GENERAL STATEMENT Mr. OTERO. Mr. Chairman, may I emphasize the tremendous importance for the commission that this amount that is requested as a supplemental appropriation be approved to allow the committee to get under way? The commission right now is acting on borrowed time and on borrowed space from a number of other agencies, and the approval of this supplemental appropriation for fiscal year 1979 would allow us to get under way, subject to your considering the proposed budget as a whole for the overall life of the commission. AMOUNTS REQUESTED TO REMAIN AVAILABLE UNTIL EXPENDED Mr. SLACK. Both in the 1978 and also in the 1980 request you propose that the amounts remain available until expended; is that correct? Mr. OTERO. That is correct. Mr. SLACK. What is the authority in the law for that language? MS. ARROWSMITH. We would like to have no year money so that we can have the money Mr. SLACK. The question is, do you have authority in law to do that? MS. ARROWSMITH. I am afraid I don't know, myself. Mr. SLACK. Does the authorization provide for that? Ms. ARROWSMITH. Oh, yes. Mr. SLACK. It does provide for that. MS. ARROWSMITH. It would not prohibit it. Mr. SLACK. But it doesn't provide for it, does it? Ms. ARROWSMITH. That is right. Mr. SLACK. Since it isn't authorized, it would be considered as legislation and therefore would be subject to a point of order on the floor of the House, if we let it stay. MS. ARROWSMITH. Usually these laws have specific authorization for the money to be available until expended? Mr. SLACK. It has to be. MS. ARROWSMITH. Perhaps we should put that in the amendment. BASIS OF REQUEST Mr. SLACK. The supplemental request is premised on the availability of funds as of what date? Ms. ARROWSMITH. We are hoping that the money could be available to us by June 1. Mr. SLACK. Suppose it is not until August? Ms. ARROWSMITH. That would be a problem. I understand that legislation will come out at the end of May, so we did the budget figures as of June 1. Mr. SLACK. We are talking about a supplemental appropriation. MS. ARROWSMITH. Yes. Mr. SLACK. We are not talking about legislation. We are talking about the supplemental appropriation. MS. ARROWSMITH. I understand. Mr. SLACK. Suppose it didn't come out until August, you wouldn't need the $224,000 then, would you? 44-119 O - 79-27 Ms. ARROWSMITH. The work would just have to go on longer at the other end, I am afraid. Mr. SLACK. But that money would not MS. ARROWSMITH. It will be very tight with the $224,000 as it is, but perhaps we would have to hire some consultants or some special experts to try and get moving so that we can get this under way as fast as possible. Mr. SLACK. I don't think you understand my question. Ms. ARROWSMITH. I understand. Mr. SLACK. Suppose this supplemental is not enacted until, say, the end of August. You stated that you anticipated this money on the basis of what? Ms. ARROWSMITH. June 1. Mr. SLACK. June 1, so you have June, July, and August, and so you would not need the full $224,000. You would need that amount less the 3 months' pay, would you not? MS. ARROWSMITH. I am sure that we could find ways to speed up the program. Mr. SLACK. Speed it up or spend it? MS. ARROWSMITH. To speed it up, sir, because as it is, I had originally projected that we would need $375,000 for this fiscal year, but when I realized that it would be very complicated to try to get this subcommittee to agree to the amount in addition to the amount already requested in the President's budget, we streamlined the program for 1979 in order to bring ourselves within the $224,000. SERVICE OF FUNDS Mr. SLACK. Are you getting resources from any other government agencies? Ms. ARROWSMITH. No, there are no resources available yet. MS. ARROWSMITH. The Justice Department has graciously already supplied three people, including myself. They are covering my salary temporarily, that of a secretary, and a detailee. We are in some space that they are graciously lending us, although we are getting pushed out. Mr. SLACK. Where is that space? Ms. ARROWSMITH. We are in the Safeway Building where the interagency task force used to be. The people on the rest of the floor have already been promised the space, and are very anxious to get it, so we are having problems. Mr. SLACK. Where is the space that you are now? Ms. ARROWSMITH. In the Safeway building. MS. ARROWSMITH. The Safeway building. Mr. SLACK. Where is that? MS. ARROWSMITH. 521 12th Street, a private building leased by the Justice Department. Mr. SLACK. How much room do you have there? Ms. ARROWSMITH. We have four rooms. Mr. SLACK. Do you have furniture, desks, and so forth? MS. ARROWSMITH. Right. These have been left over from the previous body, the interagency task force. I keep expecting movers to come every day and take them away. They have already been tagged by a part of the Justice Department that is waiting for this furniture. Mr. SLACK. Mr. O'Brien, do you have questions regarding the supplemental requests for fiscal year 1979? Mr. O'BRIEN. No. I may have some to offer for the record, Mr. Chairman, but I don't have any at the moment. Mr. SLACK. We thank you for your appearance before the committee, and we wish you well. You have a very, very difficult task. Mr. OTERO. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. SLACK. Let's try to not wait 2 more years to decide the way to travel on this immigration policy. MS. ARROWSMITH. Right, and the sooner we have the money, the sooner we can get under way to do the job. Mr. SLACK. We will help as best we can. Ms. ARROWSMITH. Thank you. Mr. OTERO. Mr. Chairman, on behalf of the commission as a whole, I want to thank you for the time that you have given us, and we hope that you will favorably dispose of the supplemental appropriation. Mr. SLACK. Thank you, sir. Mr. OTERO. Thank you, sir. Thank you, Mr. O'Brien. Mr. O'BRIEN. Thank you. SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION TUESDAY, MARCH 27, 1979. WITNESSES A. VERNON WEAVER, ADMINISTRATOR WILLIAM H. MAUK, JR., DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR HERBERT T. MILLS, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF BUDGET AND FINANCE Mr. SMITH. We have a supplemental request which we will consider for $620 million for the disaster loan program. We will insert the justification at this point in the record. [The information follows:] For an additional capital for the "Disaster Loan Fund, available without fiscal year limitation. " EXPLANATION OF LANGUAGE $620,000,000; to remain This request will provide the funds necessary to assist the victims of storms and flooding in the Northeast, Midwest, and Southwest. In addition, funds will be required to provide the financial assistance to victims of agricultural drought in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Michigan and other states adversely affected. The request also provides $6 million for the cost of salaries and related expenses required in the processing of loan applications associated with the above program levels. adjustment to the President's FY 1979 rescisThese funds will be made available through an sion request of Salaries and Expenses Fund. This supplemental request for $620 million is required to provide financial assistance Current estimates of Physical Disaster approvals for FY 1979 indicate that the demand |