News stories from Sunday March 16, 1980
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- A tax cut this year was ruled out by Secretary of the Treasury William Miller, stressing the administration's new emphasis on fiscal austerity. This virtually assured another large increase in Social Security taxes Jan. 1 without a compensating cut in income taxes. Mr. Miller's statement also dimmed hopes for business tax breaks in the near future. [New York Times]
- Ronald Reagan got a big boost toward the Republican presidential nomination by former President Gerald Ford's decision not to enter the race, according to many Republican leaders, who believe that barring an unexpected turn of events, Mr. Reagan will be their party's nominee. [New York Times]
- Senator Kennedy will stay in the race, he said, even if he loses in Illinois and New York. He also said it was cruel of the Carter administration to withhold the details of the impact of proposed budget cuts until after the Illinois and New York primaries. The administration had given cabinet departments and special-interest groups about 10 more days to present objections to the plan to balance the budget.
President Carter defeated Senator Kennedy by a slight margin in the Puerto's Rico's Democratic primary, apparently winning 21 of the 41 delegate votes.
[New York Times] - Daniel Patrick Moynihan's backing is the one most wanted by President Carter and Senator Kennedy among all the 41 Democratic Senators who have not so far announced support for either candidate as the New York Democratic primary on March 25 nears. Both candidates have made a direct request for an endorsement by the Senator from New York, but he is maintaining his neutrality, saying that the candidates have not addressed themselves sufficiently to the country's domestic and foreign problems. [New York Times]
- Charges of minority discrimination against the Justice Department, which enforces laws on job discrimination, have been made by eight leaders of the Racial and Ethnic Minority Attorneys Caucus, who filed a formal complaint on behalf of almost 150 lawyers last week after two years of informal talks failed to bring a settlement. According to government sources, the complaint said the department had failed to recruit more minority lawyers or to train and promote them. [New York Times]
- A possible conflict of interest on the part of Senator Richard Schweiker has been suggested by a Philadelphia labor coalition. The accusation centers on the fact that the Pennsylvania Republican introduced a bill to sharply curtail the authority of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration about two months after a company in which he has a substantial financial interest was cited by an agency inspector for violations of the law. [New York Times]
- Congressional control over the C.I.A. would be strengthened under a measure scheduled to be introduced in the House tomorrow by Representative Les Aspin, Democrat of Wisconsin. Mr. Aspin is chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight of the House Intelligence Committee and a specialist in defense policy. [New York Times]
- Deng Xiaoping will step down as China's senior Deputy Prime Minister this summer, a Chinese official said, apparently to make way for a younger team of government leaders. Mr. Deng, 76 years old, will continue as deputy chairman of China's Communist Party. His real power as China's top leader is not thought likely to be affected by his retirement. [New York Times]
- Britain's economic situation has worsened since Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher took office 10 months ago, and the Conservative Party leader warned that things will get tougher. In February Britain's unemployment rate took its biggest climb in nearly five years. The inflation rate is now 18 percent. It was 8 percent when the Conservatives took office. [New York Times]
- Early parliamentary election returns in Iran indicate that the clergy-dominated Islamic Republican Party is taking a strong lead, and that President Abolhassan Bani-Sadr will probably face strong opposition in a divided Parliament. Results of the first round of voting will not be known until after religious holidays that start Friday and continue for a week. [New York Times]