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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 3, 1989)
The Battalion WORLD & NATION Texas Friday, February 3,1989 Senate rejects pay raise 95-5 Wright says House will limit increase to 30 percent WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Thursday night voted to reject a proposed 51 percent con gressional pay raise, but Speaker Jim Wright said the House would let it take effect next week and then vote to reduce it to “a decent raise” of 30 percent. The Senate voted 95-5 to reject the raise for Congress and other top federal officials, and to change the law to eliminate current procedures which allow a pay increase to take ef fect without a vote. The vote against the pay increase was lopsided but largely symbolic, since both chambers must vote to block it. House procedures make it easier to protect a pay raise in that chamber, and Wright, D-Texas, con tinued as the main target of oppo nents as he maneuvered to protect most of the raise. House members’ public positions, like those of the Senate, have been overwhelmingly against the pro posed 51 percent pay increase, which must be disapproved by both chambers before Feb. 8 or it will au tomatically take effect. But Wright said Thursday a “clear majority” of the House privately supported his plan for dodging a pre-deadline vote and then voting a partial rollback of the raise along with a ban on honoraria. However, the restrictive parlia mentary procedure planned by the speaker requires a tough two-thirds vote before the bill could be sent to the Senate. The 51 percent raise would remain in effect unless both chambers agreed to cut it back, and House opponents vowed to roll it back to zero whether Wright wins or loses. “It would be very difficult for the speaker to find two-thirds for this resolution,” said Rep. Tom Tauke, R-Iowa. Wright released partial results of a personal questionnaire, showing 57 percent of House members oppos ing a pay raise vote before the dead line and 54 percent favoring instead a vote to reduce the raise to 30 per cent. The $26,850 pay raise he was pro posing was “a decent raise but not an exorbitant raise,” Wright said, com pared with the $45,500 increase pro posed by former President Reagan and endorsed by President Bush. The 30 percent figure was equal to the amount of income House members could lose in a ban on hon oraria. The Senate figure is $35,800, as they are currently allowed to re tain honoraria equal to 40 percent of their salaries. blouse members would still make the same amount of money they make now, he said. “The difference is we will be serv ing one master, not two, that is, the American people,” he said. Sununu calls bank ads 6 irresponsible’ WASHINGTON (AP) — White House Chief of Staff John Sununu rebuked bankers Thurs day over “irresponsible” newspaper advertise ments encouraging savings and loan customers to withdraw their deposits, industry officials said. Sununu raised the issue during a private, hour-long meeting attended by President Bush, Treasury Secretary Nicholas Brady, Budget Di rector Richard Darman and representatives of five bank and S&L groups, said Frederick Web ber, president of the U.S. League of Savings In stitutions, who attended the meeting. Another source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said, “Sununu characterized the ads twice or three times as irresponsible. He said, ‘This type of garbage is irresponsible.’” Meanwhile, the General Accounting Office urged the government, after agreement is reached later this year on an S&L bailout and re form package, to promptly take control of the 350 remaining insolvent, but still open, institu tions. Bush, at the White House meeting, did not ad dress the ads or reveal any preference among the many options for addressing the S&L crisis, according to participants. “He was there to learn from us and he’s a good listener,” Webber said. “It was very gratifying. The man is personally involved in this.” White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said the president, who will meet with members of Congress on the subject Friday morning, will de tail his S&L program in a speech to Congress on Feb. 9. Meeting participants said Bush indicated he has not yet received recommendations from the Treasury Department. But Fitzwater said that proposals in the address to Congress “will be pre tty specific. You’ll know exactly what our propo sal is.” The spokesman outlined the “basic points” guiding the president: “Depositors’ insured savings must be pro tected. We must resolve the current difficulties and avoid further losses; . . . permanent reforms to prevent these problems from recurring; . . . the deposit insurance system (should be put) on (a) sound financial footing, (and cleanup costs should be) equitably allocated.” Sununu’s anger over the advertisements un derscores the administration’s concern that the debate in Washington over how to pay for the S&L crisis has unnerved some thrift depositors even though no one in government has sug gested that insured deposits are not fully pro tected. Last week, there were reports from regional Federal Home Loan Banks of higher than ex pected S&L withdrawals after Brady and other administration officials discussed a suggestion that depositors pay an insurance fee to raise money for the S&L bailout. The furor prompted Bush at a nationally tele vised news conference to emphasize that the de posits are backed by the full faith and credit of the federal government. Meeting participants said Bush reiterated that point on Thursday and would likely repeat it again in his Feb. 9 speech. “The feeling in the meeting was this is a se rious situation. By the time it gets to be a real run, it’s too late,” said Mark Riedy, president of the National Council of Savings Institutions. Mary-Liz Meany, a spokesman for the Ameri can Bankers Association, said Sununu gave the association copies of advertisements placed by banks in Texas, Arkansas and Kansas. “We are going to call the banks and inform them of the concern in Washington and the sen sitivity that they might not be aware of,” she said. “We made a promise to the administration that we would certainly monitor it and we agreed with their concern.” On Jan. 24, Union State Bank of Clay Center, Kan., placed an ad asking, “Are you questioning how secure your money is with all the stories be ing published about the thrift industry?” The ad described how bank deposits are protected. Arrest of Houston man triggers Tampa melee Vol. 88 No TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A pre dominantly black Tampa neigh borhood was calm Thursday in the aftermath of the latest rock- and bottle-throwing melee trig gered by the arrest of a drug sus pect from Houston in a soured undercover bust. Edgar Allen Price, a 40-year- old convicted felon from Hous ton, died in custody after a delay in treatment caused by the distur bance, police spokesman Steve Cole said. Cole said officers had to move Price two blocks so paramedics could get to him, but the spokes man said didn’t know how much of a delay this caused. Officials were awaiting prelimi nary autopsy results Thursday. A crowd of youths, estimated at 75 to 150, hurled rocks, torched and looted a grocery store and fired two shotgun blasts at a news van during an nourlong disturbance, police said. Price resisted arrest in a violent struggle with two undercover of ficers after an informant made a drug buy in the College Hill housing area, a trouble spot in the past, Cole said. The 6-foot-3, 300-pound man “picked one of them (officers) up with one hand. He broke away from them,” said Cole, adding that one officer managed to get to his two-way radio and summon backup help. Six officers arrived and subdued the suspect, then the disturbance flared as bands of youths began hurling rocks and bottles, the spokesman said. Price’s injuries, but Cole said no shots were fired. The suspect was! carrying 25 pieces of crack andaB 25-caliber derringer in his pock ets, Cole said. Price was sentenced in 1974to! 50 years on a Texas robbery con-1 viction and also had a 1967 rob- hery arrest on his record, Cole I said, adding he did not know the ■ Idaho Na disposition of that case. [Tuesday he Officials cordoned off four in- stranded by tersections in the 22-block hous- have buried ing development and summoned pals, while t 100 riot-clad police officers and Bap pushed 30 firef ighters to quell thedistur- lowsinsevera bance. BSome Cal “The man fought us and feared the at punched one of our detectives'lionsof dolla Jesse The size of the crowd Wednes day night was estimated at about 150, but Tampa Mayor Sandy Freedman, who was summoned to the scene, said Thursday there were no more than half that num ber. Neither officials at St. Joseph’s Hospital nor police officials would discuss the nature of three times in the nose,” Lt James said. At least four officers received minor injuries, including the de tective involved in the arrest, who suffered a broken nose, police said. Gene Bexley, owner of Bex ley’s Bar-B-Q in the neighbor hood, said youths looted a gro cery store before it was set on lire “Once they broke it, it took 10 to 15 minutes and they clearedit out,” he said. “Some went in, then things come flying out windows and doors.” The fire f orced choir members at nearby Deliverance Tabernacle Church to toss an organ and other valuables into a truck as a precaution. A youth with a 10-gauge shot gun fired on a WFLA-TV van, cameraman Rugene Moore said. “I knew he was empty after the second shot,” said Moore, who was not injured. “I almost went back to get him. That’s what made me mad. I guess the little guy was having a ball.” College Hill has been thesiteof past disturbances. 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Each, 10.00 Plus, with each Paul Michael pur chase, we’ll add a special Valentine gift-wrap, at no extra charge. Dillard’s WASHIN guesday to id Preside like' Vote outcry agan em feeiin; cannot dio.” First, the of 380 Senate folio The raise ithout Bus ing it. Busl along with < Ifter the coi ■ The cong top federal lawmakers would acce lervice. I Indeed, laid in a sta ■onal actio judges in tl lerved pay Bnd retain t ire pay our Senate h id Bush l U! I WASHII Bent Bush 1$1.16 trillic on Thursd: ■try spendi to help pay Ives, admit ■ay. | Bush h Would mak Hard the n he made dt which he ■kinder an< ■ In a ma Hush will Reagan’s c; defense sj and propo Categories slash, said i condition c , Bush’s b rewrite of Reagan su pronounce Dv Bush or He spol During a 1 Budget D ■tan, Vice treasury I Bnd White Boskin. 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