PRINTER'S NO. 728
No. 52 Session of 1977
INTRODUCED BY WHITE, RICHARDSON, RHODES, KELLY, SCANLON, SWEET,
HOEFFEL, WILLIAMS AND BROWN, MARCH 16, 1977
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON RULES, MARCH 16, 1977
In the House of Representatives, March 16, 1977
1 WHEREAS, The domestic needs of our Nation, and particularly
2 the needs of our cities, will never receive the major attention
3 they deserve, or the financing they require, until there is a
4 reordering of our National priorities; and
5 WHEREAS, The amount of expenditures for the Pentagon and
6 foreign aid is not as important as the attitude that Pentagon
7 expenditures, regardless of their size, cannot be reduced,
8 whereas domestic programs, regardless of their size and merit,
9 must be reduced; and
10 WHEREAS, If we eliminate the items which are fixed by law and
11 contractual obligation, including such items as Social Security
12 and Railroad Retirement (which are financed by separate payroll
13 taxes, unlike defense expenditures, which come out of general
14 revenues), and eliminate fixed costs such as interest payments,
15 pensions, etc., we find that only 26% of the National budget is
16 subject to appropriations controlled by Congress as reported by
17 the Budget Office of the United States Congress; and
1 WHEREAS, Of that 26%, 18% goes to the military (including
2 military foreign aid) and only 8% for domestic civilian needs;
3 and
4 WHEREAS, A responsible policy requires that if we advocate
5 increased domestic spending, we must indicate where such funds
6 must come from; therefore, be it
7 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the
8 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania calls upon the Administration and
9 Congress to redress the imbalance between domestic expenditures
10 and expenditures for the Pentagon and foreign aid, recognizing
11 that the social defense of this Nation is at least as important
12 to the National defense as is our military defense; and be it
13 further
14 RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to
15 the presiding officers of each House of the Congress of the
16 United States and to each Senator and Representative from
17 Pennsylvania in the Congress of the United States.
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