8A
Wednesday, September 14, 1994
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Crime bill Americans urged to do their part
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — In a ceremony rife with political symbolism, President Clinton and a chief sponsor of the newly signed $30 billion crime law cautioned that the measure alone won't end America's wave of violence.
"Our country will not truly be safe again until all Americans take personal responsibility for themselves, their families and their communities," Clinton said yesterday as he signed the measure at an elaborate outdoor ceremony at the White House.
And Rep. Charles Schumer, D.N.Y., cautioned, "If people expect crime to end tomorrow, they'll be sadly mistaken."
"If they expect crime to end even five years after this bill is signed,
they're mistaken," said Schumer, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee's crime panel. "But will it make a real dent? Should the crime rate go down? Should people actually feel safer and be safer on their streets?" Without a question."
But, he said, all Americans would have to help as well.
Clinton hailed the provisions of the huge law that bans many assault-style firearms, allows the death penalty for dozens more federal crimes and provides billions of dollars throughout six years to build prisons and hire police.
"Even this great law ... cannot do the job alone," he said. "By its own words, it is still a law. It must be implemented by you. And it must be supplemented by you."
"Even when we put a new police officer on your block, the officer can't make you safe unless you come out of your home and help the officer do his or her job," said Clinton.
Republicans fight crime bill
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Republicans sought to put a damper on President Clinton's signing of the crime bill yesterday by introducing legislation to slash $5 billion in social programs and enact tougher criminal penalties.
Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole said the $30 billion measure signed by Clinton was an "awful crime bill" that many Americans understood to contain billions in wasteful pork-barrel spending.
The bill, introduced by Dole, is identical to the 10 amendments on
which Republicans senators tried to get votes when the crime bill was debated last month.
The GOP spending cuts would eliminate federal support for several crime prevention programs, including anti-gang efforts, midnight basketball, grants to cities and towns for drug treatment, jobs programs and education.
It would also focus corrections spending on "brick and mortar" prisons instead of alternative programs, beef up truth-in-sentencing provisions and toughen sentences for crimes with guns, selling drugs to minors and other offenses.
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The government charged the ex-president of United Way of America and two fellow executives with conspiracy, mail and tax fraud yesterday, accusing them of lavishly spending the charity's money on vacations, real estate and air travel.
United Way leaders indicted of fraud
The Associated Press
The 71-count federal indictment named William Aramony, 67, president of United Way from 1970 until 1992; Stephen J. Paulachak, 49, a United Way executive between 1971 and 1988 and also president of an indicted spinoff company; and Thomas J. Merlo, 63, chief financial officer of the charity from 1990 until 1992.
The diversion of funds, previously reported in news stories, caused a
shakeup at the national charity organization known to virtually all Americans and depressed contributions to local United Way organizations.
United Way of America is the national service and training center for local United Way organizations and is financed by dues from the local groups.
The local organizations collect contributions and distribute them to charities. They had nothing to do with the alleged wrongdoing.
The indictment said more than $1.5 million was diverted, with some of the money spent for purchase of a New York City apartment, a Coral Gables, Fla., condominium, a vacation to London and Egypt — complete with a Nile cruise — and a lifetime pass on American Airlines.
Some of the money went to Aramo-
ny's girlfriend, who was not named in the indictment, which was handed down by a federal grand jury and announced by the U.S. attorney's office here.
Money went to pay for construction of a sunroom at the woman's Gainesville, Fla., home; for her personal income tax payments; her own vacations and trips she took with Aramony and for "consulting payments" even though she did no work for the United Way.
"Today's news represents a critical step forward because it reinforces all the positive changes that have been made to restructure United Way of America...," said Dr. Tommy Frist Jr., chairman of the Alexandria-based United Way of America.
After the diversion of money became known, the national group
brought in former Peace Corps chief Elaine L. Chao as president, instituted new financial controls, adopted a new code of ethics and gave local United Ways more control over the national organization.
Aramony, Paulachak and Merlo were accused of filing false personal and corporate tax returns and Merlo was charged with perjury.
The indictment charged Aramany, Paulachak, Merlo and a spinoff company with conspiracy to defraud United Way, mail fraud, wire fraud, interstate transportation of fraudulently acquired property and money laundering.
Aramony is charged in 53 felony counts, Merlo in 35, Paulachak in 35 and the spinoff company — the Partnership Umbrella Inc. — in 24.
Toyota boosts production in US The Associated Press
TOKYO — Toyota Motor Corp. is boosting car production in North America by 48 percent, meaning that within three years, nearly two-thirds of the Toyotas sold in North America will be built there.
Congress may have to follow laws
Toyota, Japan's largest automaker, said yesterday that it was making the move partially because of pressure on profits caused by the decline of the U.S. dollar against the ven.
The yen has soared more than 20 percent over the last two years against the dollar, meaning that revenue earned in dollars is worth less when sent back to Japan.
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — With dwindling time in the 103rd Congress, a bipartisan group of lawmakers launched a final push yesterday for legislation that would force Congress to abide by the same laws that govern private emplovers.
Traditionally, Congress has exempted itself from health and safety, civil rights and labor laws that other employers must follow.
But a group of lawmakers, spurred by public complaints about government, has proposed extending such protections to an estimated 40,000 employees of Congress.
"It can help restore the public's faith in government," said Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, a chief sponsor of the bill, at a news conference.
Those covered would include congressional staff and employees of branches of Congress such as the General Accounting Office, Congressional Budget Office and the Library of Congress.
Because some legislative workers are already covered, the number of new workers reached by the bill could be as low as 25,000.
At issue is whether the bill will be considered by the Senate before Congress adjourns in a few weeks. A Senate committee is scheduled to take it up next week, and a similar bill overwhelmingly passed the House last month.
Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., another prime sponsor, said he would meet with Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, D-Maine, in the next few days to convince him to bring the bill up for a vote.
If Mitchell does not agree, Lieberman and Grassley said they would try to attach the bill to virtually any other bill that reaches the floor.
Proponents believe the issue is one of simple fairness and that Congress will write better laws if it has to abide by them.
Opponents worry the bill would be costly and would give the executive and judicial branches of government, as enforcers of law, unconstitutional powers over the legislative branch.
The bill would bring Congress under 10 major federal employment laws, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and its 1991 amendments, the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the Americans With Disabilities Act.
An independent Office of Compliance would be set up to enforce the laws, and aggrieved employees could sue Congress in federal court, under the bill.
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