Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 27, 1988)
Wednesday, April 27, 1988/The Battalion/Page 3 State and Local BO New task force will offer ideas for changes in welfare system “We have a moral obligation to help every man and every woman who wants a job to have a job, a good job, a job with a future, a job in the private sector. ” — Gov. Bill Clements AUSTIN (AP) — Declaring that the state owes citizens help in finding jobs, Gov. Bill Clements created a new task force Tuesday to recommend ways of overhaul ing the Texas welfare system. “We have a moral obligation to help every man and every woman who wants a job to have a job, a good job, a job with a future, a job in the private sector,” Clements said. However, the governor said the current welfare system hasn’t worked. "The fact is the welfare system has not performed to the expec tations of anyone — liberal or conservative, recipient or tax payer, deliverer of the programs or just an observer of the system,” he said. Clements appointed Houston oilman Rob Mosbacher to head the 10-member task force that will examine the welfare system and make recommendations be fore the 1989 Legislature goes to work. The other members will be named within 10 days, he said. Speaking to the Texas Associa tion of Private Industry Councils, Clements said the task force would seek to increase cooper ation among state welfare agen cies, operate pilot programs de signed to reduce the number of people who return to welfare, en courage volunteer groups to sup port families receiving aid for de- pendent children and recommend changes in the law to break the employment-unem ployment cycle. “When all is said and done,” Clements said, “helping people find work, hold a job, build a ca reer, become self-supporting, be independent men and women striving to make their dreams be come reality, is what we’re all about.” Mosbacher said he is partic ularly concerned about people re turning to welfare only months after obtaining a job and getting off public assistance. “We’re going to look partic ularly at how we can do a better job of not only putting people to work but keeping them there,” Mosbacher said. “A large part of the problem is these people take jobs and in a matter of four to six months are back on welfare,” he said. “We’re going to focus on how you keep them in the workforce. We’re in terested in moving them off wel fare and into the workforce per manently.” Clements said the time is right to reform the welfare system be cause the state’s economy is grow ing and unemployment rates are going down. Clements says Legislature, not courts, should solve school finance problem AUSTIN (AP) — Gov. Bill Clements said Tuesday the Legis lature — not the courts — should solve problems that led a judge to declare the current state school fi nance system unconstitutional. “We do not want our public school system to get into the hands of our state courts,” Clem ents said. “That’s just unaccepta ble. “The only way we can cure that is to go through the legislative process with a constitutional amendment and keep the respon- siblity for our public school sys tem in the Legislature where it belongs.” State District Judge Harley Clark ruled earlier that the sys tem unconstitutionally short changes districts with lower prop erty wealth. The state is appealing. Clements’ comments came as legislative leaders, including Lt. Cov. Bill Hobby, were being briefed on a proposal by Comp troller Bob Bullock to help bail the state out of its school financ ing dilemma. While Bullock hasn’t publicly released details, sources say the plan includes a proposal to use about $600 million in bond pro ceeds to finance new facilities in school districts with low property wealth. The proposal also calls for guaranteeing a minimum level of state funding for school districts that tax homeowners and busi nesses at the state average, an idea sources said still would allow wealthier districts to pump more money into their schools if they choose to do so. The plan also suggests using money from the state Permanent School Fund to purchase con struction bonds issued by local school districts, reducing financ ing costs and making money available for other uses. Hobby called Bullock’s propo sals a good starting place for law makers and a plan that should meet requirements of Judge Clark’s ruling. “I think he’s made an enor mous contribution,” Hobby said. “I think it’s very good thinking . . . He’s done his usual very fine piece of work.” Clements said Tuesday he hasn’t seen Bullock’s plan and wouldn’t comment on it. The governor’s staff was briefed on Monday by Bullock. During a brief question-and- answer session with news report ers, Clements said he believes the Legislature has sought to im prove public education and would keep doing so if free of court control. He said federal court interven tion on the state prison system and state mental health system shows the need to keep public school financing under legislative control. Hance: Government should talk with OPEC to seek stable oil prices VIENNA (AP) — The U.S. gov ernment should open direct talks with OPEC in the interests of seek ing stable oil prices, Texas Railroad Commissioner Kent Hance said Tuesday. Hance, one of three members of the commission that regulates the state’s oil production, was meeting privately with officials from the Or ganization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and independent oil ex porting nations. “The main thing is to establish a dialogue,” he said in an interview. Texas oil wells pump about 2 mil lion barrels a day, more than most OPEC countries. Hance has criticized the Reagan administration for its hands-off ap proach to the oil market. “For us to take the approach to bury our heads in the sand ... is the wrong approach,” Hance said, add ing, “That doesn’t mean we’ll have an alliance with OPEC.” The United States never has held direct talks with OPEC although it has discussed oil market matters with individual cartel member gov ernments, including Saudi Arabia. The Reagan administration’s view is that governments should not be in volved in setting oil prices. Hance said he intended to meet with Rilwanu Lukman, who is the OPEC president and oil minister of Nigeria. On Monday he met with members of the OPEC secretariat staff, including Fadhil al-Chalabi, the deputy secretary general. He declined to be specific about what he thought OPEC and non member oil producing nations could do to stabilize prices, which have fallen sharply in recent years. “There may be times that you’ll have mutual ideas that you’ll pursue separately,” he said. Hance said U.S. reliance on for eign oil was likely to increase from the current 40 percent of total sup plies to 65 percent by 1992. It’s necessary to try to have some input into the deliberations of OPEC See related story, page 12 and other oil exporting countries, he said. Hance has been criticized by members of the Reagan administra tion for coming to Vienna to talk with OPEC officials. Energy Secre tary John Herrington said during the weekend that Hance was allow ing himself to be used by OPEC. Five OPEC oil ministers were to meet Tuesday night with represen tatives of Mexico, Egypt, China and five other independent oil-produc ing countries to discuss possible joint action aimed at propping up oil prices. Hance was not invited to the meeting, but he and officials from Norway and the Canadian provincial government of Alberta were in Vienna to hold private meetings with individual OPEC officials. Hance said he did not have the authority to commit the Texas Rail road Commission to any specific ac tions regarding oil production levels. He said he would report back to the two other members of the commis sion and to Gov. Bill Clements. Correction A story in Tuesday’s issue of The Battalion incorrectly re ported the dates of the Red Cross campus blood drive. The Red Cross Blood Drive will be held to day through Friday. Individuals who donated on the last day of the Wadley Blood Drive will be able to donate on the last day of the Red Cross drive. The Red Cross requires 56 days between blood donations. The Red Cross will be collect ing blood at Rudder Fountain and the Commons. ENGINEERING SUMMER UNDERGRADUATE COURSES *rcr*as*</ tatokr of «ttn, tas*/* THE COURSES THE A STEPS CIVIL ENGINEERING 2331: Mechanics II: 4-6 p.m., M-Th 2332: Mechanics of Deformable Bodies: 2-4 p.m. M W 4369: Foundation Engineering: 4-6 p.m., MW ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING 2335: Networks I: 4-6 p m., TTh 3364: Networks II: 6-8 p.m., TTh 2336: Introduction to Electric Circuits & Systems: 6-8 p.m., TTh 3337: Electrical Engineering Analysis I: 4-6 p.m., TTh 3338: Electrical Engineering Analysis II: 8-10 a m, M W 3366: Signals & Systems: 6-8 p.m., MW 3441: Digital Logic Design: 6-8 p.m., TTh 3455: Electronics I: 10-noon, TTh 3456: Electronics II: noon-2 p.m., TTh 4337: Electromagnetic Theory: 2-4 p.m., TTh 4338: Electromagnetic Fields & Waves II: 2-4 p.m., MW 4339: Physical Principles of Solid State Devices: 10-noon, MW 4436: Microprocessor Systems: 6-8 p.m., TTh 5388: Electric Energy Systems: 6-8 p.m., MW 5436: Microcomputer Interface Design: 6-8 p.m.,TTh INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING 1331: Engineering Analysis & Computation I: 4-6 p.m., MW 2331: Engineering Analysis & Computation II: 6-8 p.m., TTh 2333: Engineering Statistics I: 4-6 p.m., MW 3333: Engineering Economy: 6-8 p.m., MW MECHANICAL ENGINEERING 3400: Introduction to Mechanics: 5-8 p.m., MW 5338: Fundamentals of Acoustics: 4-6 p.m., TTh 5362: Applications of Fluid Mechanics: 4-6 p.m., M W ENGINEERING 2334: Thermodynamics: 6-8 p.m., TTh 3331: Transport Phenomena: noon-2 p.m., TTh 5361: Introduction" to Petroleum Engineering: 5:30-8:30 p.m., TTh Continuing your progress in engineering during the summer has been made easier to arrange. Just follow the steps . STEP ONE: Apply for admission to the University of Houston. Not necessary for former UH students. STEP TWO: Designate “Transient Student” on registration form and fill out abbreviated number of items. STEP THREE: Register for desired classes. Regular registration is May 24, and late registration is June 3. This may be done at the Engineering Dean's Office, Engineering D3 Building, Room E421. Registration hours are 10-6 on May 24 and 1-6 on June 3. STEP FOUR: Pay fees on campus. Regular registration payments due May 31; late registration fees due June 7. STEP FIVE: Enjoy your classes! Classes begin June 6. All but GIVE 2331 are 12 week courses; it is 6 weeks. Call the Engineering Office of the Dean at (713) 749-2401 for information about engineering courses. For an application and complete information on UH summer sessions admissions, call operator 7 at (713) 749-2321. University of Houston CULLEN COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING The Unhwraity of Houston System is ■ state-supported system comprised of four components: fie University of Houston UH-Ctear Lake, UH-Downtown, and UH-Vic tone. The university is in compliance wifi Title IX. ■j:. ft Leaving schoor lias never been so easy. RYDER TRUCK RENTAL...WILL BE ON CAMPUS MAY 4. TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS ON YOUR NEXT MOVE. LOOK FOR US. SPONSERED BY OFF CAMPUS AGGIES It’s not surprising that so many students move with Ryder. We’ve got sturdy, dependable trucks in all sizes. Many are automatics, with power steering, air conditioning, and FM on top of the AM. Plus, Ryder can help out with boxes, hand trusks, even moving tips. And we’re easy on the wallet, too. 779-5582 • 693-0397 • 775-6809 So call Ryder. Because while college may not always be a breeze, getting out of it can be. RYDER. We’re there at every turn.*