June 29, 1977
Page 21464
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, the Senate is now deliberating H.R. 7589, the Military Construction Appropriations bill for fiscal year 1978. I support this bill and take this opportunity to comment on the relationship between the bill and the allocations by the Committee on Appropriations to its Military Construction Subcommittee.
Pursuant to section 302(b) of the Budget Act, the Committee on Appropriations allocated to the Military Construction Subcommittee $3.1 billion in budget authority and $3.6 billion in outlays, including $2.6 billion in outlays from prior year authority. The funds provided in this appropriations bill are identical to the subcommittee's 302(b) allocation and are generally consistent with the first budget resolution targets. Although the bill has my support, I urge my colleagues to resist floor amendments calling for significant funding increases because the bill is at the subcommittee's allocation level.
I wish to extend my appreciation to my good friends, the distinguished Senator from Louisiana, Mr. JOHNSTON, who is not only handling his first Military Construction Appropriations bill as chairman of the subcommittee, but is also a valued member of the Budget Committee, and to the distinguished chairman of the Committee on Appropriations, Mr. McCLELLAN, for their dedicated efforts in bringing before us a bill consistent with the guidelines established in the first budget resolution.