Vol. LXXXVIII, No. 12-S
m chigan DAILY Thursday, May 18, 1978
Twenty Pages
Ann Arbor, Michigan Ten Cents
House approves
f ederal budget
with tax cut
WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal Jan. 1, three months after the beginning
budget that makes room for a tax cut of the fiscal year, the impact for fiscal
of $19.4 billion next year and reduces 1979 would be about $15 billion.
spending slightly below earlier plans The budget resolution does not spell
was narrowly approved by the House out exactly how the tax reduction
yesterday. should be split between income taxes
The House adopted the compromise and Social Security payroll taxes.
budget, 201 to 198,after the Senate ac- Less than an hour after approving the
cepted it Monday by voice vote. This budget, the Ilouse voted down a
completes action on a tentative budget proposal to increase the national debt
F resolution, not requiring the president's limit to accommodate the expected
signature. deficits for the remainder of this year
THIS TARGET budget for fiscal 1979, and next year.
the federal bookkeeping year starting THE VOTE WAS 228 to 167 against a
Oct. 1, 1978, calls for $498.8 billion in bill that would have increased the
spending and $447.9 billion in revenues, present $752 billion limit expiring July
resulting in a $50.9 billion deficit. 31, to $849.1 billion, expiring Sept. 30,
The budget resolution will serve as a 1979.
guide while lawmakers consider actual It was the second time this year the
~ spending and taxing bills. A second House refused to approve a new limit on
resolution in September will set man- the borrowings the Treasury must
y datory limits. make to-cover deficit financing. Han-
President Carter, who originally dlers of the legislation presumably will
Daily Photo by JOHN KNOX proposed a $25 billion tax cut, bowed to now seek a compromise figure.
Finally floriparous increasing concern about inflation and Earlier yesterday, the House Ways
congressional insistence in accepting and Means Committee reversed a prior
the $19.4 billion total tax reduction. vote and rejected legislation that would
Strong winds and a winter reluctant to leave can't keep the tulips dawn forever. SINCE THE TAX cut would begin See HOUSE, Page 7
Zaire revolt traps foreigners
ByTheAssociatedPress
Rebel tribesmen were reported
gaining ground yesterday in southern
Zaire, stranding 2,500 foreigners behind
their lines, but a surprise ground-and-
air rescue mission mounted by a U.S.
firm managed to evacuate most
Americans from the embattled area.
In this capital city, more than 100,000
dancing and chanting Zaireans rallied
in a stadium in support of President
Mobutu Sese Seko's pre-West gover-
nment and to denounce alleged Cuban
and Soviet support for the rebels.
THE CENTRAL government and
rebel invaders, meanwhile, accused
each other of murdering whites in the
war zone.
"Foreigners are being hunted in
Kolwezi," Foreign Minister Henri
Simonet told the Belgian Parliament in
Brussels. He said this was the last
message Belgian officials received
from the rebel-held town in this Central
African nation's southeastern copper
belt.
Belgian Foreign Ministry spokesman
Alfred Cahen described the 2,000
Belgians, 400 French citizens and
assorted other foreigners in the Kolwezi
area as hostages of the rebels.
VARIOUS REPORTS from diplomats
here and from Belgian sources said
between five and nine Europeans have
been killed in the Kolwezi area - ap-
parently all Belgians, except for one mounted by the construction firm miles from Kowelzi, picked up 77 em-
Italian. Morrison-Knudson of Boise, Idaho, ployees and dependents and took them
In a statement issued in Brussels, the which is building a power project near 60 miles to Musonoi. From there they
rebel Congolese National Liberation Kolwezi and employs most of the were flown to Kananga, 400 miles from
Front denied its forces had killed Americans in the area. the fighting.
foreigners in the five-day-old invasion. A company spokesman said two em-
Members of the organization said they THE STATE Department in plyees and one dependent were
were protecting civilians and blamed Washington said civilian helicopters missing, and eight other Americans -
any civilian deaths on "barbaric" and a truck convoy encountered no op- six missionaries, one tourist and an
government forces. position as they made their way to the employee of a mining firm - also
The American rescue operation was Morrison-Knudsen compound eight See ZAIRE, Page 2
City Clerk Weiss 'reassigrned'
By DAN OBERDORFER
City Administrator Sylvester Murray
yesterday removed City Clerk Jerome
Weiss from his position effective July 1.
In a late afternoon announcement,
Murray said; "Weiss has not sufficien-
tly developed the command and
executive capacity (to do his job) effec-
tively."
Weiss was reassigned to another city
government position working on city
elections, Under the arrangement,
Weiss would receive a $5,000 pay cut
from his current $23,950.
THE DECISION to relieve Weiss was
"dictated by me solely," Murray said.
He added, however, that he had con-
sulted with Mayor Louis Belcher and'
other members of the Republican
caucus before making the
arrangement.
Weiss, who has worked for City Hall
for eight years, was appointed city
clerk by Murray in 1973.
Weiss said he was given no reason for
the demotion.
DURING HIS stint as city clerk,
Weiss was criticized for his handling of
the 1977 mayoral election in which for-
mer Democratic Mayor Albert Wheeler
won by a single vote over Republican
Louis Belcher. When Belcher contested
the results it was discovered that 20
Ann Arbor township residents had
voted illegally and a new-election was
held this spring.
Belcher defeated Wheeler in that
election by 179 votes.
Belcher said the "township 20" scan-
dal, as it came to be known, had "very
little" effect on the decision to remove
Weiss.
HE ADDED that ,Weiss's demotion
would have no effect on whether the
punch card balloting system City Coun-
cil approved Monday night would be
ready for use in time for the August
primaries.
A spokeswoman for Murray's office
said a replacement for Weiss had not
been found. Someone will be named by
July 1, she said.