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SSL_ NrW<\ DTCtFST Neb^kan Edited by Todd Cooper JL 1J / V V O Ax AvJiJky A FrWay* April 30,1993 —iwi ■ I ■iihIm li^. in . '' —^Wft—‘: „ ,' - . V White House outlines aid program for college students WASHINGTON — Students who perform community service could work off SI 3,(XX) in college tuition, get a modest stipend and qualify for health care and day care benefits under President Clinton’s national service program. According to a White House outline of the program, the plan to be unveiled Friday also includes a more controversial component to make higher education affordable: a S25 billion federal government takeover of the college loan pro gram. Clinton said during the cam paign he would like to have the IRS collect loan money from students, but Deputy Education Secretary Madeline Kunin said Thursday that the Department of Education would hire private contractors to collect debts for now. Neither the community service program nor the loan overhaul would be fully in placcbcfore 1997, but Clinton promised last month that the program eventually would “change America forever and for the better.” Clinton sketched the broad out lines of this program March 1; he scheduled a speech Friday to stu dents at the University of New Or leans to promote it now that draft legislation is ready to send to Con gress. Some 150,000 students would join the National Service Corps by 1997, when the program is fully phased in. Students could work full time for up to two years, earning $6,500 a year in tuition credits. Payments would be made directly to schools. The $ 13,000 is substantially less than the average cost of tuition but equals the average debt among graduating students. * Students, age 16 or older, could serve after high school and before, during or after they attend a col lege, university or vocational school. The White House outline also says participants “without access to health insurance will receive health coverage.” Federal money would pay up to 85 percent of these costs. Participants also could gct“chi Id day-care benefits was not specified in the outline. Economy slumps to ‘anemic’ rate WASHINGTON — Consumers turned cautious and military spending plummeted during the first three months of the year, dramatically slow ing the economy’s growth rate to just 1.8 percent, the government said Thursday. President Clinton and lop Cabinet officers immediately seized on the number in their fight to salvage pans of the $16 billion jobs bill blocked by Senate Republicans last week. The latest increase in the gross domestic product was less than half the robust 4.7 percent annual rale of the fourth quarter, the Commerce Department said. Clinton said the report “proves we were right” and supports “implement ing the budget commitment that the Congress has made to reduce the defi cit and to increase targeted invest ments that will generate jobs.” His budget director, Leon Panctta, said, “Right now this is an anemic,no jobs recovery It should be obvious that the recovery needs a significant O -a boost.” Senate Republican Leader Bob Dole of Kansas said the president’s tax-and-spend policies depressed the economy by scaring business execu tives, consumers and investors. “The American people arc grading the president with their pockctbooks,” he said. Economists had anticipated a somewhat belter first-quarter rate of between 2 percent and 2.5 percent. Some attributed the slowdown to temporary factors, including a severe East Coast storm in mid-March, smallcr-ihan-usual tax refunds and an inevitable retreat by consumers’ after a holiday spending spree that pushed the fourth-quarter growth rate to a five-year high. Other analysts, pointed to longer lasting drags on the economy, includ ing slumps in Europe and Japan, which are depressing U.S. exports sales, and continuing defense cuts. Slock prices dipped after the report’s release. Bond prices rose be Gross domestic product The GDP measures aN the goods - and services produced by workers and capital located in the United States, regardless of ownership. PoroorU change from previous quarter Sourer US. Dipt at Corrmwa AP cause the disappointing news made it less likely the Federal Reserve would raise interest rales. reared or compound turns up /u bodies WACO, Texas — Investigators ended their search for bodies in the charred Branch Davidian compound Thursday after finding more than 70. That would be at least a do/cn fewer people than cull leader David Koresh had claimed were with him. There was no immediate word of whether Koresh’s body was among those found. Thirty-two of the victims were found in a fortified first-floor room. Officials gave conflicting reports Thursday on whether three or seven of the bodies examined so far had gun shot wounds. The wooden buildings were lev eled in an inferno April 19, ending a 51 -day standoff between the cull and federal authorities. The fire began after FBI tanks punched holes in the buildings and pumped ia tear gas; authorities say cull members started the fires, but some survivors dispute that. Four more bodies — all of cull members who died in shootouls Feb. 28 after the federal raid thai began ihe siege — remained in underground tunnels at the compound, said Mike Cox, a spokesman for the state De partment of Public Safely, which is heading the cleanup. Investigators saw those bodies dur ing an initial search of the tunnels but couldn’t immediately remove them because the tunnels were flooded from heavy rains and contained human waste dumped there during the stand off. Workers had hoped to enter the area by Thursday, but overnight rains forced them to spend the day pumping water out of the tunnels, Cox said. At midday Thursday, officials re moved what they said were the final victims of the standoff s sudden con clusion. The bodies were found in the same cindcrblock room where 25 other vic tims and about 1 million rounds of ammunition were located, said David Parcya, a McLennan County justice of the peace. Another nine bodies were on top of the structure, he said. Strike Continued from Page 1 Woodward said 17 workers crossed the picket lines and returned back to work since the strike began, but the rest arc without jobs, at least tempo rarily. ‘Technically you can’t be fired for striking because you have the right to do so,” he said. Greer, a 17-ycar union member but now a management member, said production inside the plant was run ning at less than 20 percent. He said it was hard to go to work when his co workers were outside picketing. “It’s very stressful,” he said. ‘They are hollering and yelling at you, but that goes along with the strike.” A negotiating team from Ameri can Signature met with representa tives of the three local unions Tues day and Wednesday. The company submitted five new proposals that in clude a two-year contract, a $250 bonus, a 2 percent across-the-board wageincrcasecfTectivein March 1994 and keeping health care contributions at present levels. Woodward said the negotiations were unproductive and wouldn’tcon tinuc until next Tuesday in Atlanta, Ga. “The $250 signing bonus was a slap in the face,” he said. “Money is not the issue, we haven’t gotten a raise, and wc’re^not asking for an increase.” When the strike eventually ends, Greer said it would be difficult to go back to work. “I really don’t know how that will be,” he said. “I imagine it will be a biucr pill for both of us to swallow, but if we want to make the company grow and a success, we’ll just have to set some of this stuff aside and get back to business.” Nelrraskan _ FAX NUMBER 472-1781 The Daily Nebraskan(USPS 144480) is published bylhaUNL Publications Board. Nebraska Union 34.1400 R St.. Lincoln. NE, Monday through I nday dunng the academic year; weekly during summer sessions. Readers are encouraoed to submit story Ideas and comments lo tie Daily Nebraskan by phoning 472-1783 between 9 a.m. and S p.m. Monday through Friday The public also has access to tie Publications Board. For information, contact Doug Fiedler, 436-7862. Subscription pnc# is (50 for on# y##r. Postmaster: Send address changes to the Daily Nebraskan. Nebraska Union34.1400 R St.,Lticoln. NE 665064446 Second-dess postage paid at Lincoln, NE. ALL MATERIAL COPYRIGHT * •_ 1663 DAILY NEBRASKAN Governors want freedom to spend federal dollars WASHINGTON — Money alone won’t buy happiness for the nation’s governors. They’d like to see more federal spending on education, health, trans portation, housing and other programs. According to an Associated Press survey of governors, what they covet even more is the freedom to spend federal dollars however they choose. “Rarely does money come from Washington with no strings attached, even though the states arc in the best position to determine how best to implement programs that benefit their own residents,’’ said Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar, a Republican. President Clinton already has told the Department of Health and Human Services to give states more flexibil ity in administering Medicaid. Or egon has been given a waiver that will allow it to treat more people, but reduce the number of covered treat ments. And Vermont has gotten adminis tration permission to cut benefits for people who don’t find jobs or accept public service work after 2 1/2 years on the Aid to Families with Depen dent Children welfare program. The costs of A FDC is shared by the stales and federal government. The AP survey of dozens of gover nors found that many would like to see that freedom extended beyond health and welfare programs. Said Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, a Democrat: “The truth is, I would tell them to keep their money and just give us our flexibility, particularly in the areas of education, health care and housing." “What might work in California or New York may not work in Wiscon sin or Ohio," said Wisconsin Gov. Tommy G. Thompson, a Republican. Therefore, flexibility is a necessity.” That’s a particular worry for gov ernors looking ahead to Clinton’s health care reform package. A bipar tisan group that met with the president Wednesday said he assured them that slates would have lots of running room implementing the plan. Idaho Gov. Cecil Andrus said the Reagan and Bush administrations re quired the states to spend money for specific programs in the areas of edu cation, highways, the environment, and welfare. “What’s the biggest thing the Clinton administration can do for us,” asked Andrus, a Democrat. ‘Take some of those mandates off of us unless they’re willing to pay for the whole bill. Don’t expect Idaho or Montana or Nevada to live by the same rules as you would expect New York or Detroit or L.A. to live by.” Ohio officials cited the 1990Clcah Air Act as one area in which the federal government has directed how federal funds should be spent. Okla homa Gov. David Wallers said the federal government provided no money to implement the Safe Drink ing Water Act. Bosnian tactions agree to one last peace effort urNiitu INAIIUNS — With the threat of U.S. air strikes imminent, Bosnia’s warring particsagrccd Thurs day to a last-ditch effort to resolve the conflict with weekend peace talks in Athens. U.N. diplomats said they consid ered the Saturday-Sunday talks to be a final chance to reach agreement on an international peace plan that only Bosnian Serbs have rejected. Mus lims and Croats have signed. U S. Ambassador Madeleine K. Albright said it could be the Bosnian Serbs “best opportunity to reach a peace agreement. Let’s hope they arc wise enough to take advantage of it.” She earlier refused to say if air strikes would be launched if Serbs persist in rejecting the plan. She said the United States had not decided its course. In Washington, Secretary of State Warren Christopher said the resump iwn of talks would not affect Presi dent Clinton’s consideration of tougher steps, such as military strikes Fred Eckhard, spokesman for in ternational mediators, said all three parties — Muslims, Croats and Serbs accepted the offer to meet in Ath ens Saturday and Sunday. “The meeting.. .will give all par ties a chance to discuss how the plan "r^ Vari0US sccurily concerns Wh[Vr ft C'pcc,al,y toe Bosnian oerbs, Eckhard told reporters. — II The meeting.. .will, give all parties a chance to discuss how the plan meets the various security concerns of all parties. —Eckhard spokesman for international mediators -tf " Bosnian Serbs said Thursday that their self-proclaimed assembly would reconvene May 5 to re-examine the plan it rejected Monday. The Croats and Muslims, the other warring parlies in the yearlong con flict, have signed the plan. The assembly’s decision came af ter Bosnian Serb leaders met in Belgrade, Yugoslavia with Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, their main backer. The U.N. announcement, on be half of mediators Cyrus Vance and Lord David Owen, said the decision to reopen the talks was influenced by the apparent Bosnian Serb conces sion.