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By KENNETH A. PEMBERTON
Reporter
Michael A. Lytle’s job is to
make sure that Texas A&M keeps
a high profile in the United States
and that the University plays a
dominant role in certain issues.
Lytle is the special assistant to
the chancellor for federal regula
tions.
“Basically, I help the chan
cellor (Arthur G. Hansen) make
more informed decisions,” Lytle
said. “I’m like a clearing house or
a brokerage firm — I straighten
out the facts and present them to
the chancellor.
“I maintain liaison with gov
ernmental relations staffs of
Texas, federal agencies, national
higher education associations,
learned societies and other re
search universities.”
Every 45 days Lytle travels to
Washington, D.C., to meet with
public officials and attend lec
tures of national organizations.
“For example,” Lytle said, “the
Department of Defense was de
ciding where to locate its
Software Institute (a computer
software producer of defense
programs).
“A&M and the University of
Texas as well as the University of
Southern California and other
schools were competing for it. It
turned out Carnegie-Mellon got
it, but it kept A&M very visible.
Lytle said he thinks he is a nat
ural for the job.
Lytle served with the United
States Army military intelligence
in Vietnam. Later, he received a
Bachelor of Arts degree in politi
cal science and forensic studies at
MSC complex money is tight
Repairs to continue
By CATHIE ANDERSON
Stuff Writer
Rain at Texas A&M means stu
dents have to break out their plastic
rain gear and duck shoes. For the
workers in the University Center,
however, it means breaking out the
trash cans to catch leaking water.
Steve Hodges, University Center
manager, says the leaky ceiling will
soon be repaired. The entire com
plex is receiving a new foam (polyeu-
rathane) roof.
Hodges says that reparation to
Rudder Theater, Rudder Tower,
the Board of Regents Annex and the
Memorial Student Center will con
tinue despite some fiscal difficulties.
The complex was experiencing
problems before, but a recent man
date from University President
Frank E. Vandiver has made things
more difficult. Vandiver has asked
University departments to reduce
their budgets by 2 percent. The
money that is saved would be used
by the respective departments dur
ing the next biennium.
Because of this order, Hodges
says that the complex will have to
make a 2 percent profit since it was
operating on a break-even budget
this year.
“It’ll be real tight,” Hodges says.
Making a profit will be even more
difficult because the complex has de
pleted all of its reserve funds over
the last five years, Hodges said. The
complex has been operating at a def
icit for the past five years.
Hodges says that this is the reason
that the students’ University Center
fee needed to be increased. The stu
dents voted to increase the fee in the
spring. But the 2 percent budget cut
reduces the effect of the $2-per-stu-
dent-per-semester increase that the
complex is getting.
Other ways that the complex
earns money are through leasing,
guest room rental and bowling and
games in the MSC.
The complex was operating on a
break-even budget until the recent
cut was made, Hodges says. Now the
complex is limiting reparation to
what is necessary to prevent future
damage. And repairs, which have al
ready been contracted, will be made.
“By the time we’ve contracted for
work, we can’t just tell the people,
‘Sorry, we don’t need your serv
ices,’ ” Hodges says. “It’ll take us a
couple of months to gear things
down.”
The complex also has cut the
amount of part-time help it receives
in order to comply with Vandiver’s
mandate, Hodges says.
“It has caused us to tighten our
belts considerably,” Hodges says.
“We will have to use less part-time
help in setting up things for the
complex. But we have not had to let
anyone go.”
Monthly welfare grant in Texas
less than half of national average
Photo by DEAN SA1TO
Michael Lytle, special assistant to the chancellor for federal
relations, uses a computer to keep in touch with faculty.
Indiana University in 1973. He
then taught criminal justice and
received his Master’s of Educa-
tion,from A&M in 1978.
“(Criminal) investigation
helped me to deal with processing
information — also evaluating
facts and their accuracy,” he said.
“And how to deal with people.”
Lytle also does research for
NAT O. He is a specialist on the
NATO Alliance and Northern
European politico-military af
fairs.
“I get kidded about it once in a
while — the fact that I’m in on
both national and international
affairs,” he said.
Auto plant war makes ‘Donahue’
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Associated Press
WASHINGTON — General Mo
tors Chief Roger Smith said Tuesday
the car maker is in a “tug of war” be
tween Texas and northern states
jwho are closer to suppliers of a pro
posed new automobile plant the
^tates are seeking.
Texas Gov. Mark White, who ap
peared on the syndicated “Phil Do
nahue Show” with Smith and six
other governors said later that he
doesn’t feel he has to “sell” Texas.
More than a dozen states are vy
ing for the 6,000-worker plant,
which will make the newly designed
“Saturn,” a small model expected to
take on the high-mileage Japanese
imports.
“Texas has the lead on this thing
for a couple of reasons,” Donahue
said. “It’s a right to work state, Ross
Perot just did a big business deal
with you (GM) having sold his whole
company which is now a division of
yours. There’s a rumor that he
bought land, I think outside Dallas-
Fort Worth.”
White said later that because the
new car requires a brand new plant
and new showrooms, suppliers
would be willing to open new facili
ties in Texas.
Associated Press
AUSTIN — Commissioner Mar
lin Johnston of the Department of
Human Resources said Tuesday that
Texas’ average welfare grant of $53
a month is far behind Oklahoma and
New Mexico, “who are not known
for being flaming liberals.”
Texas’ AFDC, or Aid to Families
with Dependent Children, is less
than half the national monthly aver
age of $109, Johnston told the Sen
ate Finance Committee.
The AFDC grant for the neigh
boring state of Oklahoma is $98.
New Mexico’s average grant is $81.
The department budget for
AFDC in Texas this year is $231.7
million, and the DHR asked for
$2'80.7 million in the 1986 fiscal year
and for $307.1 million in 1987.
“We’re very pleased that we’ve
been able to make some progress in
getting that grant up over the past
few years, thanks to the Legislature.
We’re now at about $53 per person
per month. The Legislative Budget
Board would leave it that level. We
had hoped to get it on up to around
$60 for ’86 and $60 for ’87,”
Johnston said.
The proposed LBB budget calls
£/.S.. total below the pov
erty line, yet we get only
about 3 percent of the
federal monies to help
those people.” -- DHR
commissioner Marlin
for $238.7 million for AFDC in 1986
and $244 million the following year.
AFDC has generated repeated
controversies in the past with legis
lators complaining of “welfare Cadil
lac” families.
Johnston said the “true value” of
an AFDC grant to a family of three,
usually a mother and two children, is
a maximum of $167 a month. The
family also would be eligible for
$189 in federally funded food
stamps, $151 in health care and $8
iyi energy assistance for a total of
$515 a month — or 69 percent of the
poverty level.
He told the committee, which is
reviewing budget requests, that
Texas has four of the seven worst
“poverty pockets” in the nation in
Brownsville, McAllen, Laredo and
El Paso.
Johnston said poverty is defined
for a family of three as having an in
come of less than $9,340 a year, and
he added that 18 percent of Texans
will live in poverty in 1986.
“We have 8 percent of the U.S. to
tal below the poverty line, yet we get
only about 3 percent of the federal
monies to help those people. Texas
only reaches about 24 percent of the
poverty children (in the state), while
the national average is above 50 per
cent,” Johnston said.
DHR’s total budget request for
1986-87, including federal money, is
nearly $5.70 billion, compared with
the LBB’s proposal of $4.66 biillion.
“We realize that the Legislature
faces probably one of the toughest
sessions in history from the stand
point of need vs. available revenue,
and we’re not unmindful of that,”
Johnston said, “but we have to bal
ance that with what we feel is our le
gal and moral responsibility to lay
out what we see to be the needs of
the people.
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1400 S. Texas
Corner of Jersey
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