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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 4, 1986)
Tl£ x X &M D 1 ne tsattalion Vol. 82 No. 201 USPS 045360 14 pages College Station, Texas Thursday, September 4, 1986 ongressional candidates debate at A&M Barton, Geren disagree on government priorities Pete Geren By Mona Palmer Senior Staff Writer Congressional candidate Pete Ge ren stressed investment in education Wednesday during his first face-to- face debate with 6th District incum bent Joe Barton, who maintained that America’s number one problem is the deficit. The two candidates fielded ques tions from a four-member panel be fore an audience of about 200 in Rudder Tower on the Texas A&M campus. Tne first question addressed stu dent financial aid, asking the candi dates if they thought it should be maintained. Barton said a bill came before Congress last year that would con tinue existing loan programs and set up certain incentives. He said that in one instance the bill would have doubled the amount of money a student could get in his third and fourth year and would also have set up incentives for the teach ing profession. But, Barton said, the appropria tions bill was S3 billion more than the authorization bill which called for $15.2 billion. “I had to vote against that because I am a supporter of the Gramm- Rudman bill,” he said. “Gramm- Rudman says we have to live within our current budget means. We can not continue to add onto existing programs until we get our spending policies under control. “If there is any group in our coun try that has the ability to help them selves, it is the student population. . . Some of the senior citizens are past the point where they can help them selves and we have to increase fund ing in those areas.” Geren countered that America is See Debate, page 14 Joe Barton ewis: White plans ocall 2nd session starting Monday (AP) — Gov. Mark Wl ite plans to call the Legislature b?it k for another special session on Monday, House Speaker Gib Lewis sid Wednesday. ■“We discussed when we will be coining back and that will be Mon- By,"Lewis said aftei meeting wuli White, ft. Gov. Bill Hobbs and the muse'and Senate budget < < unmittee tirmen. Today is the last day of the special ksion that began Aug. 6, but law- Itkers have made little progress to ward wiping out the $3.5 billion state :(Ifkit and Balancing t he budget. ■ The speaker’s press secretary, Tim Conger, said White told the leaders he would like to address a joint House-Senate meeting on Holiday, as he did to open the first [ecial session. Lewis, who has opposed a tax in- ise during this special session, said he would support a tax hike only if all other key budget-balanc ing steps are taken first and still prove inadequate. haven't changed in any way,” he said. “Our first priority is to try to cuts in state spending. And try to bring that (final deficit) figure down as low as we possibly can. “If we get the opportunity to do what we want to do in the House — the follow-through on various bud- jet cuts, transferability of (state) Inds, to run state government in a businesslike way — if that doesn’t bridge the gap (then) sure, I'll vote foi a tax bill. I’m not about to allow itht state to get in bad financial straits.'' ■ However, he emphasized, “We hmen't gotten there yet.” ■ Throughout the day, Lewis’ bud- gei aides briefed representatives on ■e financial picture under a variety <f possible actions — including tax ■creases next year. fe Possible actions being analyzed in clude delaying payments to state em- ee retirement funds, some type S' sales tax increase and a boost in motor fuel tax. [Asked if a tax increase in 1987 ap- likely, House Speaker Pro km Hugo Berlanga, D-Corpus Clnisti. said, “It sure looks that way.” But lawmakers should wait until the 1987 session, Berlanga said, be cause they won’t have enough infor mation until then on how much Ijoney should be raised and what the state’s economy will be like. | One possibility, Berlanga said, is that lawmakers would “look at a ma- JOi overhaul (of the tax system) and a possibility of expanding the (sales tax) base and lowering the rate.” Lewis said that in this special ses- |on, lawmakers may have heard too iuch from special interests and late agencies and not enough from those who foot the bills. [ "Noone has talked about the poor Id taxpayer,’’ Lewis said. “What bout him? Have we taken him into ansideration yet? I think the House trying to take him into consider- tion.” Not all House members agreed at a tax increase can be avoided. Rep. Juan Hinojosa, vice chair- lan of the Mexican-American Leg islative Caucus, said,“The Texas state budget crumbles while the House of Representatives fiddles, refusing to face up to the need for a tax increase. “While poses the House budget pro- more than $730 million in cuts, the proposal jeopardizes the state’s future in higher education, highways and related industries and jobs. “Anti-tax legislators refuse to ac cept reality, hoping instead that out side forces such as OPEC will force up the price of oil to help stabilize the state's oil and gas revenue.” Iranians detain 2 Soviet vessels MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — Iran stopped two Soviet ships in the first action against Iraq’s main arms supplier since the Iranian navy began searching freighters for military cargo early last year, shipping sources said Wednes day. Iranian warships chased the Pyotr Yemtsov in the southern Persian Gulf on Tuesday, then forced it into the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas to be searched. Shipping executives, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the second vessel was stopped briefly Wednesday and identified only as the Tutov. The Pyotr Yemtsov, which be longs to U.S.S.R.-Black Sea Ship ping of Odessa, was seized during a voyage from the Black Sea port of Nikolayev to Kuwait and was being unloaded Wednesday at Bandar Abbas, according to the reports. In Moscow, Foreign Ministry spokesman Gennady I. Gerasi mov confirmed that the 11,750- ton Pyotr Yemtsov was “de tained” off the coast of the United Arab Emirates but did not mention the Tutov. Bandar Ab bas is about 120 miles east of the U.A.E. Despite the Soviet role in sup plying Iraq during the 6-year-old Iran-lraq war. shipping sources said weapons or other military goods were unlikely to be shipped on Soviet freighters through the Persian Gulf. An executive based in Kuwait said, “We believe the Pyotr Yemt sov was loaded with construction material, but the Iranians con sider such commodities to be an asset for the Iraqi military effort.” He noted that several Kuwaiti vessels had been intercepted and their cargoes of steel rods and other construction materials seized. Scores of ships of many nation alities are known to have been searched since Iran began inter cepting commercial vessels early in 1985. Most detained ships are al lowed to resume their trips after searches. Others have been taken to Bandar Abbas, where their car goes were unloaded and confis cated. The American freighter Presi dent Taylor was stopped and boarded outside the Strait of Hormuz last January on a voyage to the United Arab Emirates port of Fujairah. In May, U.S. warships in the Indian Ocean prevented the interception of an other American cargo ship, the President McKinley. U.S., British and French naval vessels patrol the Persian Gulf, the narrow Strait of Hormuz that leads from the gulf to the Indian Ocean and the strait’s environs in the Gulf of Oman. Soviet warships also cover the area outside the Hormuz. Shipping executives said an av erage of two Soviet or East Euro pean freighters a day ply the gulf waters. They expressed surprise that Iran would harass Soviet ships while the Kremlin is trying to improve relations with Ayatol lah Ruhollah Khomeini’s funda mentalist Shiite Moslem govern ment. Insiders say saving writeoffs not enough Tax bill may hurt oil industry recovery NEW YORK (AP) — The oil in dustry was able to keep two of its cherished writeoffs in the tax over haul bill, but insiders say other as pects of the plan will hurt efforts to recover from the collapse of petro leum prices. Some estimate the proposed revi sions could drain at least $10 billion from industry coffers during the next live years, further weakening companies that already are coping with sharply lower margins or strug gling to ward off bankruptcy. Others say, however, that even that projected loss still would be far second to the main problem: the vol atility of oil prices, hovering at about half what they were last November. In any case, depletion allowances and intangible drilling cost writeoffs were kept in the bill for companies already benefiting from them. Depletion allowances are tax breaks based on the premise that withdrawal of oil or natural gas from the ground, while providing a po tential profit, also represent “losses” of a finite source of supply. The writeoffs have been per mitted for all companies except the large “integrated” companies, which do everything from drilling oil to marketing petroleum products. These companies, totalling between 20 and 30, lost the depletion allow ance writeoff in 1975. Intangible drilling costs basically represent costs involved in setting up a well, aside from expenses for equipment, land acquisition and land improvements, such as roads. Under the new bill, the one-year writeoff for intangibles remains for independent drillers. But major oil companies would have to stretch out 30 percent of the writeoffs over five years, instead of the present 20 per cent over three years. “On those things, we got off all right,” said Brendan Quirin, senior economist at Amoco Corp., the na tion’s fifth largest oil company. “But if you look at the investment tax credit, we didn’t do so well.” Current tax rules generally per mit a company to charge off 10 per cent of the cost of equipment. This writeoff, a dollar-for-dollar credit applied to the company’s in come tax bill, is in addition to wri teoffs for depreciation, which are al lowed on 95 percent of the same investment. Now, Quirin said, the investment tax credit is “a credit you don’t get. It has gone from 100 percent to zero. “I came up with a five-year num ber of $5 billion to $6 billion of in vestment tax credit lost. It clearly is a hit on the business, if you add in the other changes contemplated under the bill. “I’d estimate about $10 billion over five years; and that’s based on the very strong assumption that the industry is going to be in a profitable position.” Charles J. DiBona, president of the Washington-based American Pe troleum Institute, said the trade group agreed the tax bill could cost the industry that amount. He said the group especially was worried that the bill would discour age new exploration and increase dependence on imported oil. Time running out’ for deal to discount wheat to Russia WASHINGTON (AP) — A month has passed since President Reagan’s controversial decision to offer wheat to the Soviet Union at cut-rate prices, but Moscow 7 so far has ignored the offer and time is running out. Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., a critic of the proposed sale, said the situation is embarrassing for the United States. He said the ad ministration cut the price even more last Friday, which “demeans the process further.” To encourage the Soviets to buy 4 million metric tons of wheat under a previously arranged grain deal, the president an nounced on Aug. 1 that he had decided to grant a $13 per ton subsidy, meaning that American wheat w'ould cost less in the Soviet Union than in the United States. The subsidy, paid by American taxpayers, was increased Friday to $15 a ton. The'aim was to re duce the price to the world level. In justifying approval of the deal, Reagan said the subsidy would help hard-pressed Ameri can wheat grow'ers sell their sur pluses. He was encouraged to take the action by Senate Majority Leader Robert Dole, R-Kan. However, senior members of the administration, including Sec retary of State George Shultz, publicly criticized the deal as making no sense. Shultz said the Soviets must be “chortling and scratching their heads about a system that says we’re going to fix it up so that American taxpayers make it pos sible for a Soviet housew'ife to buy American-produced food at prices lower than an American housew'ife.” Lugar, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was among law'makers who were opposed. The two nations are in the third year of a five-year grain purchase agreement. If the Sovi ets haven’t purchased the wheat by Sept. 30, the expiration of fis cal 1986 in the United States bud geting process, and the discount sales opportunity will have passed the Soviets by. Any Soviet pur chases after that date would be credited against the next budget year — Fiscal 1987 — in which the Soviets also have agreed to buy 4 million metric tons. An aide to Dole, Mark Scanlon, said Wednesday last week’s in crease in the subsidy did not sur prise him because many fell the S13 figure was too low. And he suggested further increases might bejustified. Lugar said the issue dominated his discussions with Prime Min ister Robert Hawke and other of ficials during a vsit to Australia last w'eek. Australia argues that it doesn’t subsidize its exports and that grain trade should be subject to free market forces. Moss funeral to go on despite ban in S. Africa JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AP) — Anti-apartheid leaders said a mass funeral for 20 blacks killed by police in Soweto will be held today in defiance of an official ban. The government issued tough new press restrictions Wednesday to make sure journalists could not cover it. Families of some killed in the vio lence that swept parts of Soweto on Aug. 26-27 were called to police of fices Wednesday and told to shun the funeral scheduled for a stadium near the White City neighborhood. White City, so named because it is the best-lighted part of the huge black township outside Johannes burg, suffered the worst violence. At least 20 people were shot dead last week by police in the Soweto out burst and a gang of young men hacked a black town councilor to death. Leaders of anti-apartheid groups said they would go ahead with the funeral despite a Sow'eto police or der Tuesday forbidding mass fune rals of people killed by security forces. It says a service may be held for only one person and only 200 mourners may attend. President P.W. Botha’s govern ment reimposed a rule prohibiting journalists from reporting the ac tions of security forces and added tough new restrictions on news cov erage. New press restrictions, issued by Police Commissioner Johan Coetzee, expand a previous ban on reports of security force actions by saying any journalist on the scene or “within sight” of any unrest, restricted gath ering or security force activity must leave immediately. The restictions, published in the official government gazette, replace an order issued in conjunction with the declaration of a nationwide state ofemergencyjune 12. A government lawyer conceded two weeks ago that the order was im properly promulgated because it was not published in the government ga zette. Since then, on the advice of at torneys, journalists had treated the order as invalid.