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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 20, 1976)
align ^14,1978 E ate of the Union Ford budget to meet opposition Associated Press IINGTON — President Ford will ngress a $394.2-billion budget to- but congressional Democrats are Of the y attacking it and marshaling their 36S of for imminent veto battles to test ctny thfjr en Sth in the election-year spending 1 outlines of the budget Ford will t Wednesday were made clear in his lough a^of the Umori message last night as he l . Spending restraint and renewed his for a balancing income tax cut. SClOUSjjthis address, Ford said the nation’s eyoursffin was better now than it was a year of thi ago but that it’s still not good enough. He proposed cutting income taxes by $10 bil lion, raising Social Security levies $4.2 bil lion, adding catastrophic health insurance for Medicare recipients, encouraging busi ness expansion by offering new tax incen tives and providing housing assistance for 500,000 families. A White House data sheet announcing the budget total for the 12 months begin ning next Oct. 1 says the budget will be $43 billion in deficit. The deficit for the current fiscal year is estimated at $76 billion. Democrats responded with a chorus of charges that Ford was putting what they called an arbitrary spending ceiling ahead of the needs of the unemployed in an economy just beginning to recover. The Democrats also signaled that the forthcoming disputes over vetoes and the federal budget will bear the seeds for future political issues in this election year. Ford raised some political themes in his address, possibly trying out “new realism” as a campaign slogan and obliquely criticiz ing his Republican opponent, Ronald Re agan. The first veto dispute comes next Tues day when the House will vote whether to override Ford’s veto of a $45-billion labor- health, education and welfare appropriation heavy with funding for social programs. They would need a two-thirds vote to over ride, and the outcome is in doubt. House Majority Leader Thomas P. O’Neill Jr., D-Mass., said Ford’s economic plan would throw an additional 200,000 persons out of work. Sen. Hubert H. Hum phrey, D-Minn., said Ford failed “to come to grips with the problem of unemployment and the sluggishness of our economy. ” In another major squabble between the Democratic Congress and Ford, the House votes next Tuesday on a $112-billion de fense appropriation that contains a ban on using U.S. funds to help any faction in the Angolan civil war. The Senate already has approved the ban. “We must not face a future in which we can no longer help our friends, such as in Angola, even in limited and carefully con trolled ways . . .,” Ford told Congress in the nationally broadcast address. He said such actions as the Senate’s vote for the Angola-funds ban were “very short sighted.” House Speaker Carl Albert has said he cannot conceive of Congress approving An gola aid on the basis of arguments put for ward by the administration. Albert called Ford’s spending restraint-tax reduction plan unworkable. Ford said his tax-cut and spending ceiling proposal, essentially the one Con gress refused to vote last year, would pro vide a $10-billion tax reduction in addition to the compromise cut in effect until mid year. He said it would mean $227 a year in addition take-home pay for a family of four with $15,000 income. But Ford also proposed an increase in another tax, the payroll levy paid by em ployers and employes to support the Social Security system that has been running a See FORD, Page 4. :h and a on cloua sdifficut mlar mei Cbe Battalion Vol. 68 No. 60 College Station, Texas Tuesday, Jan. 20, 1976 d to nominate ry for labor >sition today Associated Press 5HINGTON — President Ford will lief federal mediator W.J. Usery, Jr. beretary of labor, a job for which he Ited nearly three years, according to {House sources. eSe sources confirmed Usery s selec ts I said a formal announcement of the nation is expected today, iery, 52, was Ford’s invited guest for ®sident’s State of the Union address ■v night, and was given a front-row n the executive gallery of the House of fejentatives. ® offered Usery the job during a pri- White House meeting last Friday. If [■led by the Senate, he will succeed In'. Dunlop, who resigned, effective 1 1 because of the President s veto of "common site” picketing bill. ]&y, a big, back-slapping former wel- mm Georgia, has built a reputation as a Labor mediator. He has served as direc- f the Federal Mediation and Concilia- I Service since 1973 and as the chief House labor trouble-shooter, vas twice passed over for the Labor fment post, first when President M. Nixon named New York build- le union leader Peter J. Brennan to in 1973 and last March when Ford jinted Dunlop. inlop, a Harvard economist and ime arbitrator in construction dis- >, quit with the explanation that the destroyed his effectiveness with or- ;ed labor. The veto also enraged union irs, who charged that Ford double- jed them after first promising to sign bgislation which would have broadened |Ji picketing rights at construction sites. though Usery, a former official with the linists union, has the respect of top f leaders, he is unlikely to find the trade movement receptive to restoring ith the administration. A / , Presnal Appreciation Dinner President Jack K. Williams (left) and State Rep. Bill Presnal (center) greet guests at an appreciation dinner for Presnal in Duncan Dining Hall Friday. The Bryan Democrat and Aggie is chairman of the House Appropri ations Committee . Photo by Steve Goble, mergency med system insecure ithout appropriated funds By STEVE GRAY Contributing Editor proposed Emergency Medical Ser- system for the seven-county Brazos 1 region could be in jeopardy if sustain- Ifederal money is not appropriated by Igfess by June 30, the end of the 1975 yft'ear. at point was brought up Monday night r ig a meeting of the executive commit- of the Brazos Valley Development ^ncil (BVDC). The committee heard a |{»rt from the Emergency Medical Ser- i (EMS) Advisory Committee concern- lie present status of efforts to establish a Ijpnal EMS system which would include licipation by Brazos, Leon, Madison, ington, Burleson, Robertson and lies counties. |i Nowlin, chairman of the advisory said the efforts to establish an EMS ( pm in this area are being hampered be- 'eof a lack of qualified health and ambu lance personnel and “too little coordination of EMS with other public safety services. ” According to the report, an EMS system could operate in the Brazos Valley “only on a limited basis’ with present available man power. The present EMS project has pur chased four ambulances with grants from the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW). There are plans to pur chase a fifth one out of the $20,000 remain ing from the present grant period, Nowlin said, pointing out that the BVDC will re quest funds in its next grant application to buy two additional ambulances. Dawson Kilcrease, an EMS consultant with HEW in Dallas, told the executive committee and advisory group that a re gional EMS system must satisfy 15 basic requirements in order to qualify for additional federal funding under the EMSS Act of 1973. The Act provides funding nationwide for fexas National IVERNOR Dolph Briscoe said in San lio yesterday that he will introduce pition at the next session to deter crime ling the bills largely at repeat offen- fce made the remarks after a welcom- peech to the opening session of the lal Conference of State Criminal Jus- anning Administrators, answer to criticism that he spends too 1 time away from the capital, Briscoe lat he needs input from the grassroots l)at spending time in Uvalde gives him Input. THE HOUSE intelligence committee staff has drafted a report that says the U.S. government seriously undervalued large quantities of weapons supplied to antiSoviet factions in Angola. This has allowed the CIA to transfer much larger quantities of weapons that would seem possible under the $25 million price tag which has been attached to the Angolan operation. How ever, the report does not mention a provi sion in law which allows surplus weapons to be transferred to foreign countries at one- third their original cost. Presnal honored by speeches and appreciation dinner By JIM PETERS City Editor “He’s a good man to know. He’s the one that brings home the bacon,” commented State Rep. Tom Schieffer of Fort Worth as hundreds of dinner guests mingled around the greeting line for the guest of honor. More than 850 friends of State Rep. Bill Presnal had come to pay tribute to the Bryan Democrat and chairman of the House Appropriations Committee with an ap preciation dinner Friday night in Duncan Dining Hall. State legislators and officials, including Speaker of the House Bill Clayton, Texas A&M President Jack K. Williams, and the vice-presidents from at least six state uni versities, joined with many A&M employes and longtime friends in honoring the state legislator for Brazos and Robertson coun ties. Tickets for the dinner cost $7 for regular tickets and $30 for patron ticket and con tributions. Proceeds after the dinner ex penses go to Presnal’s campaign fund. It was just eight years ago that Presnal resigned his position as a assistant comman dant (dorm advisor) for the Corps of Cadets and ran for state representative. It was just eight years ago that Presnal resigned his position as a tactical officer (dorm advisor) for the Corps of Cadets and ran for state representative. A year ago in a surprise move Speaker Clayton picked Presnal to be chairman of the Appropriations Committee, perhaps the most powerful chairmanship in the House. It writes the budget for nearly 200 state agencies. Cla>don, who once was a waiter in Dun can Hall, hailed Presnal Friday as “a great man of courage and integrity ... A great man for Texas. A great man for Texas A&M, College Station, the surrounding area, and a great friend of mine.” Other speakers on the dias praised the Tabor native as an outstanding family man, friend, Christian, and a man of integrity and impeccable character. “We’ve never suspected him of com miserating when he could’ve helped, said Joe Hedrick, head football coach and superintendent of the Franklin school sys tem. As a representative of “Texas A&M Uni versity, the faculty, staff, students and friends,” President Williams expressed gratitude for “everything he does. He rep resents us well and we are heavily in his debt.” Williams then pointed to the large number of Aggies who are highly visible in Student fee allocation hearings begin today councils of government wishing to provide efficient, quality ambulance and emergency medical services to residents included in the system. Nowlin said a particular problem is that a basic requirernent for an EMS system is an emergency room with proper life-support systems that must be available on a 24-hour basis. At present, according to the status report, only St. Joseph Hospital in Bryan would be capable of providing such service around the clock. St. Joseph’s, which has a 24-hour emergency room during the weekends only, is being considered as a site for EMS operations in Brazos County by the BVDC. Nowlin said the BVDC will request funds for the next fiscal year to train students, police, firemen and other public service personnel as EMT’s at the newly-created College of Medicine at Texas A&M Univer sity. Index TWO TONS of marijuana were found in an airplane that crashed in Houston this morning. Page 2. THE ECONOMY is settling into its long-term growth trend, government fig ures show. Page 4. KISSINGER is headed for Moscow in hopes of starting new nuclear weapons talks. Page 5. • LEFTIST MOSLEM militias appear to have taken control of Lebanon’s northern, eastern and southern regions. Page 5. More than $1 million will be budgeted by a group of 11 students Tuesday and Thurs day evening at a Student Fee Allocation Committee meeting. The group, mostly comprising student senators, will make recommendations to the administration after hearing the plea for funds from 13 student service organiza tions. “There is a projected $1,078 million for 1976-77 student fee collections,” said Bill Flores, Student Senate vice-president of fir nance, Monday. “A 5 per cent reserve of $54,000 is set aside,” said Flores. “Last year the committee’s recom mendations were taken exactly as made, except for a three or four per cent increase after a surplus showed up, Flores said. Shuttle bus and the student lounge ac counts are asking less, he said. “All others are asking the same or a little more includ ing the Athletic Department.” Flores said that in a meeting held Monday morning, the Athletic Department indicated that there would be a ticket-cost increase instead of a fee-request increase. “But tickets have nothing to do with these allocations,” said Flores. Two other athletic endeavors, intramur als and extramurals, are requesting twice their request of last year. The committee will meet in Memorial Student Center 230. Tuesday hearings will begin at 8 p.m. and Thursday requests will begin at 6:30 p.m. The committe members are: Debbie Boyd, undergraduate off-campus senator; Tom Dawsey, a second-year committee member; Bill Flores, chairman; Scott Greson, senator; Dan Kaspar, junior ag riculture senator; Clare Kelly, at-large business senator; Joe Marcello, a second- year committee member; Donnie Payne, at-large business senator; Susan Rudd, stu dent government secretary; Robert Smith, sophomore science senator and Tom Strick land, junior Corps senator. state government, such as Clayton, Presnal, Sen. Bill Moore of Bryan, House Speaker Pro-Tern Richard Slack, Senate Pro-Tern Glenn Kothmann, and others. “Many may think their presence makes our task in Austin easier,” Williams said. “And they’re right.” Presnal has also represented the A&M name the past six years in his position as special assistant for the A&M Research Foundation. He is in charge oflegislative liaison with the U.S. Congress and receives a salary of $14,160 a year. Foundation director and Dean of En gineering Fred J. Benson said that Presnal s “thorough knowledge of the legislative pro cess” is invaluable in coordinating Federal legislation dealing with research funds. Since the foundation is not supported by any state monies, but rather through gifts and Federal funds, Benson says there is “no conflict of interest” in Presnal’s duties. News Summary After a month-long holiday lag from the hustle and bustle of College Station one often loses touch with the local news scene. Presented below is a summary of some of the off-campus news of the past few weeks. Political Scene Olin E. “Tiger” Teague, (D.-College Station) has filed for another term as U.S. Representative from the 6th District. A 30-year Congressional veteran, Teague will be opposed by Ron Godbey, a Fort Worth lawyer and television weatherman. Glynn A. “Buddy” Williams has resigned as Brazos County Democratic Party chair man after 20 years in office. College Station city employes may now run for any political office except city coun cil. The council recently changed the sec tion of the personnel code restricting such activity. Traffic Control After an eight-month study, the Brazos County League of Women Voters pre sented recommendations for city bike paths and walkways to a joint meeting of the Col lege Station City Council and A&M Con solidated School Board. The recom mendations included: the approval of an or dinance to prohibit parking in bike lanes and development of a joint master plan for lanes and walks by College Station, Bryan and Texas A&M. The City Council has approved renaming State Highway 30 the Harvey Highway and F.M. 2154 (Wellborn Road) as the Wellborn Road. The “Texas 500” of Nov. 18, 1973, was a race that was never held. It was canceled and no racing events have been held at Texas World Speedway since October of that year. The Battalion has learned that the speed way is about to be sold and two races are tentatively set this year at the track, which is eight miles south of College Station on Highway 6. Tomorrow The Bat talion will analyze the track’s history and status.