European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 27, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes August 1985 columns Mary Mcgrory scaring the Pentagon enough to Cut fraud waste the Pentagon probably want and it certainly want when it struck Back at two of its most Resolute the brass denied an air Force plane to John the chairman of the subcommittee that caused them massive embarrassment with disclosures about general dynamics with per on the National who is respectfully known around the House As the is philosophical about cancellation of his plans to take a congressional delegation to Russia and he unlikely to the Pentagon also mounted an offensive against the most famous whistle Blower in Fitzgerald had Given invaluable assistance to and the Pentagon retaliated by giving Fitzgerald a bad report card an unfavourable Job rating that could be preliminary to a new attempt to fire the last time the Pentagon tried to fire Fitzge Rald for the crime of noting in Public that the Cost overrun on the c5a plane came to billion he fought it took him 12 years and a but he was eventually restored to his Job and unreconstructed by went Back to finding fraud and abuse in the Pentagon this he wont have to fight for growling about Messing with my has Al ready launched an investigation into the which was made by assistant air Force Secretary Richard a former mayor of Dingell Calls the putdown of Fitzgerald arrogance of a High order and stupidity of an extraordinary Charles who has trans formed himself into the most popular politician in the history of his state by his assaults on Pentagon is also planning to look into the circumstances of the below Par evaluation of fitzgeralds Fitzgerald got below the fully successful on working relationships and work Carver wrote that Fitzgerald is a competent and skilled employee who has lacked Overall direction in his Effort to manage and reduce costs which has substantially inhibited our ability to address these very James Kilpatrick important Dingell staff is confident that the attempt to convey Fitzgerald As a Roadblock to Reform will be since it has in its Possession a Handwritten memo from air Force Robert Reed that specifically tells the troops to disregard fitzgeralds guidelines for solving these very important the Pentagon May be especially furious because it brought the general dynamics scandal on last year Dingell asked for expert help in stalking the Gen eral dynamics executives who boarded their dogs and joined country clubs at the taxpayers he re Quested who was detailed to Dingell because the Pentagon wanted to get rid of he and two other procurement Tom Anslie and Colin went to work and turned up devastating in stances of How expensive weapons can become when overhead goes through the the Pentagon also faces a growing rebellion among Liberal House who dont think that giving the brass an extra billion is going to help any More than grounding Dingell or trashing the Senate rolled Over House positions on every beginning with the Money the House wanted to hold the spenders to billion and wiping out the modest reforms and restrictions it had George called a caucus at which members raged at armed services committee chairman Les who gave the sen ate and the Pentagon what it wanted on chemical the ant satellite weapons and watered Down the procurement reforms into the democrats put off a vote on the billion authorization until after the now Charles is asking for another caucus two Days after Congress he got 22 signatures in a matter of minutes on the House Schumer said he didst want to be a Democrat if it mean increasing military spending by billion while cutting billion out of housing for the poorest of the Barbara is preparing to fire off a dear colleague letter in which she highlights with a red gutted stamp the 22 instances where the House conferees caved in to the Senate and exhorts her Peers to reject the conference says one House in not sure we have the votes to turn it but i think we have enough to scare Les the real everyone is to scare the and nobody can figure out the Way to do c Universal press Syndicate sizing up the Reagan Buff get Battle defeat before they fled to the members of the House and Senate reached agreement on a budget for the fiscal year that begins they had engaged in six months of sound and it is not fair to say that this was an agreement signifying but it Signi fied very in the View of William chairman of the House budget the Only real winners of the prolonged affray were a group of House they announced in february that they would not vote for a tax increase and they would not Linker with social shut behold the conference agreement no no such republicans As Jack Trent Newt Gingrich and Robert Michel emerged without a in the popular presi Dent Reagan suffered what the pundits described As a major defeat or even a humiliating it was said that his february budget was dead on in Point of the Only major defeat the president suffered was in his request for National Reagan asked in february for outlays of the a gust agreement gave him not to the Pentagon has More billions in its pipelines than it possibly can spend put the reduction in defense spending to one and let us see How the presi Dent Reagan proposed outlays in 1986 of the agreement gave him kindly Supply the word billion As we go after National the largest item is social Securi distributed by Klub features synd Cati buries  Omsk pm Reagan asked he got the program known As income including food unemployment com Public housing and child nutria add up to another big Reagan asked the agreement raised him to for medicare Reagan asked the conferees agreed on before your eyes Glaze consider a few More the president proposed billion for science and technology the agreement gives him he asked for Energy he got he asked for Community development the conferees made it Reagan proposed to spend on education the agreement raised him to outlays for transportation and health Are exactly in line with the presidents original two Points the first is that except for National the differences be tween proposed outlays and finally budgeted outlays Are generally the second is that these minute differences added up to a series of minor defeats for the they Are philosophically by Way of the president asked in february for an end to the program of Urban development action these As they Are constitute subsidies to local governments seek ing to attract business and As Reagan the Grants distort the eco nomic decisions of firms and they give the local governments All the pleasure of spending Money without the pain of raising of course these Grants should be terminated but the conferees agreed to keep the program the Small business administration should have been terminated just As Reagan but the conferees agreed to Only a Token reduction of 25 the president wanted to Stop Federal Grants for Urban mass transit sys these never have been a proper responsibility of the Federal but the House and Senate agreed to continue them next year at 85 percent of projected the ineffective Job corps will hang the strategic Petroleum which Reagan had Down for will get so it the budget Resolution fixes ceilings that Are supposed to be respected when actual appropriations come the ceilings finally agreed upon Are makeshift they have no air of permanence about in the conferees have Cut billion that otherwise would be spent Over the next three fiscal but beyond 1986 it is All Blue smoke and a year hence the president will have to try c Universal press Syndicate