Washington Report, December 1984

United States Senator Chic Hecht's Washington Report VOLUME 1 NUMBER 4 WASHINGTON D.C. DECEMBER 1984 Dear Friend: International terrorism has now been added as another major issue facing Congress this summer. Others continue to be our critical budget deficit, tax simplification and the storage of nuclear waste. I hope you will take a few minutes to review this newsletter to help you become better acquainted with these issues. Once again, as in the past two years, I will soon be making my annual "Chat with Chic" tour of our state. We have published our itinerary so you can see when we will be in your area. America's Tax Plan: Simplified President Reagan's proposed tax plan is a good idea because it would insure that all Americans pay their fair share- and not a penny more. It's been called "America's Tax Plan" because it would re-ward families and family values. And it would pro-mote prosperity and inno-vation with a tax system that will carry America into the 21st century. To strengthen the eco-nomic foundations of the family, President Reagan's plan would: ? Assure that families at or below the poverty level be freed from taxation, includ-ing older, disabled or blind Americans in that category. ? Increase the personal ex-emption to $2,000 next Jan-uary for taxpayers and de-pendents, providing sub-stantial relief to families and Main Street America. It would also index the ex-emption, protecting it against inflation. ? Raise and index the "earned income tax credit" for the working poor. ? Expand the incentive for private savings through Individual Retirement Ac-counts (IRA's) to include the same benefit to spouses working at home. ? Reduce capital gains to spur further savings and investment. My mail has shown that a vast majority of Nevadans favor tax simplifi-cation. The President's proposal would scrap the 14-tiered system of income-tax brackets, and replace it with a simple 3-bracket system with rates of 15, 25 and 35 percent. The Reagan tax plan would also close loop-holes. In his May 28 ad-dress to the nation, the President said: "There is one group of losers in our tax plan --those individuals and corporations who are not paying their fair share, or, for that matter, any share. These abuses can-not be tolerated. From now on, they shall pay a mini-mum tax. The free rides are over." The overwhelming ma-jority of taxpayers are dis-satisfied with the current tax system. They believe it is flawed in many respects and tends to favor "special interests." The current tax struc-ture often rewards invest-ment in non-economic "shelters," instead of re-warding hard work and in-novation -- the qualities that made America great. The current tax code is "un-American" and I'm hopeful the Congress will enact some form of tax simplification this year. Members of the Air Force Thunderbirds Team visit with "Flying Grandma" Marie McMillan of Las Vegas, shortly after Senator Chic Hecht presented her with her official world records. McMillan set 584 world and national records on a five-week journey from her home, across Mexico through the Caribbean and back home again. Battle of the Budget Shortly after 4:00 a.m. on May 9, Vice President George Bush broke the Senate deadlock on the budget compromise. The vote had been tied 49-to-49. More than any other recent vote, the historical passage of the Rea-gan/ Senate leadership com-promise budget plan demonstrates how crucial each and every vote in the Senate really is. Before the Vice President voted, Sena-tor Pete Wilson (R-CA), who was hospitalized fol-lowing an emergency ap-pendectomy, had to be rushed by ambulance to the Senate floor to cast his "aye" vote. I'm very pleased that Senator Laxalt joined me in voting for the budget com-promise package. Indeed, one vote made the difference. My vote, and each vote of the other 48 sena-tors who stood by the President, was a vote for the people of America. We stood by our pledges to reduce the budget and cut federal spending. We knew that in order to eliminate the root cause of the deficit, which is crowding out private borrowers and driving up interest rates, we had to reduce the budget. Each Nevadan who calls or writes to me is deeply concerned that we currently have more gov-ernment, yet not better government. This budget vote is not a vote that attempts to place responsibility for balancing the budget on the backs of taxpayers. We've all seen where the tax-and-spend philosophy of the past forty years has gotten us. It's time for some courage and fiscal responsibility. One vote can mean a difference! Senator Chic Hecht, the Chairman of the Housing^ and Ur-ban Affairs Subcommittee, visits with David Stockman, then Director of the Office of Management and Budget, prior to budget hearings before Hecht's panel. Looking on is Senator John Heinz (R-PA). Nuclear Waste Storage Debate Rages Last April in my ad-dress to a joint session of the Nevada Legislature, I urged Nevadans to obtain factual information regard-ing a nuclear waste reposi-tory which may be located at Yucca Mountain on the Nevada Test Site before taking a position. Much misinformation has been circulated by hysterical politicians and the news media. We need to base our position on facts. If it is not safe for our state, your entire congressional delegation will be voicing opposition. However, to op-pose it now, purely be-cause it's the politically popular thing to do, is clearly wrong. Because of the distort-ed picture painted by those who are opposed to "any-thing nuclear" I asked the Department of Energy to come up with some factual estimates of the cost and employment impacts should Nevada be selected as a site for the repository. According to DOE: Ap-proximately $630 million will be spent in Nevada on the project over 5 years for site characterization. Over $5 billion will be expended for construction over 5 years. Peak employment is estimated at 7,000-8,500 jobs. Baseline projections indicate that Nye and Clark Counties will contain sig-nificant numbers of wor-kers with many of the skills required for the repository project. Exact numbers have yet to be de-termined. The decision on an ex-act location won't be made until 1991. Let's not panic. Let's get the facts. I've been assured the ship-ments would not endanger populated areas. The storage would be safer than in present above-ground facilities through-out the country. We need to study this question carefully. The nuclear waste repository may be only a small part of a vast expan-sion of the Nevada Test Site. Nevada is on the cut-ting edge of America's newest frontier: Outer space exploration, and is being considered for some of the early research and development of the Stra-tegic Defense Initiative Projects. August Recess Itinerary TUESDAY, AUGUST 20, 1985 9:00 a.m. Staff and Senator meet with 2 Las Vegas City Coun-cilmen & City Department staff - Las Vegas City Hall - 10th floor 10:00 a.m. Staff and Senator meet with Las Vegas Mayor Bill Briare 11:00 a.m. Staff and Senator to meet with other Las Vegas City Councilmen and department staff WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 21. 1985 9:00 a.m. Senator and staff to meet with North Las Vegas offi-cials and department staff (a meeting notice will be posted) 4:00 p.m. Senator and staff to meet with Henderson, Boulder City, Moapa, Overton, Logandale, Searchlight, Mesquite at Henderson Convention Center. General review of rural entities and their concerns THURSDAY, AUGUST 22, 1985 6:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Staff Tour of Nevada Test Site FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 1985 9:00 a.m. Mai Harris - CH 13 TV - taping of "Probe" show (tap-ing starts at 9:00 a.m. - finished in 35 minutes) 10:30 a.m. Senator and Staff to meet with Clark County Com-mission and county staff 4:00 p.m. Senator and staff to meet with Southern Nevada Ad-visory Council, Union Plaza Turf Club MONDAY, AUGUST 26, 1985 12:30 p.m. Luncheon meeting in Tonopah at Station House, ban-quet room, with members of Nye and Esemeralda County Advisory Committees 5:00 p.m. Drop-by Central Nevada Development Authority, Hawthorne, Hawthorne and Mineral County Advisory Boards, local officials TUESDAY, AUGUST 27, 1985 8:15 a.m. Breakfast in Gabbs 11:30 a.m. Luncheon at Austin Senior Citizen Center 2:30 p.m. Function in Eureka City Park w/ constituents WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 28, 1985 8:00 a.m. Evening Tour of Lehman Caves National Monument/Mt. Wheeler Scenic area with U.S. Forest Service Function with members of White Pine County Ad-visory Board THURSDAY, AUGUST 29, 1985 noon Luncheon in Wells with Elko Advisory Board FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 1985 7:30 a.m. Breakfast with members of Elko County Advisory Committee at Red Lyon 11:00 a.m. Annual parade in Elko afternoon Rodeo in Elko SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 1985 11:30 a.m. Luncheon at Nevada Club in Battle Mountain with members of Lander County Advisory Board 3:00 p.m. Parade in Winnemucca SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1985 7:00 a.m. Breakfast with Humboldt County Advisory Board at Star Hotel 11:30 a.m. Luncheon in Lovelock with Pershing County Advisory Board at Windmill Restaurant 3:00 p.m. Meeting with Fernley townspeople MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 2? 1985 8:30 a.m. Breakfast in Fallon 11:00 a.m. Parade in Fallon Afternoon Labor Day Festivities in Carson City at Mills Park TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1985 7:30 a.m. Breakfast in Carson City with members of the Ad-visory Boards of Douglas, Storey and Carson City at Ormsby House 9:30 a.m. Tour historical buildings in Virginia City, meet with Anna Coval 12:15 p.m. Luncheon with members of the Washoe County Advi-sory Board and public officials of Reno, Sparks and Washoe County at Sparks Nugget Third Annual "Chat With Chic" Tour Scheduled The third annual "Chat with Chic" tour of Nevada is scheduled to begin Au-gust 20 in Clark County, winding up September 3 in Reno/Sparks and Carson City. As in past years, members of my Washing-ton legislative staff will join staff members from Las Vegas, Reno and Car-son City on this extensive state-wide visit with constituents. These meetings with local officials and citizens have proven an excellent means of keeping in touch. And my staff gets a rare opportunity to view, first-hand, many of the unique problems facing various areas in our state. This year the trip will cover more than 2,000 miles, including highly populated Clark and Washoe Counties, but also many rural communities such as Gabbs and Austin. The trip, which is always taken when Congress is in recess, has been a truly re-warding experience. Please meet with us and share your views on current is-sues or legislation. In addi-tion to listening to your opinions, we'll try to help resolve any problems you might be having with the federal government. Please remove and check the appropriate box if you would like to be kept in-formed on a specific issue. ? Defense ? Foreign Policy ? Energy ? Wilderness ? Budget Deficit ? Tax Simplification ? Banking & Housing ? Other _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Name _ Address City State Zip Mail to: U.S. Senator Chic Hecht U.S. Senate Washington, D.C. 20510 South Africa Sanctions Would Only Hurt Blacks We are all opposed to the South African policy of Apartheid. However, eco-nomic sanctions which have been proposed in Congress are not the answer. Last December, I spent 20 days in South Africa, meeting with government officials, busi-ness leaders, religious groups and blacks. Every-where I went, people, in-cluding many of the blacks, urged me to return to Con-gress with this message: Don't cut off American in-vestment in South Africa. If you do, you will only hurt the blacks. Indeed, there is abun-dant evidence that Ameri-can investment in South Africa, which is a strong ally of the United States, has raised the living stan-dard for most blacks sub-stantially. What we need is more American investment, not less. It's important to remember that the current government in South Africa is our friend. There are many strategic metals which can be obtained only from South Africa or the Soviet Union. The Soviets have been trying to gain control of South Africa since Stalin was in power. If we impose economic sanctions, the government there could topple and be replaced by one with close ties to the Soviet Union. Would blacks be bet-ter off? Would America be better oft?_ (Courtesy of Savage Studios) Members of the Sierra Nevada Chorale, nearly 100 strong, gave an unscheduled performance in the Hart Senate Office Building for Senator Hecht and his senate col-leagues following the Inauguration of President Reagan for his second term in office. Although a majority of South Africans remains without the fundamental human right of citizenship, dramatic progress has been made in recent years. Positive changes are occur-ring -- in black education and housing, in labor law and trade unionism, and in black urban residency rights. Instead of imposing prohibitions on American investment in South Africa, we should be working with the government there to encourage positive changes. It took time for apartheid to crumble in the United States. As recently as 1954, 17 states still maintained racially separate schools. The use of economic sanctions against our allies is not wise. I also opposed a resolution threatening sanctions against the Philippines. It's simply another example of Con-gress trying to set foreign policy, I certainly don't condone abuses within any country; however, the stra-tegic issues involved are very important and Con-gress should not try to legislate the internal affairs of another country. We should learn our history lessons. Is Cuba better off today under Communist dictatorship than it was under Batista? Is Vietnam better off today with its harsh political con-trols, concentration camps, desperately poor economy, and expansionist war in Cambodia than it was when at least in Saigon there was a parliamentary and electoral process? Is Iran better off today with its wildly arbitrary rule by the Khomeini Moslem fa-natics, than it was under the reform-minded Shah? Apartheid is crumbling in South Africa and crum-bling takes time. Economic sanctions won't speed the process; it will only slow it down. UNITED STATES SENATE WASHINGTON, D.C. 20510 PUBLIC DOCUMENT OFFICIAL BUSINESS Postal Patron NEVADA u.s.s. BLK. RT. CAR-RT-SORT 8 L