Hearings, Reports and Prints of the Joint Economic Committee

by Joshua Kay of the Economics Division. Chapter III, Renewing Old Communities and Creating New Communities, was written by Clay Wellborn of the Government and General Research Division. Chapter IV, Toward a Decent Home, was written by Barry Berlin of the Economics Division. Chapter V, Improving the Environment, was written by Susan Abbasi of the Environmental Policy Division. Chapter VI, Expanding Government Capability, was written by Sandra Osbourn, of the Government and General Research Division. Ms. Osbourn also prepared the material in each chapter on State laws. The material on Federal and State court decisions was prepared by Kathleen Shea of the American Law Division. The bibliography, drawn from the data base maintained by the Library Services Division, and the annotated summary of federally supported research in progress, drawn from the data base of the Science Information Exchange, were selected and arranged by Susan Harding.

We are indebted to Lester S. Jayson, Director, Congressional Research Service, and his fine staff for an extremely comprehensive report.

JOHN R. STARK,

FOREWORD

In its 1970 report, entitled, "Toward Balanced Growth: Quantity. with Quality," the National Goals Research Staff viewed national growth policy as "both a search for coherence among the many, activities of our society, and a search for actions supportive of the. human values and qualities which we would most hope to further." To encourage the development and pursuit of specific goals affecting our Nation's future growth and development, we herewith transmit the enclosed report, "Toward a National Growth Policy: Federal and State Developments in 1974."

This report was prepared at our request by the Congressional, Research Service of the Library of Congress. This report is similar to reports released by Senator Humphrey in the past three years entitled, "Toward a National Growth and Development Policy: Legislative and Executive Actions in 1970-71" (a Senate Committee on Government Operations Committee Print); "Toward a National Growth Policy: Federal and State Developments in 1972"; (Senate Document 93-19); and, "Toward a National Growth Policy: Federal, and State Developments in 1973" (Senate Document 93-123).

The purpose of this report, as was the case with these earlier reports, is to relate Federal and State actions, including court actions, that occurred in 1974, which should contribute to our legislative delibera-. tions during this and future sessions of Congress. This report provides a common framework within which to relate separate but inextricably linked subjects such as urban and rural development, housing, monetary and fiscal policy, agriculture, employment, health, education, natural resources, energy, transportation and social service program reforms. The report places these individual legislative and other governmental actions in the larger context of interrelated national, rural and urban objectives as set forth by Congress in the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1970 (Public Law 91-609) and the Agricultural Act of 1970 (Public Law 91-524).

The report also includes a selected annotated list of research projects underway in 1974, relating to the identified elements of national growth policy and a selected annotated bibliography of literature published in 1974, relating to national growth policy and its elements.

In addition to a number of significant legislative developments which occurred at the Federal level in 1974, such as enactment of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act, the Joint Funding Simplification Act, the Housing and Community Development Act and the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act, 1974 also was the year during which Senator Humphrey introduced his Balanced National Growth and Development Act (S. 3050), which would establish a national policy planning

mechanism, and the year in which the President's second biennial Report on National Growth and Development was submitted to the Congress.

The national economic recession of 1974-75 has added further impetus to reevaluating our national processes for dealing with national economic and related policy matters. On May 21, 1975, we jointly introduced S. 1795, the Balanced Growth and Economic Planning Act of 1975, to establish a process within which Congress and the Executive Branch can formulate systematically comprehensive, long-range national economic goals and which would provide for developing policies for matching those goals with resources. Senator Javits stated at the time of introducing this bill that he viewed it as the opening of a great national debate on the American economy and its future. And, as Senator Humphrey stated in his 1973 Joint Economic Committee print which contained his initial proposal for achieving balanced national growth and development, "We have no national effort today concerned with the need for better techniques or measurements to help our society answer for itself the classic questions posed by Abraham Lincoln:

If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could then better judge what to do and how to do it.

Hopefully, during the 94th Congress and as we approach our nation's bicentennial we will, both as a nation and as a people, do our utmost to address and answer those questions. For, to the extent we do or do not provide such answers, the future of our nation and our society will be determined.

It is our hope that this report, along with the previously issued reports and our new legislative proposal, will contribute to answering Mr. Lincoln's questions as they relate to our nation's future growth and development.

HUBERT H. HUMPHREY,

Chairman, Joint Economic Committee.
JACOB K. JAVITS,

Ranking Minority Senator,

Joint Economic Committee.

CONTENTS

Letters of Transmittal

Foreword....

TOWARD A NATIONAL GROWTH POLICY: FEDERAL

AND STATE DEVELOPMENTS IN 1974

Introduction

Chapter I. Effective Areawide Planning and Delivery of Services---.

Introduction..