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    "label": "Text of a letter from the President to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate",
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    "title": "Text of a letter from the President to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate",
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            "logicalDate": "1976-10-01",
            "month": 10,
            "year": 1976
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    "url": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/96/3459/7345996/content/library/document/0248/whpr19761001-021.pdf",
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    "ocrText": "Digitized from Box 31 of the White House Press Releases at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library\nFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE\nOctober 1, 1976\nOffice of the White House Press Secretary\nTHE WHITE HOUSE\nTEXT OF A LETTER FROM THE\nPRESIDENT TO THE SPEAKER OF THE\nHOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES\nAND THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE\nSeptember 30, 1976\nDear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:)\nIn accord with 37 U.S.C. 1009 (c), I am hereby advising\nthe Congress that I plan to exercise the discretionary\nauthority provided by 37 U.S.C. 1009 (c), as added by\nsection 303 of the Department of Defense Appropriation\nAuthorization Act, 1977 (Public Law 94-361), with re-\nspect to adjustments in the levels of compensation for\nthe members of the uniform services.\nThe amendments to 37 U.S.C. 1009 made by that act provide\ndiscretionary authority to apply the adjustments (based\non the overall average percentage increase in General\nSchedule rates of basic pay, in accord with 37 U.S.C.\n1009 (a)) to the basic pay, quarters allowances and sub-\nsistence allowances of the uniform services on a percentage\nbasis other than an equal percentage basis. Those amend-\nments also provide discretionary authority to pay a partial\nquarters allowance to bachelors in government quarters, on\nfield duty and on sea duty.\nThe current levels of the military allowances for quarters\nand for subsistence bear little relationship to the costs\nof the services they are intended to procure. Further,\nthe present system in which entitlement to these allowances\nis completely eliminated when these services are provided\nin kind fails to recognize the value of military housing,\nof food provided in military messes, or of shelter provided\nto those at sea and in the field. The Congress has, for\nthe present, reserved its acceptance of my budget proposal\nto initiate a \"fair market\" rental concept for military\nhousing. This concept was the basis for my request for\ndiscretionary authority to allocate a portion of military\nbasic pay increases to the allowances, and to pay to bache-\nlors in government quarters, or on sea duty or field duty,\na portion of the quarters allowance.\nConsidering these aspects of the deficiencies in the\ncurrent level of these allowances, and consistent with\nthe FY 1977 budget, it is my considered judgment that\na reallocation of the October 1, 1976 military basic pay\nincrease is appropriate. Accordingly, I plan to reallo-\ncate 25 percent of that increase, by grade, all to the\nbasic allowance for quarters, and to pay a partial pay-\nment of the quarters allowance, equal to this reallocation,\nto bachelors in government quarters, and to those on sea\nduty or on field duty. This action takes a positive step\ntoward improving the current relationship of the quarters\nallowance to the costs of off-post housing and government\nquarters on post.\nmore\n2\nSpecifically, the amount allocated to the element of\nmonthly basic pay for each grade shall be 75 percent of\nthe amount that would have been allocated to that ele-\nment under 37 U.S.C. 1009 (b) (3); the elements of monthly\nbasic allowance for subsistence and monthly basic allowance\nfor quarters for each grade shall be increased by an amount\nwhich is of the same percentage as the overall average per-\ncentage increase in the General Schedule rates, except that\nthe element of monthly basic allowance for quarters shall\nbe increased by an additional amount by grade equal to 25\npercent of the amount that would have been allocated to the\nelement of monthly basic pay under 37 U.S.C. 1009(b)(3).\nMembers without dependents, who, under 37 U.S.C. 403(b) or\n(c), are not entitled to receive a basic allowance for quarters,\nshall be paid a partial monthly basic allowance for quarters\nin an amount equal to the additional amount allocated by grade\nto the element of monthly basic allowance for quarters under\n37 U.S.C. 1009(c).\nSincerely,\nGERALD R. FORD\n#\n#\n#"
}