July 17, 1975
Page 23367
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, I thank my good friend from Tennessee, and I rise to compliment the distinguished chairman of the committee, the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. RANDOLPH) the Senator from Tennessee (Mr. BAKER), and their other distinguished colleagues on the Committee on Public Works for bringing this bill to the floor and conducting this important program; and I would like to express my special appreciation to them for the consideration that has been given to the title V commissions. The New England commission has been an important instrument for planning in New England, and I think it can become more so as a result of the provisions of this bill.
At the moment, however, I rise not to repeat what has been said this afternoon by so many of our colleagues, but to comment on this measure from the point of view of the Senate Budget Committee.
Mr. President, the bill now before the Senate, S. 1513, authorizes funding for eight joint Federal-State programs that are particularly important in time of recession.
Each of the Federal-State regional commissions now in existence uses Federal funding and State knowledge of regional problems to design and carry out programs to raise the standards of living in the regions in which the commissions function.
The Appalachian Regional Commission is the pioneer program among these eight. The budget authority and outlays which are called for in this bill are within the ceilings which the Senate and House Budget Committees assumed in setting overall budget targets for fiscal 1976. Outlays for housing, manpower training, health and other programs in the Appalachian region are not increased under this bill. Outlays for highway construction which is essential for encouraging the development of new industries in the area are increased by some $20 million over the outlays requested by the President.
I supported this bill in committee. I support it on the floor. The bill is within the budget authority and outlay targets which we set in the budget resolution last spring.
For that, I wish especially to commend the distinguished Senator from West Virginia (Mr. RANDOLPH) and the Public Works Committee. The committee, of which I am proud to be a member, has helped to demonstrate that the principles of fiscal responsibility and a commitment to the development of our human resources can go hand in hand.
Finally, I wish to note that this bill benefits other regional commissions throughout the country by the increased support for those commissions we have provided in title V. Among the regional commissions which will benefit from the provisions of title V is the New England Regional Commission which operates in my own State of Maine. The New England Regional Commission has been an especially effective force in the areas of energy allocation and transportation planning in my region, and I believe that the additional investment which title V makes in the solution of these problems will prove worthwhile.
I yield the floor, Mr. President, again with my thanks to the Senator from Tennessee and to the chairman and floor manager of the bill.