July 27, 1979
Page 21081
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, the Senate is now considering H.R. 4580, which appropriates funds for the District of Columbia for fiscal year 1980. The bill is fiscally responsible and I support it.
I will just take a moment to point out the budgetary implications of the bill.
Mr. President, H.R. 4580, as reported, provides $0.4 billion in new budget authority. Outlays associated with the bill, including outlays from prior year appropriations for these programs, also total $0.4 billion.
Under section 302(b) of the Budget Act, the Appropriations Committee divides among its subcommittees the total budget authority and outlays allocated to the committee under the first budget resolution. The Appropriations Committee has allocated $0.5 billion in budget authority and $0.5 billion in outlays to the D.C. Subcommittee.
The funds provided by H.R. 4580 as reported, plus prior action, put the subcommittee under its 302(b) allocations by $0.1 billion in both budget authority and outlays. I congratulate the subcommittee and its chairman, Senator LEAHY, for staying within its allocation.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a table showing the relationship of this bill to the subcommittee allocation be printed in the RECORD at this point.
There being no objection, the table was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:
[Table omitted]
Mr. MUSKIE. I also note that the bill has been reported early enough to permit enactment of the District of Columbia budget before the fiscal year begins. That is an important benefit of the timetable specified under the congressional budget process.
Although the subcommittee is likely to be below its allocation, I want to remind the Senate of the point I made when previous fiscal 1980 appropriation bills were before us. It appears that the full Appropriations Committee could exceed the amount allocated to it under the first budget resolution by about $6 billion in budget authority and $5 billion in outlays when all the regular appropriation bills and expected supplemental requirements are taken into account.
At the risk of belaboring the point, I note again that, taken altogether, these additional appropriations could increase the fiscal 1980 deficit by as much as $4 to $5 billion. In fact, the combination of these additional appropriations and the apparent economic slowdown threaten to drive the fiscal 1980 deficit higher than that of fiscal 1979.
Mr. President, as I have said before, I recognize that the failure of other committees to achieve savings in appropriated programs, uncontrollable increases in some programs, and new Presidential energy initiatives, are beyond the control of the Appropriations Committee. But I again urge the Senate to make appropriate reductions in future bills to avoid a significant increase over the first budget resolution targets. I also urge the Senate conferees on this bill to carefully consider the arguments of the House conferees for additional restraint in the Federal payment to the District of Columbia.
In conclusion, Mr. President, I repeat that I intend to vote in favor of H.R. 4580 as reported. I urge my colleagues to do likewise.
I congratulate the floor manager and the ranking minority member on bringing to the floor an appropriation bill that fits within the budget requirements.