March 30, 1977
Page 9675
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, I rise in support of H.R. 4800, a bill extending the Federal supplemental benefits — FSB — program, which provides emergency unemployment compensation to persons who have been unemployed so long that they have exhausted their regular and extended unemployment compensation benefits. This bill would add to 1977 outlays by $488 million and to 1978 outlays by $190 million.
The FSB program was enacted in 1974 in response to the severe economic recession which the Nation was experiencing at that time. It has always been the intent of the Congress that this program be temporary, to phase out when the economy improves sufficiently to allow the long term unemployed to go back to work. Thus, under present law the program is due to end on March 31, 1977. H.R. 4800, as reported by the Finance Committee, would extend the FSB program another 9 months, through December 31, 1977, with a phase out during the last 3 months. It is our firm belief that by the end of the calendar year the economy will have improved enough to eliminate the need for this program.
When the Congress acted on the second budget resolution for 1977 last September, we assumed that the economy would continue to recover at a rate that would permit termination of this emergency program at this time. The senior Senator from New York, Senator JAVITS, challenged this assumption on the floor of the Senate when we were considering the final passage of the second budget resolution. It was the Senator's contention that the economic recovery would not be as robust as we then anticipated and that allowance should be made in the congressional budget for an extension of the FSB program. I responded to the Senator by saying that if the economy did not recover as then anticipated, we would have to act on a third budget resolution for fiscal 1977, at which time we would add funds for an extension of the FSB program. Of course, that is exactly what happened. The economic recovery stalled, making a third budget resolution necessary, and in that resolution we included $0.5 billion in additional funds for 1977 which would accommodate an extension of this program.
I cite this history in part to demonstrate the flexibility of the budget process, and also to point out that the 1977 budget ceilings allow room for the additional outlays in this bill. Moreover, the increased 1978 cost of $190 million is within the guidelines offered by the Finance Committee in its report to the Budget Committee containing recommendations for the first budget resolution for 1978. I commend the Finance Committee for the budgetary discipline it has displayed in reporting a bill which stays within the 1977 budget ceilings as well as within the committee's 1978 recommendations.
Mr. President, I strongly recommend to my colleagues that they support this bill to extend the FSB unemployment compensation program. Congressional policy in favor of extending the FSB program was clearly established with the enactment of the third budget resolution for 1977. Moreover, there is room in the third budget resolution spending ceilings to accommodate this extension. Lastly, I support the provisions of H.R. 4800 which delete the requirement that general fund advances made after March 31, 1977, to the unemployment trust fund to pay FSB costs be repaid.
Mr. President, I urge support of this bill.