EMERGENCY AGRICULTURAL ACT OF 1978 cfiscal HEARING BEFORE A SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE NINETY-FIFTH CONGRESS 1771 The subcommittee met at 9:30 a.m., in room 1318, Everett McKinley Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Thomas F. Eagleton (chairman presiding). Present: Senators Eagleton, Stennis, Burdick, and Bellmon. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE STATEMENT OF HOWARD W. HJORT, DIRECTOR OF ECONOMICS, POLICY ANALYSIS AND BUDGET ACCOMPANIED BY: STEVE DEWHURST, ACTING BUDGET OFFICER OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR EAGLETON Senator EAGLETON. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture Rural Development and Related Agencies, is now in session to consider H.R. 6782, the Emergency Agricultural Act of 1978, which was reported by the Senate Agriculture Committee and referred to this committee. The committee is meeting today to review one of the most important pieces of legislation that is likely to be considered by the Congress in this session-the Emergency Agricultural Act of 1978. This bill was reported by the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee after the committee held extensive hearings on the situation faced by American agriculture. According to the report accompanying this bill: "These hearings, which were concluded on March 10, involved more actual producer participation than any other recent hearings held by the Committee." H.R. 6782 has been referred to the Appropriations Committee under section 401 of the Budget Impoundment and Control Act of 1974, (Public Law 93-344), which requires that new entitlement authoritynew spending authority mandated by law-be referred to the Appropriations Committee if such a bill or resolution exceeds the allocation of new budget authority for the fiscal year in the most currently agreed to concurrent resolution. I shall place in the record at the conclusion of my remarks the full text of section 401 of the Budget Act. (1) |