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
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