Government
New budget process tough on Congress For decades Congress has been enacting spending and revenue-producing measures as if they had no relationship to each other. Federal budget proposals were dispersed to a variety of powerful committees and subcommittees each of which decided individually how much money would be spent in any given area. No one committee or even Congress itself exercised overall control of the federal budget. And little, if any, attempt was made by Congress to ensure that there was enough money coming into the federal Treasury to pay for all the programs Congress funded. Thus, even though Congress did vote on spending bills, it was, in reality, the Administration that decided how much money would actually be spent and where. This year all that is supposed to change. In an effort to gain control over the federal budget, Congress in 1974 enacted a sweeping reform measure requiring that Congress establish annual budget ceilings and revenue floors and vote on the size of the annual national deficit and total public debt. The Congressional Budget & Impoundment Control Act of 1974 established new House and Senate budget committees to formulate overall spending and tax goals and set up a Congressional Budget Office (CBO), Congress' equivalent of the White House Office of Management & Budget, to provide Congress with technical information about the economy and the budget. The new budget process can be expected to have a drastic effect on Congress. For the first time Congress will be forced to compare total federal spending with total federal revenues and to make difficult decisions on which programs are to get priority. If Congress wants to increase spending on health programs, for example, it will have to do so by increasing revenues through higher taxes, approving a larger deficit, or by cutting funds from other programs. "The new budget process," says Sen. Edward S. Muskie (D.-Me.), chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, "will pinch. It is supposed to pinch. It is supposed to remind us all that some of our favorite programs must be funded at lower levels than we want." Muskie adds that under the new budget process Congress "must learn to choose among our limited resources. We must learn to say no, learn to discriminate between programs, learn to select those that are clearly at the top of the list in terms of national priorities." The law will present other difficulties for Congress. For example, it establishes a timetable for Congressional 20
C&EN Jan. 19, 1976
Federal Alert—new regulations This listing covers regulations appearing in the Federal Register from Dec. 5 through Jan. 9. Page numbers below refer to those issues. PROPOSED Environmental Protection AgencyLimits air and water emissions of vinyl chloride to 10 ppm, applies to ethylene dichloride-vinyl chloride plants and polyvinyl chloride plants; comments by Feb. 23 (Dec. 24, page 59532). Lists 300 chemicals whose spills are dangerous to aquatic life, groups them into four categories based on their relative potential hazard to aquatic life, spells out amounts of spills considered harmful for each category, assesses penalties up to $5 million, applies to transportation systems (such as tankers) and fixed facilities (such as industrial plants). Chemicals include aldrin, polychlorinated biphenyls, nitric acid; comments by March 1 (Dec. 30, page 59960). Sets for certain organic chemicals manufacturing processes effluent limitations for existing sources, standard of performance for new sources, pretreatment standards for new sources, and pretreatment standards for existing sources; comments by Feb. 4 (Jan. 5, page 914). National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health—Solicits information to develop criteria documents on p-dichlorobenzene, ammonium nitrate, carbon black, dichloroacetylene, cyclohexanols, mercaptans, furfuryl alcohol, magnesium and its compounds, alkali metal hydroxides, dialkyl ethers, isobutyl alcohol, amyl alcohol, bromine pentafluoride, phenothiazine, iron and its compounds, diazoethane, dibutyl phosphate, indium and its compounds, glycidyl ethers, and chromium and its compounds, except chromium(VI); by April 5 (Jan. 5, page 802). FINAL Consumer Product Safety Commission —Denies petition by city of Los Angeles to ban use of chlorofluorocarbons in aerosols and refrigeration equipment (Jan. 5, page 815). Department of Commerce, Patents & Trademark Office—Amends rules of practice in patent cases and in trademark cases; for instance, procedures for requesting a rehearing and for filing an opposition; effective Feb. 1 (Jan. 5, page 756). Specifies new definition for "flammable liquid," and "combustible liquid"; effective March 31 (Dec. 31, page 60030). Amends labeling requirements for articles on vessels; for instance, substituting the word "flammable" for the word "inflammable"; effective March 31 (Jan. 5, page 763). Energy Research & Development Administration—Spells out policy relating to establishment of Solar Energy Research Institute (Dec. 24, page 59513).
Environmental Protection AgencySets forth requirements for procurement of architectural or engineering services under grants for construction of treatment works, limiting profit margins to reasonable amounts; effective March 1 (Dec. 17, page 58602). Establishes national interim primary standards for drinking water, covers inorganic chemicals (arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, nitrate, selenium, and silver) and organic pesticides (endrin, lindane, methoxychlor, toxaphene, 2,4-D, 2,4,5-TP Silvex); effective June 24, 1977 (Dec. 24, page 59566). Establishes sampling, monitoring, testing, and other requirements for a special agency-state monitoring program to gather information on organic contaminants [carbon tetrachloride, benzene, vinyl chloride, chloroform, bromoform, pentachlorophenol, p-dichlorobenzene, polychlorinated biphenyls, 1,2,4 - trichlorobenzene, bis - (2 - chloroethyl) ether, 1,1,2-trichloroethylene, and others] in drinking water; effective immediately (Dec. 24, page 59587). Food & Drug Administration—Stays previous decision permitting use of sweetener aspartame, pending further audit of animal studies; effective immediately (Dec. 5, page 56907). Requires that fat and oil ingredients, now identified on labels by class names, such as "vegetable o i l " or "shortening," to be identified by specific source, for example, "cottonseed o i l " or "beef fat"; effective Jan. 1,1978 (Jan. 6, page 1155). MEETINGS Environmental Protection AgencyAnnounces public hearing on its proposed vinyl chloride air emission standard; Feb. 3 in Washington, D.C. (Dec. 31, page 60079). Announces public hearings on its proposed standard specifying environmental radiation protection requirements for normal operations of the uranium cycle; Feb. 17 in Washington, D.C. (Jan. 6, page 1124). National Commission on Water Quality—Announces public hearings on its draft report "Impacts of the 1972 Federal Water Pollution Control Act"; Jan. 10 in Chicago and in San Francisco, Jan. 12 in Fort Worth and in Boston, and Jan. 19 in Washington, D.C. (Dec. 16, page 58354). National Institutes of Health—Announces three public hearings to seek information from scientific community on its grants peer review system; Feb. 12 in Chicago, Feb. 19 in San Francisco, Feb. 26 in Bethesda, Md. (Dec. 8, page 57235). Office of the Federal Register—Tells of two public briefings on howto use the register, including a session on the history of the register, the difference between legislation and regulation, and a session on problem solving exercises; Jan. 21 and Jan. 22 in Washington, D.C. (Dec. 19, page 58898).
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