FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Contact (202) 225-1721
January 12, 1999
No. FC-1
Congressman Bill Archer (R-TX), Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Committee will hold a hearing on the outlook for the state of the U.S. economy in 1999. The hearing will take place on Wednesday, January 20, 1999, in the main Committee hearing room, 1100 Longworth House Office Building, beginning at 10:00 a.m.
In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only. The sole witness at this hearing will be the Honorable Alan Greenspan, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.
BACKGROUND:
The U.S. economy is currently enjoying its best performance during the post-war period, with a record-sustained period of full employment and low inflation.
The 105th Congress passed bipartisan legislation, the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (P.L. 105-33) and the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 (P.L. 105-34), aimed at reducing the budget deficit and encouraging economic growth. As a result of this bipartisan legislation and the strong performance of the economy, the Federal Government ended fiscal year 1998 with a record $76 billion surplus.
Among the challenges facing the 106th Congress are the approaching insolvency of the Social Security system, a growing Federal tax burden, and the Asian economic crisis. On January 19th, President Clinton is scheduled to give his annual State of the Union address to the nation.
In announcing the hearing, Chairman Archer stated: "The nation's economy continues to be strong, in no small part, due to the bipartisan policies recently passed by the Congress. I'm particularly delighted at our success in turning the Federal budget deficit into a surplus. As the Committee begins this year's efforts to save Social Security, cut taxes, and promote further economic growth, the opinions of Chairman Greenspan on the state of the economy and its future prospects will be especially important. I look forward to hearing his views."
FOCUS OF THE HEARING:
The Committee expects to receive testimony on the state of the economy and the outlook for future economic performance from the Honorable Alan Greenspan, Chairman of the Federal Reserve.
DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:
Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should submit six (6) single-spaced copies of their statement, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 format, with their name, address, and hearing date noted on a label, by the close of business, Wednesday, February 3, 1999, to A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. If those filing written statements wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing, they may deliver 200 additional copies for this purpose to the Committee office, room 1102 Longworth House Office Building, by close of business the day before the hearing.
FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:
Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
1. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be typed in single space on legal-size paper and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. At the same time written statements are submitted to the Committee, witnesses are now requested to submit their statements on an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in ASCII DOS Text or WordPerfect 5.1 format. Witnesses are advised that the Committee will rely on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.
2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
3. A witness appearing at a public hearing, or submitting a statement for the record of a public hearing, or submitting written comments in response to a published request for comments by the Committee, must include on his statement or submission a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.
4. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, full address, a telephone number where the witness or the designated representative may be reached and a topical outline or summary of the comments and recommendations in the full statement. This supplemental sheet will not be included in the printed record.
The above restrictions and limitations apply only to material being submitted for printing. Statements and exhibits or supplementary material submitted solely for distribution to the Members, the press and the public during the course of a public hearing may be submitted in other forms.
The
Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with
disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please
call 202-225-1721 or 202-226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event
(four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to
special accommodation needs in general (including availability of
Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the
Committee as noted above.