Masonry Magazine January 1970 Page. 27
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CONGRESS WON'T PASS MUCH LEGISLATION specifically touching business in 1970. In fact, it won't accomplish much at all except for politicking. Most impact will reflect action or inaction affecting the economy, over-all. That's the way Washington observers size up the outlook as the new session gets under way. They expect elections to dominate the lawmakers' thinking. President Nixon wants the GOP to win control of both houses next November. Democrats want to hold on, hoping to make a come-back in 1972.
So partisan maneuvering will be the order of the day even more so than in 1960. Last year, the record was quite thin. The tax-reform package was a big achievement, but a lot of time was spent in wrangling over the antiballistic missle, the Haynsworth nomination, etc. As a result, one thing is sure: The honeymoon between Nixon and the Democrats is over.
THIS DOES NOT RULE OUT PASSING OF SOME CONSTRUCTIVE BILLS in 1970. Nixon will be presenting a few new programs that will carry his own stamp. Democrats want to make a record they can brag about to the voters at home. But the fighting may become intense. Domestic issues are the only field open to the Democrats, now that Nixon has won national backing on Viet Nam.
There'll be further focus on reordering national priorities on what should be the country's goals, as well as how these should be achieved, given the limited resources available.
THE LINES OF BATTLE ALREADY SEEM FAIRLY WELL FORMED on Capitol Hill. They were hammered out during the last session. Contrasting philosophies became apparent in fights over spending and taxes. Specifically, there were collisions over the amount of aid to education, money for the Pentagon, and the degree of tax relief that was provided in the complex tax-reform bill.
The President will stress the need to control inflation. He means to hold down spending for programs he admits are good. But, essentially, he would rather perfect previously passed programs than break new ground with expensive new proposals.
But Congress, under the prodding of liberal Democrats with support from some Republicans, will try to expand education and welfare assistance and aid to cities. The battleground will largely be the new Budget and its various programs.
PRESIDENT NIXON HAS TRIED TO CUT SPENDING to the bone for the next fiscal year-1971 -beginning July 1. He wants to stop inflation and crack inflationary psychology. But items like debt interest and veterans' benefits can't be held down. Then, there are U.S. pay raises and higher Social Security benefits.
Congress seems certain to vote more than the President has asked, threatening to make the Budget clearly inflationary. Nixon will have to refuse to spend these additional funds.
The President won't have much more revenue to use to finance the enlarged costs. Profits will be down and the surtax is expiring. Thus, new GOP programs will have to cost little.
THE PRESIDENT WILL STRESS "IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF LIFE" as a theme of his Administration in 1970. It will embrace many of his cherished goals, but unlike Johnson's Great Society can avoid a lot of big spending items. You hear this tone in the State of the Union message and in a special message on protecting the environment. Nixon will attempt to have Federal money and initiatives catalyze state action -another example of his "new Federalism."
At the start, fighting pollution won't cost so much, because the focus will be on planning, rather than on real spending.
NIXON MAY HAVE TO DELAY HIS PLAN FOR REVENUE-SHARING with the states (one of his pet innovations) for some other year. This will be one casualty of the drive to hold the Budget down. Washington simply can't afford this. Besides, the idea is too new to get a full hearing during an election year.
THE PRESIDENT'S PROPOSAL FOR WELFARE REFORM WILL FARE BETTER in 1970, despite its potential high cost. The idea of job-training and the work-requirement feature have much appeal. But that big $5 billion price tag will be chopped way down by the Congress.
REFORM OF THE ESTATE AND GIFTS PARTS OF THE TAX CODE will be pushed in 1970 by the Ways and Means Committee to follow 1969's general revisions. Chairman Mills wants to reduce tax avoidance through complex estate plans. And he would like to eliminate the imbalance under which inherited property is now hit more heavily than similar gifts made during a donor's life-time. Unifying the two types of taxes may be one of the changes finally emerging.