95TH CONGRESS 2d Session } SENATE { REPORT No. 95-794 ESTABLISHING A HUBERT H. HUMPHREY FELLOWSHIP IN SOCIAL AND POLITICAL THOUGHT AT THE WOODROW WILSON INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR SCHOLARS AT THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION MAY 9 (legislative day, APRIL 24), 1978.—Ordered to be printed Mr. PELL, from the Committee on Rules and Administration, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany S. 2730] The Committee on Rules and Administration, to which was referred the bill (S. 2730) to establish a Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship in Social and Political Thought at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars at the Smithsonian Institution and to establish a trust fund to provide a stipend for such fellowship, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass. The bill would amend the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Act of 1968 to provide for the establishment of a Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship in Social and Political Thought at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars at the Smithsonian Institution. Each year a distinguished scholar, statesman, or cultural figure from this country or abroad, selected by the Board of the Woodrow Wilson Center, would be awarded the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship. Each Humphrey fellow would serve for 1 year and be required, in addition to study and research, to deliver a memorial lecture. The bill would also establish a trust fund to provide for such a fellowship which, in addition to providing a stipend and travel expenses for the fellow, would also cover administrative costs, pay for an annual dinner, and publication costs of the lecture. It would authorize a one-time appropriation of $1 million, which would be invested by the Secretary of the U.S. Treasury in public debt securities. The annual interest of such a trust fund account would provide the yearly income to support the fellowship. Interest earned on the appropriation and investment is anticipated to be approximately $63,000 annually. A hearing on the bill was held by the Committee on Rules and Administration on April 25, 1978. A letter from the Deputy General Counsel of the Department of the Treasury expressing the Treasury's objection to the provisions that would allow investment of appropriations to a trust fund, while at the same time lauding the purposes underlying the bill, may be found on page 7 of this report. Dr. James H. Billington, Director of the Center, testified before the committee that the method was legal and had precedent in the act establishing the Harry S. Truman Memorial Scholarships, whereby $30 million was appropriated to create the fund. The Director also testified that a similar method of obtaining interest income within the Treasury involved the Library of Congress and the National Gallery, although the funds invested originally were private ones and not federally appropriated ones. Any additional gifts received for the memorial fellowship program in the future will be deposited into the fund. REGULATORY IMPACT Pursuant to section 5(a) of rule XXIX of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee on Rules and Administration has determined that there will be no regulatory impact as a result of passage of this bill. FIVE-YEAR COST ESTIMATE Hon. CLAIBORNE PELL, CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, U.S. CONGRESS, Washington, D.C., April 11, 1978. Chairman, Committee on Rules and Administration, DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: Pursuant to Section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Congressional Budget Office has prepared the attached cost estimate for S. 2730, the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship in Social and Political Thought bill. Should the Committee so desire, we would be pleased to provide further details on the attached cost estimate. Sincerely, ALICE M. RIVLIN, Director. COST ESTIMATE APRIL 11, 1978. 1. Bill number: S. 2730. 2. Bill title: Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship in Social and Political Thought. 3. Bill status: As introduced in the Senate and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration, March 13, 1978. 4. Bill purpose: The purpose of this bill is to establish a Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship in Social and Political Thought at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars at the Smithsonian Institute. This bill, which authorizes the establishment of a new trust fund, is subject to subsequent appropriation action. S.R. 794 The initial authorization amount of $1 million falls into function 500. The net costs and the estimated authorization for public debt securities show in function 900. 6. Basis for estimate: The cost estimate for S. 2730 assumes full appropriation in fiscal year 1979 of the $1 million authorization level stated in the bill. The bill requires that any appropriated funds be transferred to a trust fund account and invested in public debt securities, which automatically gives the Treasury the authority to increase the public debt. The amount of interest on these investments, which the Treasury is authorized to pay, is the net cost of S. 2730. CBO assumed that the funds would be invested in short term treasury bills and has projected the interest rate on those bills to average 6.47 percent in fiscal year 1979 and 6.3 percent during the remaining years. The interest costs, therefore, would be approximately $65 thousand the first year and $63 thousand thereafter. The staff of the Smithsonian Institute indicated that the entire amount of interest received by the fund will be needed to cover the stipend, travel expenses, and the annual dinner for the Humphrey fellow. Therefore, none of the interest was assumed available for reinvestment. and the costs are shown as equal to projected interest receipts to the trust fund. The Smithsonian staff assumed that there would not be any significant private contributions to the fund at this time; therefore, this cost estimate reflects only the investment of Federal funds. 7. Estimate comparison: None. 8. Previous CBO estimate: CBO prepared a similar estimate for the House Committee on House Administration on April 4, 1978. 9. Estimate prepared by: Deborah Kalcevic, 10. Estimate approved by: C. G. NUCKOLS Assistant Director for Budget Analysis). STATEMENT OF HON. HARRISON A. WILLIAMS, JR. The statement by Senator Harrison A. Williams, Jr., sponsor of S. 2730, as delivered on the Senate floor at the time of the bill's introduction, is as follows: Mr. President, I would like to take a few minutes to discuss the creation of a Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship in Social and Political Thought at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars at the Smithsonian Institution. When I originally sponsored legislation 17 years ago to create a memorial to Woodrow Wilson, we decided that the S.R. 794 |