May 5, 1975
Page 12970
CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET DETERMINATION
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, I ask that the Chair lay before the Senate a message from the House of Representatives on House Concurrent Resolution 218.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. (Mr. LAXALT) laid before the Senate House Concurrent Resolution 218, as follows:
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That the Congress hereby determines and declares, pursuant to section 310(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, that for the fiscal year beginning on July 1, 1975
(1) the recommended level of Federal revenues is $298,181,000,000 and the amount by which the aggregate level of Federal revenues should be decreased is $4,400,000,000;
(2) the appropriate level of total new budget authority is $295,938,000,000;
(3) the appropriate level of total budget outlays is $368,213,000,000;
(4) the amount of the deficit in the budget which is appropriate in the light of economic conditions and all other relevant factors is $70,032,000,000; and
(5) the appropriate level of the public debt is $619,900,000,000, and the amount by which the temporary statutory limit on such debt should accordingly be increased is $88,900,000,000.
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to strike all after the resolving clause and insert in lieu thereof the language of Senate Concurrent Resolution 32, as amended.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Mr. HARRY F. BYRD, JR. Mr. President, will the Senator yield for a question?
Mr. MUSKIE. I am happy to yield.
Mr. HARRY F. BYRD, JR. Will this make it more or less than the proposed figure to which the Senate agreed?
Mr. MUSKIE. The purpose of this procedure is to send the matter to conference; so this action by the Senate has no effect upon either the Senate concurrent resolution or the House concurrent resolution.
Mr. HARRY F. BYRD, JR. I thank the Senator.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The question is on agreeing to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 218), as amended.
The concurrent resolution (H. Con Res. 218, as amended) was agreed to, as follows:
That the Congress hereby determines, pursuant to section 301 (a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, that for the fiscal year beginning on July 1, 1975
(1) the appropriate level of total budges outlays is $365,000,000,000;
(2) the appropriate level of total new budget authority is $388,600,000,000;
(3) the amount of deficit in the budget which is appropriate in the light of economic conditions and all other relevant factors is $67,200,000,000 under existing law;
(4) the recommended level of Federal revenues under existing law is $297,800,000,000; and
(5) the appropriate level of the public debt is $617,600,000,000 under existing law.
Sec. 2. The Congress, in setting forth the amounts contained in the first section of this resolution, estimates that Federal receipts from the leasing of the Outer Continental Shelf for oil exploration purposes will be $4,000,000,000, rather than the $8,000,000,00( estimated in the budget submitted by the President. If the $8,000,000,000 estimated is realized, the deficit set forth in paragraph (3) of the first section is $63,200,000,000 under existing law.
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the vote by which Senate Concurrent Resolution 32 was agreed to be vacated and that Senate Concurrent Resolution 32 be indefinitely postponed.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Mr. HARRY F. BYRD, JR. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, could we have a clarification of that request.
Mr. MUSKIE. May I say to the distinguished Senator from Virginia that the purpose of this procedure is to send back to the House of Representatives the House concurrent resolution with the House number, with the language of the Senate concurrent resolution attached. We will then be in disagreement with the House of Representatives on the same measure, and the House would then presumably request a conference to work out the language in disagreement.
Mr. HARRY F. BYRD, JR. So it is a procedural technicality?
Mr. MUSKIE. It is a procedural technicality.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.