The Committee recommends supplemental amounts as requested by the Veterans Administration to finance the provisions of the new Veterans Readjustment Benefits Act of 1966. This includes $19,320,000 for general operating expenses and $327,000,000 for readjustment benefits payments. The law generally extends eligibility for veteran benefits to those serving in the Armed Services after January 31, 1955. This new GI Bill authorizes eligibility for benefits for 4,000,000 new veterans and at the present rate the number will increase about 500,000 per year. About 800,000 are expected to apply for benefits of one kind or another in 1967, and a monthly average of 240,000 students are expected to be in training. The new benefits have not previously been funded, but payments currently are being made on an interim basis under the terms of the continuing resolution. SELECT COMMISSION ON WESTERN HEMISPHERE IMMIGRATION In the new Immigration and Naturalization Act, approved October 3, 1965, authorization is provided for a new Select Commission on Western Hemisphere Immigration. This Commission is an independent agency composed of fifteen members, five from the House, five from the Senate, and five appointed by the President. The Chairman is a former Director of the Bureau of the Census. The Commission is required by law to make two reports, an interim report by July 1, 1967, and a final report by January 15, 1968. The Commission must then complete its work within sixty days after filing its final report. The Budget proposed $900,000 and the Committee recommends $800,000 for the full seventeen months the Commission will function. The Committee expects the Commission to complete its work and make its recommendations pursuant to Public Law 89-236 within this total appropriation. SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS FOR 1967 DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT URBAN RENEWAL PROGRAMS Two-year advance funding was first provided for urban renewal grants in the Independent Offices Appropriation Act, 1966, when the program was funded with annual appropriations instead of long-term contract authorizations (back door financing). The Committee reiterated its position last spring that this program should continue to be funded by this direct method of financing. This gives communities the necessary lead-time to plan their programs, and provides an opportunity for the Congress to review program developments on a current basis. The Committee has thus invited this direct financing both in regular and supplemental bills. The use of funds continues to be limited to new grants in 1968 financed by this appropriation, and commitments on projects currently in the pipeline. The budget proposes $750,000,000 for new grants next year, and the Committee has approved the budget request. Cumulative grant approvals will exceed $6,000,000,000 before the end of the current fiscal year. At the present commitment rate this full amount will be required. URBAN MASS TRANSPORTATION GRANTS The Congress approved $55,000,000 in the Independent Offices Appropriation Act, 1967, for advance funding of mass transportation grants for fiscal year 1968. This fully funded the authorization for appropriations at the time, but Congress has recently extended the program. The Committee is therefore recommending additional funding of $65,000,000. This will make $131,800,000 available for such grants next year, including $11,800,000 scheduled to be carried forward from fiscal 1967. The current appropriation for 1967 is $130,000,000. The bill also contains $75,000 for administrative expenses related to new program activities authorized by the recent amendments. The Committee has made a reduction of $35,000 from the amount requested. FEDERAL NATIONAL MORTGAGE ASSOCIATION The Congress has greatly increased the borrowing authority and other activities of the FNMA under recent legislation. The borrowing base of the Association is increased by Public Law 89-566 from ten to fifteen times its capital and surplus. The volume of new mortgage commitments and purchases FNMA expects this year as a result has risen to $2,300,000,000 from the earlier estimate of $900,000,000. This is more than double earlier projections. An increase of $850,000 is requested in the limitation on administrative expenses to administer this new workload. The increase is for the use of corporate funds and the Committee recommends the budget estimate. GENERAL PROVISION Congress recently has amended the Administrative Expenses Act of 1946 in Public Law 89-516 to provide more equitable reimbursement to civilian employees in all departments of the Government for moving expenses in certain categories. This relates largely to moving of families and household furniture from station to station. The Bureau of the Budget has submitted language modifying Sec. 102 of the Independent Offices Appropriation Act, 1967, to permit limitations on travel expenses imposed by that act to be revised as necessary to cover this increased cost. The Committee is in accord with this request and recommends the modifying language as proposed in the budget estimate. Department or activity H. Doc. COMPARATIVE STATEMENT OF BUDGET ESTIMATES AND AMOUNTS RECOMMENDED IN THE BILL Budget estimates Recommended in bill Bill compared with Administrative expenses, urban transportation activities_ Total, Department of Housing and Urban Development---| Total, chapter III. 65, 000, 000 75, 000 -30, 000, 000 -35, 000 (850, 000) 1, 192, 330, 000 MANAGEMENT OF LANDS AND RESOURCES The Committee recommends $800,000, a reduction of $500,000 be- low the budget estimate, for the rehabilitation of public lands burned over during a series of wildfires which occurred during the summer of 1966 in eleven Western States, and to salvage salable timber damaged in the Oxbow Ridge fire in Western Oregon. The budget estimate included $706,900 for the rehabilitation of burned over lands in Oregon, and $200,000 for offering and administer- ing the sale of 150 million board feet of salvable timber damaged in the recent Oxbow Ridge fire in Western Oregon. The Committee is of the opinion that $500,000 of the rehabilitation funds should be funded from the Oregon and California grant lands fund, and so di- rects that such action be taken. The justifications stated that the sale of the additional 150 million board feet of salvable timber damaged in the Oxbow Ridge fire will return approximately $3,000,000 in reve- Twenty-five percent of this income would revert to the O & C grant lands fund. In addition, it was developed by testimony given at the hearing on this request that the O & C grant lands fund receipts originally estimated at $8,625,000 have now increased to approxi- mately $10,000,000 due in large part to the increased prices for timber. This is an increase of about $1.3 million in receipts and will provide additional funds for the maintenance and protection of Federal lands in Oregon. It is the opinion of the Committee that part of this addi- tional revenue should be used for the administration and management of the public lands in Oregon rather than appropriating non-reim- bursable funds out of the Treasury of the United States for all of the EDUCATION AND WELFARE SERVICES The Committee recommends $2,150,000, a reduction of $350,000 |