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4 Behrend students boat at a lake in Parque de Madrid
Former RNC chair
speaks at Behrend
by Will Jordon
staff writer
"Recognize the major impact that
the government has on your every
day lives." Haley Barbour, former
chairman of the Republican National
Committee (RNC), shared an
"Insider's View of Washington"
Wednesday evening in the Reed
Commons.
In November 1994, under
Barbour's chairmanship. Republi
cans won the greatest midterm ma
jority sweep of the twentieth century,
gaining control of both houses of
Congress for the first time in forty
years. In 1996, Republicans main
tained their majorities in both the
New tax laws
benefit students
by Jon Tatalovic
stall writer
The chance of attending college is
a goal being made more attainable by
the government. On August 5, 1997,
President Clinton signed the Taxpayer
Relief Act of 1997, which in turn will
assist the parents of college students.
The Taxpayer Act of 1997 enables
funding for the HOPE Scholarship
and Lifetime Learning Credits which
will help the student's parents through
graduation.
The HOPE Scholarship is avail
able for students who are enrolled in
their first two years of college or other
post-secondary training which is
deemed eligible. The taxpayer will
be eligible for a 100% tax credit from
the first $l,OOO of tuition and fees.
They will also be eligible for 50% tax
credit from the second $l,OOO of tu
ition and fees. These conditions are
only applicable for students who are
enrolled after December 31, 1997.
The Lifetime Learning Credit is
available to students who have passed
their first two years. The taxpayer will
111
House and the Senate. winning con
trol of Congress in hack-to-hack elec
tions for the first time in 68 years.
During Barbour's four-year tenure
as chair of the RNC, the committee
broke all fundraising records, donat
ing record-breaking amounts to the
largest field of candidates in Repub
lican history. Currently Haley
Barhour is practicing law with the
firm of Barhour, Griffith and Rogers
in Washington D.C. and his home
state of Mississippi.
Before his presentation at 7:30 a
small press conference was con
ducted in the Wintergarden. The
major topic covered at this press con
ference was the controversy involv-
receive a tax credit for 20% on the
first $5,000 of tuition and fees through
the year 2002. After that, they will
receive a tax credit for 20% on the
first $lO,OOO of tuition and fees.
These conditions are only applicable
if the student is enrolled after June 30,
1998.
In addition to tuition tax credits,
the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 also
has several other aspects. One such
benefit is tax free interest on educa
tion IRAs, and no penalty for early
withdrawal. Another is the repeal of
the cap on tax exempt bond issuance
by colleges and universities. Finally,
employer provided education benefits
of up to $5,250 of can be excluded
from taxable income.
Because laws are constantly
changing, it is a good idea to check
with the Financial Aid office to make
sure that all breaks are being taken
advantage of. Many of the areas cov
ered by the Taxpayer Relief Act of
1997 can benefit Behrend students by
helping them save money.
ing Bill Clinton, Monica Lewinsky,
and Kathleen Willey. Barbour be
lieves that the president deserves the
same courtesy as all Americans. He
commented, "It seems that a new
shoe drops every week."
Barbour felt that the Republicans
are being quiet on the matter. They
feel that judgement of the issue
should be held until all the facts are
in. Barbour has no judgement at this
time. However, he feels that the pub
lic has every right to make infer
ences, have strong opinions, and be
very emotional about the whole or
deal. The only questions that
Barbour had about the outcome were
about hurting the presidency. He feels
that there has been a lot of back and
forth. Documents and other facts
keep coming up. Kathleen Willey tes
tified under oath and more facts came
out. More questions than answers
have appeared. Documents that have
been under subpoena have failed to
be produced. Barbour feels that vot
ers, the country, and the presidency
deserve better.
Barbour feels that the whole situa
tion in the White House is very pow
erful because it is unprecedented. He
added that the whole situation brings
up the issue of "abuse of power";
people being asked to lie as well as
people being threatened and intimi
dated.
The question of which Republican
has the best chance for the presidency
was also raised. Barbour said that
there is no "front runner." Republi
cans have a clear agenda which is to
cut taxes, reform welfare, and reform
social security, among other things.
Clinton also recently spoke about the
need for social security reform.
Haley Barbour then spoke about
Tom Ridge and his chances if he ran
for president. He said that he felt that
Ridge has been a very successful
governor and he has a lot of political
respect. At this time Barbour thinks
that Ridge is more focused on reelec
tion, however if he did run for the
presidency, he would be received
very well. He also said that he feels
that Tom Ridge has tremendous po-
News
photo by Anne Rajotte
photo by Anne Rajotte
Here the students were able to meet
his family, who had prepared a meal
of paella for them. Bob Bland, MBA
program, commented, "The hospital
ity of Mr Fernandez' family was won
derful. The paella was absolutely
wonderful, especially the brains of the
rabbit." Tracey Titchner, 04 Interna
tional Business, agreed, "I enjoyed the
day we spent getting to know Dr.
Fernandez' family."
In Escuenela, Dr. Fernandez took
the group on a tour of the olive oil
factory that his father had a hand in
establishing. The province of Jaen
produces a good amount of the
world's olive oil, which was evident
by the miles and miles of olive trees
surrounding Escuenela.
All of the students on the trip
seemed to regard it as an educational
and fun way to spend Spring Break.
Mark Greenbank, 06 Political Sci
ence, remarked, "I'm glad I went. I'd
like to go back someday." Mike
Coursey, 08 Political Science, added,
"It was a very spiritual experience.
There were a lot of cathedrals and
being Catholic, it gave me a sense of
where everything started. "
From a trip to the emergency room
to a lost suitcase, the group thought
that Dr. Fernandez did an incredible
job of organizing the trip and handling
any problems along the way.
Greenhank stated, "Dr. Fernandez did
a very good job. He planned it out
very well." Ellis agreed, "Dr.
Fernandez is a great tour guide."
tential
Haley Barbour believes that the
political environment in Washington
has changed since 1994. He stated
that there is a "focus on policy." Na
tional welfare reform was based on
model programs that were conducted
in a handful of states in the early 90's.
Clinton had vetoed the current wel
fare bill twice before finally signing
it into law. However, the current wel
fare program is not perfect. Fortu
nately, the percentage of people on
welfare has been decreasing.
Barbour then brought up the sub
ject of "surplus politics." He said that
as long as the budget is balanced,
Democrats feel that there Should be
more government spending. On the
other hand, Republicans feel that
there should be tax cuts. He stated
that, "money belongs to the people
who earn it." He went on to say taxes
are at the highest percentage ever.
The common household where both
the wife and husband work have to
pay 38.2% taxes out of their income.
Barbour feels that this percentage
should be no higher than 25%. He
continued by saying that when a Re
publican is in office, they will replace
the current tax system with one that
is cheaper and more simple.
Barbour also said that defense
I thought his speech gave insight into the thoughts
behind government, even with his constant praises
of Republican policy
spending is down 40% and procure
ment is down 7%. The decline of
procurement brings up the issue of a
"hollow military." Barbour said that
our military is based on technology
and not manpower. He also said that
defense money should be spent to
tally on defense and not used for
other things.
At 7:30 Dean Lilley introduced
Haley Barbour as part of the speaker
series "A New View: Old Questions,
New Answers." Barbour opened by
saying that he was going to speak on
"the views about what's going on in
Washington."
In regards to the Clinton,
Lewinsky, and Willey situation,
Barbour again said that he does not
know the facts and does not know
what the outcome will be.
"Washington has changed a great
deal since 1992," Barbour stated. He
went on to say that Republicans have
had great success in Washington
since 1993. They are the majority
party on Capitol Hill and it's the first
time since the 1920's that they have
won control of Congress in back to
back elections. Barbour said the ma
jor change is that, "Republicans have
won the battle of ideas." According
to Barbour, Republicans believe in a
smaller, smarter government, ratio-
The Behrend College Collegian. Thursday, March 19, /998 - page 3
Police And Safety
03/10/98 Complainant reported that the carbon monoxide
detector was going off.
03/11/98 Complainant reported that there were students in
the gym. Found five non-students. They stated that they
were told the gym was open to the public. They were
advised of the rules and were escorted out of Erie Hall.
03/12/98 Father of ex-student stopped to see if we could
help get info in order to try and locate her. She apparently
went to Daytona Beach and hasn't called.
03/13/98 Wesleyville PD delivered copy of warrant for
former student who may be around here from time to time
03/14/98 Complete power outage all over campus
03/1 5 / 9 8 Found the "do not enter" sign going from the
Reed Lot entrance along the westbound sidewalk had been
knocked down.
03/15/98 Complainant reported one of his employees had
struck a parked vehicle.
03/16/98 Complainant reported individual on the second
floor of the plastics lab.
nal regulation, and being tough on
crime.
Barbour felt that the best way to
show that Republicans are winning
the battle of ideas is to listen to
Clinton. He feels that Clinton says
what the people want to hear. An ex
ample would be Clinton's 1996 State
of the Union Address when he said,
"the era of big government is over."
Barbour feels that Clinton is "the
greatest political performer in his
tory" and that Clinton "has perfected
the ability to cry out of one eye."
Barbour stated that the people have
begun to accept the ideas of low taxes
and welfare reform. Clinton is only
the third president to be , ejected anci
reelected without majority vote.
"In politics it is not enough to just
be right," Barbour stated. Clinton ve
toed the bill for a balanced budget
twice in 1995-96 before he signed it.
He also vetoed the welfare reform
bill twice before signing it. Barbour
said that the Republicans that are in
the House are very timid.
Barbour feels that, "Clinton is
weak but very clever." As far as
where the government will be in the
near future, Barbour said that he feels
that the government "will drift to the
right." We have a balanced budget
for the first time since 1969. How-
Russel John-Baptiste
02, Computer Science
ever, "it is not a great budget." Tax
rates are extremely high. The deficit
issue versus the balanced budget
comes up. Barbour asked the ques
"Who gets the surplus, taxpay
ers or the government?" Clinton has
projected that there will be $145 bil
lion in new government spending.
"Did we fight thirty years to balance
the budget so the government could
spend more or so that the public will
get more back? The government
spends more than it needs to." Out
of the 40 million working couples in
America, at least one of the person's
entire salary goes into paying taxes.
"No one should have to pay more
than 25% on taxes," he reiterated. He
stated that the average working
couple pays more on taxes than on
housing, food, clothing, and transpor
tation.
Barbour then continued by saying
that Medicare reform needs to be
solved, the government is discussing
social security reform, and that the
goal of smaller government probably
will not be achieved. He also men
tioned that under the Clean Air Act
the government has more power and
by the year 2008, America will have
to reduce its energy use by 35%.
Barbour concluded his presenta
tion by saying that "the public should
recognize the major impact that the
government has on your everyday
lives. The government is run by poli
ticians. If you turn your back on
those who are involved, you will pay
the price."
Barbour then opened the floor to
questions from the audience. The
first question concerned Medicare
being expanded to people under 65
and medical savings accounts.
Barbour answered the second part
first. He said that medical savings
accounts are a good policy. Barbour
feels that it will be successful. Medi
cal savings accounts allow young
people to buy healthcar , !,. •e
-. 141,111. AWN:l l qt satedl
41, ;• ' of
all medical bills are pa*lt . 4i ! -
one' other than the patient. Ba ..ur
is opposed to the expansion of Medi
care saying that it was very risky.
Another member of the audience
asked about the national debt.
Barbour answered by saying that our
generation will be better off than his.
He feels that it is bad policy to build
"big surplus." Barbour feels that the
government should reduce the na
tional debt, but they should not elimi
nate it because of the investments
such as bonds and treasury notes. If
they do eliminate the national debt,
Barbour fears that it will deflate our
currency.
Another member of the audience
asked why the Republican leadership
does not take impeachment seriously.
Barbour replied by saying that if it is
partisan, a) there will not be impeach
ment and b) if there was an impeach
ment, it would tear at the fabric of
the presidency. It takes a two thirds
vote to impeach, meaning that a ma
ny Democrats would have to vote for
impeachment, whether the Republi
cans like it or not. Barbour feels that
if the Republicans take the risk of
making it a partisan issue, they will
have done the country a great disser
vice.
Haley Barbour concluded that he
liked going to colleges because of the
quality of questions. He feels that
Generation X will be the best gen
eration ever.
Students had mixed reactions to
Barbour's ideas. Russel John-
Baptiste, 02 Computer Science, said
"I thought his speech gave insight
into the thoughts behind government,
even with his constant praises of Re
publican policy."
Yong Soo Lee, 02 DUS, said "He
was ambiguous. Barbour dodged
questions with numbers and facts."
Ken Lynch, 05 Computer Engineer
ing, said, "He was conservative. He
knew what he was talking about."
Dave Grygier, 04 MIS, said, "I
wasn't sure about some of the ideas
in his main speech. He knew about
taxes. Barbour used a lot of examples
that don't apply to our generation. He
is a good politician."