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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (June 3, 1982)
Portland Observer, June 3, 1982 Page 5 Washington Hot Line Street Beat This week we took the question "D o . you feel that Oregon should have Capital punishment fo r some crimes?" by Congressman Ron Wyden rr Q. The house o f representlves ad journed fo r the Memorial Day Re cess this week without passing a budget. How do you feel about that decision? A. I think it was a terrible and inex cusable mistake. I feel strongly that Members have no business going out and relaxing over a game of tennis or sailing on a lake some where when they have not com pleted the job Americans sent them here to do-- reduce the deficit, lower interest rates and get the economy back on it’s feet. The bloated federal deficit is our number one economic problem. We must get it under control - and the budget process is the only way we can do so. Because I believe so strongly in the importance of this process, I at tended some 10 leadership meetings over the three days and talked to Members on the floor to remind them of the importance o f lowering the deficit. I was determined not to be just a bystander: not to just walk onto the floor and stare at the score- board like a spectator at some kind o f a sporting event. Getting the budget under control is no game. And it shouldn’t be treated as such. Q. Why weren't members able to agree on a budget plan? A. The biggest single reason is that many members just simply wouldn’t vole for anything. They felt that all o f the alternatives involved some risks -- and they did. No single pro posal had everything any of us wanted in it; each had some prob lem areas. But I believe there is a way we can split the difference and come up with a plan that moves us in the right direction. Until and unless we are willing to bite the bullet and come up with such a plan, the American people will be left hanging. Q. What do you anticipate when the House returns to consideration o f the budget next week ? A. I ’m hoping for the best; hoping that the budget committee will come back in with a positive compromise that can get the votes it needs to pass. Unfortunately, with three or so days to sit and think about it, many members may return with their posi tions even more solidly crystalized-- thus, destroying any chance o f com promise I still believe the solution lies in a 1-2 punch that: a. cuts spending fairly, starting with defense and other sacred cows that have been touched very little, and; b. retools last year’s tax cut that was unfair to so many Americans. Philip George, retired- " I think so. Not for the first offense, but for the ones that continue to commit mur der and things o f that kind.” George Officer, Retired - "Yes, for some crimes that are really harmful to other people. It shouldn’t be for minorities only but for everyone.” John Wilson, Sales - "W ell thats a two-edged sword. I believe in cap ital punishment but I don’t like the way it is administered. 1 believe in capital punishment for murder, rape and that type o f thing.” From the Boardroom by Gladys McCoy. County Commissioner Something exciting w ill be hap pening in Northeast P ortland! Senior Citizens are on the move! The Senior Adult Service Center of Near Northeast Portland will open in District II before the end o f the year. Its location w ill be 4128 NE Union Avenue and Mason Street. An Open House is planned fo r Friday, June 4, to thank those who have participated in and have remained supportive o f this facility becoming a reality. The business sector and community have been in vited to learn about renovation needs to bring the facility up to par fo r serving the requirements o f Seniors in near Northeast Portland. The Center w ill offer a program o f services for elderly individuals designed to meet the physical, social, nutritional, emotional, and educational needs o f participants. Such services will prevent, retard or correct physical a n d /o r mental deterioration that would lead to premature placement in institutions. Some services will be provided by the Near Northeast Seniors, Inc. Board and the Northeast D istrict Advisory Board o f the Area Agency on Aging (A A A ). The Urban League Senior Program will be the major provider o f services at this lo cation. The fa cility w ill allow for expansion in the future. For many years, Senior Citizens in Northeast Portland have wanted a fa c ility to cail their own. It has taken the e ffo rts o f com m unity, business, and government repre sentatives two years to find the facility that could best be adapted to Senior needs with the least amount o f capital investment. The Senior Adult Service Center o f Near North east P ortland, In c., a n o n -p ro fit corporation, in conjunction with a community-based task force ap proached local government with an appropriate site for the facility. The purchase price was $105,000. M u lt nomah County allocated $50,000, the C ity o f P ortland allocated $50,000, and the Senior Adult Ser vice Center, Inc. provided $5,000 collected from fund-raising events fo r the purpose o f acquiring a Senior Center facility. The Center is located in a prime and easily accessible area. Its location on Union Avenue w ill allow it to show the commitment of business and the community to the general well being o f the area. It is also in accord with the City o f Portland’s plans to improve the Union Avenue thoroughfare. O f course, we would prefer a brand new fa c ility designed, owned and operated for Seniors. That dream is not lost with this move. We see this as an interim step until the economy improves and b uilding starts are possible again. As a Human Service advocate, (Seniors, in this case), I am excited that there will be two Senior Centers in District II. Senior citizens are in clined to be a "fo rg o tte n ” popula tion in our society and my concern is to do whatever I can through Coun ty government policy to see that Seniors arc remembered. I, too, invite my constituents to attend the SASC Open House from 11:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. and let Seniors know you remember them. Helen Marie Fox, Maid - "N o I don’t. To me it just isn’ t fair. People do things at times when they aren’t in their right mind. There is always a reason for crimes that hap pen - two sides to every story.” matically dangerous, militarily un necessary, and environmentally hazardous. In his judgment: "N uclear disarmament is our best guarantee for peace and national se curity. Nuclear arms escalation will only intensify our national insecurity.” For Dellums, Congress is only one o f the areas in which the new progressive coalition will evolve. It is an institution which must be made aware o f the forces at work for progressive social and economic change. In his efforts to jolt the House out of its institutional indifference to controversial issues that regular House Committees refused to recognize or deal with, Dellums has been willing to conduct extra-official hearings to force "o ffic ia l" Washington to recognize the gravity of a particular situation. For example, over the years he has conducted personal investigations into US war crimes in Indochina and the impact of Agent Orange and other toxic agents on the men and women who served in the Indochina theater of operations. In conjunction with the Congressional Black Caucus, he has conducted examinations on the extent of racism in the military and various aspects o f governmental lawlessness and bureacralic indifference. Many o f these hearings have re sulted in major legislative propo sals. The War Crimes hearings have produced repeated demands for a new code o f conduct for US military and intelligence personnel, both at home and abroad, in peace time as well as in time o f war. The "Racism in the M ilita ry " hearings produced bills to reform the system o f m ilita ry justice, and to end discrim ination based on discharge Margaret Moore. Cook -“ Yes as far far as killing a person for no reason at all. Also for breaking into peopl e's houses and assualting little kids.” by Harria Lavon McRae and Richard Brown S tl-i J & » •« * » jn a iw u iih ra q u d Banquet features Ron Dellums (Continued fro m page I. col. 6/ John Gunderson, Salesman - " I don’t think that is the answer. I think we ought to have proper pri sons and more o f them. There is al so a need for more rehabilitation programs.” ., r ? . ,«s -n Vivian Whitley has a dream. •X It's Anheuser-Busch's dream, too. status, among other measures. From the "G overnm ental Lawlessness" hearings came the Bureaucratic A ccou n tab ility Act which strengthens Congressional oversight capacity and provides the ordinary citizens with the legal tools needed to force the federal bureau cracv to adhere to the law In the 97th Congress Mr. Dellums has re-introduced his N ational Health Service Act. This bill (H.R. 3884) is the most comprehensive health care legislation ever in tro duced in to the Congress. In his judgm ent, comprehensive health care fo r all Americans is a basic human privilege fo r those w ith wealth and power. Other important legislation which Mr. Dellums hus sponsored includes the World Peace Tax Fund, the Ad- quatc Income A ct, the Omnibus Penal Reform Act, the Omnibus In telligence Community Reorganiza tion and Reform Act, and a number o f bills dealing with the enviroment, women’s rights, the plight o f senior citizens, the critical problems of youth employment, opposition to a peacetime draft in any form, the ex tension o f the Voting Rights Act, and other areas of major social and economic concern to the vast major ity o f A m er^ans. He has also brought suit in Federal D istrict Court to force the w ithdraw al o f American military advisers front LI Salvador and the term ination o f military and economic aid to the rul ing Junta there. M r. Dellums is married to the former Leola (Roscoe) Higgs, who is currently finishing her legal stud ics at the Georgetown University I aw Center. I hey reside in Wash ington, D.C., with their three child ren - Brady, Eric and Piper. The banquet w ill be held at the Hilton Hotel. Vivian W hitley has always done good work in her community. Giving people encouragement, helping them to fight for the things they want. But Vivian wanted to d o more. She had dreams of being a social worker. She also had four children to raise. And that had to take priority. But Vivian never forgot her dream. An<l when three o f her four children were in college. Vivian went to college, lix». On an Anheuser-Busch 'Urban League Community Scholarship. These scholarships are for people like Vivian who had to miss going to college fo r one reason or another. But they don't have to miss out now. They have a second chance for an education and a career. Viv ian got her degree. She made straight A s, w hile working at two to three jobs and raising a family Yet she still found time to use her hard-earned skills to help the people in her com munity. as president of her PTA, as a teacher in her loc’al church, anil as the first woman chairman o f the board of the Human Development Corp. Today, \ ivian is still going to school, getting her master's degree and the credentials she needs to feel qualified io d o the work she always wanted Io d o \ ivian's taking her dream anil making a future. One we can all share in And that's our dream A future we can all live with Building a future. Dream by dream. A \H f List R BUSCH COMPANIES >
