TABLE 1 APPLICATION OF CARRY-FORWARD-ONGOING PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS Chairman HATFIELD. Any further comments or statements that you gentlemen wish to offer for the record today? Mr. DEAN. No, sir. We certainly appreciate your consideration and that of Senator Stennis and Senator Sasser in taking time to hear our › case. We really are available anytime anyone on this committee would like to talk to us. We try to maintain a high level of availability to confer with those who are interested in TVA. We are all three on the move all the time. We would be delighted to come back at any time you would ke. Chairman HATFIELD. We appreciate that. We have found you to be most cooperative. Next to Bonneville Power Administration, I know of no group that I Eke to deal with more. [Laughter.] And I also want to thank you especially for your comments, Mr. Freeman, relating to the conservation programs. I have to affirm your claim of great leadership by the TVA in the field of conservation. We have consulted through our facilities at TVA and our people at TVA with you on those programs. You have been very helpful on them. We stand to reciprocate any time this committee can be helpful to you and facilitate your activities. We are most anxious to do so. If there are no further TVA 50TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION Mr. DEAN. Senator Hatfield, one thing I want to be sure to mention. We are having our 50th anniversary celebration on May 18. The way it looks now, Senator Baker is coming down as principal speaker. He probably will be on the plane. We would love to have you come along. I will affirm this in writing. I think Senator Stennis and Senator Sasser have already been invited. Chairman HATFIELD. I would enjoy very much to be with you folks and Senator Baker and all the good folks from Tennessee. Mr. DEAN. One more thing. If you have a chance to get in the Kentucky area, we have an experimental fluidized bed combustion plant for generating power with high-sulfur coal over there we would like to show you. We are really excited about that. It is the wave of the future in the energy world. SUBCOMMITTEE RECESS Chairman HATFIELD. Thank you. I would like to take you up on that too. We will recess until 2 p.m. tomorrow, when the subcommittee will review FERC and the Regulatory Commission budget request. [Whereupon, at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 12, the subcommittee was recessed to reconvene at 2 p.m. Wednesday, April 13.] ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 1983 U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS, Washington, D.C. The subcommittee met at 2 p.m. in room SD-124, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Mark O. Hatfield (chairman) presiding. Present: Senator Hatfield. FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION STATEMENT OF C. M. BUTLER III, CHAIRMAN ACCOMPANIED BY: WILLIAM G. MCDONALD, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT Chairman HATFIELD. The hearing will come to order. Today, we will receive testimony from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission regarding their fiscal year 1984 budget request. The subcommittee has great interest in the programs and activities of both these regulatory agencies and we look forward to your testimony this afternoon. As our first witness, we are pleased to welcome Mr. C. M. Butler, Chairman, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Chairman Butler, as you know we ask you to summarize your statement and we will place your full statement in the record. If you would introduce your colleagues, we would be happy to have you proceed. Mr. BUTLER. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, I have sitting on my right, Charles Moore, General Counsel to the Commission; on my left, William McDonald, Executive Director of the Commission. Chairman HATFIELD. We welcome both of you gentlemen. PREPARED STATEMENT Mr. BUTLER. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the opportunity to present the Commission's budget request for fiscal year 1984. I am submitting my formal statement for the record and in the interest of time, will deliver a summary statement. [The statement follows:] STATEMENT OF C. M. BUTLER III, CHAIRMAN Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee. I appreciate this - opportunity to present the Commission's budget request for Fiscal Year 1984. I would like to preface my remarks about our FY 1984 budget with an urgent request for your help in resolving a more immediate problem facing the Commission in FY 1983. As you know, both the Senate and House appropriations committees last year recommended a funding level of $89.1 million for FERC operations in the current fiscal year. Unfortunately, the Continuing Resolution, which now appears likely to prevail for the rest of FY 1983, provides FERC with only $76.8 million 14 percent less than recommended by the appropriations committees. The Commission simply cannot sustain a cut of this magnitude without serious consequences to its regulatory mission. Two-thirds of our budget is for salaries and benefits. The remainder provides administrative support for carrying out regulatory activities specifically required by law. There is little room for maneuvering. Without additional funding in the current fiscal year, our operations will have to be significantly curtailed. It will be nearly impossible to avoid hiring freezes, personnel furloughs, and the resulting serious delay in processing critical natural gas pipeline, hydro licensing, and electric rate cases. The Commission can absorb approximately half of the 14 percent cut by foregoing its earlier plans to move to a new location and terminate the common support agreement with the Department of Energy. in FY 1983. While DOE has agreed to assume a portion of the Commission's fixed administrative expenses, we are still faced with a deficit of $3 million needed to cover costs associated with the FY 1983 pay increases. The Administration has recommended enactment of a supplemental appropriation in FY 1983 to meet this need. I urge this Subcommittee to support the Administration's request so that the Commission can continue to carry out its statutory responsibilities for the remainder of this fiscal year. FY 1984 REQUEST For Fiscal Year 1984 the Commission's budget request is for $94.6 million. This level of funding will support 1,742 full-time equivalent staff years and ensure the timely disposition of a workload consisting of 72,000 items. The Commission's FY 1984 request is only $5.5 million higher than the $89.1 million funding level approved for FY 1983 by the appropriations committees last year. The apparent increase, however, is more than accounted for by FERC's assumption of $6 million in energy data support costs formerly incorporated in the budget of the Energy Information Administration. One of my primary responsibilities as Chairman of the Commission is to ensure the timely processing of licenses, certificates, and rate change requests in the Hydropower, Natural Gas, Oil Pipeline, and Electric Rate Programs in accordance with the statutes and regulations governing Commission actions. Therefore, the Commission's budget request has been designed to support an aggressive workload processing plan. This plan has three basic management objectives: first, to develop and maintain a well-trained staff to review and process the workload in a timely manner; second, to augment that staff with outside technical expertise to perform the individual, specialized studies required under the law; and third, to initiate rulemaking and management improvements that will streamline the regulatory process, reducing both processing time and regulatory burden on industry. The availability of a stable regulatory workforce is an essential prerequisite to the successful implementation of our operations plan. Therefore, 65 percent of this budget request is for salaries and benefits and associated fixed administrative and technical support. The remaining funds are required for operational travel and for contracts. A travel budget of $2.3 million is requested to carry out the Commission's audit and enforcement programs, keep pace with the expanding hydroelectric industry, and provide limited regional hearings. The Commission's request also includes $11.2 million for contractual services which provide specialized technical support and management improvements needed to streamline and simplify the regulatory process. |