Economic Stabilization Act Amendments
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Banking and Currency.
Economic Stabilization Act Amendments - Establishes an Economic Stablilzation Board, to be composed of three members, representing labor, business and the consuming public to be appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. Freezes all prices, wages, rents, and interest rates at levels no higher than those prevailing on December 1, 1974. Allows the Board to make ajustments in such levels in order to correct gross inequities. Directs the Board, within 60 days of enactment of this Act, to roll back prices, rents and interest rates to levels lower than those necessary to eliminate windfall profits or to carry out the purposes of this Act. Allows the Board, on petition of interested parties, to eliminate inequities which may have developed in the wage-price relationship by allowing upward adjustments in wages. Specifies that such increases not exceed the difference between the rate of price increases as measured by the Consumer Price Index between August 15, 1971 and the date of enactment, and the average wage increases in the firm or industry during the same period. Exempts from the wage freeze all workers whose earnings are substandard or who are members of the working poor. Specifies that this Act shall not preclude any increase in wages required by the Fair Labor Standards Act or other preexisting wage determinations. Establishes in the legislative branch the Office of Consumer Counsel, to be headed by the Counsel, appointed for one year by the Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals. Authorizes the Consumer Counsel: (1) to investigate any complaints concerning actions of the Board; (2) to issue subpenas for the testimony of witnesses and the production of records; (3) to intervene as a party in rulemaking and other decisions by the Board which the Counsel believes may be contrary to law or to the public interest; and (4) to apply to the appropriate court for relief if the Board makes a decision notwithstanding the objections of the Consumer Counsel. Directs the Office of the Consumer Counsel to advise consumers of information necessary to make intelligent decisions on the purchase of goods and services. Requires the Board to transmit quarterly reports to the Committee on Banking and Currency of the House of Representatives and to the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs of the Senate, describing the actions taken and assessing the progress attained in achieving the purpose of this Act. Makes technical and conforming amendments.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on December 19, 1974. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on December 19, 1974: Referred to House Committee on Banking and Currency.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 93rd Congress (1973-74), 651 of the 23,396 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.8 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
WRIGHT PATMAN (D-TX) introduced it on December 19, 1974, and 16 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 16 Democrats.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on December 19, 1974, 18893 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 18893 days ago, on December 19, 1974.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 93rd Congress has not finished by January 3, 1975 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers