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    "title": "1976/02/24 - Economic Policy Board",
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        "James M. Cannon Files (Ford Administration)",
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    "seq": 1,
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    "ocrText": "The original documents are located in Box 56, folder \"1976/02/24 - Economic Policy Board\"\nof the James M. Cannon Files at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.\nCopyright Notice\nThe copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of\nphotocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Gerald Ford donated to the United\nStates of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.\nWorks prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public\ndomain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to\nremain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid\ncopyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.\nDigitized from Box 56 of the James M. Cannon Files at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library\nECONOMIC POLICY BOARD\nEXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING\nAGENDA\n8:30 a.m.\nRoosevelt Room\nFebruary 24, 1976\n1.\nInternational Aviation Policy Statement\n2.\nReport of EPB/NSC Task Force on\nTreasury/State\nCommodities\nEYES ONLY\nMINUTES OF THE\nECONOMIC POLICY BOARD\nEXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING\nFebruary 23, 1976\nATTENDEES: Simon, Lynn, Greenspan, Richardson, Dunn, Zarb,\nMalkiel, MacAvoy, Porter, Perritt, Kasputys,\nLeach, Arena, Butler, Foryst\n1. Audit and Reform\nThe Executive Committee reviewed a memorandum prepared\nby the Treasury on the need for reform of the Federal\nGovernment's audit system. The discussion focused on\nthe current pattern of conducting financial audits of\nFederal Government programs, the relationship of audits\nto evaluation of program effectiveness, and a suggestion\nof transferring certain audit responsibilities to the\nstates.\nDecision\nThe Executive Committee approved establishment of a task\nforce to more precisely define the problem and objectives\nof audit reform and to develop options on the issue for\nconsideration by the Executive Committee. The task force\nwill include representatives of the Department of the\nTreasury, OMB, CEA, and the Domestic Council.\n2. Report of Subcommittee on Economic Statistics\nThe Subcommittee on Economic Statistics reported on its\ndeliberations on: (1) fringe benefit statistics and\n(2) the CPI and cost of living allowances. Mr. Malkiel\nreported that the Subcommittee had discussed at length\nthe current unavailability of comprehensive statistics\non fringe benefits as a proportion of total compensation\nand believes that the appropriate solution is the devel-\nopment of an Unemployment Cost Index. The comprehensive\nindex including benefits will be available for some\nsectors of the economy in 1977 and economywide in 1978.\nThe Subcommittee has also considered the question that\nuse of the CPI for indexing wage payments can contribute\nto the rate of inflation, especially if the CPI is an\nupward biased indicator of the cost of living. The Sub-\ncommittee identified three particular problems potentially\nEYES ONLY\nBYES ONLY\n2\nbiasing the CPI: (1) the CPI is not a cost of living\nindex but simply compares what a \"market basket\" of\ngoods and services cost this month against the cost dur-\ning some past date. (2) The CPI does not adequately\ncapture quality improvements, especially gains from\nthe introduction of new products. (3) Some items in the\nCPI are incorrectly measured such as owner-occupied\nhousing.\nThe Subcommittee is currently working on an alternative\nmethod to measure home ownership costs in the CPI and\nwill provide the Executive Committee with its recom-\nmendations on this issue in the Subcommittee's March\nmonthly status report.\n3. 1975 Defined Benefit Plan Terminations\nThe Executive Committee reviewed a memorandum prepared\nby the Department of Labor on \"1975 Defined Benefit Plan\nTerminations,\" which is attached at Tab A.\nDecision\nThe Department of Labor will continue its investigations\nof the effects of the Employment Retirement Income\nSecurity Act of 1974 (ERISA) on the rate of formation of\nnew pension plans.\nEYES ONLY\nRBP"
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