September,24, 1976
Page 32333
ALLOCATIONS TO SENATE COMMITTEES UNDER THE SECOND CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 1977 — SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 139
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, the Budget Committee is sending to the staff director of each Senate committee which was allocated budget authority or outlays under Senate Concurrent Resolution 139, the second concurrent resolution on the 1977 budget, a letter providing background information on the allocations.
This letter forwards to the committees a set of computer listings which show the Budget Committee's assumptions as to how the amounts allocated to the other committees are distributed by budget function. These listings are intended to assist each committee in preparing the report to the Senate required by section 302(b) of the Budget Act, a report which shows the way the committee has subdivided its allocation among subcommittees or major programs.
We hope that each committee will be to submit its report to the Senate prior to the adjournment of this Congress.
In addition to these listings, the letter forwards a revised version of the Senate committee allocations table printed on page 10 of the conference report on Senate Concurrent Resolution 139 (S. Rept. 94-1232). Both this table and the computer listings reflect some technical adjustments to amounts allocated for "entitlements requiring appropriations action." These adjustments do not affect the "direct spending" allocation of any committee, and have been made after consultation with staff of the committees involved.
For the information of my colleagues, I ask unanimous consent that a copy of the letter and a copy of the revised table from the conference report be printed in the RECORD.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:
September 21, 1976
Mr. Staff Director,
Committee on
U.S. Senate,
Washington, D.C.
Dear __________:
The Second Concurrent Resolution on the 1977 Budget (S. Con. Res. 139) has been agreed to by the Congress.
As required by Section 302(a) of the Congressional Budget Act, the Statement of Managers accompanying the Resolution allocates the budget authority and outlay ceilings contained in the Resolution among the committees of the Congress.
Enclosed is a copy of the "crosswalk" table from the Statement of Managers, showing allocations to Senate committees, as well as computer listings that show for each Senate committee the
Budget Committee's assumptions as to how these amounts break down by budget function.
In the case of the Committees on Agriculture and Forestry, Finance, Labor and Public Welfare, and Veterans' Affairs, the listings reflect technical adjustments made since the adoption of the Resolution. These affect "entitlements requiring appropriations" only, and do not affect the direct spending totals for these Committees. These changes are due to Congressional action on or reestimates for several programs, which while they were reflected in the "direct spending" totals for the Appropriations Committee, inadvertently were omitted from "entitlements requiring appropriations" in the crosswalk.
The attached copy of the table from the Statement of Managers also reflects these technical adjustments, as well as corrections of two minor typographical errors in the table printed in the conference report (S. Rept. 94-1232).
We hope this information will be useful to you in preparing your Committee's report to the Senate, pursuant to Section 302(b) of the Congressional Budget Act, showing how the amounts allocated to your Committee are subdivided among its subcommittees or major programs. As you know, these allocation reports now form the basis for the Senate Budget Scorekeeping Reports. Your report may be similar to the one you prepared following the First Budget Resolution. Please note, however, that Section 302(c) of the Budget Act permits your report to be limited to the differences between the subdivisions you reported under the First Budget Resolution, and those which apply to this latest allocation. If there are no changes in your Committee's subdivisions, the Committee is not required to submit a report (although I would appreciate a "no change" phone call).
It would be very helpful if your Section 302(b) report could be submitted prior to the adjournment of the 94th Congress. If you have any questions, or if we may be of any assistance to you in preparing your report, please contact Mike West of our staff, on 40561.
Best regards.
Sincerely,
DOUGLAS J. BENNET, Jr., Staff Director.
SEPTEMBER 21, 1976
[Tables omitted]