Page 6 THE BATTALION
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1974
Bill agreed upon for jobs and aid
Authorizes $5.5 billion in funds
WASHINGTON (AP) —
Senate-House conferees agreed
Tuesday on a compromise bill au
thorizing $5.5 billion for thousands
of public service jobs and other new
help for unemployed Americans.
The emergency legislation would
be a companion for a $1.1-billion
emergency unemployment com
pensation bill, designed to guaran
tee most jobless persons a full 52
weeks of benefits, which has cleared
both Senate and House and is await
ing House approval of Senate-
passed minor technical amend
ment.
Later Tuesday, based on the swift
movement of these two bills in Con
gress, the House Appropriations
Committee approved an urgent
money bill including $4 billion for
public service jobs and extended
unemployment compensation be
nefits.
The money measure also would
provide $811.7 million for expanded
veterans benefits, $10.2 million in
interim operating aid for the Penn
Central Railroad under the regional
rail reorganization law, and $2.47
million to begin implementing the
new law on commodities futures
trading. House action on this bill is
expected Wednesday.
The Senate-House conference
committee’s measure is expected to
gain swift congressional action as
well.
“1 think it is a major contribution
to dealing with a very serious crisis,
an economic crisis, in this country,
and fulfills one of the essential ele
ments of the program needed in re
lieving the distress — so far as we
can — of the unemployed,” said
Sen. Jacob K. Javits, R-N. Y.
As the conferees emerged from
their closed-door session, Javits,
senior GOP member of the Senate
Labor Committee, said he iscon-
vinced President Ford willsign the
bill. A House vote on the com
promise could come Wednesday.
The compromise measure would
authorize:
-$2.5 billion for an estimated
330,000 public service jobs covering
a wide range of work from education
and health care to sanitation and
transit employment.
-$500 million for public works
projects and similar job-creating ac
tivities.
j $2.5 billion in emergency un
employment compensation benefits
covering persons presently not enti
tled to such aid. This amount is
based on an estimated average an
nual 6.5 per cent unemployment.
There are an estimated 10 million to
12 million such persons — mainly
farm workers, domestics and state
and local employes.
This package covering the coming
year would be a companion to legis
lation setting up a new federally fi
nanced two-year emergency unem
ployment compensation program
costing roughly $1 billion annually,
bringing benefits in 1975 and 1976
to persons long out of work who
have exhausted existing relief. That
bill also awaits final congressional
action.
Under terms of the compromise,
55 still limit
until April 1
AUSTIN (AP) — The Texas
Highway Commission extended the
55 miles per hour maximum speed
limit Tuesday to April 1.
Even though the limit is required
by federal law, the legislature re
quired the commission to review
the situation every 120 days.
The legislature authorized the
commission in December 1973 to
lower the top speed limit on Texas
highways from 70 miles per hour to
comply with federal law.
*Jtfpfnamba
Eddie Dominguez '66
as outlined by aides to the con
ferees, the money being authorized
for the emergency jobs portion
would be targetedxhrough akor-
mula.
Essentially, it would distribute 50
per cent to all states and areas based
on their share of the number of per
sons unemployed nationally, 25 per
cent to localized pockets of concen
trated unemployment of 6.5 per
cent or higher, and 25 per cent to
larger cities and counties for their
unemployment that is in excess of
4.5 per cent. November’s unemp
loyment nationwide was 6.5 per
cent.
Aides to the conferees said they
expect the average public service
jobs would pay $7,800 a year.
As Congress pushed to adjourn
this week, there were these other
actions:
-Senate and House conferees ap
proved a compromise extending U.
S. military aid to Turkey until Feb.
5.
-The House sent to President
Ford a bill designed to help vete
rans get home loans and to open up
the program to the purchase of con-
dominiu ms.
-A White Housq, spokesman said
Vice President-designate Nelson A.
Rockefeller is scheduled to be
sworn in Thursday night after the
House votes on his nomination.
-President Ford signed a bill pro
viding new national standards for
drinking water.
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