This appropriation funds periodic censuses and surveys covering the major economic and demographic areas once or twice each decade. It also provides for the maintenance of geographic support activities required by the various censuses, the preparation of population and per capita income estimates, and the acquisition of large-scale data processing equipment.

The amount provided in the bill includes all of the adjustments to base and built-in changes except for $13,213,000 of the requested increase for the planned cyclical changes in periodic censuses. The Committee notes that staffing levels for the periodic censuses have been substantially below the projections for the current fiscal year and that a significant amount appropriated for this item will carry over into fiscal year 1988. While the Committee has also made a general reduction of $1,775,000, the amount provided assumes a full demonstration of the postenumeration study planned for St. Louis, MO, during fiscal 1988.

The Committee has also approved the requested program increase of $1,173,000 and five positions for the economic censuses to complete implementation of the Standard Industrial Classification Code revision, and $705,000 for data processing systems to continue replacement and upgrading of automated data processing equipment.

The Committee has also included $155,000 to continue the Census Bureau's horticulture specialties report. The Committee continues to believe that this program is worthwhile and that funds spent on the report have a significant rate of return because of increased industry profitability.

The Committee has also included $400,000 required for the startup costs associated with the supplemental questionnaire for American Indians and Alaskan Natives in the 1990 Decennial Census Program. It is crucial that this report be generated so that accurate counts be made on tribal membership for various purposes. For example, Indians living on reservations and in other trust land areas have no access to private mortgage money available to other Americans. Housing assistance must be provided through Federal programs such as the HUD Indian Housing Program. One measure of determining need is the housing data available from the Census Bureau.

The Committee recommends an appropriation of $33,700,000, an increase of $3,292,000 from 1987 appropriations to date. The amount recommended is $753,000 above the budget estimate and is $300,000 more than the House allowance.

This appropriation provides for the Bureau of Economic Analysis programs to maintain the national income and product accounts including GNP, personal income, and foreign investment accounts.

The Committee recommendation includes restoration and full funding for the Office of Productivity, Technology, and Innovation at the current year level, adjusted for mandatory increases and built-in changes. The Committee continues to believe that the programs of this office are important to the Nation's economy and has, therefore, restored the proposed reduction of $732,000 and 11 positions for the of fice.

The Committee has provided $375,000 to continue the activities of the Office of Strategic Resources in fiscal year 1988. The Committee has also made a general reduction of $200,000.

The recommendation also includes $500,000 to increase activities under the Japanese Technical Literature Act (Public Law 99-382).

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION

The Committee recommends $190,000,000 in fiscal year 1988, an increase of $57,000 over 1987 appropriations to date and an increase of $9,600,000 over the House level.

The Committee recommends the following allocation of this amount:

The Committee has allocated a total of $261,885 of the total amount for research and evaluation to finance a proposed study, entitled "Manufacturing Employment Growth from New Plants, Grouped by Size of Firm." The proposal, submitted by the West Virginia University Regional Research Institute, will address critical questions about job creation and retention, economic development and Federal policy in these areas, all of which are matters of high priority for the Committee. The Committee has also included language in the bill providing loan guarantee authority of not to exceed $150,000,000, without which Department officials have indicated they are not authorized or required to conduct a loan guarantee program. The Committee expects EDA to

provide loan guarantees up to this total amount to those applicants who qualify for such guarantees and meet the criteria established through EDA's authorizing legislation and administrative regulations.

The Committee understands that due to severe budgetary constraints during fiscal year 1987, the Economic Development Administration instituted a policy of rejecting grant proposals made under the section 302(a) State and Urban Planning Grant Program from all applicants who had not already received a 302(a) grant. The Committee believes the EDA should award 302(a) grants based on criteria of worthiness and need.

EDA had provided significant financing to promote the viability of a Wheeling-Pittsburgh steel rail mill in Monessen, PA. That plant is now

idle.

The Committee directs the EDA to make every effort to ensure the earliest possible sale of the steel mill to interested parties with the goal of achieving resumed operations at the mill, increased employment in an economically depressed area, and the recovery of most or all principal on outstanding EDA loans over time. Several parties have reportedly expressed interest in procuring the mill and EDA should vigorously pursue the sale of this mill with interested buyers.

UNIVERSITY CENTERS

The Committee believes that no entity which participated in the University Center Program during fiscal year 1987 should be denied the same degree of participation in fiscal year 1988 solely because it has participated in the program in previous years. Consequently, before any proposed changes are made in the current university center grantees, the Committee expects EDA to obtain approval for such proposals in accordance with the Committee's reprogramming procedures which are contained in section 608.

Of the technical assistance funds provided in the bill, the Committee intends that not less than $6,000,000 including the $5,000,000 provided for the University Center Program, shall be made available for projects processed through the Economic Development Representative/Regional Office review procedure. The Committee believes such action will increase the number of proposals which are directly responsive to substate, statewide, and multistate economic development assistance needs.

EDA TITLE IX

The Committee is concerned about the lack of resources available to assist communities suffering from long-term economic deterioration. The Committee notes that the title IX program which is designed to assist communities in economic distress is similar in intent to the Community Economic Development Program administered by the Office of Community Services [OCS] of the Department of Health and Human Services. Therefore, the Committee expects EDA to develop a joint funding strategy with OCS for projects that will benefit communities with problems of long-term economic deterioration.

FINANCIAL AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

(RESCISSION)

The Committee has inserted language in the bill rescinding the $1,541,067 balance in this appropriation.

The Committee recommends an appropriation of $25,800,000 in new budget authority. The amount recommended is $800,000 above the amount available in 1987, $25,800,000 over the budget request, and the same as the House allowance.

The Committee has included the language which has been in the appropriation bill for several years which specifies the number of economic development representatives [EDR's] to be funded from this appropriation and has restored language to maintain the EDR's at the locations they occupied September 1, 1987.

The Committee has deleted language in the bill which provides that the full-time permanent positions for EDA shall not be fewer than 375, but has maintained the language approved by the House that the number of Deputy Assistant Secretary positions shall not be greater than four. While the Committee has deleted the requirement that a specific number of positions be maintained, the Committee believes that 375 positions is the minimum necessary to administer the EDA programs adequately.

The Committee recommends an appropriation of $161,952,000, a decrease of $29,685,000 from 1987 appropriations to date. The amount recommended is $35,186,000 less than the budget request and $54,548,000 less than the House allowance. The amount recommended assumes that $10,000,000 reserved for loan losses can be released to ITA operating programs and that the loans will be transferred to the Economic Development Revolving Fund, and reflects the transfer of $41,448,000 and 550 positions previously appropriated to ITA to create a new appropriations account for export administration. In addition, the Committee has also made a general reduction.

The Committee recommendation reflects approval of the requested program reductions totaling $1,900,000 and approval of all of the program increases requested which total $5,555,000. This amount includes

$4,081,000 and 72 positions for the International Economic Policy Program to increase management and policy coordination activities in support of the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade [GATT] negotiations. The increase also includes $1,474,000 and 28 positions for the Trade Administration Program to increase Import Administration activities in support of the United States-Japan Semiconductor Agreement and machine tool Voluntary Restraint Agreements.

OFFICE OF TEXTILES AND APPAREL

The Committee has maintained the earmarking in the bill for the Office of Textiles and Apparel [OTEXA], $7,081,000, including $3,500,000 for a grant to the Tailored Clothing Technology Corp. [TC], composed of the following items:

As of September 17, 1987, the Office of Textiles and Apparel has only 42 of its 47 positions filled. In view of the significant increase in workload in recent years, the Committee is deeply concerned over the inability of the Office's staff resources to support the agency's responsibilities adequately, particularly since Congress has appropriated the funding necessary to maintain the full complement. Therefore, the Committee expects the Department to proceed expeditiously to fill the vacant slots. The Committee requests the Secretary of Commerce to report to the Committee within 60 days of enactment of the accompanying bill on the level of staffing in the Office of Textiles and Apparel, along with descriptions of the qualifications, experience, and training of those employed by the Office.

The Committee again recommends a straightforward funding base for OTEXA to indicate our priority for adequate protection of America's textile industry. The Committee is again disappointed that the Department did not maintain this priority by establishing an OTEXA subactivity in the fiscal 1988 justifications.

JOINT APPAREL PROGRAM [TC]

The Committee has provided $3,500,000 to maintain the vital Department of Commerce matching share of the joint labor-managementGovernment research program designed to increase the productivity of U.S. apparel firms and their employees. The program operates through the Tailored Clothing Technology Corp. [TC], a not-for-profit company organized solely to conduct the research essential for the domestic apparel industry to survive the onslaught of rising apparel imports. Those imports from low-wage, low-developed countries are replacing the products of U.S. manufacturers, causing enormous domestic job losses.