2. Non-Commercial Broadcasting 5 days. The Tribunal is mandated to review the royalty rates for non-commercial broadcasting. The last time (1978) the Tribunal reviewed this issue 10 days of hearings were required. It is anticipated the same amount of time will be required and that 5 of those days will fall in FY 1983. This proceeding must be concluded by December 31, 1982. 3. 1980 Cable Royalty Fee Distribution 50 days. The 1979 cable royalty fee distribution proceeding required 60 days of hearings. It is anticipated that the 1980 proceeding will require a somewhat lesser amount of time. The majority of the hearing days will be in FY 1983. The proceeding must be completed by March 2, 1983. are: New additional proceedings will be commencing in FY 1983, they 1. 1981 Cable Royalty Fee Distribution 10 days. The 1981 cable distribution proceeding will be commencing in FY 1983 and spill over into FY 1984. 2. 1982 Jukebox Royalty Fee Distribution 5 days. The Tribunal conducted jukebox distribution in FY 1982 which lasted 5 days. It is anticipated the same amount of time will be required in FY 1983. In addition to the above, the Tribunal's responsibilities under legislation now before the Senate and House will be increased to require additional hearings such as: 1. New Cable Rate Review Hearing 30 days. The previous cable rate review hearing required 7 days. It is anticipated that this one will require approximately 30 hearing days because of the changes in syndicated exclusivity rules. 2. Home-taping Hearing 90 days. This is pioneer legislation in this country. The only comparison that the Tribunal may have as to the complexity of the issues involved is the Mechanical Royalty Rate Review Proceeding which required 58 days of hearings. The issues involved in home taping will be more complex as they will involve audio and video issues therefore, the hearings could last as much as 90 days. Question: It is my understanding that four key decisions of the CRT are being appealed, as of earlier this year. Have any of these decisions been overturned? Answer: The Tribunal's Final Determinations on the 1) 1978 Cable Royalty Distribution Proceeding, 2) Mechanical Royalty Rate Review, 3) Jukebox Rate Review have all been upheld by the Court of Appeals in virtually all aspects. The Final Determinations of 1) the Cable Rate Review and 2) the 1979 Cable Royalty Distribution Proceeding are still pending before the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. Question: A GAO study suggested that the CRT's workload, by the estimate of its Commissioners, "will consume only somewhat more than half of their work time." Do you agree with this? Answer: Yes, we do. We have therefore previously proposed that the size of the agency be reduced from 5 to 3 Commissioners. Such action would be in accord with trends in other agencies. We have advised both the White House and the legislative committees of our support for Chairman Mattingly's similiar recommendation for such a reduction. As we have previously discussed, the enactment of pending legislation would add significantly to the activities of the Tribunal. Question: You acknowledged during the hearings the GAO view that the CRT workload consumes only about half of the Commissioners' time. If the workload is so light in a normal year, why are five clerical personnel needed? Would it make more sense to hire a general counsel, and only three assistants to the five commissioners? Answer: Per House Report Number 94-1476, page 174: "The Commission is authorized to appoint a staff to assist The Tribunal has made a conscientious and successful effort to keep its clerical staff to a minimum and have only clerical support staff one confidential assistant (secretary) per commissioner. In this regard, each confidential assistant is the personal secretary of an individual commissioner and is therefore responsible for the associated tasks of telephone calls, incoming and outgoing; handling correspondence; typing memos, decisions, and rules; filing the commissioners individual documents; maintaining exhibits, studies. In addition, each confidential assistant is assigned one of the following general areas of office responsibility: General CRT records, maintenance of current hearing dockets, distribution of mail and correspondence, Federal Register notices, hearing arrangements. Maintenance of 1981 and prior years hearing dockets, service of equipment, telephone service and mailing lists. Maintenance of monthly or quarterly journals, maintenance of the library, postage, and public information requests for Tribunal documents. Payroll and personnel transactions, purchase of supplies, payment of bills, petty cash purchases, maintenance of all financial records, and payroll timesheets. Noncommercial broadcasting cue sheets, jukebox location listing, catalogue of listing by state, update of cable television claimant listing. It is the opinion of the majority that a full-time general counsel is not needed at this time. Should the need for outside legal assistance arise the Tribunal has access to the Department of Justice and the Library of Congress. However, should the President wish to continue with a five member Tribunal an alternative may be that the President nominate an attorney possibly with copyright experience to one of the vacancies that will be created in September 1982. 家沖 As the Tribunal's responsibilities increase the question as to whether to hire a general counsel will once more be reviewed by the Commissioners. Question: You have requested $15,000 for services provided by other agencies, primarily the Library of Congress. What services does the Library provide: Answer: As provided for in 17 U.S.C. §806, the Library of Congress provides the Tribunal with necessary administrative services such as 1) budgeting, 2) accounting, 3) financial reporting, 4) travel, 5) personnel, 6) payroll, 7) procurement, and 8) disbursement of funds for the Tribunal. JOINT ECONOMIC COMMITTEE BUDGET REQUEST Senator MATTINGLY. The subcommittee has received a copy of the appropriations request of the Joint Economic Committee for 1983. The copy will be inserted in the record at this point. [The copy follows:] May 10, 1982 The Honorable Mack Mattingly Chairman Legislative Branch Appropriations Senate Appropriations Committee Washington, D.C. 20510 Dear Mr. Chairman: I am pleased to submit herewith the appropriations request of the Joint Economic Committee for fiscal year 1983. The Committee is requesting $2,375,000 for fiscal year 1983, a slender increase of about 3 percent over fiscal year 1982. This modest increase primarily was caused by the need to accommodate the Republican majority in the U.S. Senate. We believe this amount will be sufficient to continue the traditional high standards of the Committee and to accomplish the goals envisioned during the period under consideration. Mr. Chairman, long before the current vogue of closely examined government budgets, the Joint Economic Committee was a leader in fiscal responsibility. This is the sixth consecutive year that the Committee has not requested an increase in staff. Through careful administration of the Committee budget, and creative use of existing staff, we have been able to serve efficiently both Houses of Congress and know we will serve effectively in the year ahead. The Joint Economic Committee, along with the President's Council of Economic Advisers, was established by the Employment Act of 1946. Just as the Council of Economic Advisers is the economic counseling body to the President, the Joint Economic Committee is the advisory economic arm of Congress, advising on a broad spectrum of issues. Its many functions include a statutory responsibility to make an annual report to the Congress on the President's economic program. This year the Committee has gone a step further by utilizing its privilege to appear before the Budget Committees of the House and Senate to detail the findings both Republican and Democratic of the Annual Report. - The Joint Economic Committee has faced a unique challenge and opportunity in the 97th Congress because of the equal representation of both political parties on the Committee. The Committee has responded favorably to this situation; meaningful and productive cooperation between the Democratic Chairman and the Republican Vice Chairman and between Democratic and Republican members generally has been the rule. For example, we reorganized our subcommittees and now have three subcommittees chaired by Republicans and three subcommittees chaired by Democrats. We have produced two bipartisan, consensus reports. And we have held field hearings in numerous states under Chairmen from both parties to give citizens a better opportunity to contribute to economic debate. In addition, 60 hearings involving 404 witnesses have been conducted on Capitol Hill just during this fiscal year. Productivity was the subject of the unanimous 1981 Committee Midyear Report. Our recommendations included (1) liberalized depreciation rates, (2) new incentives for research and development, (3) expansion of the Targeted Jobs Tax Credit, (4) measures to increase savings, (5) measures to lower interest rates, (6) increased investment in infrastructure, (7) cutbacks in regulations and paperwork, and (8) improved productivity in government. A second bipartisan, consensus report was issued in the autumn, recommending development of an American high-speed passenger rail system. Future cooperative efforts are being planned. Cooperation between the Democratic and Republican professional staffs, equal in number, has produced numerous bipartisan hearing panels. The Committee and Subcommittees have served as sounding boards for new programs being proposed by the Administration and Congress, such as the Enterprise Zones concept a subject on which hearings have been held in three states. Hearings, committee reports and staff studies have contributed to a better understanding and provision of more useful information on many varied economic topics. These include: The reliability of economic statistics and efforts to improve statistical data. Productivity practices of American Management. Monetary growth targets by the Federal Reserve Board. . Industrial, energy and incomes policies. Supply bottlenecks in military procurement. Skilled labor shortages. The effect of interest rate movements on the economy. The consequences of the Administration's economic program. Lessons to be learned from monetary and credit policies in other countries. The role of small business in economic development. The fiscal condition of American cities. Economic conditions in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. And on other varied subjects such as the agricultural economy, off budget activities, the effects of deficits, military spending, high technology industries, new federalism, the semi-conductor industry, the economic status of women. In addition to traditional Committee staff functions, the staff often is called upon to provide current-issue support by Committee Members. A recent example was the provision of staff assistance to Republican and Democratic members on the Gold Commission. These and other contributions have been possible without an increase in staff. Indeed, the Committee was able to forego any increases in staff even when the Republicans gained control of the Senate in the 97th Congress, necessitating an increase in the number of Republican staff members. The painless response would have been to seek additional staff allocations. However, the Committee chose to reduce the Democratic professional staff as the ore cost-effective method of providing equal party staffing. This reallocation of resources has continued the excellent record the Committee has established in the efficient and effective use of public funds. We are continually evaluating spending practices to obtain greater economies. Accordingly, Mr. Chairman, we are again requesting an appropriation which is in keeping with our close scrutiny of expenditures but with which, with continued careful administration, we can provide Congress a high quality of service as we strive to address the serious economic issues of today as well as long range economic opportunities for America. Idenry S. Reass Henry S. Reuss Chairman Sincerely, Roger W. Jepsen |