WILDLIFE REFUGES: REVENUE SHARING

Of net proceeds from sales of national wildlife refuge products and privileges, 25 percent is paid annually to the counties in which the revenues originate. The payments must be used for the benefit of public schools and roads in the counties.

(Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C., 20240.)

OYSTER PROPAGATION AND RESEARCH

The Secretary of the Interior may make grants to States where excessive mortality of oysters threatens the economic stability of the oyster industry. These may be grants of brood stock to propagate disease-resistant oysters, grants of money for research and other activities, or both.

The State is required to pay one-third of the cost of the brood stock, to plant it in spawning sanctuaries, and to protect it.

Cash grants may be made to help finance research or other activities necessary in the development and propagation of disease-resistant strains of oysters. Matching is required, to the extent of $1 from State or other non-Federal sources for each $2 of the grant. The Federal appropriation may not exceed $100,000.

(U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C., 20240.)

COMMERCIAL FISHING: TRAINING OF PERSONNEL

Grants to public and nonprofit universities and colleges may be made to promote the education and training of professionally trained personnel (including scientists, technicians, and teachers) needed in the field of commercial fishing.

Appropriations for the purpose are to be apportioned among the several States and territories on an equitable basis, taking into account the extent of the fishing industry in each State and territory as compared with the total fishing industry of the United States and other relevant factors. The statute does not specify how the allotment to a State shall be divided among applicant institutions within the State, nor does the statute require matching of the Federal grants.

There have been no appropriations under this authorization.

(Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C., 20240.)

IRRIGATION PROJECTS

Two programs provide Federal aid for irrigation projects of the States and their subdivisions.

Loans.-Irrigation districts and other public agencies may qualify for interest-free loans to construct irrigation distribution systems under Federal reclamation laws. The borrower is required to contribute a portion, not in excess of 10 percent, of the cost. The contribution may be in money, materials, labor, lands, or interests in lands. Plans and specifications must be approved by the Secretary of the Interior. The loan is contingent upon a finding that it can be repaid in accordance with the general repayment provisions of Federal reclamation

laws. Title to land, interests in land, and the distribution works are held by the United States until the loan is repaid.

Grants and loans for small projects. To encourage State and local participation in projects under Federal reclamation laws and to provide for Federal assistance in developing similar projects in the 17 western reclamation States by non-Federal organizations, Congress has authorized in the Small Reclamation Projects Act of 1956 the provision of grants or loans, or a combination, for construction of projects costing not more than $10 million each. A project estimated to cost between $5 and $10 million may qualify only if the applicant organization will finance otherwise all costs above the loan or grant which would be made if the estimated cost were $5 million.

Proposals relating to projects not yet authorized for construction under Federal reclamation laws must include a plan and estimated cost in detail, including allocations of costs among purposes served. The proposal shall have been submitted for review by the States of the affected drainage basin unless it is limited to rehabilitation and betterment of an existing project. The borrower is required to contribute a portion (including all land and water right costs) not in excess of 25 percent of the costs which would be allocable to reimbursable functions in the event of Federal construction. If the Secretary of the Interior and the Governor of the State of location (or a designated State agency) find the project financially feasible, and the Secretary approves it, the Secretary transmits the findings and approval to Congress and reserves necessary Federal lands for the project. If the project is not disapproved within 60 days by either the House or the Senate Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, it becomes eligible for appropriations for Federal financial participation. Notice to Congress is not required and certain other requirements may be waived for projects already authorized for construction under Federal reclamation laws.

Upon approval of a project, the Secretary may negotiate a contract establishing the maximum amount of the loan and the grant, a plan for prompt repayment (which may not extend for more than 50 years from the time when the principal benefits become available), the applicable interest rate or rates based on the average for long-term public debt, and other necessary conditions. If a grant is made, the contract also includes provisions for project operations.

The loan may not exceed that portion of the estimated cost which would be allocable to reimbursable functions if the project were constructed as a Federal reclamation project. The grant may not exceed that portion of the estimated cost which would be allocable to nonreimbursable functions. A grant of as much of $5 million is permitted if a project which otherwise qualifies is not the subject of a loan application.

(Bureau of Reclamation, Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C., 20240.)

SALINE WATER RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

The Saline Water Act and related legislation establishing a Federal program of water research and development include authority for the Secretary of the Interior to cooperate with State and local govern

ment departments, agencies, and instrumentalities; to make research grants; and to contract with educational institutions in carrying out his functions under the law.

(Office of Saline Water, Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C., 20240.)

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

MANPOWER DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING

Under the Manpower Development and Training Act of 1962, as amended in 1963, financial and technical assistance are available to States. Financial aid is provided for (a) payment of weekly allowances to persons selected for training and (b) operation of training programs. Training may include the attainment of basic education skills in preparation for occupational training.

The Secretary of Labor makes agreements with the States under which they undertake, as agents of the United States, to provide weekly cash allowances to employed persons in training and to inadequately trained youths who require allowances if they are to undertake training. Federal payments to the States may be in advance or reimbursement. If State unemployment compensation benefits are paid to persons in training, the Federal grants may be used to reimburse the State unemployment trust fund accounts.

The Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare makes agreements with State vocational education agencies to provide occupational training, and with other education agencies to provide basic education as preparation for occupational training.

Neither Secretary may approve a training program unless he is satisfied that neither the State nor the locality in which the training is carried out has made or is making related reductions in its own level of expenditures for vocational education and training.

The Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare are required to apportion Federal expenditures for the programs among the States according to uniform standards on the basis of five criteria specified in the law. These take into account the State percentages of the total U.S. labor force, the number unemployed, insured unemployment, average weekly unemployment compensation benefits, and the lack of appropriate full-time employment in the State.

Neither type of Federal grant requires matching by the States through the fiscal year 1965. Payments in the fiscal year 1966 will require $1 of State funds for each $2 of Federal grant. The amendments of 1963 provide, in effect, that if the authorizations are extended beyond the fiscal year 1966, equal matching will be required. Authorization to make agreements with States will expire June 30, 1966, and authorizations to disburse Federal grants will expire December 30, 1966.

(Office of Manpower, Automation, and Training, Department of Labor, Washington, D.C., 20210. Bureau of Education Assistance Programs, Office of Education, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Washington, D.C., 20202.)

LABOR STANDARDS

Through the Bureau of Labor Standards, the Federal Government provides technical services and assistance to States in the improvement of State labor legislation, including industrial safety laws; promoting effective administration of minimum wage, child labor, workmen's compensation, and other labor laws; improving conditions of migratory workers; and protecting young workers. Employment of handicapped persons is promoted through an affiliated organization, the President's Commission on Employment of the Handicapped, which assists Governors' committees in the States and local committees in many municipalities.

(Bureau of Labor Standards, Department of Labor, Washington, D.C., 20210.)

EMPLOYMENT SERVICE AND UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION

ADMINISTRATION

The Federal-State program of employment security comprises closely related activities involving the placement of applicants in jobs and the payment of unemployment compensation to unemployed workers. Employment services and unemployment insurance are administered by a system of State offices coordinated and assisted by the Bureau of Employment Security of the U.S. Department of Labor.

The basic unemployment compensation system rests on interrelated Federal-State tax laws. A Federal unemployment tax, in the form of a tax on payrolls, is levied on employers of four or more persons. Employers who pay State payroll taxes for unemployment compensation under State laws which meet requirements of the Federal law are allowed to credit the State tax against the largest part of the Federal tax. (This credit is normally 90 percent but has been modified temporarily until the Federal Government recovers amounts advanced under legislation of 1958 and 1961 for additional unemployment benefit payments to the long-term unemployed.) The State unemployment tax collections are deposited in the Federal Treasury to the credit of the several States and are used by the States to pay unemployment insurance benefits to eligible persons.

Federal Government revenue derived from the Federal unemployment tax is dedicated to the employment security program. Proceeds are used primarily to pay Federal grants to the States to cover State expenditures for administering unemployment compensation (including collection of the State taxes) and employment services. These grants cover also administrative expenses incurred by States acting as agents of the Federal Government in paying unemployment compensation benefits to ex-servicemen and to Federal Government employees who become unemployed.

To qualify for administrative-expense grants, a State is required to have a State unemployment compensation law which includes provisions specified in the Federal law and has been approved by the Secretary of Labor, and a State employment service plan also conforming to provisions of Federal law and also approved by the Secretary of Labor. The grants cover expenses necessary for proper and efficient administration. With reference to unemployment compensation administrative expenses, the Federal law specifies that the Secretary's deter

mination of the necessary amount shall be based on population, the number of persons covered by the State law and the cost of proper and efficient administration of that law, and other relevant facts.

Matching of the Federal grants is not required.

(Bureau of Employment Security, Department of Labor, Washington, D.C., 20210.)

UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION: TRANSFERS, ADVANCES, AND

REIMBURSEMENTS TO STATE ACCOUNTS

Payments of unemployment benefits are financed primarily from employers' contributions (payroll taxes) levied by the States. Apart from Federal grants to cover administrative expense (see preceding statement on Employment service and unemployment compensation administration) limited Federal aid to help finance benefit payments is given in certain circumstances.

Transfers to State unemployment accounts.-When the balance in the employment security account in the Federal Treasury exceeds specified amounts, the excess is transferred to the Federal unemployment account. If the net balance in the Federal unemployment account is $250 million, the remainder of the excess is credited to State accounts in the unemployment trust fund.

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Transfers to the several State accounts are proportionate to the total wages subject to contributions under the State unemployment compensation laws in the preceding calendar year. To be eligible for a transfer, a State is required to have a State unemployment compensation law which includes provisions specified in the Federal law. Amounts transferred to State accounts ordinarily may be used only in payment of cash benefits to individuals with respect to their unemployment. Under a specific appropriation by the State legislature, however, and within limits specified in Federal law, a State may use part of the transferred amounts for administering its unemployment compensation law and public employment offices.

Matching of the transferred amounts is not required.

Advances to State unemployment accounts.-Upon application by the Governor and appropriate findings by the Secretary of Labor, a State may obtain a monthly advance from the Federal unemployment account in the unemployment trust fund when this is required for payment of benefits under the State unemployment insurance program. The advance is repayable without interest from the account of the State in the unemployment trust fund or from amounts otherwise available for transfer to the State account from the employment security administration account or the Federal unemployment account. The aggregate of advances to States for any month may not exceed the unrestricted balance in the Federal unemployment account at

that time.

Reimbursements for benefits paid to Federal employees and exservicemen. Under agreements with the Secretary of Labor, State unemployment compensation agencies pay benefits to eligible former employees of the Federal Government and to ex-servicemen on the same terms and conditions as if the employment and wages were included in the State unemployment compensation law.

The State is entitled to be paid by the United States an amount equal to the entire additional cost of these payments that would not have