EMERGENCY RAIL FUNDING

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP77M00144R000800080008-1
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 12, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 17, 2001
• Sequence Number: 8
• Content Type: OPEN

Approved For Release 2002/01/10 : CIA-RDP77M00144R000800080008-1
Emergency Rail Funding
The House Feb. 20 passed by a 273-134 vote the legisla-
tion (H J Res 210) appropriating supplemental funds in
fiscal 1975 for bankrupt Northeast and Midwest railroads.
(Vote 11, p.414)
The bill contained $125-million in interim operating
assistance for the bankrupt railroads, with the bulk of the
money going to Penn Central Railroad. The Erie
Lackawanna Railroad would get the second largest amount,
approximately $25-million.
The railroads had exhausted interim funds provided by
the 1973 Regional Rail Reorganization Act and had said
they would have to cease operations if additional funds were
not appropriated. (1973 Act, 1973 Almanac p. 465)
H J Res 210 also contained $17.2-million for the renova-
tion and maintenance of a vacated Federal Bureau of
Investigation building that the House leadership wanted
for additional office space.
An amendment adding the $25-million for the Erie
Lackawanna Railroad was adopted by voice vote, the only
change made in the bill on the floor.
A second amendment, proposed by J. Edward Roush (D
Ind.), to delete the funds for renovating the former FBI
building, was rejected by a 170-236 vote. (Vote 10, p. 414)
Committee Report
The House Appropriations Committee reported H J
Res 210 (H Rept 94-14) Feb. 18. The committee said the
$100-million appropriation-the same as that requested by
the administration-was necessary to ensure that
operations of the Northeast and Midwest railroads would
not cease in February. "Cessation... would be felt by
manufacturers and consumers who rely on the railroads for
shipment of raw materials and finished products," the com-
mittee wrote. "Employment losses of this magnitude
associated with a rail shutdown would contribute to the
critical economic situation."
Allocation of Funds
The committee did not earmark the allocation of the
funds by railroad, although it said it expected Penn Central
to receive the largest amount. Instead, funds would be
available to all railroads covered by the Regional Rail
Reorganization Act as well as for maintenance of passenger
service in the Northeast corridor.
The committee said that with enactment of the $100-
million appropriation, Congress would have provided a
total of $485-million in grants and guaranteed loans to the
affected railroads since Jan. 1, 1974. In testimony before the
committee, a Department of Transportation spokesman
said there would be no objection to an additional $25-
million appropriation for the bankrupt Erie Lackawanna
Railroad. No request for this had been submitted to the
committee, however.
The appropriation was opposed by committee member
William L. Armstrong (R Colo.), who said it contributed
nothing to a solution of the railroads' problem. "This
legislation merely shovels another $100-million into a
quagmire which has already consumed hundreds of
millions and will probably cost billions within a few years,"
Armstrong said in additional views. "Until we're ready to
cope with the problem, it seems irresponsible to pour more
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House Office Space
The committee also recommended $17,175,000 for costs
associated with converting a federal office building being
vacated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for use by
the House. The committee said conversion of the building
would add 432,840 square feet of office space; it estimated
that a total of 1,037,500 square feet was needed. The
appropriation was to be used for remodeling, maintenance,
security and equipment costs. 1
PER DIEM ALLOWANCE
House-Feb. 18, by unanimous. consent,, recom-
mitted to the Government Operations Committee HR
2302, to increase the per diem travel allowance of
government employees and to extend it to senators and
their personal staffs.
As reported by the committee Feb. 6 (H Rept 94-5), the
bill would have amended Senate rules to allow senators and
their aides to collect $35 per diem in expenses while travel-
ing to, from and within their home states. Only employees
of Senate committees may receive per diem allowances.
Rep. Jack Brooks (D Texas), chairman of the Govern-
ment Operations Committee, requested that the bill be
returned to his committee after it had been disclosed that
HR 2302 would have made, the allowance available to
senators and their staffs.
The measure came to the floor on the suspension calen-
dar, which meant that it could not be amended on the floor.
Rep. Les Aspin (D Wis.) Feb. 17 had sent letters to all
members disclosing the added benefits to senators. "The
House has got to be kidding," he said. "The new freebie will
allow senators while they are out campaigning to rake off
an extra $35 daily bonus."
Committee Action
The bill as introduced increased. the per diem
allowances for federal employees from $25 to $35 and raised
the maximum allowances for government travel outside the
United States.
The committee amended FIR 2302 to include the
allowances for senators and staff. The amendment was
identical to a provision in a similar bill (S 3341) that was
passed in the 93rd Congress but vetoed by President Ford.
(Weekly Report p. 103)
Earlier Action
The provision had been added to S 3341 by Sen. Charles
H. Percy (R Ill.) in the closing days of the 1974 session. Ac-
cording to Senate aides, the Percy amendment was in-
tended to cover only a senator's personal staffs, not
senators themselves. But subsequently a legislative
drafting error gave senators the per diem allowance as well.
S 3341 including the Percy amendment was pocket
vetoed by Ford after it had been cleared Dec. 17, 1974. This
version also extended the allowance to disabled veterans
traveling to Veterans Administration facilities.
Ford had vetoed HR 2302 on grounds that extending
the per diem to disabled veterans would be inflationary. He
did not object to the per diem allowances for senators. The
new bill did not make disabled veterans eligible for the
benefits.
Staff aides to the Government Operations Committee
1/1 ar ~t %4RJM480 ?&Jl 8 4ore the bill