Amounts withheld from obligation by agency and account-Continued Department of Defense-Civil: Corps of Engineers: Construction, general-- Flood control, Mississippi River and tribuɩartes_. Canal Zone Government: Operating expenses.. Medical facilities construction__. National Institutes of Health: Neurological Disease and Stroke-- General Medical Sciences__ National Eye Institute___ Higher education__ Community education-- School assistance in federally affected areas- Social and Rehabilitation Service: Rehabilitation services and facilities. Programs for the aging___ Social Security Administration: Limitation on construction_. Department of Housing and Urban Development: Basic water and sewer facilities grants- Model cities programs.. Department of the Interior: Bureau of Land Management: 217 21 942 200 563 Public lands development roads and trails 11 Other___. Bureau of Indian Affairs: Road construction____ Bureau of Outdoor Recreation: Land and water conservation fund__ Bureau of Mines: Drainage of anthracite mines (permanent). 4 Public lands highways.. Highway related safety grants-- Territorial highways--- Inter-American highway Amounts withheld from obligation by agency and account-Continued Facilities and equipment (airport and airway trust fund). 51 10 Grants-in-aid for airports (airport and airway trust fund). 672 Federal Highway Administration: Forest highways_- 38 27 Highway beautification-- 64 10 4 (1) 5, 852 Federal-aid highways authorization.... Forest highways trust fund___. Federal Railroad Administration: Grants to the National Railroad National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: Other Atomic Energy Commission: Operating expenses- Plant and capital equipment_. Environmental Protection Agency: Operations, research and facilities-- General Services Administration: Construction, public buildings projects-- Sites and expenses, public buildings projects_. National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Research and program management---. Veterans Administration: Construction of State extended care facilities___ Atlantic-Pacific Interoceanic Canal Study Commission___ District of Columbia: Loans to the District of Columbia for capital outlay National Science Foundation: Salaries and expenses_. United States Information Agency: Special international exhibitions_ Other Other Agencies_- 1 $500,000 or less. [From the Congressional Record, Mar. 13, 1972] LIST OF IMPOUNDED FUNDS Mr. ERVIN. Mr. President, almost a year ago the Judiciary Subcommittee on Separation of Powers, of which I am privileged to serve as chairman, conducted hearings on Executive impoundment of appropriated funds. During the subcommittee's study of this widespread practice, the Office of Management and Budget revealed that more than $12.7 billion in funds lawfully appropriated by the Congress were being withheld from expenditure by the Nixon administration. Two weeks ago, OMB released a new list of funds which are being impounded or held in reserve for one reason or another. According to this list, approximately $1.7 billion has been placed in reserve under a heading that most appropriately should be entitled "impounded." OMB reports that these funds include those which Could or might be used (i.e., obligated) during the apportionment period, but which have not been apportioned because of the Executive's responsibility to (1) help keep total Government spending within a congressionally-imposed ceiling, (2) help meet a statutory limitation on the outstanding public debt, (3) develop a governmentwide financial plan for the current year that synchronizes program-by-program with the budget being recommended by the President for the following year, or (4) otherwise carry out broad economic and program policy objectives. It seems to me, based on the information and opinions adduced at the subcom mittee's hearings last year, that the reasons listed by OMB for impounding this $1.7 billion flies in the face of the constitutional duty of the Congress to set the priorities of our Government through the appropriations process. In other words, OMB says that the Executive's responsibility is to impound appropriated funds to "carry out broad economic and program policy objectives" apparently without regard to the decisions made by the Congress when it appropriated this money in the first place. A total of $1.7 billion impounded seems small when compared to the $127 billion reported a year ago. However, OMB also has released a list of funds which it says have been placed in budgetary reserve "for routine financial administration." This "routine" list totals more than $10.5 billion. When added to the $1.7 billion that OMB admits it has impounded, the aggregate of funds being withheld for one reason or another amounts to $12.3 billion, or nearly the amount reported to have been impounded at this point last year. It appears to me, as it has appeared to other observers of the incumbent administration, that the "broad economic and program policy objectives" of OMB may well include the release of large sums of these impounded funds during the next few months. The influx of several billion dollars would provide a long-overdue stimulus to our stagnant economy, and I suppose that the occurrence of the resulting boomlet just before the presidential election this fall would be purely coincidental. One of the persistent problems involved with the question of impoundment of funds has been the reluctance of the executive branch to reveal promptly just how much is being withheld. On this score, I must give credit to the present administration for reporting this information to the Congress-even if it does so only once a year, which is not often enough. Last November the Senate adopted an amendment offered by the distinguished Senator from Minnesota (Mr. HuxPHREY) to the Revenue Act of 1971 which would have provided that the President promptly report the impoundment of funds to the Congress. Unfortunately, the conference committee dropped the Humphrey amendment. Also, I introduced a bill (S. 2581), which would provide for such information and also establish a procedure whereby either Congress would improve the im poundment or the President would cease it after 60 days. To my mind, Congress should act swiftly and firmly in this area in order to reestablish its constitutional role in the financial operations of the Government. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the list entitled "Budgetary Reserves and Impoundments' " prepared by the Office of Management and Budget, be printed in the RECORD. There being no objection, the list was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows: BUDGETARY RESERVES AND "IMPOUNDMENTS" Under authority delegated by the President, the Office of Management and Budget operates a system of apportioning the funds provided by the Congress. The apportionments generally are for the current fiscal year and limit the amounts the agencies may obligate during specified periods. There are occasions when the amounts of available funds are not fully apportioned. That is, some amounts are either withheld from apportionment, or their use is temporarily deferred. The reasons for withholding or deferring the apportionment of available funds usually are concerned with financial administration. They have to do with the effective and prudent use of the financial resources made available by the Congress. Thus, specific apportionments sometimes await (1) development by the affected agencies of approved plans and specifications, (2) completion of studies for the effective use of the funds, including necessary coordination with other Federal and non-Federal parties that might be involved, (3) establishment of a necessary organization and designation of accountable officers to manage the programs, (4) the arrival of certain contingencies under which the funds must by statute be made available (e.g., certain direct Federal credit aids when private sector loans are not available). Under these and other related conditions the funds not apportioned are said to be held or placed "in reserve." This practice is one of long standing and has been exercised by both Republican and Democrat Administrations as a customary part of financial management. Amounts are frequently released from reserveand put to use during each fiscal year as plans, designs, specifications, studies, project approvals, and so on are completed. Thus, the total amount held in reserve usually reaches a low point at the end of the fiscal year. At the end of fiscal years 1959 through 1961, the funds held in reserve ranged from 7.5% to 8.7% of total unified budget outlays. At the end of fiscal 1967, the comparable percentage was 6.7%, and a range in the neighborhood of 6% has been normal in recent years. Currently, the fiscal year 1972 percentage is 5.1% and the total amount held in reserve is expected to decline during the remainder of the fiscal year. It is apparent that most reserves are, in fact, temporary deferrals and their need or wisdom is not usually questioned. In other cases, however, the affected reserves have been criticized as "impoundments" of funds. Thus, the term "impoundment" has generally been applied to funds which could or might be used (i.e., obligated) during the apportionment time period, but which have not been apportioned because of the Executive's responsibility to (1) help keep total Government spending within a congressional-imposed ceiling, (2) help meet a statutory limitation on the outstanding public debt, (3) develop a governmentwide financial plan for the current year that synchronizes program-by-program with the budget being recommended by the President for the following year, or (4) otherwise carry out broad economic and program policy objectives. The items in the list below have been reserved for one or more of the reasons set forth in the preceding paragraph. On the basis of past experience changes in this listing may occur to take account of changing conditions-before the fiscal year 1972 ends. The list itself is consistent with the estimates in the 1973 budget transmitted on January 24, 1972. Description: Reserves established pursuant to President's August 15, 1971 directive to Department of Agriculture: Farmers Home Administration-sewer and water grants___ Million • $280 58 Total 1 Less than $500,000. 1, 748 2 Consists primarily of funds that had been appropriated prior to the President's direetive. Excludes the comparable savings in trust fund and public enterprise accounts and the corresponding savings reflected in appropriation actions of the Congress after Aug. 15, 1971. Includes accounts transferred to economic stabilization activities pursuant to the First Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1972. The accounts being reserved are currently under review, and in many cases they are likely to be released and apportioned to cover part of the cost of the Federal pay raise that took effect early in January 1972. This amount is planned to be used for continuation of the water and sewer grant program in fiscal years 1973 and 1974. Apportionment of entire amount is planned on July 1, 1972, consistent with program and financial plan in the 1973 budget. This item is listed here only because of public and congressional interest. It is not counted in the total below because its planned use is consistent with congressional intent. The Congress provided a total of $3,100,000,000 of contract authority for the 5-year period 1971-75. Executive branch apportionments will result in $1,000,000,000 of this amount having been used by June 30, 1972, another $1,000,000,000 (including this $300,000,000) will be apportioned July 1, 1972, for fiscal 1973, leaving $1,100,000,000, or $550,000,000 per year for the fiscal years 1974 and 1975. The $300,000,000 shown is the difference between the $600.000.000 apportioned for 1972 and the $900.000.000 upper limit for which administrative expenses may be incurred under the 1972 Appropriation Act for the Department of Transportation: "SEC. 308. None of the funds provided in this Act shall be available for administrative expenses in connection with commitments for grants for Urban Mass Transportation aggregating more than $900,000,000 in fiscal 1972." Apportionment awaiting NSF review of how these funds can be used effectively without worsening the current employment among scientists and engineers. |