CONGRESSIONAL RECORD- SENATE December 22, 1973

a feasibility study and to accept a gift from

the United States Capitol Historical Society;

H.J. Res. 865. Joint resolution authorizing

the President to proclaim March 29, 1974, as

"Vietnam Veterans Day";

H.R. 1316. An act for the relief of Claude V.

Alcorn and 21 others;

H.R. 1920. An act to designate the portion

of the project for flood control protection on

Chartiers Creek that is within Allegheny

County, Pa., as the "James 0. Fulton Flood

Protection Project";

H.R. 2303. An act to continue mandatory

price support for tung nuts only through the

1976 crop;

H.R. 4738. An act to provide for the striking of medals in commemoration of the 100th

anniversary of the statehood of Colorado;

H.R. 5760. An act to provide for the striking of medals commemorating the International Exposition on Environment at Spokane,

Wash., in 1974;

H.R. 5874. An act to establish a Federal

Financing Bank, to provide for coordinated

and more efficient financing of Federal and

federally assisted borrowings from the public, and for other purposes;

H.R. 6758. An act to amend chapter 33 of

title 28 of the District of Columbia Code

relating to'usury, and for other purposes;

and

H.R. 10806. An act to amend the District

of Columbia Minimum Wage Act so as to enable airline employees to exchange days at

regular rates of compensation, and for other

purposes.

On December 31, 1973:

H.R. 8449. An act to expand the national

flood insurance program by substantially

increasing limits of coverage and total

amount of insurance authorized to be out- standing and by requiring known flood-prone

communities to participate in the program,

and for other purposes; and

H.R. 11333. An act to provide a 7-percent

increase in social security benefits beginning

with March 1974 and an additional 4-percent

increase beginning with June 1974, to provide

increases in supplemental security income

benefits, and for other purposes.

On January 2, 1974:

H.R. 3733. An act to authorize the American Battle Monuments Commission to assume control of overseas war memoials

erected by private persons and non-Federal

and foreign agencies and to demolish such

was memorials in certain instances;

H.R. 8529. An act to implement the shrimp

fishing agreement with Brazil, and for other

purposes;

. H.R. 9142. An act to authorize and direct

the maintenance of adequate and efficient rail

services in the Midwest and Northeast region

of the United States, and for other purposes;

H.R. 11238. An act to amend the act of

March 16, 1926 (relating to the Board of

Public Welfare in the District of Columbia),

to provide for an improved system of adoption of children in the District of Columbia,

and for other purposes;

H.R. 11372. An act to conserve energy on

the Nation's highways;

H.R. 11575. An act making appropriations

for the Department-of Defense for the fiscal

year ending June 30, 1974, and for other

purposes; and

H.R. 11771. An act making appropriations

for foreign assistance and related- programs

for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1974, and

for other purposes.

On January 3, 1974:

H.R. 11576. An act making supplemental

appropriations for the fiscal year ending

June 30, 1974, and for other purposes.

HOUSE BILL DISAPPROVED AFTER

SINE DIE ADJOURNMENT-URBAN

MASS TRANSPORTATION ACT

The President announced his disapproval of the following bill with a memorandum of disapproval as follows:

I regret that I cannot approve H.R.

10511, a bill to amend the Urban Mass

Transportation Act of 1964. Unfortunately, this bill has evolved so as to become an anti-transit measure.

In its favor is the fact that H.R. 10511

would facilitate the use of Urban Mass

Transportation monies for the purchase

of buses by allowing such equipment to

be used for charter services. Unfortunately, however, the bill would leave in

effect the prohibition against ising buses

purchased with Federal-Aid Highway

funds in charter activities. By creating

different standards for the purchase of

buses from the two programs, the bill

would discourage the use of highway

funds for mass transit purposes. It would

thus undermine one of the central

achievements of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1973, the provision giving

greater flexibility to States and commu- nities in meeting their transportation

problems. This we cannot afford.

I strongly supported legislation which

applied uniformly to both the FederalAid Highway program and the Urban

Mass Transportation program. The Senate version of the bill provided flexibility, encouraging bus purchases from both

of these funding sources. It is essential

that our communities' mass transit com- panies can use their buses to produce

badly needed charter revenues, and I

will continue to press for this balanced

flexibility.

As we face gasoline shortages and an increasing demand for public transportation, we should do all we can to afford

local officials genuine flexibility to use Federal-Aid Highway funds to improve

mass transit if they so desire. I am withholding my signature from H.R.

10511 because this legislation would work

directly against that objective.

I urge the Congress to act early in the

next session to relax the charter prohibition uniformly with respect to both

the Federal-Aid Highway program and

the Urban Mass Transportation program.

If this action is taken promptly, our mass transit systems need not suffer any ad- verse consequences.

RICHARD NIXON. THE WHITE HOUSE, January 3, 1974.

PUBLIC BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS

Under clause 4 of rule XXII, public

bills.and resolutions were introduced and

severally referred as follows:

By Mr. STAGGERS:

H.R. 12150. A bill to amend the Public

Health Service Act so as to expand the au- thority of the Nationlal Institute of Arthritis,

Metabolism, and Digestive Diseases in order

t6'advance a national attack on arthritis; to

tle Committee on Interstate and Foreign

Commerce.

By Mr. GUNTER (for himself, Mr.

LEHMAN, Mr. RoE, and Mr. MATSUNAGA) :

H. Res. 762. Resolution creating a select

committee to conduct an investigation and

study of the role of the oil and gas industry

in contributing to the current energy crisis;

to the Committee on Rules.

SENATE-Saturday, December 22, 1973

The Senate met at 1 p.m. and was

called to order by the Acting President

pro tempore (Mr. METCALF).

PRAYER

The Chaplain, the Reverend Edward

L. R. Elson, D.D., offered the following

prayer:

Our Father God, who has illumined all

history by the shining light of Bethlehem, we thank Thee for its message moving upon our human hearts, that makes

us all children again, believing in the

herald angels, singing with the watching shepherds, worshipping with the ancient kings.

For such a time as this may its message

of "peace on earth, good will toward

men" penetrate all hearts and guide all

nations, that sin may be forgiven and

suffering relieved by the worldwide reign

of the Spirit incarnate in the Child of

Bethlehem.

When our worship and festivities are over, send us all, like the shepherds and

sages of old, back to the daily round

different men and women to make different homies and different cities and different nations because we acknowledge the

Lord of Life not on one day only but on all days. So let Thy light spread and Thy

will be done, and the theme of the angels

be the aim of all men.

Through Him who is born to be King

of all life. Amen.

MESSAGE FROM THE HOUSE

A message from the House of Representatives, by Mr. Hackney, one of its

reading clerks, announced that the House

had passed a bill (H.R. 7684) for the

relief of Nicola Lomuscio, in which it

requested the concurrence of the Senate.

The message also announced that the

House had agreed to a concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 412) providing for the

sine die adjournment of the 1st session

of the 93d Congress, in which it requested the concurrence of the Senate.

ENROLLED BILLS SIGNED

The message further announced that

the Speaker had affixed his signature to

the following enrolled bills:

H.R. 1920. An act to designate the portion

of the project for flood control protection on Chartiers Creek that is within Allegheny

County, Pa., as the "James G. Fulton flood

protection project";

H.R. 3733. An act to authorize the Ameri- can Battle Monuments Commission to as- sume control of overseas war memorials

43328