Status of Budget Authority Proposed for Rescission

In his fourth special message for fiscal year 1981, the President proposed a rescission in budget authority that had been made available to the Council on Wage and Price Stability for salaries and expenses. As many of the functions of the Council were terminated as a result of Executive order, termination of the positions and programs involved in the rescission would occur regardless of whether the rescission proposal was passed or not. The rescission was proposed merely to comply with the technical requirements of the Impoundment Control Act. Congress did not pass the rescission within the 45-day period allowed; thus the subject budget authority was apportioned to the Executive Office of the President. Although the funds are being released, the Council has been reminded that the funds must be used only for the purposes for which they were appropriated. An estimate is not yet available of what proportion of the funds appropriated will go unobligated as a result of the termination of many of the Council's functions.