May 15, 1979
Page 11268
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, the Foreign Relations Authorization bill, S. 586, includes a fiscal year 1979 supplemental authorization of $105 million, a fiscal year 1980 authorization of $2.1 billion, and a fiscal year 1981 authorization of $2.35 billion.
This legislation needs to be addressed in the context of the budget process for these three fiscal years.
The fiscal 1979 revised second budget resolution targets, as approved by the Senate, specifically include in the international affairs function the migration and refugee supplemental of $105 million.
The fiscal year 1980 first budget resolution targets approved by the Senate provide for $12.0 billion in budget authority and $7.9 billion in outlays for the international affairs function. The fiscal 1981 budget authority and outlay targets are $13.5 billion and $8.0 billion, respectively.
The Committee on Foreign Relations has reported or will soon report four major fiscal 1980 authorization bills that relate to function 150, international affairs. These are the Foreign Relations Authorization Act (this bill), the International Security Assistance Act, the International Development Assistance Act, and the Omnibus Multilateral Development Bank Act.
While the committee on foreign relations is making every effort to hold down the level of authorizations in these bills, it is likely that in total the authorizations, if fully funded, would exceed the fiscal 1980 and fiscal 1981 targets of the first budget resolution as passed by the Senate.
In past years, the Appropriations Committee has made significant cuts from the levels authorized for these programs, and there is every reason to expect that this pattern will continue in fiscal year 1980 and fiscal year 1981. The Appropriations Committee will have to make a special effort to stay within the fiscal year 1981 budget resolution targets, however, because the resolution targets for that year reflect considerable constraint.
At this time, we believe it is reasonable to assume that the Appropriations Committee will be able to accomplish any necessary reductions to meet the stringent budget targets. I am confident that these cuts will be forthcoming.
On this basis, I will not object to the levels authorized by S. 586. I am prepared, however, to vote for lower levels this summer and in the summer of 1980 when the foreign assistance and State Department appropriation bills come before the Senate.
In closing, Mr. President, I want to acknowledge the efforts made by the Committee on Foreign Relations. I am a member of that committee and I know they have worked very hard to meet the Budget Committee targets. I especially wish to commend the distinguished senior Senator from Idaho, Mr. CHURCH, for his able and conscientious efforts to report legislation that meets the targets in the budget resolution.