ADVISORY COMMISSION ON INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS STATEMENT OF WILLIAM R. MacDOUGALL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ACCOMPANIED BY: DAVID B. WALKER, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FRANKLIN A. STEINKO, JR., ASSISTANT то EXECUTIVE Federal Funds SALARIES AND EXPENSES For expenses necessary to carry out the provisions of the Act of September 24, 1959 (73 Stat. 703–706). [$718,000] $765,000. (Treasury, Post Office, and Executive Office Appropriations Act, 1972.) Selected resources as of June 30 are as follows: Unpaid undelivered orders, 1970, $47,000; 1971, $50,000; 1972, $50,000; 1973, $50,000. OBJECT CLASSIFICATION (IN THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS) 1 Includes all permanent personnel some of whom were assigned for short periods to special projects and paid in part from the advances and reimbursements accounts in 1971 and 1972 and the contributions account in 1971. BUDGET REQUEST Senator MONTOYA. The next item is the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations. The 1972 appropriation was $733,000. The amended estimate for fiscal 1973 is $794.000, or an increase of $61,000. COMMISSION ESTABLISHMENT AND FUNCTION This Commission was established by Public Law 86-380, on September 24, 1959. It attempts to monitor the operation of the federal system, to identify and analyze causes of tensions and conflicts within the government. The total permanent personnel remains at 35, the same as in 1972. PREPARED STATEMENT Senator MONTOYA. Mr. MacDougall, you may proceed with your prepared statement. In the interest of conserving time, if you agree, we will make it a part of the record and you may proceed to highlight the statement. (The statement follows:) Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, my name is William R. MacDougall. It has been my privilege to serve as Executive Director of the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations since my appointment to that post in March 1970. I am accompanied today, Mr. Chairman, by David B. Walker and John Shannon, the Commission's Assistant Directors, and Assistant to the Executive Director, Franklin Steinko. Mr. Chairman, the statement that we have submitted to the Committee in support of our budget request for fiscal 1973 calls attention to the special place that the Commission occupies in the governmental structure of our nation. The Commission is unique in its mission which, in effect, is to monitor the operation of the federal system. The Commission's permanence also is unique. Unlike temporary commissions that come and go, ACIR is a permanent agency. It has the opportunity to assist policy makers at all levels to initiate changes that will strengthen and improve the American federal system. Third, the Commission's financial support is unique. Although its basic operation is supported by Congressional appropriations, the Commission also receives token contributions from state and local governments as well as contributions from nonprofit organizations and grants from private foundations and occasionally from other Federal agencies. Finally, the Commission is unique in its composition-and this, we think, is of singular importance. Its bipartisan membership includes representatives from the legislative and executive branches of all levels of government-Federal, state and local-as well as the general public. Your colleagues, Senators Edmund Muskie and Sam Ervin authored the legislation creating ACIR and from the beginning they have been two of the members representing this House. The third member is Senator Karl Mundt. The members from the other House are Congressmen L. H. Fountain and Al Ullman, and Congresswoman Florence P. Dwyer. Representing the Executive Branch of the Federal government are Secretary of Housing and Urban Development George Romney, Presidential Counsellor Robert Finch and Office of Management and Budget Director Shultz. Other members of the Commission include four governors, three state legislators, four mayors, three elected county officials and three public members. Appropriation Request for Fiscal Year 1973 For the 1973 fiscal year the Commission requests an appropriation of $794,000, an increase of $61,000 over the amount initially appropriated for the current fiscal year. The difference between the initial appropriation and the estimated obligations for this fiscal year reflects the added costs resulting from the Congressionally authorized pay increase which became effective in January 1972. The entire additional $61,000 would go to personnel costs. It would cover the currently higher authorized pay levels during fiscal 1973 and allows for no increase in the Commission staff of 35 permanent, full-time positions. During the 89th Congress, the House and Senate Subcommittees on Intergovernmental Relations held joint hearings as part of a five-year review of ACIR. Last fall, these same subcommittees again held a joint hearing as part of a 10-year review of the Commission's work. Although the findings from the most recent hearing have not yet been issued, the reports issued following the fiveyear hearings contained a number of specific and very sound recommendations which have been or are being carried out. One of these was a recommendation for increased emphasis on implementation of the Commission's policy proposals. With modest increases in personnel and recent staff reorganization, the Commission has increased its implementation efforts, including its educational and informational activities. The implementation program is coordinated by a full-time professional staff member under the immediate supervision of the Executive Director. Strong reliance also is placed on the expertise of ACIR's technical staff members. With the personnel and procedures that have been added, the staff can now do a more efficient job of keeping abreast of current developments at all levels of government and, more importantly, can see to it that the Commission's research findings and recommendations are called to the attention of decision makers and their staff advisors in a timely and appropriate manner. The staff also is better able to respond to the requests for consultation and assistance that are received from national, regoinal and state organizations of public officials and from individual states and localities. I might add, Mr. Chairman, we are in the process of developing ways of further strengthening this vital area of our Commission's activities with existng personnel. Contributions and Grants As I mentioned earlier, Mr. Chairman, the Commission relies primarily on direct Congressional appropriations for its financial support. In fact, the original ACIR statute did not permit the Commission to receive funds from non-Federal sources. However, following the joint review by the House and Senate Intergovernmental Relations Subcommittees during the 89th Congress, the ACIR Act was amended to authorize the Commission to accept contributions from state and local governments and organizations thereof and from nonprofit organizations including private foundations. Accordingly, we now invite the states, large cities and heavily populated urban counties to make annual token contributions to the Commission. The total amount of money involved is relatively small but it has symbolic significance. We believe that the Commission's independence and objectivity is enhanced by reason of the fact that its financial support, as well as its membership is intergovernmental in character. It is estimated that the Commission will receive about $51,000 from these sources during the current fiscal year and about $65,000 in FY '73. In addition, the Commission receives about $5,000 from miscellaneous nonprofit organizations. For the most part, these contributions are in lieu of honoraria to staff members who address or participate in conferences sponsored by these organizations. Our budget justification that was submitted in early March. Mr. Chairman, reported that the Commission had received a grant of 102,000 from the Ford Foundation. This grant is being used to support a project to develop methods |