2- The Michigan Daily -- Friday, September 24, 1999 NATION/W ORLD -
Clinton vetoes GOP tax bill
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Clinton vetoed
the Republicans' S792 billion tax cut bill yesterday as
"too big, too bloated" - apparently dooming chances
for any sweeping tax reduction this year. Republicans
mentioned that Clinton "has stolen this tax cut from
working American families."
With his signature in a Rose Garden ceremony,
Clinton guaranteed an election year tax argument
between Republicans and Democrats as they fight for
control of The White House and Congress.
"At a time when America is moving in the right
direction," the President said "this bill would turn us
back to the failed policies of the past." Republicans
shot back that taxes are too high and that Americans
deserve a break. House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-
Illinois) said it was "kind of a sad day."
Clinton signed the veto message on a wooden desk
on a warm, sunny autumn morning, before an audience
of Cabinet members, White House staff and
Democratic allies from health and minority groups. The
Marine Band's brass quintet entertained the crowd with
George Gershwin's "Summertime" and other melodies.
After months of White House warnings, there was
no suspense about Clinton's veto, the 26th of his pres-
idency. With Congress struggling to adjourn by Oct.
29, it appeared highly unlikely that Republicans would
accept Clinton's suggestion to send him a smaller tax
bill, in the $300 billion range that he had proposed.
Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Mississippi)
said Congress would look at another tax package next
year. Hastert said the GOP would not give up on tax
relief but "it may be later and not sooner" - suggest-
ing that Republicans would rather take the issue to the
voters in next year's elections than compromise with
"1 regret the president
has stole this tax cut
from ...families."
- Trent Lott (R-Miss.)
Senate Majority Leader
the president. The White House said GOP presidential
candidates - Republican front-runner George W
Bush, in particular - should say whether they agree
with their leaders in Congress.
The Republicans' bill, over 10 years, would reduce
all income tax rates by I percentage point, ease the
marriage penalty on many two-income couples, elimi-
nate estate taxes and the alternative minimum income
tax, reduce capital gains taxes, expand pension and
401(k) laws and provide numerous business tax breaks.
Clinton said the GOP measure would undermine
efforts to shore up the Social Security and Medicare
programs, to reduce the national debt and to improve
education. "The bill is too big, too bloated, places too
great a burden on America's economy," Clinton said.
"It would force drastic cuts in education, health
care and other vital areas," Clinton added. "It would
cripple our ability to pay down the debt. It would not
add a day to the Social Security trust fund, it would not
add a day to the Medicare trust fund or modernize
Medicare with prescription drug coverage."
Republicans disputed the president and said he had
killed tax relief for families, for education and for
low-income Americans. "I regret the president has
stolen this tax cut from working American families,"
Lott said in a remark echoed by GOP colleagues..
GOP leaders said they would now concentrate on
fixing Social Security, preventing $248 billion in tax
increases urged by the administration over 10 years,
restraining the growth of government and reducing the
debt.
Although prospects for broad tax cuts are dim,
House Republicans plan to begin moving a measure
today that would renew several expiring tax credits,
including a research and development credit popular
with high-tech industry and manufacturers.
The GOP package, which carries a one-year cost
of about S3 billion, also would extend a provision pre-
venting personal credits, such as the $500 per-child
tax credit, from counting toward a taxpayer's eligibili-
ty for the alternative minimum tax - a tax that often
is higher for middle-class people. '
Clinton's veto ceremony was the final act in a
months-long political drama. The Republican-con-
trolled Congress completed action on the tax bill Aug.
5 but did not send it to Clinton for his promised veto,
using the time to try to rally support. But with
Americans enjoying economic prosperity, the GOP
publicity blitz failed to produce a groundswell of voter
support.
Chiding Republicans, Clinton said that "many
in Congress seem ready to throw in the towel"
after his veto. "That would be a disservice to the
American people. They sent us all here to get
things done."
He challenged Congress not to go home until
it reaches agreements with the White House on
Social Security, Medicare. debt reduction and
education,
AROUND THE NATION
Dragging murderer sent to death row
BRYAN, Texas -- A jury decided yesterday that racist ex-convict Lawrence
Russell Brewer should pay with his life for the dragging death of a black man,
sending him to death row to join a buddy who also took part in the crime.
After 14 hours of deliberations over two days, the jury rejected arguments that a
life sentence would be adequate punishment for Brewer
"I'm not a death penalty fan, but this is a situation where if you don't give th
death penalty to this man, he'll hurt and kill again,' Jasper County Distrit
Attorney Guy James Gray said.
Brewer's former prison buddy, John William King, is already on death row, con-
victed in February in the murder of James Byrd Jr.
Byrd was chained at the ankles to a pickup truck and dragged to pieces in the
East Texas town of Jasper last year in one of the nation's grisliest crimes since the
civil rights era.
A third man, Shawn Allen Berry, goes on trial next month. Prosecutors will seek
the death penalty in that case, too.
Prosecutors said Brewer and King were organizing a white supremacist organ
zation and wanted to do something dramatic to give their group publicity. Brewer
later bragged about the crime in jailhouse letters.
i
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CONTACTS
Continued from Page 1.
"Emblem Eyes" are being offered by
the optometry offices of H. W. Bennett,
located on State Street, Main Street and
Greene Road.
"Though it is primarily students that
show interest in the novelty lenses,
there has been surprising interest
expressed from the 30-plus age group
as well," Bennett said.
So far, Bennett estimates that 20
pairs of the lenses have been sold, and
many other customers are awaiting
their prescription orders. The lenses
cost anywhere from $100, for those
without prescription, to $160, for lens
customized with different prescrip-
tions. Bennett said the company is
waiting to see how successful the
product is before expanding the mar-
ket.
Bennett's offices currently have 150
pairs of the Michigan contact lenses in
stock.
Many students said they are interested
in the lenses, but were unsure whether
they would actually sport the eye wear.
LSA first-year student Amy
Averbook tried on a pair of the
Michigan lenses but said she looked
"like a psycho"
Although Averbook didn't like the
way she looked in the contacts, she said
they probably wouldn't stand out
among many of the capes and cheese-
wedge hats some fans already wear.
AID
Continued from Page 1
passes both houses and
law, he said.
is signed into
Butts, who lobbies in Washington,
D.C. on behalf of the University, said the
process is still in such a preliminary stage
that it's unknown exactly how the dollar
amounts could affect the University.
"The numbers look pretty much like
a freeze," Butts said. "They're substan-
tially lower than the higher education
groups have been advocating."
But, he added, universities are
expected to fare slightly better by the
time a finalized bill is implemented.
"What chairman (Rep. John) Porter
(R-Ill.) was trying to do was get some-
thing out of the committee," Butts said.
"I don't think anyone thinks this is what
the final product will look like"
Because all 12 other appropriations
subcommittees have already sent their
KNOW OF
NEWS?
CALL
76-DAILY
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bills to the full committee, significant
amounts of money initially designated
for education have already been claimed
for other departments. To make up for
that deficit, the bill pulls more than $14
million in advance funding from fiscal
year 2001 appropriation funding for the
Department of Education.
"Everyone knew beforehand that the
Republicans would make a budget gim-
mick," said Pelosi's spokesperson. "The
hole was so big that the only way to fill
the hole was to borrow from next year
or to come up with gimmicks"
By taking such a large amount
from the following year, universities
won't be able to plan ahead as easily,
he said, explaining that there will be
more uncertainty to what level of
appropriations will be available in
future years.
"They may not be able to act proper-
ly on decisions that are crucial," he
said.
PROFESSORS.
Continued from Page 1.
round of interviews.
Most of the new faculty members
said they had several schools to choose
from when looking for a teaching posi-
tion.
"There are basic ways of choosing
a school; the quality of the school,
quality of the faculty, quality of the
students and how productive an envi-
ronmnent it will be for what you want
to do, which is teach and write,"
Howse said.
Mendelson, who is teaching a
course this semester on
Administrative Law said, "I chose
Michigan because this is a terrific
law school with a strong faculty and
a real tradition of creative thinking
about the law."
Senator's
bill comes
back uto
HELENA, Mont. (AP) - In 1994,
as the sexual harassment scandal that
forced Bob Packwood from the Senate
heated up, Sen. Max Baucus stepped
forward to endorse a bill that would
make Congress subject to the same
workplace laws as businesses.
"It is high time for Congress to play
by the same rules it sets for other
Americans," the Montana Democrat
said in support of what would become
the Congressional Accountability Act.
Now, five years later, his former top
aide is about to use that law to accuse
Baucus himself of sexual harassment.
Christine Niedermeier is expected to
file a grievance with Congress this
week alleging the four-term senator
fired her as chief of staff for shunning
more than a year of sexual advances.
Baucus has vehemently denied any
sexual harassment.
A grievance could lead to
Niedermeier's receiving damages for
lost wages and getting her job back. If
the case goes to court, she could also
demand punitive damages.
Humans may have
many more genes
SAN FRANCISCO-There may be
thousands more human genes than cur-
rently believed, suggesting that scien-
tists trying to unravel genetic disorders
may have a far more difficult job ahead
a pharmaceutical company said.
Researchers at Incyte
Pharmaceuticals, Inc., one of the pri-
vate entities competing to map every
human gene, believe about 140,000
genes make up the proteins that pro-
gram cells in the human body.
Previous estimates put the number
between 80,000 and 100,000.
"It simply means the human genome
is probably more complex than previ-
ously predicted," Randy Scott, presi-
dent of the Palo Alto-based company,
said yesterday.
While some inherited disorders are
caused by single genes, other dis-
eases seem to result from groups of
genes. Research into these diseases
will be more difficult if there are
more genes, since there could be
AROUND THE WORLD
more possible interactions between
them.
'Finding the genes in simply inherit.
ed disorders like Huntington's disease,
cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia, has
been relatively simple," said Victor
McKusick, a genetics professor at
Johns Hopkins University.
Rite Aid sued for
fauly cash registers
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.- Rite Aid'
Corp. has been sued for allegedly using
drug store cash registers that were auto-
matically programmed to overcharge
customers.
The racketeering lawsuit filed
Wednesday by Florida accuses Rite A
of intentionally overcharging 29,0
uninsured customers more than
$100,000 over a 27-month period,.
according to Florida Attorney General
Bob Butterworth's office.
Butterworth spokesman Joe Bizzaro
didn't have estimates of how many
stores were believed to be involved or
how much customers allegedly were
overcharged.
Russian waplanes
bomb Chechya
MOSCOW - Russian warplanes
pounded central Chechnya yesterday
with bombs and missiles, targeting avi-
ation and oil supplies in a marked esca-
lation of hostilities against the seces-
sionist region.
Only a few days after Russia insisted
the military was confining its attacks to
rebel encampments on Chechnya's
mountainous eastern border with
Dagestan, Russian Su-24 and Su-25
jets fired missiles at the main airport
north of Grozny, the Chechen capital,
and dozens of other locations, accord-
ing to reports from the area. One per-
son reportedly was killed at the airport.
After more bombings last night, a
huge oil distribution center outside
Grozny was reported ablaze, and the
city was shrouded in thick smoke.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir
Putin vowed to attack the Chechen
rebels "wherever they are" but insisted
anew that Russia isn't preparing a
large-scale ground invasion.
In Grozny, Chechen President Asian
Maskhadov convened an emergency
closed meeting of members of the gov-
ernment and parliament, and called fo
mer Chechen military commanders0
give them instructions in case of a
Russian invasion, the Interfax news
agency reported.
Shooting occurs in
East Timor capital
DILI, East Timor - Gunfire crackled
across East Timor's chaotic capital yeg
terday, sending civilians scrambling foT
shelter and peacekeepers for their rifles
in what was seen as a test of multina-
tional authority in the province.
Though the shooting was not an
attack, it prompted the commander of
the peace mission, Maj. Gen. Peter
Cosgrove, to warn that his men would
use "lethal force" against anyone who
even pointed a weapon at them.
- Compiled from Daily wire reporrt
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