Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (May 26, 1976)
I Page 2 THE BATTALION WEDNESDAY, MAY 26, 1976 ‘Temporary’ federal agencies must eventually be abolished By JOHN TOWER U.S. Senator for Texas WASHINGTON — One of the more cynical — but regrettably more accurate — maxims of politics is that there is no such thing as a “temporary” government agency. The National Commission on the Standardization of Screw Threads, for example, was established in 1919 for a three-year study. Though modified, it is with us yet today. The latest and perhaps most la mentable example of the perma nence of “temporary” government agencies is the Federal Energy Ad ministration (FEA). Only a gleam in a bureaucrat’s eye two years ago, FEA has since mushroomed into an agency of 3,400 employees with an annual budget of $142 million. Like the National Commission on the Standardization of Screw Threads, it seems destined to long outlive the purpose for which it was created. The FEA was created in early 1974 as an emergency means to deal with the Arab oil embargo of 1973- 74. FEA was to develop and imple ment a program of controls to carry the U.S. through the embargo crisis and put us back on the road to self- sufficiency. The oil embargo which spawned its creation is now over, but there are no signs of retrenchment at FEA. A bill presently before Congress would extend the life of this “temporary” agency for three more years, and nearly triple its budget. It is difficult to find any justifica tion for the continued existence — much less the expansion — of the FEA. When the Arab oil embargo struck, Americans were dependent upon foreign sources for nearly 40 percent of their energy. Today, after two vigorous years of FEA activity, we must import more than half of all the oil and natural gas we have. FEA’s chief contribution during this period seems to have been “Energy Ant,” a cartoon character that has provided passing amuse ment to third-graders across the country. Aside from the third graders, FEA is most popular with lawyers who have mastered its 700 pages of rules, with contractors who will share in the $300 million FEA will pass out this year, and with a few companies which have profited from disparities in FEA regulations. FEA is not so popular with oilmen who find their drilling operations hamstrung by foolish FEA regu lations, by working men and women who are laid off their jobs when the drilling rigs are stacked, and by con sumers who are forced to pay Higher prices for energy than they would have to pay on a free market. Its first Administrator, Treasury Secretary William Simon, has de scribed FEA as an “outrage” and a “potential monster” which ought to be abolished. I agree. Along with Sens. Barry Goldwater (R-Ariz.) and Dewey Bartlett (R-Okla.), I’ve in troduced a bill to abolish FEA. Perhaps we can prove that there is such a thing as a temporary govern ment agency after all. Cbe Battalion Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editor or of the writer of the article and are not necessarily those of the university administration or the Board of Regents. The Battal ion is a non-profit, self supporting enterprise operated by stu dents as a university and community newspaper. Editorial policy is determined by the editor. LETTERS POLICY Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words and are subject to being cut to that length or less if longer. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit such letters and does not guaran- . tee to publish any letter. Each letter must be signed, show the address of the writer and list a telephone number for verifica tion. Address correspondence to Listen Up, The Battalion, Room *217, Services Building, College Station, Texas 77843. Represented nationally by National Educational Advertising Servic es, Inc., New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. Mail subscriptions are $16.75 per semester; $33.25 per school year; $35.00 per full year. All subscriptions subject to 5% sales tax. Advertis ing rates furnished on request. Address; The Battalion, Room 217, Services Building, College Station, Texas 77843. Rights of reproduction of all matter herein are reserved. Second-Class postage paid at College Station, Texas. Editor Jerry Needham Managing Editor Richard Chamberlain Photographer Steve Goble \ Hair Shaping Emporium ’ i For Men And Women L I 1 QAA. ~7Jil 1 t Famous Pizzas Special Every Night from 5-9 p.m. 25c beer large pizza $2.85— 7-9 p.m. Thursday Night — 10c beer — 6-10 p.m. pool room, foosball, dancing, & beer garden soon. Call-in orders on pizzas 822-7022 1313 S. College What do you know about Carter? PORTLAND, ORE. — With the latest round in the unending presi dential primary battle, it is both tempting and dangerous to exagger ate the importance of the Republican returns and to misread or minimize the message from the Democratic results. President Ford’s handsome victories in Michigan and Maryland saved the dinner party at the French Embassy and spared Rogers Morton from filling those empty bottles on his shelf with hemlock. They also shot holes in the always shaky theory that the “crossover vote” was the source of Mr. Ford’s problem. But they did not do much else. Maryland and Michigan are states with a well-established habit of nominating moderates in Republi can primaries, and the fact that Mr. Ford won there should have sur prised no one — even after five los ses in the previous six tries. They imply that he should survive the challenge from Ronald Reagan in Oregon this Tuesday, in Rhode Is land on June 1 and in New Jersey and Ohio on June 8. But that says nothing about the odds in the other eight states that are still to vote, including California, where the makeup of the Republican party is more conservative and the odds for Reagan more favorable. The promised shift of some 130 New York delegates from the un committed column to Mr. Ford’s support on Monday will restore the President to the lead in the delegate race for the first time since the Texas sweep by Reagan on May 1. But un less he can defeat Reagan in Reagan’s home state of California, he may still ssasasassesa David S. Broder wind up the primary season with fewer delegates than bis challenger. And that would raise an interest ing question; Would the Republican convention in which the conserva tive candidate has the larger number of elected delegates permit the nomination of an alternative candi date whose key support was fur nished by Nelson Rockefeller and his allies? Mr. Ford might be able to negotiate such an arrangement, but not without incurring conservative bitterness. The memory of Richard Nixon’s 1960 “Treaty of Fifth Av enue” with the same Nelson Roc kefeller is burned deep in the mem ory of those who attend Republican conventions. That agreement, which ended Rockefeller’s 1960 platform rebellion and assured Nixon’s nomi nation, was the starting point of the 1964 Goldwater movement. And the conservatives who took power in 1964 have never relinquished it. It would be surprising if they ac quiesced peaceably in Rockefeller maneuvering to dictate the 1976 tic ket. By winning Michigan and Mary land, Mr. Ford prevented his own premature extinction. But he left himself with huge political prob lems, so the headlines greeting his revival are probably exaggerated. On the other hand, less attention than it deserves has been paid to what has happened in the Demo cratic race. The warning flags are fly ing for front-runner Jimmy Carter. He has simply not been able to con solidate his position in the way a genuinely strong candidate should, and his failure suggests that a fun damental reevaluation of his position may be imminent. When Carter came roaring out of his “breakthrough week,” the week in which he won Pennsylvania, Texas, Georgia and Indiana and eliminated “Scoop Jackson and Hubert Humphrey as active oppo nents in the primaries, he seemed quite literally on the verge of nomi nation. Since then, however, his record shows defeats by newcomers Frank Church in Nebraska and Jerry Brown in Maryland, and close es capes from Morris Udall in Connec ticut and Michigan. The lessons of May are plainly that the voters seeking a new fact in the White House can be beguiled by others than Carter and those whose concerns are bread-and-butter is sues still have serious doubts about him. To this reporter, the second find ing is even more significant than the first. Both the Church and Brown campaigns play off the same theme of disillusionment with big-spending, bureaucratic Washington that Car ter exploited so effectively himself earlier in the spring. If the Demo crats choose to nominate such a can didate, Carter, with his big delegate lead, is still likely to be theirmn But Udall stopped Carter inC« necticut and Michigan, notbyap^ his message, but by challenging) Despite the strong support lag political and labor leaders thres Carter, despite the continiiin fumbling of his own organizal Udall achieved unexpected suta by his persistence in asking:^ do you really know about Jin Carter that makes you so sure want to nominate him? That less than half the voters those two industrial statescouldjj satisfactory rationalizations for sup porting the presumed nomineeisi story as underplayed as the F* victories in Michigan and Marvin may be exaggerated. (c) 1976, The Washington Fi Company Readers’ forum Guest viewpoints, in to Listen Up letters, are come. All pieces submitted lo Aggie Forum should be • Typed triple space • Limited to 60 characters per line • Limited to 100 lines Submit articles to Reed McDonald 217, College Sla tion, Texas, 77843. Author’s phone number must accom pany all submissions. For Battalion Classified Call 845-2611 ^QTe c lutquoise G §lipp MANOR EAST MALL PRICES FROM $6.00 — UP 10% AGGIE DISCOUNT WITH I.D. CARD OPEN 11:00 A.M. DAILY BRYAN, TEXAS CHARISMATIC TEACHING SEMINAR DR. HOBART FREEMAN Dr. Freeman will be teaching the “End-Time” message of Faith for Healing, Deliverance and An swers to Prayer. DR. HOBART FREEMAN Dates: May 26, 27, 28, & 29 Time: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, & Saturday- 7:30 P.M. Dr. Freeman, Speaker Saturday - 10:30 A.M. Bruce Kinsey, Speaker Location: Bryan Civic Auditorium Coulter Drive Bryan, Texas Top of the Tower Texas A&M University Pleasant Dining — Great View SERVING LUNCHEON BUFFET 11:00 A.M. - 1:30 P.M. Each day except Saturday $2.50 DAILY $3.00 SUNDAY Serving soup & sandwich 11:00 A.M. - 1:30 P.M. Monday - Friday $1.50 plus drink Available Evenings For Special University Banquets Department of Food Service Texas A&M University “Quality First” Attention Off-Campus Students Desiring Telephone Service For Your Convenience, The New GTE PHONEMART (Located in Culpepper Plaza, Hwy. 30 at S. Texas) Will Be Open May 31. Memorial Day From 9:00 a.m. - 5:30 P-m. 1976