March 9, 1976
Page 5805
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, H.R. 8650, designed to assist low-income persons in insulating their homes by establishing a 3-year State grant program, is a measure which I am pleased to support, both in my capacity as chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and as a Senator from a State which has experienced in the extreme the effects of the high costs of fuel.
The Federal Energy Administration will administer the program under H.R. 8650, which also provides for the development and adoption of energy conservation building standards for new construction. There are safeguards in the bill which provide for a cutoff of funds for failure to adopt conservation standards.
The budgetary impact of this measure was considered when the ceilings were established for the various functions under the second concurrent resolution. Ample funds remain within the natural resources, environment and energy function of the budget to accommodate this bill, as shown on page 25 of the latest weekly Senate budget scorekeeping report.
H.R. 8650 authorizes $60 million in budget authority in fiscal year 1976, with an estimated $20 million in outlays. Additional budget authority in the same dollar range is authorized for the next 2 years. Subsequent appropriation action is required to make these funds available. It is my understanding that the appropriations process will proceed expeditiously to allow an early start for this program. In his budget submitted to Congress last month, the President supported a similar program at about the same levels beginning in fiscal year 1976.
Mr. President, I support this bill. It would conserve energy and be of economic benefit to many families. It is consistent with the second concurrent resolution, and it is a piece of legislation that will mean a great deal to those families hit hardest by our energy and economic problems.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate Budget scorekeeping Report, to which I have referred, may be printed in the RECORD.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:
[Table omitted]