighting forces in operating condition. The Defense Department argued that these operations could most effectively be carried out if the natural process of the operation were followed, and that the efforts by the Office of Management and Budget to impose a stringent civilian manpower limit forced agencies to lay off workers one day before the end of the Fiscal Year and then rehire them afterwards. This was particularly true with respect to shipyards, which would have been Muskie’s principal interest in this measure.

Zionism: condemn United Nations resolution (see S. Res. 289), 33925

33925; October 28, 1975; Muskie and most of the rest of the Senate become cosponsors of a Humphrey (D- Minnesota) resolution, S. Res. 289, condemning the U.N. resolution passed in the General Assembly to equate Zionism with racism. This U.N. Resolution 3379 was passed in part at the urging of Soviet and other anti-western opinion, and reflected a strong turning on Israel in the General Assembly and other international organizations. It was though at the time that it also reflected oil diplomacy on the part of many, since the resolution was strongly supported by the Arab nations.

Table: Agency for International Development loan reflows available for reuse, 34739

International Development and Food Assistance Act of 1975: bill (H.R. 9005) to enact, 34734-34739, 35172

34734-34739; November 3, 1975; Muskie has a discussion with Senator Humphrey (D- Minnesota) over the proper accounting practices for the funds which are repaid to the U.S. government under the international development loans, and says that because of the way they are characterized they can have the practical effect of breaking budgetary ceilings.

35172; November 5, 1975; Muskie notes that although disputes about bookkeeping methods seem to have been resolved, the International Development and Food Assistance Act, H.R. 9005, is close to being above budget ceilings.

United Nations: resolution on Zionism, 35320

35320; November 6, 1975; Muskie makes a floor statement opposing a resolution adopted by UNESCO, which equates Zionism with racism, and notes that changing military violence to verbal violence does not make violence more acceptable.

Military construction: bill (H.R. 10029) making appropriations, 35364

35364; November 6, 1975; Muskie makes a statement about the military spending bills that will come before the Senate before the end of the year, cautioning that there is not much room left in the budget ceilings.

Mussenden, William F.: relief (see S. 2640), 35647

Mussenden, William F.: legislation for the relief of, 35668

35647, 35668; November 10, 1975; Muskie introduces a private relief bill for a William F. Mussenden, the descendant of the owners of a ship building company active in Bath, Maine, during the Civil War period. The company was not paid for its work on a gunboat for the Navy, despite having made changes in response to Navy Department demands, and the purpose of Muskie’s bill was to finally repay what the Navy acknowledged it had owed for well over one hundred years. Muskie’s statement of the facts in this case demonstrates that delays in procurement and cost disputes in military purchases are not a fact of modern life alone, but have been part of the private-government picture from the beginning.

Although in many respects, this was a private relief bill, because of the age of the claim and because of the substantial federal government action on it during the 19^th century, Muskie chose to explain this measure publicly. It is often true that the passage of time makes a difference in the way claims on government funds are viewed.

United Nations: relative to Zionism resolution (see S. Con. Res. 73), 35776

35776; November 11, 1975; When the Senate passes S. Con. Res. 73, a resolution condemning the U.N. and its agencies for accepting resolutions that equate Zionism with racism, Muskie is shown as one of the cosponsors.

Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1976: bill (H.R. 9861) to enact, 36510, 36512, 36748

36510, 36512; November 13, 1975; Muskie speaks about the defense appropriations bill’s costs in connection with the budget ceilings and has an exchange with the Chairman of the Appropriations Committee over whether the defense budget or some other demands are going up in cost more rapidly and therefore being threatened with cuts. It has been an enduring reality that reductions in defense spending are invariably compared with increases in domestic spending.

36748; November 14, 1978; During the debate on the Defense Appropriations bill, H.R. 9861, Muskie says he will vote to eliminate funding for the F– 18 aircraft because it is a down payment on what is likely to become a $2 billion program.

Angola: situation and U.S. policy in, 41207, 41210, 41211

Department of Defense: bill (H.R. 9861) making appropriations, conference report, 41207, 41210, 41211

Angola: relative to U.S. involvement (see S. Res. 333), 41209

Angola: resolution (S. Res. 333) relating to activities in, 41210, 41211

41207; December 17, 1975; Muskie speaks on the conference report on H.R. 9861, the Defense Department appropriation, saying it is within budget guidelines.

41209; December 17, 1975; Muskie’s name appears as a cosponsor when Senator Stevenson (D- Illinois) sends a resolution, S. Res. 333, expressing the view of the Senate that outside powers should not intervene in the civil combat in Angola, and asking the President to impose trade sanctions on those nations doing so. Angola had gained its independence in 1975, following a coup in Portugal, its former colonial ruler, and immediately three main factions began a civil war. When Americans discovered that there might be some U.S. involvement in this conflict, the Ford Administration immediately claimed that the Soviet Union and Cuban engagement there had forced a U.S. reaction. It became known in 2002, when declassified documents from the period became available in the U.S. and in Cuba, that the U.S. intervention in Angola actually antedated the arrival of any Cubans and, contrary to contemporary assertions, was taken in concert with the South African government.

41210, 41211; December 17, 1975; During debate on the question of Angola, Muskie very briefly expressed his support for the Stevenson resolution. He said: "Mr. President, I stand in support of the Stevenson resolution expressing the sense of the Senate to suspend U.S. support to the warring factions in Angola, and by economic leverage to persuade the Soviet Union to adhere to this same principle."

World food crisis: aid to poorest people (see S. Con. Res. 66), 41544

41544; December 18, 1974; Muskie becomes a cosponsor of S. Con. Res. 66, a Hatfield (R-Oregon) resolution declaring that a "right to food" is a national policy. This proposal was intended to buttress a goal of the 1974 World Food Conference, to eradicate hunger by 1985. Senator Hatfield said that if the U.S. would unambiguously endorse the concept that every person has a right to eat, policies to encourage more humanitarian food aid would be easier to develop and implement without interference from political priorities, citing the fact that during the Vietnam war period, some 70 percent of U.S. Food for Peace was redirected to southeast Asia.

HUMAN RESOURCES PROGRAMS

1975 1st Session, 94th Congress

Food Stamp Act of 1964: amend (see S. 13), 212

212; January 15, 1975; Muskie is shown as a cosponsor of S. 13, a McGovern (D- South Dakota) bill to amend the Food Stamp Act so as to invalidate proposed Ford regulatory changes which would have asked food stamp recipients to pay 30 percent of their incomes for the stamps, and to make the recipients of Supplemental Security Income automatically eligible to buy food stamps. Supplemental Security Income provides an income floor for the disabled and elderly who lack the social security coverage to provide for them and who have no other source of income.

Consumer agency: establish independent (see S. 200), 641

641; January 17, 1975; Muskie is shown as a cosponsor of S. 200, a Ribicoff (D- Connecticut) bill creating an independent agency to protect and serve the interests of consumers. This bill was based largely on the measure which failed by a single vote to end a filibuster in 1974, to create a non-regulatory Agency for Consumer Advocacy within the federal government. It was to be an independent agency and an advocate for consumers before other agencies, whose actions affect consumer interests. In the mid-1970s, the numerous non-profit groups which take it upon themselves to advocate for the public interest were considerably less developed than they later became, and there was a general feeling that the established agencies were failing to assertively champion the consumer interest at the federal level.

Social security: disapprove 5-per cent ceiling on cost-of-living increases (see S. Con. Res. 2), 889

889; January 21, 1975; Muskie is shown as a cosponsor of S. Con. Res. 2, a Church (D-Idaho) resolution to disapprove the Administration proposal which would have capped the cost-of-living increase for social security recipients at 5% at a time when it was anticipated that the increase, based on the actual cost of living, would be in the range of 8.7 percent. At this time, the average social security benefit for a couple was $310 per month.

Medicare: freeze deductibles (see S. 525), 2026

2026; February 3, 1975; Muskie is shown as a cosponsor of S. 525, a Ribicoff (D-Connecticut) bill which was intended to freeze all Medicare deductibles. This measure was based on a 1974 bill on which no action was taken, and was intended to leave all co-payments frozen at the 1974 levels, whereas in the law, the requirement was that deductibles rise along with hospital costs each year.

Food stamps: bill (S. 35; H.R. 1589) to prohibit increases in cost of, 2601

2601; February 5, 1975; Muskie speaks in favor of S. 35, a bill to prevent the Administration’s proposed requirement that food stamp recipients use at least 30 percent of their income to buy the stamps, and describes income levels in Maine as examples of the hardship this regulation would impose on people. At this time, although food stamps were widely used, it began to be understood that there was also a level of abuse in the program, as college students from non-poor families would apply and use food stamps although they should not have been eligible, and a backlash was forming against generous food stamp subsidies.

National Employ the Older Workers Week: designate (see S.J. Res. 35), 3796

3796; February 20, 1975; Muskie is added as a cosponsor of S. J. Res. 35, a Randolph (D- West Virginia) joint resolution providing for the designation of the second full calendar week in March, 1975, as “National Employ the Older Workers Week”

Psychiatrists Pay New Need to Mental Problems of Aged, D. Buell, National Observer, 4442

Older persons: mental health care, 4442

Mental health: care for the elderly, 4442

4442; February 26, 1975; Muskie notes that much broader attention to the mental health of the elderly can mean the difference between warehousing old people and providing an environment in which they can find meaning in their lives.

Letter: Needed funds for summer youth jobs program, President Ford, by, 5510

5510; March 6, 1975; Muskie is shown as one of the signers of a letter to the President, urging that he support additional funding for the summer youth jobs program. At this time, regular unemployment averaged about 8.2 percent nationwide, and minority youth, whose unemployment rates are invariably higher, were feared to be facing as much as 50 percent unemployment in the summer months.

Parole Commission Act: enact (see S. 1109), 5675

5675; March 7, 1975; Muskie is shown as a cosponsor of S. 1109, a Burdick (D-South Dakota) bill to reform the Parole Board for federal inmates. The proposal would have abolished the 8-member Board and replaced it with five regional Parole Commissions, breaking up the workload, and creating a head Commissioner who would be able to shift resources so as to meet increased workload and would not directly involve himself in individual parole decisions. The bill would not have changed the conditions of parole in the federal system.

Resolutions by organizations: Medicare -medicaid payments, Maine Legislature. 5777

5777; March 7, 1975; Muskie presents a resolution adopted by the Maine Legislature objecting to the ruling by regional HEW representatives that Medicare and Medicaid insurance payments would not be made to two local hospitals at Milo and Dexter, Maine, because certain violations of fire safety laws had not been corrected and the hospitals would therefore no longer be certified "providers" within the meaning of the Medicare and Medicaid statutes.

Resolutions by organizations: Limitation on cost-of-living increases in Federal income maintenance programs, Maine Legislature, 5778

5778; March 7, 1975; Muskie presents a resolution adopted by the Maine Legislature in opposition to President Ford’s proposal to hold all automatic cost-of-living increases in federal programs such as Social Security, Railroad Retirement, Civil Service and Military retirement and Supplemental Security Income to not more than 5 percent, although the rate of inflation the prior year had been over 12 percent and promised to be well above 5 percent in the current year.

History and Purpose of Northeast Combat, Inc., 6274

COMBAT, consumer organizations in Maine, 6274

Maine: COMBAT organizations, 6274

6274; March 12, 1975; Muskie describes a Maine consumer organization which is entirely voluntary but has achieved significant success in public advocacy as well as individual representation of consumers who need help mediating or correcting disputes with local businesses.

Nursing homes: concerning (see S. Res. 113), 6472

6472; March 13, 1975; Muskie, along with all the other members of the Special Committee on the Aging, is shown as a cosponsor of S. Res. 113, a Church (D-Idaho) resolution directing the President to develop a multi-agency task force so as to enable the federal government to better coordinate its investigations into nursing home abuses. The nursing home industry expanded rapidly after the creation of Medicare and Medicaid in the mid-1960s, as about half the costs of nursing home care were covered by federal and state payments. By the early 1970s, it was also evident that shortcomings in nursing homes were widespread. Investigations showed neglect and mistreatment of elderly residents, untrained orderlies, physicians who were negligent or absent, and sufficiently questionable business and tax practices that the industry was being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as the Internal Revenue Service. State and local attorneys general were also working on the matter, as well as the Justice Department and the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. By 1975, the nursing home industry was receiving approximately $7.5 billion a year, with more than half of that coming from state and federal taxpayers.

Medicare: proposed curtailment of benefits (see S. Con. Res. 24), 7524

7524; March 19, 1975; Muskie is named as a cosponsor of S. Con. Res. 24, a Bayh (D-Indiana) resolution relating to disapproval of a proposed copayment on certain Medicare costs. LOOK IT UP AND SEE WHAT THE DETAILS OF THIS ARE.

Radiation Health and Safety Act of 1975: enact (see S. 1261), 7826

7826; March 20, 1975; Muskie is shown as a cosponsor of S. 1261, a Randolph (D-West Virginia) bill designed to formalize the training required by radiologic technicians before they could practice. At this time, persons could self-certify as trained radiologic technicians through a private organization’s exam, but there was no federal and few state requirements to do so. As a result, federal reviews of the exposure of Americans to radiation estimated that preventable injuries and deaths were resulting from the increased and widespread use of radiation in diagnostics and treatment.

Nurse Training and Health Revenue Sharing and Health Services Act of 1975: bill (S. 66) to enact, 9818, 9830

Abortion: Federal funds, 9818

9818; April 10, 1975; During debate on a Bartlett (R-Oklahoma) amendment to the Nurse Training and Health Revenue Sharing and Health Services Act, S. 66, Muskie makes a statement on the substance of the amendment. The Bartlett amendment was intended to bar the use of any federal funds for abortion through the Medicaid program. This is one of the very few statements on the issue that Muskie ever made. A committed Catholic all his life, Muskie found the political philosophy of the pro-life forces antithetical to his own political views, while he was deeply concerned about the moral questions raised by abortion.

9830; April 10, 1975; Muskie expresses support for the Commission on the Mental Health of the Elderly and a provision for the creation of home health agencies in rural areas, both contained in S. 66, a health care bill. The Commission idea was one he had himself proposed in 1971, after he became aware of the growing number of elderly warehoused in state mental institutions.

Letter: Funds for summer youth jobs program, exchange of correspondence between White House and, 11926, 11927

Letter: Funds for Emergency Energy Conservation Services, exchange of correspondence between White House and, 11928

11926, 11927, 11928; April 25, 1975; During debate on the Emergency Employment appropriations bill, H.R. 4481, Senator Javits (R-New York) describes letters to the President about the level of funding available for the summer youth jobs program, and its associated costs, which was signed by Muskie, along with other Senators, and a letter urging greater funding for emergency energy services, such as home winterization and fuel assistance, a national program that developed out of the Project FUEL program in Maine.

Appropriations: bill (H.R. 4481) making emergency employment, 11939, 11940

Employment appropriations: bill (H.R. 4481) making emergency, 11939, 11940

11939, 11940; April 25, 1975; Muskie speaks about the budget implications of H.R. 4481, the Emergency Employment appropriations bill, a measure that was intended to increase jobs by 1 million by speeding up government construction and other projects, and by providing directly for public service jobs in connection with railroad infrastructure. At this time, the unemployment rate averaged 8.2 percent, albeit with pockets of much higher unemployment, and the economic report of the Ford Administration anticipated that it would remain at 8.1 percent in the following year. This was the most severe recession, by 1975, that the nation had experienced since the 1930s.

Older Americans Act Amendments of 1975: amend bill (S. 1426) to enact, 13983

Older Americans Act Amendments of proposed amendment, 13984

13983, 13984; May 13, 1975; Muskie cosponsors and speaks in support of a Clark (D-Pennsylvania) bill, S. 1426, to amend the Older Americans Act so as to extend to the rural elderly the services provided in the program to low-income and minority elderly.

Agency for Consumer Advocacy: create, 14721

Consumer Protection Act of 1975: bill (S, 200) to enact, 14721

14721; May 15, 1975; Muskie speaks about S. 200, a bill to create an Agency for Consumer Advocacy. The concept of consumer protection became increasingly common and pervasive in the 1960s and by the 1970s, many thought that there ought to be a federal agency to protect the consumer interest, just as there were agencies dealing with communications, interstate commerce, and transportation modes, a belief Muskie shared. This concept became the object of intensive lobbying by the business community when it was first proposed and ever afterwards, on the grounds that it would harass businesses and add additional regulations to which business would be forced to conform.

Resolutions by organizations: Relative to proposed change for title XX of the Social Services Act Amendments of 1974, Maine State Legislature, 17035

17035; June 4, 1975; Muskie notes that the Maine legislature has passed a resolution asking the Congress to reverse the regulations issued by the Ford administration for the operation of the social services program, Title XX of the Social Services Act. Throughout the 1970s, both the Nixon and Ford administrations sought to narrow the circumstances under which federal matching funds would be granted to the states under this title.

Budget Committee Position on H.R. 6900, Unemployment Compensation, 20143

Report: Budget Estimates for Unemployment Compensation, 20144

Unemployment: legislation to provide additional compensation, 20143, 20144

Emergency Compensation and Special Unemployment Assistance Extension Act of 1975: bill (H.R. 6900) to enact, 20143, 20144

20143, 20144; June 20, 1975; During debate on H.R. 6900, a bill authorizing an additional 13 weeks of unemployment compensation benefits eligibility, Muskie makes a point about a proposed Long (D-Louisiana) amendment to provide a refundable $2000 tax credit to all purchasers of newly constructed homes, as a way of increasing jobs in the construction field. At this time, unemployment among construction workers nationwide was running at 20 percent.

School Lunch Act and Child Nutrition Act of 1966 Amendments of 1975: bill (H.R. 4222),to enact, 22208-22211

Food service programs for children: bill (H.R. 4222) extend and revise special, conference report, 27768, 27769

Table: Budget estimates for child nutrition programs (sundry), 22209, 27769

22208; July 10, 1975; During debate on H.R. 4222, the School Lunch and Child Nutrition Act, Muskie notes that the bill is already above the budget resolution numbers and that the passage of a McGovern (D- South Dakota) program would have the effect of making the bill half a billion dollars above the budget estimates. The McGovern amendment would have applied a reduced-price lunch for children from families with incomes twice as high as the official poverty level.

27768, 27769; September 5, 1975; [Text begins on page 27768] Muskie announces that he intends to vote against the conference report on the child nutrition bill, H.R. 4222, because conferees added programs to the measure which bring it above the budget resolution limits.

Education Division and related agencies: bill (H.R. 5901) making appropriations, conference report, 23338

23338; July 17, 1975; Muskie makes a brief statement on H.R. 5901, the bill funding the Education Division of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, noting that it falls within budget guidelines, but that the anticipation of a supplemental funding appropriation later in the year creates uncertainty as to whether the full year’s cost will remain within budget guidelines.

Consumer Product Safety Commission Improvements Act of 1975, bill (S. 644) to enact, 23585

23585; July 18, 1975; Muskie makes a brief floor statement on the costs of the Consumer Product Safety Commission bill, S. 644, to the effect that it is $5 million over the sum assumed by the budget guidelines, although it remains within the functional target for health-related spending.

Hurricane Island (Maine) Outward Bound School, 25427

Sailing Through Outward Bound: No Easy Trick, Toni Brodax, Boating (magazine), 25428

Outward Bound at Moosehead, Eliza Cocroft, Down East (magazine), 25428

25427, 25428; July 28, 1975; Muskie describes the Outward Bound school at Hurricane Island, Maine, and the origin of its programs and philosophy in wartime Great Britain, and offers two articles about the Maine Outward Bound program.

Barriers to Health Care for Older Americans, Special Committee on Aging, by, 26259

26259; July 31, 1975; Congressman Koch (D- New York), inserts a statement Muskie made opening a hearing on home health care services, a growing interest to many in this period. The combined effects of rapidly rising hospital care costs and the tendency to warehouse the infirm elderly in nursing homes were both driving Medicare and Medicaid costs much higher than anyone had ever estimated, and many thought that if older persons could receive at-home care, it could be done more economically and with more benefit to the patient.

School Lunch Act and Child Nutrition Act of 1966 Amendments of 1975: School lunch program: proposed conference report, 26686

26686; August 1, 1975; During the debate on military procurement, Muskie enters into the record a statement he made on June 4, 1975, where he announced his intention of voting against both the child nutrition conference report and the military procurement conference report, because both were above budget guidelines.

Veterans' Administration Physician Pay Comparability Act of 1975: bill (S. 1711) enact, 26741

26741; August 1, 1975; Muskie describes how the Ford administration’s cost estimates for veterans’ entitlement spending have been much lower than the rate at which pensions and other allowances have actually been used, and points out that underestimates of these kinds mean that the budget resolutions numbers have already been exceeded.

Education Division and related agencies: bill (H.R. 5901) making appropriations, veto message, 28497

Table: Education, manpower, and social services, 28497

28497; September 10, 1975; Muskie warns that an override of President Ford’s veto of the education appropriations bill will mean that other legislation covered by the same functional category, such as manpower training and social services and public works employment, will begin to use up all the funding allocated for those purposes.

Letter: Status of H.R. 8069, by, 29097

Departments of Labor and Health, Education and Welfare Appropriation Act, 1976: bill (H.R. 8069) to enact, 29089-29093, 29097-29100, 30524

Table: Budget authority and outlays of H.R. 8069 (sundry), 29092, 29093

29089- 29093; September 17, 1975; During debate on H.R. 8069, the Labor-HEW appropriations bill, Muskie comments that the budget process is coming under attack from those who believe their preferred priorities among federal programs will suffer funding cuts because of the way the budget is broken down by functional categories, which has the effect of pitting human needs against military spending. The Labor-HEW bill, covering several functional categories, such as "health", "income security", "manpower training" and so on, was particularly difficult to categorize as being "under" or "over" the budget limits.

29097-29100; September 17, 1975; During continued debate on H.R. 8069, the Labor-HEW appropriations bill, Muskie and the Chairman of the Labor-HEW Subcommittee, Senator Magnuson (D-Washington) and the Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Senator McClellan (D-Arkansas) discuss the factors that make estimating budget targets for the bill particularly confusing. One of the factors that Muskie had to take into account in the early years of the budget process was that he not be seen by other chairmen as taking on tasks that they believed to be their own. Turf warfare in the Senate is not unusual, and the budget process was seen by some members as a particular threat to their own chairmanships.

30524; September 26, 1975; During continued debate on H.R. 8069, the Labor-HEW appropriations bill, Muskie notes that he does not enjoy supporting amendments to cut spending for the National Institutes of Health, but is doing so because spending in the health function is already above budget targets.

School Lunch Act and Child Nutrition Act of 1966 Amendments of 1975: bill (H.R. 4222) to enact, conference report, 29539-29540

Budget Discipline and Defense, Stephen S. Rosenfeld, Washington Post, 29539

29539-29540; September 19, 1975; Muskie speaks briefly on the second conference report on the child nutrition bill, H.R. 4222, which was reduced by the second conference to roughly the figure the Congress had set, and makes the point that portions of the bill are subject to appropriations, so they may well be further reduced.

National Ski Patrol Association: grant Federal charter (see S. 1736), 31933

31933; October 7, 1975; Muskie is added as a cosponsor to S. 1736, a McIntyre (D- New Hampshire) bill to grant the National Ski Patrol Association a federal charter. The National Ski Patrol was founded in Stowe, Vermont, in 1938, for the purpose of providing educational services about emergency care and safety in winter sports. It became the largest winter rescue organization in the world, and was seeking a federal charter at this time in recognition of its nationwide status.

Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, Senator Hathaway, (sundry), 32253-32255

32253; October 8, 1975; Muskie notes that his Maine colleague, Senator Hathaway, has been appointed chairman of a subcommittee dealing with alcoholism and drug abuse treatment, and that he has taken a forceful stand on developing strong programs of prevention and treatment, as he outlined in two recent statements in Maine.

National School Lunch Act and Child Nutrition Act Amendments of 1975; bill (H.R. 4222) enact, veto message, 32015

Child Nutrition Veto, Washington Post, 32016

32015, 32016; October 7, 1975; Muskie says he will vote to override the President’s veto of the child nutrition bill, H.R. 4222, because it does not exceed the budget guidelines and has already been returned to conference once to be cut. President Ford faced a Congress which had wide Democratic majorities, and turned to the veto as a tool of policy to enforce his priorities; in his first fourteen months in office, he issued 39 vetoes, none of them against military spending.

Nursing homes: updating life safety requirements (see S.2558),33495

33495; October 22, 1975; Muskie is shown, with Hathaway (D- Maine) as a cosponsor of S. 2558, a bill to improve and update life safety requirements for nursing homes.

Nursing homes: legislation to provide for the updating of the life safety requirements for, 33516

33516; October 22, 1975; Muskie and Hathaway (D-Maine) both make introductory statements about their nursing home bill, S. 2558, which would permit these facilities in Maine to comply with the older structural requirements of the 1967 regulations or the updated requirements of the 1973 fire safety code, without requiring compliance with both codes.

Heart House: cardiology, 34192

Heart House (sundry), 34193, 34194

34192; October 29, 1975; Muskie notes that the American College of Cardiologists intends to construct an educational facility called Heart House in Maryland, near the National Institutes of Health, and shares some of the remarks made at the groundbreaking ceremony.

Nursing homes: reform (see S. 1563), 35087

35087; November 5, 1975; Muskie becomes a cosponsor of S. 1563, a Moss (D-Utah) bill on nursing home reform. S. 1563, one of a lengthy series of nursing home reform bills introduced on the same day, was intended to update the fire code compliance requirements of federal law in much the same manner as S. 2558, the Muskie-Hathaway nursing home bill introduced October 22, 1975.

INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS, FEDERALISM.

1975 1^st Session, 94^th Congress

Committee on Government Operations: notice of hearings, 1364, 5729, 6040, 10131, 10219, 12232, 23867, 29753

1364; January 27, 1975; Muskie announces that the Subcommittee on Intergovernmental Relations will hold hearings to examine the effects of inflation and recession on state and local governments.

5729; March 7, 1975; Muskie announces that his Subcommittee will hold hearings on his bill to amend the Intergovernmental Personnel Act, S. 957, on March 14, 1975.

6040; March 11, 1975; Muskie announces that he has asked Senator Chiles (D- Florida) to hold a field hearing in Florida on the energy crisis.

10131; April 14, 1975; Muskie announces another Subcommittee hearing on the amendments to the Intergovernmental Personnel Act, for April 16, 1975.

10219; April 15, 1975; The notice of the hearing announcement for the Intergovernmental Personnel Act amendments is repeated.

12232; April 29, 1975; Muskie announces subcommittee hearings for the first week of May on the Countercyclical proposal for revenue sharing for state and local governments.

23867; July 21, 1975; Muskie announces that his subcommittee will hold hearings to receive the results of a GAO study of the impact of general revenue sharing in 26 selected jurisdictions on Wednesday July 23, 1975.

29753; September 23, 1975; Muskie announces the subcommittee will hold hearings on the Right to Information proposal, a bill seeking to strengthen the hand of the Congress in seeking data from the executive branch, on September 29 and October 3, 1975.

Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, 3254

3254; February 18, 1975; Muskie is named as a member of the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, an organization on which he served for many years.

Maine: resolution relative to general revenue sharing, 4446

Revenue sharing: Maine Legislature resolution relative to, 4446

Resolutions by organizations: Relative to general revenue sharing, Maine Legislature, 4446

General Revenue Sharing; Conference on Federalism by, 4447

4446, 4447; February 26, 1975; Muskie speaks about Maine’s support for the extension of the General Revenue Sharing program after it expires in 1976 in the form of a resolution from the Maine State Legislature, and also includes a speech examining the forces opposing a renewal of the program.

Intergovernmental Personal Act of 1970: amend (see S. 957), 5272

5272; March 5, 1975; Notice only of Muskie’s introduction of S. 957, the Intergovernmental Personnel Act Amendments.

Intergovernmental Personnel Act of 1970: legislation to amend, 5279

Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands: legislation to extend the Intergovernmental Personnel Act of 1970 to, 5279

State and local governments: legislation to improve personnel administration in, 5279

Text: S. 957. to improve personnel administration in State and local governments, 5280

Analysis: S.957, to improve personnel administration in State and local governments, 5280

5279, 5280; March 5, 1975; Muskie makes his introductory remarks on his proposed amendments to the Intergovernmental Personnel Act, which include extending for three years the 75-25 federal-state cost share, extending its provisions to the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands and some technical changes dealing with reimbursement for travel and the permissible actions of employees on loan to a state or local agency.

Science and technology: national policy and priorities (see S. 32), 5490

5490; March 6, 1975; Muskie’s name is added as a cosponsor to S. 32, a Kennedy (D- Massachusetts) bill establishing national policy and priorities for science and technology. The principal impulse behind this measure was the 1973 Nixon abolition of the Office of Science and Technology and the position of science advisor to the President. It was generally believed he did so because he disagreed with the views of scientists on such issues as the supersonic transport plane and the anti-ballistic missile program. A similar measure was approved in the Senate in 1974 but did not reach a vote in the House.

Committee on Government Operations: postponement of hearing, 6257

6257; March 12, 1975; Muskie announces that the subcommittee hearing on the intergovernmental personnel act that was announced for March 14 is being cancelled and will be rescheduled.

Economic conditions: problems of State and local governments, 7198

State and local governments: economic plight, 7198

Haves and Have Nots, N. R. Peirce, Washington Post, 7198

7198; March 18, 1975; Muskie talks about the counterproductive outcome of having the federal government pursue the goal of expanding economic growth while at the same time, inflationary pressures and lack of income force states to counteract federal actions by raising state and local taxes and laying off state workers, and suggests that what should be substituted is a kind of revenue sharing for state and local governments that would go into effect only during economic contractions, but would end as soon as economic growth resumed.

Impact of Revenue Sharing on Minorities and the Poor, M. H. Sklar, Harvard Law Review, 8738

8738; March 26, 1975; Muskie talks about the general revenue sharing, and inserts an article which examines how well or poorly it has worked in practice, particularly with regard to equal sharing of services with minorities and the low income, and the extent to which public input has helped determine what is to be done with the funds. General revenue sharing was designed to be a program of federal grants with very few strings attached, intended to supplement state and local efforts to serve their communities, but in many cases, the money wound up being used as a de facto tax relief fund or for luxuries for which communities were unwilling to tax themselves. Although wildly popular with State governors and local officials, it was subject to quite a degree of public complaint about the uses to which the funds were put.

Intergovernmental Countercyclical Assistance Act of 1975: introduction, 9080

Economic conditions: legislation to establish a system of emergency support grants to State and local governments, 9080

Intergovernmental Countercyclical Assistance Act of 1975; enact (see S. 1359), 9080

Intergovernmental Countercyclical Assistance Act of 1975, by Senator Humphrey, 9081

Text: S. 1359, Intergovernmental Countercyclical Assistance Act of 1975, 9082

Analysis: S.1359, Intergovernmental Countercyclical Assistance Act of 1975, 9082

Questions and Answers: Intergovernmental Countercyclical Assistance Act of 1975, 9086

Local Fiscal Crisis (sundry), 9087

9080; April 7, 1975; Muskie makes introductory remarks on S. 1359, the Intergovernmental Countercyclical Assistance Act, arguing that it makes sense to assure that federal and state and local governments do not work at cross purposes by reducing federal taxes and raising state taxes, and increasing public works jobs and laying off state and local government employees at the same time. His argument was that a program triggered by external events, such as the rise in unemployment, and triggered off by similar external events, such as a fall in unemployment, has the desirable quality of being there when needed and not before or long after it is needed. Efforts throughout the 1960s and 1970s to time public works employment or tax incentives to recessions had mixed success. Very often, stimulative programs began too late and ended well after the economic conditions that spurred them were past. This proposal was an attempt to put into place a program that would be triggered by the events it was intended to counter. At the time, the U.S. national unemployment rate was at 8.7 percent, which was the highest until then since the Great Depression.

Reorganizing State Government, N. R. Peirce, Washington Post, 9650

9650; April 9, 1975; Muskie reports on the movement for reform of state government that was under way at the time. In the 1970s, many states reformed their governmental systems, mostly in an effort to modernize and streamline. It was, in many ways, the beginning of the period in which states became much more significant units of power within the federal system than previously.

Federal Grant and Cooperative Agreement Act of 1975; enact (see S. 1437), 10190

10190; April 15, 1975; Muskie is shown as a cosponsor of S. 1437, a Chiles (D-Florida) proposal designed to establish clearer criteria for the grant of federal funds to state and private entities, and for improving the criteria for procurement contracts. With the expansion of the federal government in the 1960s and 1970s, it began to be evident that executive agencies were administering various programs in ways that served the agencies’ needs, but not necessarily congruent with the intention of the Congress. This measure was designed to curtail the broad discretion of agencies to interchange grants and procurement contracts at will and instead to impose some uniformity and accountability on the way that federal funds were paid out.

State lotteries: exempt from certain Federal prohibitions (see S. 1485), 10967

10967; April 21, 1975; Muskie is shown as a cosponsor of S. 1485, a Case (R-New Jersey) bill exempting state lotteries from a 2 percent federal excise tax and a $500 license fee for each lottery sales outlet. At this time, 13 states, including Maine, ran state-operated lotteries, and faced old federal gambling statutes. The bill was designed to lift such federal impositions from state-run lotteries.

Explanation: Intergovernmental Countercyclical Assistance Act, 12298

12298; April 29, 1975; Muskie presents an explanation of his countercyclical bill which was inadvertently omitted when he introduced the bill itself on April 7, 1975.

State and Local Fiscal Assistance Act of 1972: extend and revise (see S. 1625), 13304, 13521

State and local governments: revenue sharing renewal, 13307

Revenue sharing: renewal, 13307

13304; May 7, 1975; Muskie asks that his name by added as a cosponsor to S. 1625, a bill to extend the general revenue sharing legislation for future years.

13307; May 7, 1975; Muskie makes a statement about S. 1625, a bill to extend and revise the general revenue sharing program, saying that while he does not think everything in the revenue sharing program is acceptable, he supports the basic underlying principle of sharing progressive federally-raised taxes with state and local governments, whose tax structures tend to be regressive. At this time, it was a popular notion to imagine that federal incentives or grants could offset regressive state-level taxes. Federal taxes were widely seen as progressive, and the social security tax was far lower than it later became.

13521; May 8, 1975; Hathaway adds Muskie’s name to S. 1625, the revenue sharing renewal bill. The measure was introduced by Senator Hathaway (D-Maine).

Committee on Government Operations: notice of open business meeting, 17639

17639; June 6, 1975; Muskie announces that the Subcommittee on Intergovernmental Relations will hold an open business meeting on Tuesday, June 10, 1975 in room 357 in the Russell Senate office building to consider S. 1359, the Intergovernmental Countercyclical Assistance Act of 1975, and S. 957, amendments to the Intergovernmental Personnel Act of 1970.

State and local governments: anti-recession aid to, 21528, 21529

Economic conditions: anti-recession aid to State and local governments, 21528, 21529

21528, 21529; July 8, 1975; Muskie addresses the continued confusion between his program of countercyclical aid to state and local governments and the general revenue sharing program, which was also being considered for renewal, because it was set to expire with the 1976 fiscal year. In part because Muskie’s anti-recession program contained no directives other than to require reports to the Treasury should tax cuts occur, many saw it as a form of revenue sharing, another program that was a no-strings grant of funds to state and local governments. Muskie was trying to explain that his was a recession-driven program which would automatically end when economic conditions improved, whereas revenue sharing was envisaged as a continuing annual grant of funds.

Politics of Apathy, Joseph Kraft, Washington Post, 22108

22108; July 10, 1975; Muskie notes that his proposal for countercyclical aid to local and state governments is designed to combat the economic problems specifically facing local governments as a result of national economic weakness, and cites a column exploring this issue.

Government Agencies and Congressional Committees: open public hearings (see S. 5), 22796

22796; July 15, 1975; Muskie’s name is added to S. 5, a Chiles (D-Florida) bill mandating open public hearings for government agencies and congressional committees, which was known as the Government in the Sunshine Act.

Report: Committee on Government Operations, 24031

24031; July 22, 1975; Muskie reports from the Committee on Government Operations, S. 1359, his a bill to coordinate state and local government budget-related actions with federal government efforts to stimulate economic recovery by establishing a system of emergency support grants to state and local governments , Report No. 94-292. This was the countercyclical bill.

Federal Aid to the Cities (sundry), 24093, 24094

Intergovernmental Anti-Recession Assistance Act of 1975: support, 24093

24093; July 22, 1975; Muskie says there’s editorial support for his anti-recession countercyclical bill, and shares four editorials about it.

Congressional Right to Information Act, introduction, 24597

Congressional Right to Information Act: enact (see S. 2170), 24597

Text: S.2170, Congressional Right to Information Act, 24598

Letter: "Executive Privilege" bill, by Senator Church, 24598

Letter: Congressional Right to Information Act, S. J. Ervin, 24598

24597; July 24, 2975; Muskie makes his introductory remarks about S. 2170, the Congressional Right to Information Act, a bill developed in response to the Watergate affair, when a district court had ruled that the Senate special committee holding hearings on the Watergate scandal, had no standing to sue to have the Nixon tapes turned over to them in the face of President Nixon’s claim of executive privilege. Muskie’s bill would have explicitly authorized the right of Congress to have access to executive branch information, and would have required a President to refuse to divulge information only in writing.

Public Works Employment Act of 1975: proposed amendment, 24898

Text: Amendment (No. 816) Public Works Employment Act of 1975, 24899-24901

Public Works Employment Act of 1975: amend bill (S.1587; H.R. 5247) to enact, 24898, 25702

Public Works Employment Act of 1975; bill (S.1587; H.R. 5247) to enact, 25687-25686, 25693-25695, 25702, 25705, 25708, 25712, 25722-25724, 25728, 25730, 25732-25736

Letter: Public Works Employment Act of 1975, R. E Train, 25689

Letter: Public Works Employment Act of 1975, (sundry), by, 25689

History: Development of "Needs" Formula, 25692

Public Works Employment Act of 1975: bill (S. 1587; H.R. 5247) to enact, to table Talmadge amendment, 25701

Memorandum: Financial condition of State and local governments, Library of Congress, 25724

24898; July 25, 1975; Muskie introduces an anti-recession amendment modeled on his proposal to provide assistance to states and localities in a targeted and time-limited fashion so as to make certain that the actions taken by the states and localities do not counteract the efforts of the federal government to improve economic conditions by creating public service jobs.

25701; July 29, 1975; Muskie makes the motion to table the proposed new distribution formula for waste water treatment funds, a motion that fails 35–59.

25702-25708; July 29, 1975; During the continued debate on S. 1587, the Public Works Employment Act, Muskie calls up his amendment to establish a countercyclical relief program for state and local governments to ensure that budgetary actions at the state and local level do not undermine federal efforts to get the economy growing. Muskie made the argument that if a state or city is forced to lay off permanent workers or raise taxes while the federal government is funding jobs programs and trying to cut taxes, the result of state and local actions directly counteracts the federal effort. Muskie argued that his proposal was a more targeted and more precise response to spikes in joblessness in various parts of the country. Muskie said that the actions of states and localities were withdrawing some $8 billion from the economy under the existing recession.

25712; July 29, 1975; Muskie makes a concluding argument in support of his countercyclical program as the debate on S. 1587, the Public Works Employment Act continues.

25736; July 29, 1975; Muskie answers a query as to how his amendment will affect the overall cost of the public works bill.

Federal agencies: classified information, 26894

Report: Presidential Secrecy System Versus Our Right to Know, Freedom of Information Center, 26894

26894; August 1, 1975; Muskie discusses the secrecy classification system in the federal government and provides a report from a former security official which explains that the classification system is out of control and serves mainly to hide information from the public, rather than to truly restrict only that information which could compromise national security.

National Secrets Act: proposed, 26908

Memorandum: National Secrecy Act: Provisions of S. 1, 26909

26908, 26909; August 1, 1975; Muskie says the Ford administration’s revised version of the criminal code reform bill, S. 1, contains provisions dealing with intelligence classification and espionage that constitute a virtual National Secrecy Act, by criminalizing every disclosure of government defense information that has not been explicitly approved by a government official.

Government Secrecy Control Act of 1975: enact (see S. 2420), 30289

30289; September 25, 1975; Notice only of Muskie’s introduction of S. 2420, a bill to establish a new office in the Executive Office of the President and of a joint Congressional committee to supervise the policies and procedures for developing and review of classification of defense and foreign policy information.

Government Secrecy Control Act of 1975: introduction, 30292

Text: S. 2420, Government Secrecy Control Act of 1975, 30294

30292, 30294; September 25, 1975; Muskie makes his introductory remarks about S. 2420, the bill to establish Congressional oversight of the classification process and to create a continuous office in the Executive Office of the President for the same purpose, to replace the sporadic low-level Interagency Classification Review Committee, which met once a month and had not achieved much in the way of either declassifying improperly classified information, or improving and streamlining the classification process itself since it was established in 1972. At this time, and largely as a reaction to the release of the Pentagon Papers, it became clear that too many individuals in government had the right to classify material and there was no ready way to challenge or correct inappropriate classifications. Muskie argued that this led to periodic massive exposes and to a situation where federal employees could classify material to protect themselves from oversight.

Federal Government and right to privacy, 30496

Right to Privacy (sundry), 30497-30499

30496, 30497; September 26, 1975; Muskie notes that on September 27, 1975, a new law which he sponsored with former Senator Ervin (D-North Carolina) will take effect, requiring every federal agency to list the files it holds on individual citizens, and allows citizens to inspect the information held by government and correct it when it is erroneous.

Questions and Answers: Countercyclical assistance, 33574

33574; October 22, 1975; In advance on the debate, Muskie provides a question-and-answer sheet to explain the proposed countercyclical anti-recession program which would be directed at state and local governments. At the time, the nation’s unemployment rate was over 8.5 percent and many municipalities, in particular, had far higher rates.

New York City: fiscal crisis, 35308

Economic conditions: New York City, 35308

Letter: New York City's economic condition (sundry), 35309, 35310

35308, 35309, 35310; November 6, 1975; Muskie says he has received letters from the Maine banking community which lay out the effects on Maine and its communities of a default by New York City, a possibility which then appeared very probable unless the federal government was willing to provide some guarantee to holders of New York City bonds that there would be no default. Muskie also heard from Maine’s then-Governor, James Longley, who took the view that a federal guarantee would simply open up a massive demand from other cities for similar help, and that New York City deserved everything that was happening because it had been financially reckless in its operations. When it became evident that the city could not pay its bills, the Governor of New York State stripped the Mayor of the City, Abraham Beame, of all fiscal authority, which was entrusted instead to a newly-created entity called the Municipal Assistance Corps which successfully obtained a $1.5 billion federal loan guarantee to tide it over until union agreements could be renegotiated, and other belt-tightening steps taken. The debate over "bailing out" New York City was the occasion on which President Ford’s threat to veto the loan guarantee won him a famous headline from a local paper: "Ford to City: Drop Dead." New York City repaid all loans it was forced to take out in full by 1985.

Budget: bill (H.R. 10647) making supplemental appropriations, 39679

39679; December 10, 1975; Muskie makes a brief comment about the funds included in the supplemental appropriations bill, H.R. 10647, as they relate to the second budget resolution, and goes on to express support for the funding of the Congressional Budget Office and the Farmers Home Administration for rural housing. Aid to New York City was a decidedly unpopular idea outside New York City.

Local Public Works Capital Development and Investment Act of 1975: bill (H.R. 5247) to enact, conference report, 41134

Cities and States Slowing Spending (sundry), 41135, 41136

41134; December 17, 1975; Muskie speaks of his strong support for H.R. 5247, the public works bill which incorporates his amendment, countercyclical assistance to states and localities to maintain employment and spending at a time of high unemployment. The countercyclical program became Title II of this bill.

CIVIL LAW, CRIMINAL LAW, CONSTITUTIONAL LAW.

1975 1st Session, 94th Congress

Eijenshtein, Shalom Arye: relief (see S. 1412), 9882

9882; April 10, 1975; Muskie is shown as the sponsor of S. 1412, a private relief bill, and no explanatory text accompanies the introduction. Private bills are commonly used to deal with the idiosyncratic problems that can arise when conflicting requirements of the law affect an individual and the law provides no way to resolve the conflict, or such cases when compensation to a citizen from the government may be warranted but is not actually covered by any existing law. Most private bills arise from constituent casework, where the ability of a Senator’s caseworker staff runs up against limits in the law or lack of legal authority covering the particular circumstances of a given case.

Details of private bills are never published in the Congressional Record. The paperwork justifying a private bill is handled by the Committee of jurisdiction, usually the Judiciary Committee, which reviews the facts and law of the case and determines whether or not to report favorably on it. Private bills were more common in past years; the expansion of federal courts of adjudication and other arbitration mechanisms throughout government leaves fewer persons who have legitimate claims without redress. Additionally, past scandals in which individual Members of Congress were found to be selling their ability to introduce private bills have helped reduce the willingness of Members to introduce private bills.

Resolutions by organizations: Extension of voting rights, Maine Legislature, 12497

12497; April 30, 1975; Muskie notes that the Maine State Legislature has passed a resolution to encourage enactment of the Voting Rights Act before its expiration in August, 1975.

Voting Rights Act of 1965: bill (H,R. 6219) to extend, 24225

24225; July 23, 1975; During Senate debate on H.R. 6219, Senator Stennis (D-Mississippi) called up an amendment whose ostensible goal was to spread the application of the Voting Rights Act nationwide. This was a popular means of seeking to gut the basic law which codified the protections of the 15^th amendment to the Constitution. Claiming that the "pre-clearance" requirements of the law unfairly discriminated against seven southern states, efforts to seek "nationwide" applicability of the law would have had the effect of requiring each and every state to obtain the permission of the Attorney General of the United States for any change to its voting procedures or locales, with no finding of prior discriminatory practices or history. In a brief exchange, Muskie clarifies the effect of the Stennis amendment.

Department of Health, Education, and Welfare: proposed rules relative to discrimination (see S. Res. 235), 26777

26777; August 1, 1975; Muskie’s name is listed along with 52 other Senators as cosponsoring a Bayh (D-Indiana) resolution, S. Res. 235, urging the withdrawal of proposed regulations by the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, which would have allowed its Office of Civil Rights to ignore individual complaints and reduce enforcement to compliance reviews instead. This was part of a halfhearted effort in the Ford Administration to follow in the path of the Nixon Administration in seeking to reduce active governmental involvement in civil rights enforcement efforts, a long-standing demand of some elements of the Republican constituency.

MISCELLANEOUS

1975 1^st Session, 94^th Congress

Martin Luther King Day: designate (see S. J. Res.2), 215

215; January 15, 1975; Muskie is listed as a cosponsor of S. J. Res. 2, a Brooke (R-Massachusetts) resolution to designate January 15 of each year as Martin Luther King Day. Although Muskie sponsored the Martin Luther King commemoration in each Congress after King was assassinated in 1968, the day was not actually designated until 1986.

Constitution Day: designating (see S. J. Res. 4), 5490

5490; March 6, 1975; Muskie is added as a cosponsor to S. J. Res. 4, an Inouye (D- Hawaii) resolution to authorize the President to issue a proclamation designating September 17 as “Constitution Day.”

Keating, Kenneth B.: eulogy, 17036

17036; June 4, 1975; Muskie notes that a former colleague, who entered the Senate in the same class as Muskie, in 1959, has died, and comments briefly on the career of Kenneth B. Keating (R-New York), who served 6 terms in the House of Representatives before reaching the Senate, three years as an Associate Justice of the New York Court of Appeals, four years as Ambassador to India in the first Nixon term, and two years as Ambassador to Israel before his death.

Ethnic groups: strike medals commemorating contributions of (see S. 371), 17297

17297; June 5, 1975; Muskie becomes cosponsor of S. 371, a Williams (D- New Jersey) bill to authorize the striking of medals to commemorate the contributions of individuals of various ethnic backgrounds to the founding of the United States, principally through their participation in the Revolutionary War. This was part of the effort to commemorate the Bicentennial of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

Letter: Battle at Little Round Top at Gettysburg. J. Ben Rubin, 24102

24102; July 22, 1975; Muskie mentions a letter that describes the military action taken by Joshua Chamberlain, later Governor of Maine, when he was commanding Maine volunteers at the Battle of Gettysburg during the Civil War.

Craig, May: eulogy, 25412

Letter: Paying tribute to May Craig (sundry), 25412

Tribute to May Craig, Lawrence Spivak, Meet the Press, 25412

May Craig Eulogies (sundry), 25413

25412; July 28, 1975; Muskie pays tribute on the death of a former reporter for the Maine Gannet papers, May Craig, who he knew from the beginning of his career in Washington, and who had covered the politics of the city for 35 years before retiring in 1965, through the Presidencies of Franklin Roosevelt to Lyndon Johnson.

Mrs. Smith Calls on Young People for Regeneration of American Will, Richard A. Plummer. Waterville (Maine) Sentinel, 35856

35856; November 11, 1975; Muskie notes that a recent interview with former Senator Margaret Chase Smith discusses her activities and the progress on turning her home in Skowhegan, Maine, into a library for her Senate papers.

Retirement of Justice Douglas, St. Louis Post Dispatch (sundry), 36713-36718

Douglas. William 0.:resignation from Supreme Court, 36713

36713; November 14, 1975; Muskie comments on the retirement of Supreme Court Justice Douglas, which had just been announced. Douglas at the time of his retirement was the longest-serving Supreme Court Justice in American history, as famous for his dissents as for his opinions.

POLITICAL, CAMPAIGN REFORM

1975 94th Congress, 1st Session

Post Card Voter Registration Act; enact (see S.1177), 6446

6446; March 13, 1975; Muskie is shown among the 51 cosponsors of S. 1177, a McGee (D- New Mexico) bill to provide for a simplified system of postcard registration for voters. This measure was being introduced again after a successful 1973 Senate vote, which defeated a filibuster. The bill failed to become law when it was narrowly defeated in the House the following year.

Last Stronghold of Democracy, H. Johnson, Washington Post (sundry), 9645-9648

9645-9648; April 9, 1975; Muskie notes that the Maine tradition of town meetings is active in his home state, and recommends a story that describes how a traditional town meeting works in practice.

Resolutions by organizations: Transmittal to the States of Decennial Census data, Maine Legislature, 17035

17035; June 4, 1975; Muskie notes that the Maine legislature has passed a resolution in favor of two House bills to promote speedier and more complete transmittal of the decennial census data to the states, to aid in redistricting and apportionment for the state legislature.

New Hampshire: resolution (S. Res. 166) determination of contested election, 20121, 20123

20121, 20123; June 20, 1975; Muskie speaks during a debate on the New Hampshire Senatorial seat. In 1974, the long-serving Norris Cotton (R-New Hampshire) retired and the open seat was contested by the Republican House member, Louis Wyman and a former state insurance commissioner, John Durkin, a Democrat. The preliminary unofficial vote count showed only 355 votes separating the apparent winner, Wyman, from his opponent, who demanded a recount, charging election irregularities. Both sides eventually challenged various ballots, with almost 15 percent of all ballots cast ultimately being called into question. The recount found that Durkin had won by 10 votes, and the Governor certified his election. In the meantime, Wyman challenged the validity of the recount and demanded another, which showed him as the winner by 2 votes, a result the Governor also certified. The Senate sent the contested election results to its Rules Committee, which proceeded to reexamine the contested ballots, but deadlocked on 27 of them, which were sent back to the full Senate for a decision. A Republican filibuster prevented action, and six efforts to close off the filibuster failed. As it became evident that a small group of southern Democrats would continue to vote with the Republicans, who voted as a bloc, the Senate ultimately declared the seat open on July 30, and a special election was held in September. John Durkin won the special election with 53.6 percent of the vote, and was sworn in later that month.

Federal Election Commission: resolution (S. Res. 215) disapproving certain regulations proposed by, 32320

32320; October 8, 1975; Muskie says he will support a regulation by the Federal Election Commission which would count the cost of constituent communications operations against the total cap on spending limits for the last two years of any Senator’s term. In the 1974 election reform bill, Congress enacted limits on spending by candidates for federal office, and created the FEC as the body to issue appropriate regulations. At this time, it was legal to use private funds to augment Senate office staffing and operations, and the regulation issued in this case was designed to limit the advantages to incumbents of being able to draw on contributors to finance these so-called "office accounts." The spending limits on candidates seeking federal office were struck down as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1976.

Address to the New York Liberal Party (sundry), 33549-33551

Unfinished Liberal Consensus, New York Liberal Party's dinner, by, 33548

33548; 33549-33551; October 22, 1975; Senator Stevenson (D- Illinois) recommends a Muskie speech, given at a meeting of New York’s Liberal Party, which discusses public disenchantment with government and argues that there is nothing liberal about supporting a government that has outgrown its ability to function well. At the time, this speech garnered a substantial amount of attention, because it was one of the few times that broad questions had been raised about the size and shape of the federal government by someone who generally supported government as a positive force for good.

SENATE RULES, PROCEDURES, ASSIGNMENTS, HOUSEKEEPING

1975 94th Congress, 1st Session

Senate: amend rule XXII relative to certain debate procedures (see S. Res. 4), 12

12; January 14, 1975; Muskie is shown as a cosponsor of S. Res. 4, a Mondale (D-Minnesota) resolution seeking to make a change in the Senate rules so that a filibuster could be ended by the votes of three-fifths of those present and voting, rather than the two-thirds present and voting which was the rule at this time. The filibuster came into being because of the Senate’s tradition of an unlimited right of debate for every Senator, which means that so long as one Senator has the floor and is speaking, he cannot be stopped by anyone else. It became apparent in the course of the 19^th century that such a right of debate could not remain unlimited, and a process for ending debate was developed, which required two-thirds of those present and voting to vote in the affirmative. Senator Mondale’s objective was to modify the two thirds requirement, and instead require three-fifths of those present and voting to vote in favor of ending debate.

Senate: amend rules relative to committee meetings (see S. Res. 9), 403

403; January 15, 1975; Muskie is shown as a cosponsor of S. Res. 9, a Chiles (D- Florida) resolution providing that all committee meetings be open to the public with the exception of meetings dealing with classified information, law enforcement data, and trade secrets. This resolution was part of Senator Chiles’ effort to apply the Government in the Sunshine approach taken by Florida to the federal government.

Elected to Committee, 777, 778

777, 778; January 17, 1975; Senator Mansfield (D- Montana), the Senate Majority Leader, sends S. Res. 18 to the floor, a recurring noncontroversial resolution enacted at the beginning of each new Congress, naming all Democratic Senators to the committees on which they will serve, and Muskie is among those named.

Senate proceedings: providing radio and television coverage (see S. Res. 39), 1551

1551; January 28, 1975; Muskie is shown as a cosponsor of S. Res. 39, a Metcalf (D- Montana) resolution to authorize a one-year experiment with broadcasting audio and video of Senate debates and making those broadcasts, after and initial period, available to commercial and public broadcasting outlets without editorial interference from the Senate. This recommendation was made by a special Joint Committee on Congressional Operations, on which Senator Metcalf served. Although individual elements of Senate activities had been broadcast, such as the Watergate hearings and the swearing-in of Vice President Rockefeller, full unedited coverage of the Senate was not then available.

Senate Members: authorize additional assistants (see S. Res. 60), 2478

2478; February 5, 1975; Muskie is shown as the cosponsor of S. Res. 60, a Gravel (D- Alaska) resolution which would entitle each Senator an additional clerk hire account allowing for an addition staff person for each of the Committees on which he served. The principal purpose of this resolution was to give the more junior members of a committee the wherewithal to hire a staff person specifically for research and legislative help with respect to the committee’s work. At this time, Senators’ staff allotments were based on a state population formula, which meant that Senators from lightly populated states, such as Alaska and Maine, received proportionately the least to hire staff and run their offices, although virtually all Senators carried similar legislative loads, in terms of Committee memberships, subcommittee chairmanships, and special committee assignments. Committee Chairmen were under no obligation to grant separate hiring budgets to their subcommittees, and some Chairmen did not, meaning that all of a large Committee staff could be hired by the Chairman and the ranking minority member, and not be available to more junior committee members. Senator Gravel’s proposal had 57 cosponsors, so it was popular among the majority of Senators.

Cloture, 4973, 5251, 7285, 7755, 13588, 14055, 20192, 20530, 20748, 21433, 22177

Cloture is the word describing the formalized steps under the Senate Rules by which a filibuster must be ended. A cloture petition signed by at least 16 Senators, must be presented at the Senate desk. This action serves to put the Senate on notice that in 48 hours, a cloture vote will be held on the bill or resolution covered by the cloture petition. Under the Senate rules in place in 1975, two thirds of the Senators present and voting had to vote in favor of the cloture petition in order to end the filibuster and bring the underlying measure to a vote.

4973; March 3, 1975; Muskie is shown as a signatory on the cloture petition for S. Res 4, the proposed resolution to reduce to three-fifths the number of votes needed to end a filibuster.

5251; March 5, 1975; On a second attempt to invoke cloture, Muskie is shown as a signatory on the cloture petition for S. Res 4, the proposed resolution to reduce to three-fifths the number of votes needed to end a filibuster.

7285; March 18, 1975; Muskie is listed as one of the signers of a cloture petition on H.R. 2166, the Tax Reduction Act of 1975.

7755; March 20, 1975; On a second attempt to invoke cloture, Muskie is listed as one of the signers of a cloture petition on H.R. 2166, the Tax Reduction Act of 1975.

13588; May 8, 1975; Muskie is shown as a signatory on the cloture petition to end debate on S. 200, the Consumer Protection Act of 1975.

14055; May 13, 1975; On a second attempt to invoke cloture, Muskie is shown as a signatory on the cloture petition to end debate on S. 200, the Consumer Protection Act of 1975.

20192; June 21, 1975; Muskie is shown as a signatory on the cloture petition on S. Res. 166, a resolution to deal with the disputed outcome of the Senatorial election in New Hampshire.

20530; June 24, 1975; On a second attempt to invoke cloture, Muskie is shown as a signatory on the cloture petition on S. Res. 166, a resolution to deal with the disputed outcome of the Senatorial election in New Hampshire.

20748; June 25, 1974; On a third attempt to invoke cloture, Muskie is shown as a signatory on the cloture petition on S. Res. 166, a resolution to deal with the disputed outcome of the Senatorial election in New Hampshire.

21433; July 8, 1975; On a fourth attempt to invoke cloture, Muskie is shown as a signatory on the cloture petition on S. Res. 166, a resolution to deal with the disputed outcome of the Senatorial election in New Hampshire.

22177; July 10, 1975; On a fifth attempt to invoke cloture, Muskie is shown as a signatory on the cloture petition on S. Res. 166, a resolution to deal with the disputed outcome of the Senatorial election in New Hampshire.

Memorials of legislature Maine, 5779, 12497, 17035

5779; March 7, 1975; Muskie notes that the Maine legislature has voted in favor of extending the U.S. fisheries zone 200 miles, and passed a formal resolution to this effect.

12497; April 30, 1975; Muskie notes that the Maine State Legislature has passed a resolution to encourage enactment of the Voting Rights Act before its expiration in August, 1975.

Government of the United States: promote public confidence (see S. 181 ), 7875

7875; March 20, 1975; Muskie is added as a cosponsor of S.181, a Case (R-New Jersey) bill, to promote public confidence in the legislative, executive and judicial branches of the government by requiring full financial disclosure by the President, the Vice President, Congress and the judiciary. It would also cover any federal employee earning over $25,000 a year, and would include all income and assets and transactions in real and personal property. Although this measure had been introduced in prior Congresses, the prior two years’ of revelations about Nixon’s tax deductions for gifts of his own papers and the transaction by which he came into his property in Key Biscayne had left a residue of suspicion in many citizens.

Senate, privilege of the floor, 12319, 12543, 14272, 17041, 18355, 22205, 25693, 26678, 26685, 27765

12319; April 29, 1975; At the opening of the debate on the first concurrent budget resolution, S. Con. Res. 32, Muskie asks that a number of Budget Committee staff be granted the privilege of the floor.

12543; April 30, 1975; Muskie asks that James Storey of the Budget Committee staff have the privilege of the floor during the debate on S. Con. Res. 32, the budget resolution.

14272; May 14, 1975; At the beginning of debate on the conference report on the budget resolution, Muskie asks that staff be allowed on the floor. Look up text for names.

17041; June 4, 1975; During debate on S. 920, authorizing appropriations for the Defense Department, the procurement bill, Muskie asks that two Budget Committee staff, Sid Brown and Andrew Hamilton, have the privilege of the floor.

18355; June 11, 1975; During debate on the Hathaway nomination, Muskie asks that two members of his staff be granted the privilege of the floor.

22205; July 10, 1975; During debate on H.R. 4222, the School Lunch and Child Nutrition Act, Muskie asks that Jim Storey of the Budget staff be granted the privilege of the floor.

25693; July 29, 1973; During debate on S. 1587, the Public Works Employment Act of 1975, Muskie asks for the privilege of the floor for Leon Billings and other members of his staff.

26678; August 1, 1975; During debate on H. R. 6674, the Defense Department authorization bill, Muskie asks that Bill Jackson be granted the privilege of the floor.

26685; August 1, 1975; During continued debate on H.R. 6674, the Defense Department authorization bill, Muskie asks that two additional Budget Committee staffers be given the privilege of the floor.

27765; September 5, 1975; At the beginning of the debate on the conference report on H.R. 4222, the School Lunch Act, Muskie asks that John McEvoy and Jim Storey be given the privilege of the floor.

Conferee: 13245, 30617, 36544, 36545, 36773

13245; May 6, 1975; Muskie makes a motion to disagree with the House budget Resolution, H. Con. Res. 218, and appoint conferees.

30617; September 26, 1975; Muskie is appointed a conferee on the Senate version of the Energy Conservation bill, S. 662, which includes the Emergency Petroleum Allocation provisions along with other conservation steps.

36544; November 13, 1975; Muskie is appointed a conferee on H.R. 5247, to authorize a local public works capital development and investment program.

36545; November 13, 1975; Muskie is appointed a conferee on H.R. 4073, the Appalachian Regional Development Act.

36773; November 14, 1975; Muskie is appointed a conferee on S. 2017, the Drug Abuse Office and Treatment Act Amendments of 1975.

Legislative branch: bill (H.R. 6950) making appropriations, 21806

21806; July 9, 1975; Muskie makes a statement about the funding levels in the legislative branch appropriations bill, H. R. 6950, and notes that it is the smallest cost of any branch of government, and also comments on the significant changes that the new budget process will bring to the General Accounting Office, the independent arm of the legislative branch which undertakes in-depth review and evaluation of federal program operations.

Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1975: enact (see S. 2167), 24253

24253; July 23, 1975; Notice only of Muskie’s introduction of S. 2167, a bill to modify and expand the reporting requirements for lobbyists seeking to influence the Congress and the executive branch.

Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1975, introduction, 24258, 31774

Text: S. 2167, Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1975, 24259

24258; July 3, 1975; Muskie makes an introductory statement about S. 2167, the Lobbying Disclosure Act, pointing out that for the first time it will apply to the executive branch as well as to the Congress, and will provide enforcement authority to the Comptroller General to ensure that lobbyists comply with its requirements. So-called "grass roots" lobbying was becoming more intense in these years, and the statute in place did not require any reporting by those orchestrating these "spontaneous" expressions of "public opinion," and, in addition, there was virtually no enforcement of the existing regulations at all.

31774; October 6, 1975; Muskie joins Senator Ribicoff (D- Connecticut) in making a brief statement upon the introduction of S. 2477, the Lobbying Act of 1975.

Lobbying Act of 1975 enact (see S. 2477), 31769

31769; October 6, 1975; Muskie is shown as a cosponsor of S. 2477, a Ribicoff (D-Connecticut) bill to broaden the reporting requirements for federal lobbyists and to provide for enforcement authority of the law through the office of the Comptroller General.

Legislative appropriations: bill (H.R. 6950) making, conference report, 25405

25405; July 28, 1975; Muskie makes a brief statement on the final conference report version of the legislative appropriation bill, H.R. 6950, noting that it is within the budget estimates for the functions covered by the bill.

Senate, resolution (S. Res. 9) open committee meetings, 35187-35189, 35194, 35195

35187-35189; November 5, 1975; Muskie questions changes proposed by the Senate Rules Committee in S. Res. 9, a resolution requiring open committee meetings for all Senate committees, which had been earlier reported by the Committee on Government Operations. The arguments over open versus closed meetings reflect the extent of resistance by many Senators at this time over a change in operating style from closed door meetings to open ones, and claims that open meetings would make it "impossible" to get anything done were heard for years.

35194-35195; November 5, 1975; Muskie engages in a discussion with Senator Griffin (R-Michigan) on the question of how to persuade colleagues to vote in favor of closing a committee meeting without making public the issues for whose sake the meeting should be closed. In the post-Watergate period, there was a pervasive concern in the Congress with issues of public trust and confidence, and there was some possibility of grandstanding on the question of whether a given committee meeting should be open or not, a concern that bothered some Senators more than others.

TAXES, BUDGET, FISCAL POLICY

1975 1st Session, 94th Congress

Congressional Office of the Budget: prepare fiscal notes for legislation (see S. 65), 213

213; January 15, 1975; Muskie is shown as a cosponsor of S. 65, a Proxmire (D- Wisconsin) bill which would require the Congressional Budget Office to prepare fiscal notes on bills and resolutions, outlining their costs to the federal budget.

Report: Committee on the Budget, 1820, 5271, 10190, 32178, 36045, 39871, 42026

Committee on the Budget: reports by, 5271

Congressional budget: revise (see S. Con. Res. 76), 36045

Budget: revising congressional (see S. Con. Res. 76), 36045

1820; January 30, 1975; Muskie reports an original resolution from the Budget Committee, S. Res. 50, authorizing additional expenditures by the Committee on the Budget for inquiries and investigations, which resolution is then referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.

5271; March 5, 1975; Muskie informs the Senate that his Budget Committee and the House counterpart committee have both filed reports to implement the basic provisions of the budget reform legislation which was enacted eight months earlier, and discusses some elements of what the first year’s so-called "dry run" of the process will involve.

10190; April 15, 1975; Muskie reports from the Budget Committee an original resolution, S. Con. Res. 32, the first concurrent budget resolution, which will govern the spending of the Congress for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1975, Report No. 94-77.

32178; October 8, 1975; Muskie makes a report from the Budget Committee that a new report, issued pursuant to section 906 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, "Implementation of New Congressional Budget Procedures for Fiscal Year 1976" is to be printed, Report No. 94-422.

36045; November 12, 1975; Muskie reports an original concurrent resolution revising the congressional budget for the fiscal year 1976, directing certain reconciliation action, and providing for the transition quarter; report No. 94-453. The budget reform required that when the Congress appropriated funds in excess of what was contemplated in the first concurrent resolution, it had only the choice of increasing the deficit, a politically unappealing choice, or of revisiting some of its earlier choices and cutting back on spending or raising some revenue to close the gap. This process was known as reconciliation.

39871; December 11, 1975; Muskie reports S. Res. 314, a resolution waiving section 303(a) of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, with respect to S. 2711, a highway funding measure, report No. 94-535.

42026; December 19, 1975; Muskie reports a Sec. 303(a) budget waiver, S. Res. 332 for S. 2807, the Rehabilitation Act, Rept No. 94- 586.

Budget: committee referrals of matters relative to rescissions and deferrals (see S. Res. 45), 1895, 1917

Committee on the Budget: budget rescissions and deferrals, 1917

Budget: resolution (S. Res. 45) providing committee referrals of matters relative to rescissions and deferrals, 1917

1895; January 30, 1975; Muskie is shown as a cosponsor of S. Res. 45, a McClellan (D-Arkansas) resolution setting out the process by which budget rescissions and deferrals were to be handled. A major element of the budget reform process was the establishment of procedures to govern the practice of presidential impoundment of appropriated funds, which had been a huge source of dissension between the Congress and President Nixon in preceding years.

1917; January 30, 1975; A brief colloquy among interested Senators occurs as the resolution, S. Res. 45, is sent to the desk and referred to the Senate Rules Committee. The principal purpose of the resolution was to iron out the different functions that various committees would have under the new budget procedures. The goal was to limit the Budget Committee’s review to the larger budget priorities only, and to make certain the authorizing and appropriating committees would continue to exercise their jurisdiction over the specific program spending that was being proposed for rescission or deferral.

Committee on the Budget: authorizing additional expenditures (see S. Res. 50), 1898

1898; January 30, 1975; The full text of S. Res. 50, Muskie’s original resolution seeking authority to spend Senate funds for investigations and inquiries, as reported and referred to the Senate Rules Committee.

Committee on the Budget: notice of seminars,1899, 3948, 21742

1899; January 30, 1975; Muskie announces that a series of budget seminars will be held by the Budget Committee as the President’s budget is delivered, and that they are to be working sessions of the Budget Committee, aiming toward the development of a first concurrent budget resolution. The underlying law that created the budget process also required that Budget Committee meetings all be open, so announcements facilitated the process of letting people know when they were scheduled.

3948; February 21, 1975. Muskie announces a further series of Budget Committee seminars, in this case on energy-related issues, and housing and credit. Although experts on these subjects were invited to come, the seminar format meant that they did not present formal testimony as at normal committee hearings.

21742; July 9, 1975; Muskie announces a further two weeks of energy-related seminars, and notes that Senator Moss (D- Utah) will be chairing some of them.

Budget deferral: disapproving relative to Federal paid highways (see S. Res. 69), 2805

2805; February 7, 1975; Muskie is shown as a cosponsor of S. Res. 69, a Randolph (D- West Virginia) resolution to disapprove of a proposed deferral of $10.7 billion in federal highway funding. Under the budget process, when a deferral of appropriated funds is sent to the Congress, a resolution to disapprove the deferral can be introduced in either House of the Congress and an affirmative vote on such a resolution forces the program funds to be spent as instructed by statute law.

Analysis: Federal Budget and the Cities, League of Cities, League of Cities and Conference of Mayors, 2844

Budget: League of Cities and Conference of Mayors report on, 2844

Report: 1975:Federal Budget and the Cities, National League of Cities and United States Conference of Mayors, 2844

2844; February 7, 1975; Muskie shares a report exploring the impact on the cities of the Ford Administration’s budget proposals, an extensive exploration of a range of programs of direct interest to urban areas.

Committee on the Budget: notice of hearings, 4424, 24269, 30459

4424; February 26, 1975; Muskie announces a series of hearings, beginning in March and focused on the first concurrent budget resolution, and hearing from unions, economists, Administration officials, and other members of the Senate.

24269; July 23, 1975; Muskie announces oversight hearings by the Budget Committee focused on the Congressional Budget Office, as required by the Congressional Budget Act, in connection with the committee’s responsibility for the Budget Office, for on July 31, 1975, in Room 357 of the Russell Office Building.

30459; September 26, 1975; Muskie makes another announcement of oversight hearings by the Budget Committee on the Congressional Budget Office.

Rules: Committee on the Budget, 4454

Committee on the Budget: rules of procedure, 4454

4454; February 26, 1975; Muskie asks that the procedural rules for the Budget Committee be published, including the open meeting requirement, along with the limited exemptions to it, quorum requirements, proxy votes, and hearing and reporting procedures.

Tax Reduction Act of 1975; amend bill (H.R. 2166) to enact, 5727

5727; March 7, 1975; Muskie is shown as a cosponsor of Amendment No. 72 to H.R. 2166, the Tax Reduction Act, a Hollings (D- South Carolina) amendment to repeal the percentage depletion tax allowance effective January 1, 1975 for all major, integrated oil companies and for all royalty owners, and to phase out the allowance for all independents and non-integrated companies producing less than 3000 barrels a day and which do not own or operate any retail outlets, over a three-year period, all unregulated natural gas and that which is sold under fixed-rate contracts. One of the economic features of this period was the swift emergence of the idea of two tiers of oil and gas production — one that benefitted, through no added value of its own, from the pricing policies of the OPEC cartel, and another that reflected bona-fide efforts to find and recover whatever small additional accrued amounts of oil could be economically recovered from stripper wells. Although the economic literacy of this approach can be questioned, the public anger and frustration at the time over lines at gas stations, escalating prices, and the massive profits that oil companies were gaining created a political situation to which many in the Congress responded.

Committee on the Budget: consideration of the first concurrent resolution on the Budget, 6257

6257; March 12, 1975; Muskie makes a brief announcement that the Budget Committee will begin to meet on the first concurrent budget resolution on March 20, 1975. Because the 1975 budget process was agreed to be a "dry run" in preparation for the law’s taking full effect in 1976, Muskie made particular efforts early in this year to keep all members of the Senate up to speed on the progress and activities of the Committee.

Tax Reduction Act of 1975: bill (H.R. 2166) to enact, 7811, 8116

Income tax: percentage depletion allowance, 7811

Oil and gas: depletion allowance, 7811

7811; March 20, 1975; During debate on the Tax Reduction Act of 1975, H.R. 2166, Muskie speaks in support of the Hollings (D- South Carolina) depletion allowance repeal amendment he has cosponsored, making the argument that it is price increases which have resulted in increased drilling for oil, not the depletion allowance, and providing some well-drilling numbers to back up his assertion.

8116; March 21, 1975; Muskie discusses the tax cut bill, H.R. 2166, and describes the provisions the Senate has approved as a means to stimulate the economy, including a $22 billion in tax cuts directed mostly at middle- and lower-income taxpayers, $7 billion in corporate tax benefits to spur investments, a reduced corporate rate for smaller businesses, and a special deduction for new home buyers, to help an industry that was then in the doldrums.

Budget: rejection of $100 billion deficit, 8665-8668

Economic conditions: budget deficit, 8665-8668

Table: Selected increases under present budget law, 8666

Table: Budget of $345.8 billion, 8666

8665; March 26, 1975; In response to news reports of White House estimates of the budget deficit reaching $100 billion, Muskie speaks in the Senate saying that his Committee will reject a $100 billion deficit, and goes on to examine the spending and tax policy decisions that must still be made to keep the deficit down. Muskie is joined by some of his colleagues who expound on the deficit issue.

Impact of the Federal Budget on Maine, Maine State Legislature, by, 9311

9311; April 8, 1975; Senator Hathaway (D- Maine) says that Muskie spoke about the budget process and its effects on state and local budgets to the Maine State Legislature, and has a copy of the Muskie speech printed.

Budget: determination of the congressional (see S. Con. Res. 32), 10217

10217; April 15, 1975; Muskie reports S. Con. Res. 32, the first concurrent budget resolution, laying out the amounts of spending, revenues, the deficit and the national debt. The resolution also includes a reference to the conditional $8 billion which the Ford administration insisted would be income to the federal government through the leasing of offshore land for oil and gas exploration and drilling. Since the very beginning, administrations have repeatedly made claims for enormous revenues from the sales of various forms of federal property or licenses and from the beginning, these preliminary estimates have rarely if ever been accurate.

Congressional budget: resolution (S. Con. Res. 32, H. Con. Res. 218) determination, 12319, 12320, 12329-12331, 12333, 12340, 12342, 12361, 12365, 12373-12376, 12531, 12548-12552, 12559, 12562, 12568-12571, 12573,12577, 12589, 12596, 12655-12657 12970, 14272, 14274 14275, 14278, 14295, 14297-14301

Report: Budget Programs by Function, Committee on the Budget, 12531

Memorandum: Estimated fiscal year 1967 revenue gains from selected proposed tax reforms, 12570

Letter: Jobs programs, by, 12593

Report: Congressional Budget, H. Con. Res. 218, Conference Report, 14272

Department of Defense: budget, 14297-14299

Table: House financial adjustments in defense budget, 14298

12319, 12320; April 29, 1975; Muskie makes his opening statement in the debate on S. Con. Res. 32, the first concurrent budget resolution for Fiscal Year 1976, describing the process by which the Committee reached its totals, and making a unanimous request that the use of hand operated calculators be permitted on the Senate floor. In preparing for the debate, he had been advised by the Senate Parliamentarian’s office that no equipment other than paper and writing implements was permitted to be taken onto the Senate floor.

12329-12331, 12333; April 19, 1975; As the debate on the budget resolution continues, Muskie provides a brief overview of the time constraints under which the process is operating in this first year, which will not be a factor in the next year. At the invitation of his ranking member, Senator Bellmon (R-Oklahoma), he also describes the rate of progress in setting up the Congressional Budget Office, and offers what he knows about pending amendments.

12340, 12342; April 29, 1975; Muskie responds to the Buckley (I- New York) amendment which was to reduce spending by about $25 billion and questions just where this cut should come if the cuts he does not want to make — such as social security cost-of-living increases — are to be respected. Throughout the process of working on budget resolutions, there was never any shortage of suggestions that a certain amount of spending or a certain percentage of spending be cut, but that certain other programs not be slashed. The difficulty of reducing spending without affecting the services purchased by that spending is apparently difficult to grasp.

12361; April 29, 1975; Muskie responds to Packwood (R-Oregon) who is arguing in favor of the Buckley amendment to reduce spending by $25 billion, making the argument that withdrawing additional money from already recessionary economy has the effect of further slowing down economic activity.

12365; April 29, 1975; Muskie explains that the overall growth in federal spending comes from two principal sources: one is inflation of about 20 percent from the oil embargo and onward, and the other is the stabilizers that increase spending in a recession, such as unemployment insurance and higher food stamp costs.

12373-12376; April 29, 1975; Muskie winds up the first day of debate with a series of exchanges with other Senators, including Senators Percy (R-Illinois) and Senator Bellmon (R-Oklahoma), the ranking member of the Budget Committee. Senator Percy worked with Muskie and former Chairman, Senator Ervin (D- North Carolina) to write the budget reform bill, but was barred from serving on the committee himself because the Republican caucus in the Senate voted to give all its minority seats on the new committee to relatively junior members.

12531; April 30, 1975; Muskie explains that for this first attempt to use the new budget process, the Budget Committee did not include the subtotals, relating to the 16 different budget functions, but that a chapter of the Committee report does show what these functions were estimated to be and the Committee’s reasoning in reaching the number. The budget is divided into 16 functional areas to reflect the way the executive branch prepares its budget, but then must be cross-walked with the jurisdictions of the congressional committees, which do not mirror the 16 functional areas used by the Office of Management and Budget.

12548-12552; April 30, 1975; In continued debate on the first concurrent budget resolution, Muskie responds to a proposed Dole (R-Kansas) amendment to reduce overall spending by one percent, arguing that during the Budget Committee markup, nothing prevented any Senator present from offering a similar reduction in any function of the budget. Senator Dole served on the Budget Committee at this time, and presented a lengthy list of quite trivial-sounding programs as an argument that surely a one-percent cut could be made, a tactic used subsequently by many who claimed "waste, fraud and abuse" were rampant throughout the federal budget.

12559; April 30, 1975; In continued debate on the first concurrent budget resolution, Muskie and Senator Domenici (R-New Mexico) discuss the difficulties of relating the individual spending bills to the budget functions, because most of the spending bills cover more than a single function, and Senator Dole (R-Kansas) makes the argument that his one percent cut will strengthen the disciplinary process of the budget committee upon the Congress.

12562; April 30, 1975; In the debate on the budget figures, Muskie intervenes in a Mondale (D- Minnesota) discussion of the desirability of using foreign aid funds for distressed homeowners to point out that it will be up to the Senate to reallocate spending from functions they do not support, such as foreign aid, to functions they do support when the appropriations bills come to the vote.

12568-12571, 12573, 12577; April 30, 1975; During the budget debate, the budget resolution was under siege from Senators, including some members of the committee, who believed that higher spending levels were necessary, and Muskie made the argument that if the process was to succeed in controlling spending and setting and maintaining priorities for the full Congress, it was up to the committee to take the lead, rather than come to the floor and fight for the specific preferences each member might have.

12589; April 30, 1975; In continued debate on the Mondale (D-Minnesota) amendment which relied on tax reform to increase revenue but would have added more than $2 billion to the deficit, other Senators, including Tunney (D- California) and Ford (D-Kentucky) argued that relying on tax reform was too risky, because of the history of efforts to attempt tax reforms in recent years, and Muskie emphasized that a vote against the Mondale amendment was not a vote against the programs assumed by that amendment, but merely a vote on spending totals.

12593; April 30, 1975; Following the vote by which the Mondale amendment was defeated, Senator Cranston (D-California) announces that he planned to offer an amendment requiring the Congressional Budget Office to make reports on changes in economic conditions, but that because Muskie sent the Office a letter asking for the same thing, he will withhold.

12596; April 30, 1975; Winding up the debate on the first concurrent budget resolution, Senator Helms (R-North Carolina) offers an amendment changing the spending target to achieve a balanced budget with a zero deficit, and explains that this can be achieved by cutting each function across the board. Muskie responds, citing the anticipated economic effects, including increased unemployment which would cause a $40 billion deficit for unemployment insurance. The call for balanced budgets remained a staple of 1970s politics, although there was little evidence that any of those calling for it were actually prepared to reduce the real spending on programs that affected their constituents. On this occasion, the Helms amendment failed on a vote of 9 – 75.

12655-12657; April 30, 1975; As the final vote on passage of the first concurrent budget resolution approaches, Muskie makes another statement exploring the issue of a zero deficit, and expresses concern that President Ford has issued a press release about his "commitment" to a $60 billion deficit, a transparently political effort to take what advantage he can from the debate, and an action that was criticized by the ranking Budget Committee member, Senator Bellmon (R-Oklahoma. Subsequently, S. Con. Res. 32, the first concurrent budget resolution, was approved on a vote of 69 – 22.

12970; May 5, 1975; Muskie moves to send the first concurrent budget resolution to conference with the House by substituting the Senate’s budget resolution language to the House resolution, H. Con. Res. 218, thus placing language "in disagreement" under the same bill number.

14272, 14274, 14275, 14278; May 14, 1975; The conference report on the first concurrent resolution was returned to the Senate with an accompanying explanation by the conferees of the changes that were made in the functional totals, and Muskie spoke to explain that the budget figures will not be self-enforcing and must become a new discipline as the Congress votes on each spending bill. The conference report was subsequently passed on a voice vote.

14295, 14297-14301; May 14, 1975; Although the conference report on the budget resolution had been approved, a failure of communication had resulted in some Senators not being aware that this had happened, as Muskie explains, before he joins a colloquy with Senator Nunn (D- Georgia) and others over the implications of the defense function total in the conference report.

Congressional Budget, Wall Street Journal, 13220

13220; May 6, 1975; Senator Fannin (R-Arizona) notes that he supported the Buckley (I- New York) amendment to the budget resolution, which would have halved it, and that the Wall Street Journal editorialized on the subject, which he shares.

Congressional budget: conference report, 13819

13819; May 12, 1975; Muskie announces that the conferees on the first budget resolution have met and completed action, and gives notice that the debate on the conference report will take place on May 14.

Cooling the Fiscal Fever, Fortune (magazine), 14937

14937; May 19, 1975; Muskie notes that Fortune magazine has a supportive editorial on the new budget process, and has it reproduced.

Appropriations: authorize for transition period (see S. 1874), 16956

16956; June 4, 1975; Muskie is shown as a cosponsor of S. 1874, an administration bill introduced by Senator Percy (R-Illinois) to implement one provision of the budget reform law, the shift of the fiscal year from a July-June term to an October-September term. The bill’s purpose was to provide a blanket authorization for program continuity during the three-month hiatus at the end of Fiscal Year 1976 and the beginning of the new-style fiscal year in October, 1976, which would be Fiscal Year 1977.

Committee on the Budget: formation of four ad hoc task forces to, 20785

Committee on the Budget Ad Hoc Task Force, 20785

20785; June 25, 1975; Muskie announces the formation of four Budget Committee task forces dealing with energy, defense, tax expenditures and capital needs, as a means of developing an overall economic review without getting involved in the line-item programmatic issues that are within the jurisdiction of the authorizing committees. The tension between the authorizing committees and the very broad jurisdiction of the Budget Committee became apparent in some of the budget debates during the year and these task forces were intended as one way to avoid direct conflicts with authorizing committees while still getting Budget Committee work done.

Budget: score keeping reports, 22800

22800; July 15, 1975; Muskie announces the arrival of scorekeeping reports, one, a monthly report compared legislation enacted to the overall budget targets, and the second, a weekly report for the Senate in particular, which shows all bills reported or passed within their budget functions and also competing legislation within each function, as well as legislation that could be reported. These scorekeeping reports were an effort to alert Senators to the likely and possible additional drains on available revenues and to help encourage moderation in accepting expensive amendments to legislation currently under debate.

Committee on the Budget: postponement of hearing, 25624

25624; July 29, 1975; Muskie says the press of business makes it necessary to cancel the Budget Committee’s oversight hearing on the Congressional Budget Office, and that it will be rescheduled to a time when members have the chance to give it their full attention.

Congressional Budget Office report, 28883

Committee on the Budget: announcement of hearing, 28884

28883; September 16, 1975; Muskie announces hearings to examine a recent report from the Congressional Budget Office focusing on the economic recovery, and notes that the outlook does not look great for 1976, and that he wants to examine how monetary policy is interacting with other elements of the economic recovery and what might be done about it.

Table: Fiscal year 1976 pay raise costs, 29265

Federal employees: resolution (S. Res. 239) disapproving alternative plan for pay adjustments, 29264-29268

29264-29268; September 18, 1975; Muskie announces that he will vote for the 5 percent cap on federal pay raises to maintain budget discipline and to help keep the deficit as close to its original estimate as possible. Under the procedures established to deal with federal pay raises, a commission on pay comparability would measure the increase in the cost of living and private wage increases and make a recommendation as to a general federal pay raise. The President could accept that recommendation or suggest an alternative. In this case, the President had reported the commission’s recommendation of 8.66 percent, and recommended a 5 percent pay raise, and the Senate was debating S. Res. 239, a resolution to disapprove the President’s 5 percent pay cap proposal.

Tax expenditure: more effective use by Congress (see S. 2258), 29959

29959; September 24, 1975; Muskie becomes cosponsor of a Brock (R-Tennessee) bill, S. 2258, to establish a method whereby Congress can assure a more effective use of tax dollars. Unusually, there is no further indication in the Record about this bill; Senator Brock made no introductory remarks, and there appears to be no bill text published.

Report: Implementation of New Congressional Budget Procedures for Fiscal Year 1976, Senate Budget Committee, 32881

Budget for fiscal 1976: establish timetable for consideration of second concurrent resolution, 32881

32881; October 9, 1975; Muskie notes that the Budget Committee has issued a report detailing the timing for a second budget resolution and for a reconciliation bill, if it is necessary to alter previously-made decisions on spending and taxing to conform to the second budget resolution. The architecture of the budget reform process was built around the idea of two resolutions to set spending limits and revenue estimates, with the second resolution being the dispositive one, while the first consisted primarily of target numbers. The reconciliation process was intended to make the spending and taxing decisions fall into line with the second resolution, which was to be binding on the Congress.

Budget: second concurrent resolution, 36463

36463; November 13, 1976; Muskie reports on the second budget resolution, and says that although economic conditions have forced more than $12 billion in program spending increases, the differences between the first and second budget resolutions will not mirror all of that $12 billion increase. The second resolution also contains spending authority for the three-month transition period from June 31, 1976 to October 1, 1976, which marks the beginning of the revised fiscal year.

Report: Resolution on the Budget, Fiscal Year 1976, 39998

Congressional budget: resolution (H. Con. Res. 466) revising for fiscal year 1976, conference report, 39998-40003, 40005

39998-40003; 40005; December 11, 1975; Muskie describes the conference report on H. Con. Res. 466, the second budget resolution, and rejects President Ford’s demand that a spending ceiling for Fiscal Year 1977 be established immediately, pointing out that this will be done in about four months’ time, and that it will be done with the benefit of the President’s own budget recommendations in hand, as well as any underlying changes in the economic situation.

New Budget Process and the Role of Congress, majority conference, by, 40477

Remarks in Senate relative to: Tribute, 40477, 42136

40477; December 15, 1975; Senator Mansfield (D- Montana), the Senate Majority Leader, says that Muskie’s presentation to the Democratic Caucus was a valuable way to look at the budget process and the challenges it produces, and has it reproduced. Normally, each Tuesday, the Democratic (and Republican) Senators caucus in the Capitol building to discuss the forthcoming week and to seek to provide guidance to the entire membership as to the week’s schedule. Normally statements made in the caucus meeting are not discussed outside it, but once in a while, such as on this occasion, a longer-than-average presentation is made, and it can become public, particularly when the Majority Leader decides to do so.

42136; December 19, 1976; Senator Hathaway (D- Maine) says Muskie’s first year dealing with the budget process has made it more accessible to the public and more accountable, a fact which has been recognized by the Maine media as well as others.

Revenue Adjustment Act of 1975: bill (H.R. 5559) to enact, 40544-40546, 40548, 40550, 40561-40563, 40566

40544-40546; December 15, 1975; In the course of debate on H.R. 5559, the Revenue Adjustment Act, a tax bill that is intended to fulfil the requirements of the second (binding) budget resolution by reducing revenues $6.4 billion, through the mechanism of keeping an earlier tax cut in place through June, 1976, Muskie notes that the bill will achieve this goal. One reason for continuing the tax reduction was that additional stimulus would be generated, but a probably more persuasive argument was that, without its continuation, everyone in the country would immediately see an increase in their tax withholding and a decrease in their after-tax pay in January, 1976. He subsequently became involved in a semantic debate with Senator Hartke (D- Indiana) over the status of the bill as a reconciliation bill.

During the continued wrangling over the parliamentary status of H.R. 5559, a quorum call begins, at the close of which Senator Mondale (D-Minnesota) notes that a news story very complimentary to Muskie and his colleagues on the Budget Committee has appeared and shares it. Quorum calls are everyday events which stop floor action so that a problem can be worked out without a formal record being made. The frequent use of quorum calls is one of the things that can make Senate debate difficult to follow.

40548, 40550; December 15, 1975; As the debate over the parliamentary situation continues, an effort is made to work out an agreement whereby an amendment substituting the President’s spending numbers for those in the next budget resolution can be offered, as well as other amendments that fall within the germaneness requirement. One of the disciplinary measures in the Budget Reform Act was that reconciliation bills would not be subject to unlimited amendments before a final vote. Muskie strongly objected to overall spending numbers being established by nothing more than a floor vote, with no rationale as to how the number should be reached, but because President Ford had indicated he would veto the tax measure if it reached him without his spending ceiling, Muskie finally agreed to the unanimous consent agreement.

40561-40563; December 15, 1975; During debate on the amendment to establish a $395 billion spending ceiling for Fiscal Year 1977, Muskie gives an extensive explanation of why taking such an action would entirely undercut the while budget process and lead back to the situation in which the spending was entirely out of control.

40566; December 15, 1975; Following the vote on an amendment, Muskie makes the motion to reconsider the vote, a routine post-vote motion, and Senator Long (D-Louisiana) moves to table it, another routine post-vote motion.

Congressional Budget Reform, Council on National Priorities and Resources, by, 41564

41564; December 18, 1975; Senator Stevenson (D- Illinois) recommends a Muskie speech in which he calls for thorough and continuous review of spending programs and governmental organization to improve the structure and the results of government programs.

Lobbying: relative to certain exempt organizations (see S. 2832), 42028

Tax-exempt organizations: legislation to reform lobbying activities, 42028

List: Coalition of Concerned Charities, 42031

Environmental Movement After 5 Years, John R. Quarles, 42030

42028; December 19, 1975; Muskie introduces his bill to allow tax exempt organizations to lobby without losing their tax status, S. 2832, and describes the need for this and the fairness of allowing public interest groups to do what businesses can do by virtue of the deductibility of lobbying expenses.

Irrigation facilities: bill (H.R. 9968) to authorize certain, 42161-42165, 42253

Tax Reduction Act: bill (H.R. 9968) to extend certain provisions, 42161-42165, 42253

Impasse on Taxes (sundry), 42164

42161; December 19, 1975; President Ford vetoed the reconciliation tax bill, H.R. 5559, and the House upheld his veto. In one way this was a pyrrhic victory: It left President Ford in the position of, effectively, raising taxes on all working Americans on January 1, 1976, a result no politician would relish. At the same time, polls were beginning to show that President Ford’s rival for the Republican presidential nomination, the former governor of California, Ronald Reagan, was drawing level with Ford, so it was also a political calculation. A scramble ensued for some face-saving language, and emerged with the dollar-for-dollar formula, supposedly meaning that for every dollar in future tax cuts there would be a dollar in spending cuts. The discussion Muskie has with other Senators makes it clear that this is a gesture, not a commitment on the part of the Congress.

42253; December 19, 1975; Following the vote on the tax cut and the language meant to appease President Ford, Muskie responds to a question about how the Budget Committee intends to deal with lower priority programs in the following year.

TRADE, TARIFFS, IMPORT SUBSIDIES

1975 1st Session, 94th Congress

Maine: impact of tariff concessions on, 14933

International Trade Commission: hearings on tariff concessions, 14933

Tariff Concessions and Maine, International Trade Commission, by, 14934

Letter: Impact of tariff Concessions on Maine (sundry), 14934

14933, 14934; May 19, 1975; Muskie notes that for the first time, the U.S. International Trade Commission has held hearings in smaller states and non-metropolitan areas to get a better idea of the impact of lower tariffs and open trade directly from those most affected, and shares some of Maine business’ comments on trade issues, as well as his own testimony before the Commission.

Wool: Change Customs treatment of Certain woven fabrics of (see S.1904) 18073

18073; June 10, 1975; Muskie is shown as a cosponsor of S. 1904, a Hathaway (D-Maine) bill to change the customs treatment of woven wool fabrics if they are the products of an insular U.S. possession, but are imported into that jurisdiction for further processing and then exported to the U.S. A range of special trade provisions governed the importation of products from U.S. possessions, and there was a constant effort to bypass U.S. tariffs by using the possessions as locations for further processing to guarantee them free entry into the U.S. market.

Dairy and Meat Import Inspection and Identification Act of 1975: enact (see S. 2598) bill, 34354

34354; October 30, 1975; Muskie is shown as a cosponsor of S. 2598, a Packwood (R-Oregon) bill to require that imported meat and dairy products be labeled with the country of origin.

HOUSING, URBAN DEVELOPMENT

1975 1st Session, 94th Congress

Department of HUD and sundry independent agencies: effect on budget of appropriations for, 25155, 25156

Table: Health spending legislation, 25155

Health Revenue Sharing Act of 1975: budget effects, 25155, 25156

25155, 25156; July 26, 1975; Muskie speaks about two bills the Senate has just passed, S.66, the Health Revenue Sharing Act, which was passed over President Ford’s veto, and H.R. 8070, the HUD-Independent Agencies appropriation bill, which funds the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Science Foundation and the Veterans’ Administration, and explains how these bills affect the spending guidelines under the budget for the various functional categories they comprise.

Department of HUD and sundry independent agencies: bill (H.R. 8070) making appropriations, conference report, 31715, 31716, 31719

Environmental Protection Agency: regulating parking, 31715, 31716

31719; October 3, 1975; Muskie discusses H.R. 8070, the conference report on the HUD appropriations bill, and describes the dispute with the Ford administration over the proper treatment for the 40-year life cost of subsidized housing, saying that the next Budget Committee scorekeeping report will include a comparative chart to show how the different accounting approaches yield different one-year budget authority numbers.

Maine: inauguration of new housing program, 36691

South Paris, Maine: new housing program, 36691

Housing Program Advances, Charles A. Krause, Washington Post, 36691

36691; November 14, 1975; Muskie discusses Maine’s participation in the newly created Section 8 housing program through the beginning of construction on a 10-unit block of housing for elderly tenants in Paris, Maine. Section 8 was enacted in the 1974 housing bill, and differed from its predecessor in providing a guarantee of rental subsidy for 20 to 40 years for the builder of a unit, rather than directly subsidizing the construction itself. At the time the program was starting up, unfortunately, the threatened bankruptcy of New York City was having the effect of virtually closing down the bond markets, thus severely curtailing the availability of funds for state and local housing agencies.