July 14, 1977
Page 23052
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, I shall speak briefly concerning the military procurement authorization conference report and express my views on how it relates to the national defense targets Congress established in the first budget resolution for fiscal year 1978.
The conference agreement provides for $77.2 billion in budgetary authority and $50.3 billion in outlays. These totals include the costs for not only R. & D., procurement and civil defense activities, but estimates of the manpower costs associated with the manpower ceilings authorized in the report. Mr. President, these amounts are in general agreement with the first budget resolution assumptions.
For the national defense function of the budget, Congress voted in the first budget resolution to provide $118.5 billion in budget authority and $111.0 billion in outlays. The Budget Committee conferees assumed that financial adjustments of $1.6 billion in budget authority and $0.9 billion in outlays could be made to the President's budget request for national defense in order to remain within these targets.
It is appropriate at this point, Mr. President, to commend the distinguished chairman of the Armed Services Committee, my friend from Mississippi, Mr. STENNIS, and all Senate conferees, for their dedication to the budget process. The chairman supported Budget Committee efforts at developing the national defense functional targets and fought in conference to stay within the targets for which Congress voted. I thank the Senator for his able assistance and the committee's staff director, Frank Sullivan, and his staff for their assistance. They have worked closely and cooperatively with the Committee on the Budget staff.