ONE HUNDRED FIFTH CONGRESS TOM BUILEY, VIRGINIA, CHAIRMAN W.J. "BILLY" TAUZIN, LOUISIANA JOE BARTON, TEXAS J. DENNIS HASTERT, ILLINOIS FRED UPTON, MICHIGAN CLIFF STEARNS, FLORIDA BILL PAXON, NEW YORK SCOTT L KLUG, WISCONSIN JAMES C. GREENWOOD, PENNSYLVANIA CHARLIE NORWOOD, GEORGIA RICK WHITE, WASHINGTON TOM COBURN, OKLAHOMA RICK LAZIO, NEW YORK BARBARA CUBIN, WYOMING JOHN SHIMIKUS, ILLINOIS JOHN D. DINGELL, MICHIGAN RICK BOUCHER, VIRGINIA THOMAS J. MANTON, NEW YORK KAREN MCCARTHY, MISSOURI DIANA DIGETTE, COLORADO JAMES E. DERDERIAN, CHIEF OF STAFF The Honorable John R. Kasich Chairman Committee on the Budget 309 Cannon House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Dear Mr. Chairman: U.S. House of Representatives Room 2125, Rayburn House Office Building Pursuant to the provisions of Clause 4(g) of Rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives for the 105th Congress and Section 301(d) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, as amended, I am transmitting the Views and Estimates of the Committee on Commerce with respect to the President's Budget Proposal for Fiscal Year 1999. These Views and Estimates reflect the views of the Majority Members of the Committee. It is my understanding that the Minority Members of the Committee plan to transmit separate views to you for your consideration. As always, the Members of the Committee on Commerce stand ready to work with the Members of the Committee on the Budget to develop a budget for Fiscal Year 1999 that is fiscally responsible and continues the principles and goals contained in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. If I can be of any further assistance to you as you proceed with your Committee's deliberations, please do not hesitate to contact me. Sincerely, On Bliley Tom Bliley Enclosure INTRODUCTION Clause 4(g) of Rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives for the 105th Congress and Section 301(d) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, as amended, require each standing committee of the House to submit to the Committee on the Budget (1) its views and estimates with respect to all matters to be set forth in the Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for the ensuing fiscal year which are within its jurisdiction or functions, and (2) an estimate of the total amounts of new budget authority and budget outlays resulting therefrom, to be provided or authorized in all bills and resolutions within its jurisdiction which it intends to be effective during that fiscal year. On February 2, 1998, President Clinton submitted to Congress his proposed budget for Fiscal Year 1999. The Committee on the Budget has requested that committees submit their Views and Estimates by March 16, 1998. - The First Session of the 105th Congress marked an historic event the enactment of H.R. 2015, the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, the first legislation in decades to balance the Federal budget. At the August 5, 1997, bill signing for this Act and its companion legislation, H.R. 2014, the Tax Reform Act of 1997, the President stated: We come here today, Democrats and Republicans, Congress and President, Regrettably, the President's Fiscal Year 1999 budget proposal does not continue the promises of "fiscal order" and "a new government" heralded just months ago. Rather than building on the principles which resulted in the passage of the Balanced Budget Act, the President's proposed budget returns to the old deficit-causing practices of previous years -- more Federal government, huge new spending programs, increased taxes, budget gimmickry, and a failure to abide by the spending caps. The Committee on Commerce does not intend to turn the clock back as the President has chosen to do. It is firmly committed to work for enactment of fiscally responsible legislation that will provide a leaner, more efficient Federal government by eliminating unnecessary Federal bureaucracies and burdensome regulations and by streamlining the programs necessary for the protection of the environment and the public health and safety of all Americans. The Committee on Commerce played a major role in the development of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, and the Committee intends to keep the promises to the American people 2 contained therein for "fiscal order" and "a new government." The American people deserve no less. The Committee's Views and Estimates on the President's Fiscal Year 1999 budget proposal dated February 2, 1998, for programs within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Commerce are contained in the following pages. CONSUMER PROTECTION Consumer Product Safety Commission The President's budget proposal contains a budget increase for the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) for Fiscal Year 1999 of $1.5 million, for a total of $46.5 million. This is a 10 percent increase from Fiscal Year 1997 direct expenditures, and a 3 percent increase from Fiscal Year 1998 appropriations. The Committee is disappointed that the CPSC's budget request included no mention of implementing the recommendations of the General Accounting Office (GAO) report dated September 1997, entitled Consumer Product Safety Commission: Better Data Needed to Help Identify and Analyze Potential Hazards (GAO HEHS-97-147). In this report, GAO found several glaring deficiencies in the CPSC's data collection, project tracking, and data analysis. While the Committee believes that the CPSC has been making positive strides in improving its effectiveness in a number of areas, there is continuing concern over the CPSC's inadequate methodology and insufficient public disclosure regarding its processes for project selection, analysis, and development of voluntary standards. In the First Session of the 105th Congress, the Committee held hearings on reauthorization of the Consumer Product Safety Commission and is currently preparing CPSC reauthorization legislation. Pending enactment of such legislation and implementation by the CPSC of GAO's recommendations, the Committee does not believe that further funding increases for the CPSC are appropriate at this time. Federal Trade Commission In the President's Fiscal Year 1999 budget proposal, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), an independent agency charged with administering nearly 40 different statutes, requests new budget authority of $113 million for Fiscal Year 1999, an increase of 5.6 percent over their estimated budget authority for Fiscal Year 1998. Much of the agency's budget authority is offset by Hart-Scott-Rodino merger fees. These fees are estimated to amount to $83 million in FY 1998 and $86 million for FY 1999 and will represent a 5 percent increase in merger fee 3 The 104th Congress enacted legislation to reauthorize the FTC through FY 1998 (P.L. 104-216). The Committee will again consider reauthorization legislation during the Second Session of the 105th Congress. While the FTC's request goes beyond current services to fund an additional 19 FTEs, it represents only a 1.8 percent increase over the FY 1998 authorized level. Because the Committee understands that the additional FTEs are intended to be used for consumer protection enforcement on the Internet, the Committee does not object to the agency's request. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration The President's Fiscal Year 1999 budget proposal recommends several initiatives for funding the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), an administration in the Department of Transportation (DOT). First, the President's budget again recommends that all funding for the agency be taken from the highway trust fund, instead of funding most of the agency's administration and automobile safety mission from the general treasury, as is presently the case. Second, the President's budget recommends a 22 percent increase in the agency's overall budget over FY 1998 enacted levels, to $406 million. NHTSA was last reauthorized in the 1991 Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) (P.L. 102-240). That authorization expired at the end of Fiscal Year 1995. On October 29, 1997, the Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade, and Consumer Protection approved H.R. 2691, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Reauthorization Act of 1997, for Full Committee consideration. That legislation authorized funding for those NHTSA programs within the Committee's jurisdiction for Fiscal Years 1998 through 2000 at $87.4 million annually. This amount matches the President's request made in the President's highway safety proposal and the FY 1999 budget request. While the Committee and the President concur on the overall funding levels for the agency, there is disagreement about the source of the agency's funds. The President's budget proposes the creation of a new "Transportation Fund for America," which would incorporate all of the existing transportation trust funds. Currently, the highway trust fund only funds the highway and driver safety portion of NHTSA's operations, while the automobile safety portions have traditionally been funded through year-to-year appropriations from general revenues. The Committee is concerned that such a change in funding schemes could place vital automobile safety programs in competition with other transportation priorities, possibly threatening the availability of resources for those programs, as well as the agency's flexibility to meet challenges as they arise, such as the recently discovered problems with air bags. The Committee intends to complete consideration of H.R. 2691 in the Second Session and to work toward enactment of this legislation before Congress adjourns sine die. |