Thursday, January 28, 1982
Eugene, Oregon
Oregon daily
Volume 83
Number 86
emerald
Lawmakers clash on Reagan’s proposals
Ronald Reagan
‘States will take
full responsibility
for aid to families
with dependent
children and food
stamps."
Salem — Gov Vic Atiyeh said Wed
nesday he basically endorses Pres
ident Reagan s plan to shift control
over welfare and numerous other
federal programs to the states
But the Republican governor told a
news conference he would not be
very enthused about the idea if the
states weren't completely freed at the
same time from federal red tape in
administering programs
“Generally, that’s the right direction
to go," Atiyeh said of the president’s
Tuesday night speech "If the concept
is to turn over the programs free and
clear, then I applaud it."
If Oregon were allowed to be more
innovative, Atiyeh said, many pro
grams would better serve people of
the state But he said he wouldn’t be
as happy if the federal government
turned over responsibilities but not
controls to the states
Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers
criticized Reagan's proposals
“The so-called dream of a New
Federalism sounded less like a dream
than a dodge," said Senate President
Fred Heard, D-Klamath Falls
“The president has welshed on his
campaign pledge to balance the
federal budget," Heard said "Now
he’s willing to accept a
record-breaking deficit if he can
gradually dump it on our state and
local governments "
State Rep Vera Katz, D-Portland,
said she was concerned about the
form of federal financial help to states
Katz said if federal financial help
isn't adequate, "I don't know what our
response is going to be. Are the peo
ple in the state of Oregon willing to
pay for those programs?
"The one concern that there is
when you have that kind of freedom to
run a program is the states' need to
understand the responsibility they
have to the clients they are there to
serve
"You will have an uneven system
nationwide on services for the group
of people who need that kind of
governmental assistance."
Leo Hegstrom, director of the state
Department of Human Resources,
estimated that Oregon would have to
spend an additional $474 million per
biennium if the state took over com
plete responsibility for food stamp and
welfare programs
That would be partly offset, Heg
strom said, by a savings to the state of
$237 million per biennium if the
federal government took over states'
share of Medicaid costs.
"The bottom line is that unless
there are substantial additional feder
al funds allocated to the states with
this exchange of program respon
sibilities, it would not be economically
feasible for the state to assume the
responsibilities," Hegstrom said in a
memo to Atiyeh.
Director Robert W Smith of the
state Executive Department said he
could not assess what affect
Reagan s proposals would have on
the overall state budget because the
president did not provide details
s VicAtiyeh
"Generally, that’s
the right direction
to go. If the
concept is to turn
over the programs
free and clear, I
applaud it. ’’
Local Democrats fear reborn ‘state rights’
By Ron Hunt
Ol tht EmaraU
To some Oregonians. Pres
Ronald Reagan's State of the
Union message was "remar
kable " To others it was ques
tionable
'Quite a remarkable
speech,1' said Doug Green,
vice chairer of the University's
College Republicans "We
support it It's a positive ap
proach to the problems facing
us ”
Reagan's refusal to support
tax increases is a good posi
tion. Green said If there were
no tax cuts, the government
would find a way to spend the
money anyway, he said "I
don't see how the tax cuts can
do any harm,” he added
Others had questions about
the President's approach
"It is a very clever strategy in
turning the clock back to the
days of a great disparity
between the states,” said
State Rep Margie Hendriksen,
D-Eugene Going back to
'state's rights” is a radical
change that will put states that
do care about social services
at a disadvantage, she said
The reason the federal
government became involved
in so many social programs,
Hendriksen said, is because
many states were doing noth
ing: "A lot of people were very
ill-fed
Competition between the
states will skyrocket, she said,
as states seek to attract in
dustry by lowering standards
for air quality and other areas.
Only when you have national
standards do you avoid com
petition between states.”
Reagan's plan is "disas
trous for Oregon,” especially
considering the state's de
pressed timber industry, Hen
driksen said Oregon would
need to totally revise its tax
Reagan’s approach
has “taken the feder
al deficit and trans
ferred it to Oregon. ”
Ted Kulongoskl
structure to survive "more
strains on our state govern
ment," she added
State Sen Ed Fadeley, D
Eugene, criticized the Pres
ident's acceptance of contin
ued deficit spending "Oregon
would not have a special ses
sion if the federal budget was
balanced," he said Reagan
blamed deficits on the reces
sion but Reagan isn't doing
anything to stop the deficits,
Fadeley added
Reagan's approach, said
State Sen Ted Kulongoski,
D-Eugene, has "taken the
federal deficit and transferred
it to Oregon .”
But since some programs
are better handled by the
states, "I can't unequivocally
object." Details of Reagan’s
plan need to be seen, how
ever, because Reagan is "very
good with the words" but his
implementation is often a
problem, Kulongoski added
Kulongoski objected to
Reagan's idea of turning over
the food stamps program to
the states. "I worry about the
black citizens of Alabama,
Georgia, and Mississippi."
The reason for federal invol
vement is "some states did not
treat their citizens fairly," he
added
State Rep Peg John, D-Cot
tage Grove, said of Reagan’s
Emerald photos
State of the Union, "Overall it
sounded good, but I have
some deep, deep concerns
about the type of local con
trol." Application will be dif
ferent than “sounding good,"
she said
Other Eugene area legisla
tors — and the chairer of
University Democrats — were
unavailable for comment.
Oregon's two U S senators
did comment on Reagan s
speech:
Sen Mark Hatfield, a repub
lican, said, "the president has
proposed the most revolution
ary shift of the government’s
power in half a century," but
his success in achieving the
program will ultimately hinge
on an "economic rebirth" in
the coming year
"The looming spectre of in
creasing federal deficits and
high interest rates simply can
not be ignored,” Hatfield
added Personal tax cuts
should be postponed, he said,
and a balanced budget must
be achieved through "deep
cuts in a bloated defense bud
get" and in entitlement pro
grams.
Hatfield's press representa
tive, Jack Robertson, said
Hatfield agrees that the states
could run some programs
more efficiently, but only if the
federal government gives
adequate financial support
Hatfield is “not in favor of
decentralizing the structure by
bankrupting the state,1'
Robertson said
Sen Bob Packwood, R
Oregon, took a similar stand:
"I agree we can turn over
many of the federal programs
to the states as long as there is
a dollar-for-dollar match."
Oregon will run these pro
grams well, he said, and be
more sensitive to Oregonians'
needs
r
0
Margie Hendriksen
!
“It is a very clever
strategy in turning the
clock back to the
days of great disparity
j between the states. ’’