Page Two
THE NEW BERN MIRROR, NEW BERN, N. C.
Friday, April 13, 1973
SENATOR
SAM ERVIN
- SAYS
■fr
In the growing furore over the
rising cost of living, the
President has sought to focus
attention on the Congress and
has urged the people to assist
him in holding down Federal
spending.
I am pleased that the
President has recognized the
urgency of putting this Nation’s
financial house in order,
something I have advocated for
many years. I am concerned,
however, that the President has
dealt with this problem in a
manner that would make it
appear that if it were not for the
Congress many of our country’s
financial troubles would fade
away. The truth is that
Congress is not composed of
wild-eyed spendthrifts nor is the
ESSOTANE
GAS SERVICE
■ FOR
COOKING, HOT WATER
t HEATING
TANKS FURNISHED FREE
Scott Gas Co.
2?1 Middle Ph. 637-3179
(Product Humble Oil Co.)
President an embattled
crusader against wasteful
spending. What is going on is
really a disagreement between
the President and the country
over spending priorities and his
authority to pick and choose
what programs he will fund and
what programs he will not fund.
For example, while the
President has been urging a
reduction in spending, he has
also been insisting that it is his
prerogative to give billions of
dollars in aid to the North
Vietnam Government. To my
mind and to the minds of
millions of Americans this give
away is foolish and in the long
run could be disastrous to the
cause for which Americans
gave their lives in Southeast
Asia. So, last week, by a vote of
88 to 3, the Senate voted to bar
any aid to North Vietnam unless
the Congress expressly ap
proves it.
When all is said there is
enough blame for the Congress
and the President too in the
matter of fiscal responsibility.
The Nixon Adminis^ation has
achieved a record in running up
unbalanced budgets. In fact,
during the Nixon years there
has not been a single year when
the Treasury has come close to
balancing the budget. It is
estimated that the red ink for
fiscal 1969 through fiscal 1973
will total $111.7 billion, and
another $29.7 billion deficit is in
FIRMS YOU CAN DEPEND ON-
V
NIW RUN. north CaROUMA 2tS*0
124 riHST ST PHONE ME 7-200S
ttccixit tr t^uifinicnl Co.
120 riAST ST
PHONE ME 7 5961
prospect even if Congress
adheres strictly to the
President’s own fiscal 1974
budget request. If the President
had been prefectly candid on
this subject, he would have
acknowlMged that not many
months ago he was produly
proclaiming that he was a
devotee of the Keynesian
philosophy. In plain English,
that simply meant that he did
not object to-deficit spending by
the Congress.
Since there is much misin
formation abroad on this
subject, I wish to make it clear
that I have not changed my
views on economy in govern
ment. I did not favor President
Nixon’s revenue-sharing bill
Congress passed and which will
cost the taxpayers more than
$33 billion; nor did I favor the
President’s proposed
“guaranteed annual income’’
bill which Congress did not
pass; nor do I favor the
President’s plan or any other'
plan to give North Vietnam
billions ^ American dollars
which we will have to borrow.
What has been lost sight of in
this debate is the fact that
Congress is making many ef
forts to restore fi^al respon
sibility in government. Last
week, I co-authored the Muskie-
Ervin Amendment to the dollar
devaluation bill which was
approved by the Senate. That
Amendment would impose a
$268 billion ceiling on Federal
spending for fiscal 1974, $700
million less than the President’s
own budget request. The bill
would also give the President
authority to make uniform
reductions in spending, except
for programs like social
security, but provides that any
impoundment of monies ap
propriated by Congress would
have to be approved by the
Congress within 60 days.
I have objected to the
President’s decisions to im
pound certain monies for
[X’ogram he does not like or for
programs he does not wish to
fund such as highway con
struction. The 8th Circuit Court
of Appeals recently upheld my
views in respect to im
poundment by saying that the
Secretary of transportation
could not ignore the law
established by Congress in
respect to the disbursement of
highway trust funds even cordance
though his pio
been laudable.
with the con-
lurpose may have stitutional powers vested in
him. I cannot suppwt : his
In essence, I will support the actions when they usurp the
President when he undertakes constitutional authority of
to practice economy in ac- Congress.
YOUIL PROBABLY FIND IT AT
Askeu)\ Inc.
HARDWARE
AND
BUILDING SUPPLIES
1101-3-5 Pollock Street
Highway 17 South
NEW BERN
PANASONIC
8 TRACK STEREO TAPE PLAYER
for Tape Cartridge
CX-325EU
LAFAYETTE
NAOIO V L e C T It O N I C 6
ASSOC'
SIOR
I
Corner Neuse Blvd. & Longview Drive
DIAL 638-3858
Authorized Panasonic Servicenter