April 10, 1973 - Bill to prevent experimentation on human fetuses was heard again today. Opposing the bill was Dr. Charles McCann, university surgeon and cancer researcher, who says use of embryonic human tissues is indispensible to research now being done to isolate disease viruses such as cancer and multiple sclerosis. He says the bill places serious restrictions on medical research, and that it should be rewritten and made much less restrictive. People who wrote the bill are imposing far-reaching legislation that will affect the future health outlook for people who are alive now and for generations to come. Dr. Chet Anderson of the MMA says if this type of restriction had been around over the last 30 years we would not have practically eradicated polio, smallpox, and prevented rubella. It is a necessity for this type of research to continue.
April 10, 1973 - Hayakawa says students are serious and studying now, and today?s freshmen aren?t interested in demonstrations as their predecessors were four years ago. He says he took a hard line against violence and disruption on campus, but not campus activism. When asked about jargon used by students he says the widespread use of obscenities is a tactic used by radicals to shock and shut down discussion; it?s anti-intellectual. There?s a poverty of vocabulary of students in the last few years; you can carry on en enormous conversation with a vocabulary of about fifty words. This reduces all experience into one blur.
April 10, 1973 - Audio from tape recording of hearing about Wounded Knee disarmament process. AIM and government dispute about when disarmament agreement would be signed, before or after the meeting. Once signing took place, next step would be a preliminary meeting with the White House and about how and how to implement dispossession of arms. Speaker questions how to resolve the arms situation. Speaker is possibly Richard Helstern, Deputy Assistant Attorney General.
April 10, 1973 - Agreement between AIM leaders and the government concerning disarmament process of Wounded Knee is in dispute. At the House of Indian Affairs Subcommittee, both sides presented their cases. The government said a call would be made by AIM leader Russell Means to his comrades to tell them to disarm before the meeting. Means said he would make the call only after he had concluded a meeting with White House officials and determined they are in good faith about the agreement. The agreement has no timetable to set down arms. Richard Helstern, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, claims the AIM is reneging on the agreement.
April 10, 1973 - Dr. Philip Stern, author of ?The Rape of the Taxpayer? talks about tax inequities. Wealthy individuals and corporations pay little tax due to loopholes. He talks aobut the oil industry and says we?ll be hearing more about the energy crisis and the need for a tax subsidy; however a study shows massive waste factor in drilling programs. He says the oil subsidy is misdirected and cites Gulf Oil. The companies know their risk because they drill so much. Small wildcatters should be getting the subsidy. He talks about joint filing for married couples and how it discriminates against all but the richest couples. This loophole costs more than Nixon?s talking about Congress overspending. If someone proposed a Welfare system that paid $720,000 a year to the richest couples and only $16 to the poorest and neediest we?d be out of our heads. We have this system, it?s not called Welfare, it?s called the Internal Revenue code. When asked why loopholes aren?t closed since this would benefit the majority Stern says the average taxpayer thinks he won?t make a differenceby himself. Another factor is financing of political campaigns and campaign spending. We won?t get tax reform until we have sweeping reform of campaign financing. Tax laws have amendments written for specific corporations. Municipal bonds are a misdirected subsidy; the interest on the bonds is tax free and doesn?t have to be listed on tax returns, Congress treats this as fictional non-existent income. He talks about Robert Short?s purchase of the Washington Senators baseball team for $1000 in cash and by borrowing the rest of it saved 4 million dollars in taxes.
April 11, 1973 - Speaker talks about accountability in construction of public buildings and cost escalation. The purpose and role of a construction manager is discussed. Instead of designing a building and handing it off to a builder, owner can look to one team to get him his building. If something goes wrong he knows who?s responsible.
April 11, 1973 - Fast track building technique starts construction before final budget is known. Many private lenders won?t commit construction money before they know the final budget. Changes would be needed from current practice to use this approach. Construction management technique of consolidating total responsibility in one group also needs adjustment in public attitude and law.
April 11, 1973 - Speaker says cable industry has claimed the bill is superfluous on one hand, while detrimental to the industry on the other hand. He says cable industry?s purpose is to kill the bill.
April 11, 1973 - cable bill could cover whole state or just metro area. What is a workable approach?
April 11, 1973 - EPA administrator William Ruckelshaus says today?s decision was his alone and he was not pressured by White House. George Allen of the EPA talks about issues the agency took into account concerning claims and fears from the auto industry and catalyst suppliers. He says by challenging conventional engine technology to its limits the government permits the marketplace to possibly come up with a better solution than catalysts to meet emission standards.