News Dieest
A ^ ^ ^ ^ Edited by Roger Price
Bush offers defense, tax cuts
WASHINGTON — President Bush
on Tuesday night proposed election
year tax cuts and business incentives
to revive America’s economy and
pledged, “We’re going to lift this
nation out of hard nmes.” In his State
of the Union speech, Bush also out
lined dramatic cuts in the U.S. nu
clear arsenal.
The president challenged the
Democrat-controlled Congress to back
his economic programs by March 20
or face apolitical fight Invoking Gulf
War rhetoric, he vowed the recession
“will not stand.”
The centerpiece of his economic
plan was a $25 billion program to put
more money in peoples’ paychecks
by lowering tax withholding rates -
even though it would mean smaller
refunds a year from now. It would
increase take-home pay by an aver
age of $300 for more than 90 million
wage-eamers, the White House said.
In a nationally televised address,
Bush discussed the benefits of a re
duced military threat from the disin
tegrated Soviet Union. “The Ameri
can taxpayer bore the brunt of the
(Cold War) burden, and deserves a
hunk of the glory,” he said.
Bush said he would ask Russian
President Boris Yeltsin on Saturday
to agree to eliminate all land-based
multiple warhead ballistic missiles.
If Yeltsin agrees, Bush said, the United
States will eliminate all MX missiles,
reduce the number of warheads on
Minuteman missiles to just one and
cut the number of warheads on sea
based missiles by about one-third.
Over five years, the president pro
posed to cut defense spending by S50
billion and use the savings to finance
tax reductions.
Bush’s plan also would freeze
federal spending on most domestic
programs at current levels.
The Democrats sought to portray
the tax cuts certain to come in terms
of haves versus have-nots.
The president openly acknowledged
that his election-year message to the
nation would be read by many as a
partisan theme for his campaign. The
White House also hopes it will arrest
his slide in the polls.
“I am doing what I think is right; 1
am proposing what I know will help,”
Bush said.
Recalling the allied victory over
Iraq in the Persian Gulf War, Bush
told Congress “we must stand together”
to solve the problems at home.
“We can bring the same courage
and sense of common purpose to the
economy that we brought to Desert
Storm,” Bush said. “And we can de
feat hard times together.”
But on a political note, Bush chal
lenged Congress to approve his pro
posals by March 20 or face a fight
from the White House. “From the day
after that, if it must be: the battle is
joined,” the president said. “And you
know, when principle is at stake, I
relish a good fair fight.”
Presses stop for Bush
to revise 1993 budget
WASHINGTON — President
Bush on Tuesday put the finishing
touches on his $1.5 trillion budget
for fiscal 1993, but its Wednesday
unveiling was muddied by a dis
pute with congressional Republi
cans over proposals to boost some
health-care taxes.
Presses printing the telephone
book-size budget were halted
briefly, and part of the section
previewing the administration’s
future health-care tax plans was
deleted.
Bush’s spending plan was ex
pected to feature a collection of tax
cuts aimed at helping to energize
the comatose economy.
These were expected to include
a several-hundred-dollar increase
in the personal income-tax exemp
tion for children, which is now
$2,300; a $5,000 tax credit for first
time homebuyers; elimination of
the 10 percent luxury tax on part of
the cost of expensive yachts and
airplanes; and restoration of tax
breaks for the real estate industry
and for business investments.
Bush also was certain to pro
pose slashing the capital gains tax
paid on profits from the sale of
property from its current top rate of
28 percent. Bush initially had been
expected to propose dropping the
top rate to 19.6 percent, but after
conservative Republicans de
manded a steeper reduction, the
president was said to be consider
ing an even deeper cut.
The budget also was expected
to include a five-year, $50 billion
cut in defense spending. The B-2
Stealth bomber, the Seawolf attack
submarine, and the production of
new nuclear warheads were said to
be among the victims of the Penta
gon’s shrinking budget.
UNEMPLOYMENT
it t ★ t; it Economic State of the Union |
Profile of some key issues shaping the nation s status.
TRADE
DEFICIT
In billions
of dollars _
•81 *83 '85 *87 89
TAXES
Elements likely to be
included in Bush’s
anti-recession package
■ Cut in capital gains tax
■ Increase in families personal
exemptions by about $500 per child
■ -fex credits of up to $3,000
for purchase of health insurance :
tor the poorest Americans
■ lx deductions for middie-inoome
earners tor the first $3,000 spent
on health insurance
■ Rollover of IRA funds into
family savings accounts.
■ lx credits tor first-time
home buyers.
HEALTH
Uninsured Americans
Persons under
the age ot 65
Year # of uninsured percentage
1968 33.6 million 4 15.9%
1989 34.4 million 4 16.1%
1990 35.7 million 4 16.6%
Total uninsured Total insured
35.7 million 215 J million
EDUCATION
Direct federal
support
In billions
of dollars
•82 *84 W W -90
South African
police arrest
right-wingers
JOHANNESBURG, South
Africa — Police arrested 10
white extremist leaders Tues
day in raids certain to enrage
right-wingers, who have threat
ened violence to thwart govern
ment moves toward power-shar
ing with blacks.
Among those arrested on
charges of public violence was
the man considered South Af
rica's most militant right-wing
leader: Eugene TcrreBlanche,
head of the Afrikaner Resistance
Movement. He and nine associ
ates in the neo-Nazi group were
released on bail of up to $36,
and a court date was set for
March 9.
The 10 men were arrested at
their homes in pre-dawn raids
reminiscent of sweeps in black
townships during the state of
emergency that ended in 1990.
TerreBlanche complained
that his 10-year-old daughter
“had to endure the humiliation,
with tears in her eyes, of seeing
her father arrested in frontof his
family on his own farm.”
In recent weeks, police also
have arrested more than 10 other
members of right-wing groups
on suspicion of bombing schools
and post off ces to protest Presi
dent F.W. de Klerk's reforms.
Many observers think the
bombings are likely to increase
if de Klerk pushes ahead with
his promise to end apartheid
and share power with the coun
try’s 30 million blacks.
Nelson studying withdrawal from waste compact
LINCOLN — Nebraska is study
ing a pullout from the five-state
commission planning a regional nu
clear waste dump, Gov. Ben Nelson
said Tuesday.
“At this point I believe the com
mission has been nothing but a front
for out-of-state generators of nuclear
waste,” Nelson said in an interview
with The Associated Press.
Nelson commented after being
shown transcripts of taped recordings
which former compact director Ray
Peery said he made during telephone
conversations with other compact
officials. Peery was sentenced to prison
last week for stealing about $800,000
in compact funds.
•w 1 i 1
Nebraska was chosen in 1987 as
the host for a concrete-reinforced
warehouse to serve the participants in
the Central Interstate Low-Level
Radioactive Waste Compact.
Critics say an attempted withdrawal
could expose Nebraska to millions of
dollars in penalties. Those costs would
be in addition to the state’s continu
ing need for waste storage space of its
own.
Peery has said Nebraska officials,
under the administration of former
Gov. Kay Orr and commissioner Norm
Thorson, effectively volunteered to
accept the project. Orr and Thorson
have denied that allegation, as have
other commission officials.
Nelson has asked Attorney Gen
eral Don Stenberg to learn more from
former Nebraska officials about the
state’s selection.
The calls cited by Beery were made
on Friday, March 22,1991.
After reading both transcripts,
Nelson said: “Nebraska has begun to
research the possibilities, the ramifi
cations and consequences” of with
drawing from the compact.
Nelson and former commissioner
Bill Hoppner say the transcripts in
total show the commission to be a
vehicle for out-of-state waste genera
tors.
“These show exactly what I be
lieved before I saw them... that some
of our fellow compact states were not
dealing with us in good faith and that
the generators were far too involved
in calling the shots, using the com
missioners from other states to do
that/’ Nelson said.
Nelson said he had ordered re
search on withdrawal from the com
pact and on other options, including a
review of the contract, before he saw
the transcripts.
Commission Chairwoman Greta
Die us acknowledged Tuesday by tele
phone from Arkansas that the conver
sations occurred and that she was a
participant. But she said Nelson’s
interpretation was wrong.
Israel, Arabs start peace talks
MOSCOW — Although maned
by discord over the Palestinians, the
Middle East peace effon took on a
broader look Tuesday with an un
precedented meeting between Israel
and Arab states to explore (he re
gion’s future.
Such multilateral talks were the
forum Israel sought to mesh itself
with the Arab world by sharing water
resources, expertise and environmental
measures.
Arab participants used the occa
sion to emphasize demands that Is
rael surrender captured tenitory.
Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy
said he was delighted that most of the
Arabs came.
“This participation is unprece
dented, and we’ll know how to appre
ciate it,” he said. “The term ‘peace,’
hitherto vague, was staled clearly.”
The Palestinians defied the terms
laid down by the meeting’s co-spon
sors, Russia and the United Slates,
and brought a delegation stacked with
members unacceptable to Israel.
Only three of the Palestinian dele
gates live in the occupied territories
and thus meet Israel’s terms. The
others are from east Jerusalem or
elsewhere in the Middle East.
Claiming the makeup of the Pales
tinian delegation was an attempt to
slip the Palestine Liberation Organi
zation into the process, Israel said it
would shun Wednesday’s conference
meetings if the terms of participation
were violated.
Secretary of State James A. Baker
III faced the task of drawing the Pal
estinians into the talks while abiding
by Israel’s restrictions.
An official on the Palestinian team,
speaking on condition of anonymity,
said contacts were continuing late
Tuesday and “we have a lot of hope
we will participate.”
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