■ The Carter people gearing up for a fight over the Panama Canal treaty. Members of Congress have received White House telegrams. . . . Republicans are divided. Ford and Kissinger have agreed to support it. But Strom Thurmond still thinks settlement would be “disastrous”; Rep. Robert Bauman (R., Md.) declares “we’ve been robbed.” . . . Senate Majority leader Robert Byrd (D., Va.) feels “public opinion is not ready for it,” wants to move slowly. . . . Ronald Reagan, though skeptical of Administration attempts to sell the treaty, will withhold judgment until he sees the terms.
■ In other congressional action Ralph Nader has been mailing nickels to congressmen to induce them to support the Agency for Consumer Advocacy bill, on the theory that the agency, if approved, will cost only five cents a year per American. Nonsense, says ACU Executive Director Jim Roberts, who has launched a penny-mailing counteroffensive called “Common Cents.” . . . Labor Secretary Roy Marshall admits that proposed minimum wage hike to $2.65 would cost 90,000 jobs. Chamber of Commerce President Louis Neeb puts the figure somewhat higher—teenage jobs alone would drop by 391,000. . . . Reps. John Ashbrook and John Erlenborn are co-sponsoring an “Employee Bill of Rights Act” which would, among other things, block mandatory political contributions by union members and guarantee secret ballots for strike votes. . . . Sen. William Proxmire (liberal maverick), does not like the Administration’s welfare program, which he deems “seriously inflationary” and capable of overruns “that will make Medicare look like penny-ante stuff.” Sen. Russell Long, less eloquent, simply calls it “foolhardy.”
Comments