Railroad Retirement Board Message to the Congress Transmitting a Report.

To the Congress of the United States:

I hereby transmit the annual report of the Railroad Retirement Board which summarizes its fiscal year 1977 operations under both the Railroad Retirement and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Acts.

Benefit payments under these Acts totaled almost $4 billion. Of this amount, $3.8 billion went to 1,100,000 retirement and survivor annuitants and $180 million was paid to 160,000 unemployment and sickness beneficiaries.

During the past year, I appointed a new Chairman and two Board members. To represent the public interest and advise the Congress of the Administration's position, I appointed as Chairman, William P. Adams, former Transportation Counsel for the House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce. I appointed one Board member who was nominated by railroad management-Earl Oliver, a former official of the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad and the National Railway Labor Conference—and another Board member who was nominated by railroad labor—Charles J. Chamberlain, former President of the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen and Chairman of the Railway Labor Executives' Association. Each of these appointees is extremely well qualified and can be expected to set a high level of public service.

JIMMY CARTER

The White House,

August 17, 1978.