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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 20, 1988)
State/Local The Battalion Thursday, October 20,1988 Page 3 Sll3 amendments buried allows J '•Inj curet) eirsif, "'hoisJ bledisf; of am, iny, leal toil ife-si 'satii ; v enimj Thesw have n ■ "'heitj ilizeiku] f raontj anlyas iesofp indisii itcarei, hv live,, | is of bines i fom s it rigliii] iliesdoi irewhitl proced; lionint: id time i hese.o ofiisj nentali basics a Kd ioi ?chnol';| niorj forlktli on November ballot AUSTIN (AP) — Buried on the I Nov. 8 ballot beneath national, state and local races are three proposed amendments to the Texas Constitu tion, the offspring of a fiery legis lative session dominated by stagger- [ing deficits and tax increases. Not surprisingly, the amendments [deal with protecting money, saving [money and investing money. Proposition l would require that all [the money Texas is reimbursed by the [federal government for highway pro- jjects be used to pay for those pro- jjects. Proposition 2 would establish a so- Icalled “Rainy Day Fund’’ where [state revenue would be set aside and [saved for appropriation in years when [tax revenues fall short of meeting ex- [penses. Proposition 3 would set up a [“Growth Fund’’ and allow trustees of [the state’s two education funds and [two state-employee pension funds [more investment flexibility, includ ing investment in the growth fund. Gov. Bill Clements, Lt. Gov. Bill [Hobby and House Speaker Gib Lewis [support all three propositions. No or ganized opposition to the amend- Iments has surfaced. Lawmakers placed Proposition 1 on the ballot after questions arose during the 1987 legislative session on [whether the federal reimbursement to [the state highway fund could be used [for purposes other than highways. The federal government re imburses the state for 90 percent of he money it spends on interstate highway projects and 75 percent of its expenses for certain other highway projects. Supporters of this amendment say it would halt the temptation to use these funds for short-term budgetary gain at the expense of the higway pro gram, which they say is integral to Texas’ long-term economic rebound. And they say it is only fair that fed eral highway reimbursements be used for highway projects. Legislators often complain that too much of the state budget already is locked into dedicated funds. More than half the budget is ded icated to specific programs, under the constitution and state law. Add in funds that must be spent due to court decisions and funds driven by federal formulas, and lawmakers can set spending priorities on about 15 per cent of the state’s total budget. Proposition 2 deals with transfer ring surplus revenues into a special fund that could be appropriated by the Legislature. If passed, one half of any surplus in the state general revenue fund and three-fourths of any oil and natural gas production tax revenue that ex ceeds that tax revenue collected in fiscal year 1987 would be put in the fund. Proposition 3 proposes setting up a growth fund and allowing trustees of the Permanent University Fund, the Permanent School Fund and the pub lic employee retirement funds to in vest in it, and also allow more flexi bility in other investments. Currently, the four funds control $28.5 billion. Commander: Grenada invasion taught U.S. forces positive lesson By Doug Evans Reporter The U.S. Armed Forces have learned a positive lesson from the invasion of Grenada, Capt. Charles Jacoby, an 82nd Airborne Company Commander in volved with the operation, said Wednes day night at a Defense Military Studies Institute lecture in Rudder Tower. The U.S. has done well in recruiting quality soldiers, conducting realistic training exercises, and planning long range military deployments, he said to an audience of over 100 Texas A&M stu dents. “I don’t think Grenada represents any big turning point in the art of warfare, but for the U.S. it was an interesting epi sode which gave us a progress report of some of our training and doctrine,” Ja coby said. “From the perspective of a company commander I thought most of the lessons were positive,” Jacoby said. “We learned that we have to be trained well, have initiative, be flexible and stick to the basics.” Warfare has remained relatively un changed over time, he said. “When it comes down to soldier ver sus soldier, the training and mental and physical toughness of the infantryman has not changed all that much,” Jacoby said. “He still carries 80 pounds of gear into combat whether he was one of Cae sar’s legionnaires or one of my guys.” Recent technological advances in weaponry force the U.S. to defend against small nations it would not nor mally consider a threat, he said. “It doesn’t take long to bring any third world nation up to a standard where it can hurt the U.S.,” Jacoby said. “If you give them sophisticated weapons they can give you a hard time as our aircraft and helicopters found out during the in vasion.” The invasion of Grenada was a valu able experience for the U. S., he said. “I think the interesting thing about Grenada is that it kind of represents the next arena we will most likely consider use of force,” Jacoby said. “The proba bility of the Soviets crossing the West German border is not our most likely threat.” As a result, the U.S. may be returning to an old policy, he said. “From a historical perspective it is an American tradition to use expeditionary forces,” Jacoby said. “The U.S. is hesi tant to commit long-term, large scale forces like in Vietnam. Grenada rep resents that other use of force.” U.S. Armed Forces are able to re spond to world-wide threats, Jacoby said. “I think that we’ve got a military which has been tailored so that we may respond to protect our interests all over the world,” he said. Jacoby’s rifle company, a small divi sion of the 82nd Airborne Infantry Divi sion, is able to be prepared for battle in two hours notice. Their mission is to be ready to fight anywhere in the world 18 hours after notification, a task stressful on Soldiers and equipment. “I was watching Monday night foot ball,” he said. “When I was told where I was going I asked my commander ‘Sir, what the hell is a Grenada and what did we do to make it so mad that that we have to invade it?”’ The mission of the U.S. Armed Forces was to evacuate 595 American medical students and totally eliminate Cuban mil itary forces and their influence, he said. Jacoby’s task was to secure a hill near an airstrip used in the evacuation. During the invasion,’ 45 Cuban sol diers were killed and several men in Ja coby’s company were awarded for valor. Jacoby attributes the company’s suc cess to several factors. Careful planning by the generals kept supplies of food and ammunition steady throughout the battle. Jacoby said the majority of the compa ny’s success is due to the men who com pose it. “The guys were very aware of the re sponsibility they had,” he said. “They had a lot of faith, trust and confidence in each other. They did what they were trained to do.” Jacoby, now an assistant professor of military history at West Point, was part a series of speakers brought by the Mili tary Studies Institute, said Dr. Joseph Dawson, director. Student government ullock seeks licensing of small tracks AUSTIN (AP) — Comptroller Bob Bullock on ednesday said he wants an attorney general’s opin- n issued quickly to answer questions about whether estate racing commission can deny wagering permits to existing horse racing tracks in the state. I The Texas Racing Commission is scheduled to be gin taking track applications in November, with appli cation and licensing fees to be set at a meeting next J eek. In a written statement, Bullock said he believes that ■xisting smaller Class 2 and Class 3 race tracks cur- itntly approved by the American Quarter Horse Asso ciation should be licensed under the new law. Class 2 tracks are smaller facilities where racing would be permitted no more than 44 days a year, while Class 3 tracks are those where racing is held in con junction with county fairs and livestock shows and rac ing is allowed up to 16 days a year. Class 1 tracks would be major facilities with racing at least 45 days annually. “In recent days, I have been told by the chairman of the Texas Racing Commission that a majority of the racing commissioners believe the number of Class 2 and Class 3 licenses should be limited,” Bullock said. “My staff and I believe the racing act ‘grandfa thered’ AQHA-approved tracks and county fair tracks if they met reasonable standards,” he said. Bullock asked Attorney General Jim Mattox whether the racing commission has the power to deny licenses to the existing tracks if they otherwise comply with commission standards. Six of the seven existing Texas tracks sanctioned by the AQHA are expected to seek Class 2 licenses. The seventh, Pineywood Downs in Nacogdoches, isn’t eli gible for a wagering license because voters in that county rejected pari-mutuel gambling in the local-op tion election there. , Continued from page 1 Senate meetings are open to the public and rarely, if ever, has a non-Senate member been rejected speaking priv ileges. Having a representative in such a position would not serve a purpose, they said. Leanne Rogers, chairman of the Rules and Regulations Committee said even though the bill failed, the issue was far from dead. “We will continue to research possiblities and form guidelines for such a position Kristin Hay, a junior psychology ma jor and the senator who introduced the bill, said, “I’m disappointed, but at least the Student Senate is aware of the propo sal and hopefully something will be done in the future. Student Government needs to work on communication and cooper ation with the entire student body, and 1 think this bill is a good alternative.” Alternative license plates were in cluded in discussion at the meeting as well. Ty Clevenger, a sophomore genetics major and senator from the agriculture college, said the state of Florida has suc cessfully introduced license plates im printed with the names of different col leges and universities. He said the extra amount charged for these imprinted plates has brought significant additional revenue to that state as well as increasing visibility of the state’s schools. Clevenger introduced a bill recom mending a similar program be estab lished at A&M, and encouraged the Leg islative Study Group to research and represent the student body on the issue. The bill was sent to the External Affairs Committee for discussion and debate. During reports from committees the student representative to the Faculty Sen ate Academic Affairs Committee, Danny Sparks, said discussions over the possi bility of having one nine-week summer session instead of two five-week sessions are starting up in the Faculty Sehate Aca demic Affairs Committee. Sparks, a senior finance and account ing major, said, “ Students will be able to take twelve hours, and courses that can be taught in short sessions may still occur.” Another bill was passed to declare the Texas A&M vs. Alabama game on De cember 1. 1988 the “Hurricane Bowl”. Michael Kelley, a senior political sci ence major and Speaker Pro-Tempore, said that because the A&M football team has been obstructed from attending any official bowl games this season — why not have a little fun, and call it a bowl game. XilSJEJ®ll^ll®I®l@llXIIlMJEy|-K re so(» trobab!' 1 atch in student 1 hey gwli ed theiti : ones.! tains oil 1 : made lefcastd dngioj^ they c* 1 rcedes PARTHENON presents $.25 Coronas Thursday 8-11 MSC Political Forum ^Election '88: CCfie EresidentiaCSeries presents se/iMj Jitorx Dr. Lenora Fulani Progressive Independent Candidate First African American woman candidate on ballot in all 50 states v_ Thursday, October 20 8:30 p.m. 601 Rudder Free Admission Reception to follow This program is presented for educational purposes, and does not constitute an endorsement for any speaker. Il (forona ii txlrci m 'Ik* % ■*»■** J re; m 815 Harvey Rd 764-8575 J c Ci) Head on over to Sonic and enjoy a tasty burgers, fries & med. V rlrinlr College Station 104 University 696-6427 Bryan 914 S. Texas Ave. 779-1085 Call battalion Classified 845-2611