European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 3, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page t the stars and stripes Friday. March 3,1989 Congress celebrates 200th anniversary Washington api Congress marked the 200th anniversary of its first session thursday with joint meeting of the House and Senate and a look Back at two centuries of achievement and High Hopes. The antique Gavel of the Senate and the historic Mace of the House were carried into the floor of the House and the designs or Bicentennial postage Stamps and coins Here unveiled Howard Nemirov the poet laureate of the United states read a poem about Congress Al the beginning of its third Century Here the million varying wills gel melted Down get hammered out until the movie s reduced to stills that Tell us what the Law s  he read. So it s a Republic As Franklin said if you can keep it and we did this far and Hope to keep our quarrel funny and just though with this moral Praise without end for the go ahead Zeal of whoever it was invented the wheel but never a word for the poor soul s Sake that thought ahead and in vented the  Senate majority Leader George Mitchell d Maine recalling he j 1,200 men and women who have served in Congress since the first session in i7g9, told the Assembly we stretch out our hand across two centuries and we say to them if we have not matched your record of accomplishment we Hope at least we have been worthy of your Trust thursday s Celebration commemorated a Date on which a process was begun hut nothing of importance really happened. When Congress convened in new York cily in March 1789 it look a month and More to achieve the House and Senate quorums that enabled both Cham Bers to get Down to actual work. As a matter of convenience. Congress is celebrating the Day of its birth on the wrong Date. The first session took place on March 4, 1789, Nomarch 2. But the actual 200th anniversary Falls on sat urday. The Congress of 1989 the 101st Congress will not be in session that Day. March 4, 1789, was a Day of Celebration in new York City Complete with waving flags the ringing of Church Bells and the tiring of Cannon salutes. But the Senate journal for that first Day was Lew Joyful. Only 13 of the 59 representatives and eight of the 22 senators showed up. The journal entry read the number not being sufi Cnoc to establish a quorum Pilicy  sen. Robert c. Byrd d-w.va., in his new collection of speeches on the history of Congress noted that the continued Lack of a quorum which continued Day after Day led to nervousness that the new Congress established under the Constitution would continue the pattern of absenteeism and paralysis set by the defunct Congress that operated under the articles of confederation. Appeals went out for members to attend. Rep. Pusher Ames of Massachusetts was worried in late Winter turned into Early Spring. We lose credit spirit everything he recorded in his journal. The Public will forget the govern ment before it is  but finally the appeals were heeded. On april i Thomas Scott came Over the Atte Ghe pics from Western Pennsylvania to give the House its first quorum. But it was nol until april 6, when Richard Henry Lee arrived from Virginia that the first quorum of 12 senators was secured Byrd wrote Mcdonnell Douglas still top Dod contractor Washington a the Mcdonnell Douglas corp. Increased its Mil itary business last year despite an Overall decline in Pentagon spending retaining the title of America s largest defense con tractor. Releasing thursday its annual rating of the lop 00 military contractors the Pentagon said Mcdonnell Douglas substantially widened to Lead Over general dynamics corp. And general electric co. In fiscal 1988 because contract totals declined for the the second and third ranked contractors. The St. Louis based Mcdonnell Doug Las received military contracts Worth 18 billion in fiscal 1988, up from $7,7 Bil lion in fiscal 1987. No. 2 general dynamics had $6.5 Bil lion in contracts in fiscal 1988, and be received military contracts Worth s5.7 billion. General dynamics Pentagon business declined from s7 billion in fiscal .1987, while be s business declined from $5,8 billion. The remainder of the top 10 in fiscal 1988 included Tenn eco inc., with s5.1hillion Raythelon co. With 14.1 billion Martin Marietta corp. With $3.7 billion general Mol Ore corp. With 53.6 billion Lockheed corp. With 13.54 billion United technologies corp. With 13.51 Bil lion and he Boeing co. With s3 billion. The report titled " 100 companies receiving the largest Dollar volume of prime contract awards covers the Fis Cal year that ended sept 30, and is considered the most definitive gauge of How major military contractors arc faring each year. The report discloses that the Penta gon s contractors were fighting Over smaller Pic in fiscal 1988, with prime contracts totalling � 137 billion being Par celeb out. That is 55.5 billion less than the  awarded in fiscal 1987. The top 100 companies As a group saw their share of those contracts decline last year. The 100 firms received $90.1billion of the contracts or 65.b percent of the total compared with $95.4 billion and 66.9 percent in fiscal i9b7. The smallest total amount received by a company in the fiscal 1988 list was$129 million compared to $122 million in fiscal 1987," the Pentagon added. The biggest  the fiscal 1988 rankings was the Rise of Tenn co. A com Pany that ranked 13th in fiscal 1987.tenncco s jump to fourth in the rankings was based on orders from the Navy for to nuclear powered aircraft carriers received by the Newport news shipbuilding & dry Dock co., a wholly owned subsidiary. This was the second consecutive Yea that Mcdonnell Douglas ranked. First. Mcdonnell Douglas reclaimed the no. I ranking in fiscal 1987 after being Shoul dered aside a year earlier by general by Hopes for Freedom Randall Dale Adams the Man whose guilt in the 1976 slaving of a Dallas police officer was questioned in the film the thin Blue lint tells reporters he Hopes to cd free in the Wake of a Texas appeals court decision o  his Mur Der conviction. Adams w to has spent 2 years in jail was interviewed wednesday at the Pulham prison in lot lady Texas. He said he wants a new trial la Clear his name. Senate pane confirms Derw ski As secretory of veterans affairs Washington a a Senate committee voted 10-0 thursday to confirm Edward j. Derwinski As the first Secretary of veterans affairs although the chair Man criticized Der Wojiski for lipping off South koreans 12 years ago thai Otic of their agents was about to defect. I conclude that what he did in 1977 was wrong and that inc entire record demonstrates thai he has often not been candid or forthcoming about it said sen. Alan Cranston d-catif., chairman of the veterans affairs committee. However when weighed against 30 years of service in Congress and the slate department "1 do not find his indiscretions As to this one incident to be disqualifying Cranston said. I am optimistic about or Derwinski s potent Rialto Rise above this unattractive episode to put it behind him once and for  x Zwinski was questioned at length about his re Marks on the korean defection in a private session of the ,and again in Public wednes Day Derwinski 62. A former congressman and stale department official was the ranking Republican member of a House committee investigating the Korea Gate scandal in september 1977 when he was told by the committee staff that a korean official was going to defect.  said he encountered a korean embassy official that Day on the Steps of or near the Longworth House office building. In the process of the con creation and without giving the matter any serious thought i casually observed something to the effect that the next problem they would have with our committee was one of their officials As a witness he  Wihoski said that there was nothing malicious or intentional to whal i did and contended i honestly do not believe i Ever endangered  i also acknowledge it was t a very Wise thing to do in fact a rather stupid thing to do Derwinski said the so talc foreign relations committee has exam ined the korean agent question twice before in Derwinski s 1983 and 1987 confirmations for state department posts then the incident attracted Little attention. The veterans committee was unable to obtain information from a grand jury1 that investigated the . Under questioning by Cranston said that on the advice of his attorney he had declined to answer questions from inc grand jury citing the speech and debate clause of the Constitution on grounds of possible interference by another Branch into his duties As a congressman. Cranston said subsequent court rulings have Nar rowed the interpretation of that clause so that it would no longer be available As grounds to avoid answering questions in such a ease. Derwinski  faced allegations about links to alleged former nazi collaborators through1 his service on the National Republican heritage groups Council a gop group aimed at attracting ethnic voters Cranston said that after Reading a special Fri report hews satisfied hit the nominee fas done nothing  " Derwinski said he was unaware of the background of his associates on the heritage committee Derwinski a 12-Lcrm Republican congressional vet eran from Fli Tois was appointed Counselor 10 the state department in 1983 and later became undersecretary for Security assistance science and technology. Though the korean affair attracted most attention Money problems with veterans programs were also a key topic for crw Vitski and the committee a officials have testified that they will be $600 million to Simillion Short in j Derwinski pled billio t i their medical care budget this year and pledged to be an advocate for the a Bud get before the White House s office of management and budget