ustxtxb_obs_1976_08_20_50_00006-00000_000.pdf

Call PICK Before You Pack FOR HOUSTON p ALBERT CIS MOTOR/ INN 3301 Southwest Freeway at Buffalo Speedway Heliport and Airport Bus Terminal near by Color TV in every room Restaurant & Lounge Heated Pool Family Plan Free Parking Meeting and Convention Facilities for up to 375 ALL AT MODERATE RATES RESERVATIONS: CALL TOLL FREE 800-621-4404 In Illinois: 800-972-7200 Enjoy real money-saving value, and relax at the 6 The Texas Observer Couple $1 and up Air-conditioned rooms with combination tub/shower, radio and color TV. Swimming pool. Kitchenettes. Excel. lent food by Chef Wittlich, featuring East Texas cornbread made daily. Convenient to Love Field, Cowboy Stadium and all Freeways … And remember, “Fred wants to see you.” Dallas Texas 15220 Area Code 214 Fleetwood 8-3211 Couples $14 ond up id TSO amendment was contrary to the concept that “all taxpayers are supposed to be treated alike.” $500 in early 1975 from Dorman L. Commons, executive chairman of the board of Natomas Corp. Bentsen sponsored a narrow-interest provision which would have nullified an IRS ruling unfavorably affecting Natomas and other oil firms doing business in Indonesia. at least $4,000 from executives of Tenneco, Inc., the Houston-based oil and gas firm. Bentsen sponsored an amendment \(rehave given Tenneco favorable tax treatment in its liquidation of a Canadian subsidiary. $7,375 from several maritime unions since 1972, according to Common Cause. The maritime provisions included in the Senate bill would give the shipping industry a 10 percent investment tax credit in addition to other tax benefits. Tax reformers contend that the shipping industry already receives too much preferential treatment. more than $15,000 from executives or lobbyists of major oil firms that would specifically benefit from provisions in the Senate bill. Although Bentsen did not sponsor all of the amendments pertaining to oil in the bill, he had a crucial role in getting them passed. Pinning down the sponsorship of the various tax amendments is no easy task. Two tax-reform organizations, Tax Analysts and Advocates and Nader’s Tax Reform Research Group, separately monitored the Finance Committee’s meetings on the tax bill. But even though the groups attended every session, they still aren’t positive about the origins of many changes in the bill because they couldn’t hear the proceedings properly and there are no available committee records. When The New York Times asked Senator Bentsen Wm Smith Bentsen precisely how many changes he had made in the bill, Bentsen declined to answer for fear he would forget one. For the 55-year-old junior senator from Texas, the amendments to the tax bill have generated the most publicity he has received nationally since he cancelled his quest for the White House. His willingness to aid his corporate “constituents” has made him an easy target for U.S Rep. Alan Steelman, the Dallas Republican who hopes to unseat Bentsen in the fall. Steelman has been calling Bentsen an “elitist, special interest senator” because of his work on the tax bill. It’s not the sort of publicity a senator appreciates. A new editor The Observer’s new co-editor is Jim Hightower, a 33year-old native of Dennison. For the past two years Hightower has been national campaign coordinator of the Fred Harris for President Committee. Before that he founded and directed the Agribusiness Accountability Project, a Washington-based public interest organization focused on the impact of corporate power in the food economy. Hightower has written two books, Eat Your Heart Out and Hard Tomatoes, Hard Times. He has been a legislative assistant to former Sen. Ralph Yarborough and a researcher for the Library of Congress. He received a BA in government from North Texas State University, where he was student body president, and studied international affairs for two years at Columbia University. Hightower defines the duties of the Observer vestigative building a progressive political ship” He sees the Observer as “a political force, rather than as another erudite journal.” He’ll be coming to work in September.