Cohn, Lee M., The Evening Star and Daily News, Washington, D.C.: "Nixon Cuts Programs $6.5 Billion", January 29, 1973_ Denver Post, "Nader: Put Tough Rein On Nixon", January 31, 1973- Elder, Shirley, The Evening Star and Daily News, Washington, D.C.: Page 1021 1022 1024 1028 1028 1029 1030 1031 1032 1034 1036 'Nixon Defied on Farm Funds", February 8, 1973.. 1038 1040 Elsasser, Glen, "Congress, Nader Upset: Furor Increases Over Nixon 1042 1043 Evening Star and Daily News, The, Washington, D.C.: "Key Nixon Officials Link Tax Lid to Spending Ceiling", October 3, 1972. 1043 "Woodcock Hits Nixon's Policy on Environment", November 29, 1972_ 1044 "Water Cleanup Delay", editorial, December 4, 1972- 1044 1045 And the State of the Opposition", editorial, January 21, 1973.. "Budget Confrontation", editorial, January 24, 1973. 1046 1047 66 Ash Says U.S. to Aid Viets At Cost of Domestic Needs", February 11, 1049 1050 Fialka, John, "Environmentalists On Hill Hit Nixon Fund Impounding", The Evening Star and Daily News, Washington, D.C., November 29, 1972 .. "A Tough Line On Domestic Spending", editorial, February 11, 1973Federal Times, "Amtrak for Arkansas-Fulbright Seeking Foreign Aid Cuts", February 21, 1973--- 1051 1052 Finney, John W., "Congress-Challenge To the Lawmakers", The New 1054 Greensboro Daily News, "The 'Impoundment' Flap", editorial, Greensboro, 1055 Hamilton, Martha, "Broyhill, Hogan Act To Save Impact Aid", The 1057 Heffner, Linda J., "Nixon Budget Sets Stage for Battle; Congress Fires 1057 Hendron, Ron, "Bare Bones Budget: Story of Bombs vs. Books", Washington Weekly, volumn II, No. 31 (1972) 1058 Hill, Don, "They're Trying To Open the Money Tap", The Virginian- 1059 Horner, Garnett D., "Nixon Says Right to Impound Based on U.S. 1060 Kraft, Joseph, "Budget Battle, Round One", The Washington Post, La Course, Richard, "Nixon Administration Slashes BIA Budget", The Houston Post, "Pickle Pushing Bill To Cut Back President's Power", Humphries, Bill, "Farm Program Dropped", The News and Observer, Journal, "Impounding Funds", Providence, R.I., November 1, 1972__ Page 1061 1062 1063 784 1064 1065 1066 Lawrence, David, “Can Deficits Be Congress-Proof?", The Evening Star and Daily News, Washington, D.C., October 16, 1972. 1069 Long Island Press, "Congress vs. the President", editorial, Long Island, 1070 Lyons, Richard L., and Spencer Rich "Senate Defies President for OMB 1070 Mathews, Jay, "3-Year Wait Seen in Plan For Potomac", The Washington 1072 Miami News, "Is Great Society on Way Out?", January 27, 1973 1073 Milius, Peter, "Nixon Defends Budget Cuts", The Washington Post, 1074 Miller, Norman and Arlen Large, "Back to Battle", Wall Street Journal, 1066 Minneapolis Tribune, The, “Loan Freeze Chills Hope for Home Repairs", 787 Morgan Guaranty Survey, The Morgan Guaranty Trust Company, New 1077 1081 Murray, David, Chicago Sun-Times: "Nader Suggests a Bill to Curb Impounding", January 31, 1973---"Sam Ervin Gets the Congress Crusade Rolling", Chicago Sun-Times, February 4, 1973... 1082 1083 Naughton, James M. The New York Times: "Ervin Assuming Leadership in Effort to Reassert the Authority of Congress", February 4, 1973.. 1085 "Wide Spending Reforms Urged in Congress Study-Official Upholds Nixon", February 7, 1973_.. 1087 "House Votes Bill To Require Nixon To Release Fund", February 8, 1973. 1088 "Nixon's Challenge-Struggle Over the Power of The Purse", February 11, 1973. 1090 "Funds Release Pushed In Senate", February 12, 1973.. 1091 News and Observer, The, Raleigh, N.C.: "Highway Fund Suit Pondered", Sept. 9, 1972. 1093 "Ervin Mulls Stiffer Impoundment Statute", February 12, 1973New York Post, The, "Nixon Aide Says Curbs on Spending Are Legal", February 6, 1973. 1093 1094 New York Times, The: "Power of the Purse", October 27, 1972. 1095 Randal, Judith, "Fund Freeze on Wastes Hit", The Evening Star and 1095 Rich, Spencer and Mary Russell, "Hill Strikes At Budget on Three 1096 Rich, Spencer and Richard L. Lyons, "Senate Defies President for OMB "Senate Seeks Way To Block Nixon Funds Impoundment" 1101 Russell, Mary and Spencer Rich, "Hill Strikes At Budget on Three Russell, Mary and David S. Broder, "Rural Aid Revival Is Voted-House Page 1096 1103 San Francisco Chronicle, "The Struggle Over Powers", January 28, 1973_ Sarro, Ronald, "Ervin Pressing For Stiffer Curbs On Impoundment", Schlesinger, Arthur, Jr., "Law, Order and President Nixon: II", Post- 1105 1106 1106 Scott, Austin, "Cutbacks Planned In Social Services", The Washington 1108 Sehlstedt, Albert, Jr., "Albert Joins Fund-Freeze Opponents", The Sun, Shandler, Philip, "Court Battle Readied To Save OEO Program", The Wall Street Journal, "Business Bulletin: A Special Background Report on Washington Post, The: "Water Over the Budget," October 22, 1972__ 1109 1110 1111 790 422 1115 "Impounded U.S. Funds Challenged", January 27, 1973. "The Poor Potomac", January 29, 1973 1116 1117 "Acknowledgeing the Status of OMB", February 5, 1973"The Impoundment Battle", February 6, 1973 1117 1118 "Hill Chairman Attacks OEO Dismantling", February 8, 1973. "Mills Says President Can Impound Funds", February 11, 1973 WCBS-TV Editorial, Channel 2, New York, January 9, 1973. Wicker, Tom: 1119 1120 1120 "Impounding and Implying", The New York Times, February 8, 1973_... 1121 "Impounding and Implied Power", The Evening Star and Daily News, Washington, D.C., February 8, 1973. 1122 Winters, Bruce, The Sun, Baltimore, Md.: "Democrats United on Budget", January 31, 1973.. 1123 "Muskie Urges Challenge to 'Usurpation' of Power", February 1, 1973_ 1124 "Ervin Hints at Subpoena; Top Aides Grow Available", February 2, 1973. 1125 Wilson, Richard, "Spending Power Shift-A Radical Departure", The 1127 IMPOUNDMENT OF APPROPRIATED FUNDS BY THE PRESIDENT TUESDAY, JANUARY 30, 1973 U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON SEPARATION OF POWERS, Washington, D.C. The subcommittees met, pursuant to notice, at 9:30 a.m., in room 3302, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Senator Sam J. Ervin, Jr. (chairman) presiding. Present: Senators Ervin, Chiles, Burdick, Metcalf, Muskie, Gurney, Percy, and Javits. Also present: Robert B. Smith, Jr., chief counsel and staff director, Committee on Government Operations; Rufus L. Edmisten, chief counsel and staff director, Walker F. Nolan, counsel; and Prof. Arthur S. Miller, staff consultant, Subcommittee on Separation of Powers; and George Patten, legislative assistant to Senator Chiles, chairman of the Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Impoundment of Funds. Senator ERVIN. The meeting will come to order. OPENING STATEMENT BY SENATOR ERVIN OF NORTH CAROLINA Senator ERVIN. We have met today to hold hearings on S. 373, the bill which relates to the executive impoundment of appropriated funds. This bill is referred to the Government Operations Committee. The Judiciary Subcommittee on Separation of Powers is sitting with the Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Impoundment of Funds of the Government Operations Committee, chaired by Senator Chiles, to assist in hearings because the subcommittee conducted hearings on this same subject some time ago and is familiar with the subject. This bill is, in my judgment, a very important bill because it raises the question of whether the Congress of the United States will remain a viable institution or whether the current trend toward the executive use of legislative power is to continue unabated until we have arrived at a presidential form of government. As I have said many times during hearings conducted by the Separation of Powers Subcommittee on various subjects, the executive branch has been able to seize power so brazenly only because the Congress has lacked the courage and foresight to maintain its constitutional position. The Congress has failed as an institution to equip itself physically to carry out its legislative duties independent of the executive branch, much less to perform its important function of over (1) seeing the activities of the executive branch in administering the programs it has enacted. Moreover, as individuals, too many of us have found it more comfortable to have someone else the President-make the hard decisions and relieve us of responsibility. Too often, I fear, there have been those among our ranks in the legislature who would rather receive a social invitation to the White House than display loyalty to the governmental institution to which they were elected. The time has come when something must be done to restore the Congress to its rightful role, or our representative system of government cannot survive. The bill we are considering today, S. 373, which is cosponsored by over 50 members of the Senate, is the outgrowth of hearings conducted in March 1971 by the Separation of Powers Subcommittee on the constitutional issues raised by the practice of Executive impoundment of appropriated funds. Testimony and materials adduced at those hearings revealed that over $12 billion in appropriated funds were then being impounded by the President. Since that time, President Nixon has asserted that he will keep Federal spending within a $250 billion ceiling by impounding funds appropriated above that limit. Already we have seen the termination of several agricultural programs, including the rural environmental assistance program and emergency disaster loans to farmers, and we are all aware of the President's recent action in cutting $6 billion in funds for water pollution control which the Congress has authoriezd over the Chief Executive's veto. More than likely the list of illegally impounded and terminated programs will grow, unless Congress stops it. Another recent and particularly flagrant impoundment action, which flies directly in the face of expressed congressional intent, is the withholding of more than $5 billion in the Highway Trust Fund. This issue was litigated in Missouri Highway Commission v. Volpe. (347 F. Supp. 951) where the U.S. District Court on June 19, 1972, held that the Secretary of Transportation and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget do not have discretion, under the FederalAid Highway Act of 1956 as amended, to impound Highway Trust Fund moneys except for reasons set forth in the act. The district court decision was appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, and on January 2 of this year 22 other Senators joined me in filing an amicus curiae brief in the case. The appeals court heard oral argument on January 10, 1973, but has not yet rendered its decision. Yet even now, while the President continues his efforts to negate the programs created and funded by Congress in accordance with its constitutional responsibility, the record will show that during the first 4 years of his administration, President Nixon urged Congress to appropriate $20 billion more than Congress was willing to authorize. Reserving of appropriated funds is not a new concept, and when undertaken pursuant to congressional dictate it may be quite useful in effecting economy. Unfortunately, however, impoundment most frequently occurs under circumstances where the executive branch, for reasons of its own, desires to avoid expending funds which the Congress has explicitly directed to be spent for some particular purpose. It is this situation which poses a threat to our system of government and which so patently violates the separation-of-powers doctrine. |