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One hundred four years of editorz alfreedom

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Wednesday
September 27, 1995

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SA passes budget after lengthy debate


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By Michelle Lee Thompson
Daily Staff Reporter

Intermal:
$205,870

After more than four hours of debate,
the Michigan Student Assembly voted
last night to adopt an annual budget -
in essence, the same budget that Presi-
nds. dent Flint Wainess and Vice President
Sam Goodstein co-wrote last week.
The executive ,proposal passed 21-
12. The assembly amended only the
budget's language, not the figures.
"I'm ecstatic because we passed our
entire budget untouched essentially,"
Goodstein said."Ididn't expect that atall."
The budget allocates a $16,500 in-
FDafly crease in funding to student groups and

$7,350 for a discussion series, which
Wainess said would "enrich the lives of
students."
Although budget meetings have con-
tinued after 2 a.m. in the past, Wainess
said last night's meeting finished in
"record time," shortly before midnight.
"Historically MSA budgets have been
caught in a web of conflicting ideolo-
gies," Wainess said."This year we had a
substantive debate and we came out with
an imminently workable document."
The executive budget was written by
Wainess, Goodstein and Budget Priori-
ties Chair Remco Van Eeuwijk, who
unofficially resigned at last night's

meeting.
Two amendments were proposed to
the executive budget, which Van Eeuwijk
moved at last week's meeting - a Stu-
dents' Party alternative written earlier
this week and a "BPC compromise," dis-
tributed at last night's meeting.
LSA Rep. Jonathan Freeman, who
drafted the Students' Party budget
amendment with a handful of other
party members, said he was unsatisfied
with the process and its outcome.
"I'm really disappointed that the as-
sembly has once again seen' it fit to
continue a foolish history of budgets,"
See BUDGET, Page 2

Budget chair quits over politics'

By Michelle Lee Thompson
Daily Staff Reporter
In the midst of budget debate at last
night's Michigan Student Assembly
meeting, Budget Priorities Chair
Remco Van Eeuwijk unofficially re-
signed after a BPC "compromise"
budget amendment proposal failed at
around 10:30.
"I'm done," Van Eeuwijk said as he
left assembly chambers. Van Eeuwijk
said he was angered by party politics.
"The reason I'm resigning is not

becuase my budget didn't pass," said
Rackham Rep. Van Eeuwijk.
MSA President Flint Wainess said
Rackham representatives often resign
and are reinstated shortly after - and
that Van Eeuwijk had resigned in the
past. Rackham Rep. Roger DeRoo
said he could not remember Van
Eeuwijk ever resigning hefore.
Van Eeuwijk did notofficially give
his resignation to the assembly, but
told a small crowd outside assembly
chambers after leaving the meeting.

'IA

Senate panel
OKs plan to cut
student loams

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JOE WESTRATE/Daily

By Ronnie Glassberg
Daily Staff Reporter
The Senate Labor and Human Re-
sources Committee yesterday approved
a proposal that would cap the direct loan
program and eliminate the interest-free
grace period on student loans.
In an 8-7 vote along party lines; the
panel approved a proposal by Sen.
Nancy Kassebaum (R-Kan.), the
committee's chairwoman.
"We didn't like the proposal," said
Jon Oberg, legislative specialist at the
Department of Education. "It makes
students losers and parents losers and
taxpayers losers."
The legislation will go to the Senate
Budget Committee before being voted
on by the full Senate. A similar measure
will be considered by a House commit-
tee tomorrow.
The proposed reductions, which
amount to more than $10 billion over
the next seven years, would:
Cap the federal direct loan pro-
gram at 20 percent of all federal student
loans.
*Charge universities a 0.85-percent
fee based on the value of student loans,
a plan that would cost the University
$723,000 a year.
Eliminate the six-month interest-
free grace period following graduation.
0 Cut $750 million in funds for ad-
ministering the direct and guaranteed
loan programs.
Under the direct loan program, univer-
sities work directly with a servicer con-
tracted by the Department of Education.
Underthe guaranteed loan program, which
makes up the remainder of loans, the
University had dealt with 1,400 lenders,
guarantors and servicers in providing fi-
nancial aid.
All federal loans at the University
now come through direct loans.
"We're very disappointed that the
cuts in student aid have to take place
in a way that affects students," said
Associate Vice President for Govern-

ment Relations Thomas A. Butts, who
heads the University's Washington
office. "We're further disappointed
that the committee was unable to find
ways to eliminate the fee on institu-
tions and permit institutions to decide
whether they like to be'in direct lend-
ing or not."
The House Economic and Educa-
tional Opportunities Committee plans
to consider a proposal tomorrow by the
panel's chairman, Rep. William
Goodling (R-Pa.), that would eliminate
the direct loan program altogether.
The plan would also eliminate the
interest-free grace period, but would
not charge universities for the value of
student loans.
"We are at risk of being eliminated
from the direct loan program," Butts
said. "We are clearly at risk if Mr.
Goodling has his way."
Goodling said in a statement that
Congress must cut student loans to bal-
ance the federal budget.
"We are proud that we were able to be
the architects of this package," Goodling
said, "that preserves the in-school interest
subsidy for undergkaduate and graduate
students, does not increase the loan origi-
nation fee students pay, does not increase
loan rates, does not affect access or eligi-
bility for any student, and retains the
interest-rate reduction scheduled to take
effect July 1998."
Both proposals will be. a part of the
budget reconciliation bill, which in-
cludes changes to the tax code; Medi-
care and other programs.
President Clinton has not yet said
whether he plans to veto the final bill.
But Oberg said: "I think there's a real
chance there might be a presidential
veto on the reconciliation bill. The
President said he believes the budget
can be balanced without making cuts
in education."
Michigan Student Assembly Presi-
dent Flint Wainess, said he would urge
the President to veto the bill.

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IClinon GOPna edin pact


The Washington Pos
WASHINGTON - President Clinton and con-
gressional Republicans last night were, near an
agreement on a spending measure to keep the gov-
emnment running for six weeks past Oct. 1 as the
White House prepared for its first veto- of the
huge defense spending bill - in the broader budget
debate.
Administration andcongressional officials said late
yesterday that details remained to be worked out on a
short-term spending agreement that would keep the
government running from the start of the new fiscal,
year until Nov. 13 and fund all federal programs bit
below current levels. The agreement, or continuing
:solution, means no federal workers will be fur-

loughed Monday even though Congress has yet to
finish its work on 13 appropriations bills.
The While House anticipates receiving between
two and four of the spending bills by the end of this
week or early next. Two face near-certain vetos, with
a veto on defense spending the most pivotal.
Despite Pentagon approval, Clinton intends to
veto the defense spending bill, officials said, be-
cause it is part of a broader White House strategy to
get congressional Republicans to shift what it sees as
more than $7 billion in excess defense funds to
domestic priorities.
. A senior official said last night that although many
of the White House's objections were stripped out of.
the $243 billion defense budget proposal, "The Presi-

dent won't sign it. Itjust costs too much. It is too much
spending for defense" at a time Clinton has identified
other priorities, particularly in education and job
training.
With the 1996 fiscal year beginning Sunday, House
Republicans planned to bring a continuing resolu-
tion to the Rules Committee today and to the floor
for passage by tomorrow, heading off a weekend of
anxiety for federal workers. House Speaker Newt
Gingrich (R-Ga.), said yesterday of his Republican
colleagues, "We see no reason for any kind of lay-
offs. We see no reason for any problems at the
beginning of the fiscal year. We have taken rational
steps to make sure that the government can continue
over the next six weeks."

In closing, Clark
says Simpson has
een proven guilty'

Newsday.
LOS ANGELES - The lead pros-
ecutor in the O.J. Simpson trial yester-
day likened the state's case against the
firmer football star to a jigsaw puzzle
that was missing a few pieces, but none-
theless revealed a clear picture of
Simpson as the person who brutally
murdered his ex-wife Nicole Brown
Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.
In a slow-moving and sometimes dis-
finted speech that sounded more like a
ture than a closing argument, Deputy
istrict Attorney Marcia Clark repeat-
dly instructed the jurors on the law and
urged them to use their common sense

face that was displayed on an oversized
screen.
Clark attempted to defuse the defense
accusations against retired homicide
Detective Mark
Fuhrman by ex-
pressing her per-
sonal disgust at his
racist remarks but
contending that
they had nothing to
do with his work on
the Simpson case.
z - The courtroom
was packed with
family members
Cl~rk ndIfrends of the


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