European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 29, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Pago a the stars and Stripe saturday september 29,1990panel kills food funds for Gulf gis by Chuck Vinch Washington Huron a Washington a the Senate armed services committee has killed legislation that would have restored subsistence allowance payments for Servic Mcm hers in the persian Gulf. That controversial provision was strongly opposed by military officials who feared it would Lead to a storm of protest from the thousands of service members deployed in other a a arduous areas around the world who do not get the allowance. Under current Law the subsistence allowance is meant to cover costs for food when service members do not have Access to government dining facilities or Field rations. When troops arc on Field deployments and have Access to res a meals ready to eat a and other government rations or live on base and cat in military dining facilities the allowance is Cut off. The monthly allowance totals $123.92 for officers and $177.30 for enlisted personnel and is the same regardless of rank or marital status. Since . Forces began deploying to saudi Arabia lawmakers have received complaints from military families that the loss of the stipend is a hardship. Defense department officials acknowledge that Many Quot it came Down to a question of fairness a congressional staffer to military families depend on the allowance to make ends meet but they say it is not designed to be a family Benefit. A it s always been meant to provide subsistence for service members not for families a one official said Quot if the government is not providing meals either rations or in mess Halls service members get Money to buy food for themselves. A we have Over 100,000 people deployed in other arduous areas around the world who Are not receiving subsistence allowance a the official said. The Pentagon a argument eventually prevailed when the committee met thursday to Complete details of the Bill which contains other personnel related provisions affecting Servic members in the Gulf. Quot it came Down to a question of fairness a a congressional staffer said Friday. A people on sea duty or in the Field done to get the allowance. No one in Korea gets  College Board postpones decision on changing sat new York apr trustees of the College Board voted Friday to postpone for a month a decision on whether to adopt sweeping changes in the Scholastic aptitude test including the possible addition of a written Section. Hoard officials refused to comment on the precise nature of the changes. But documents suggest that a key change might be the addition for the first time of a written essay Section a a a change some fear could work against minority and immigrant groups. The documents were made available to the associated press by fair test a Cambridge mass based group critical of the sat. The sat taken by about a million College bound students annually consists of two multiple Choice sections testing verbal and mathematical skills. The College Hoard sponsors the exam. Other possible changes under discussion include More problem solving questions in the math Section and increased emphasis on critical Reading in the verbal Section. How such questions might be grouped or organized is still being debated according to knowledgeable sources who insisted on anonymity. Such changes if approved probably would not take effect before 1993, according to previous statements from the educational testing service the Princeton  organization that administers the sat. A Brief statement issued by the Board following its meeting said trustees View proposals to revamp the sat As Quot positive and  a however because of the importance and complexity of the issues under consideration they have requested additional financial and programmatic information before making a final decision. The boards statement said it anticipated the issues would be resolved within the next three or four weeks. That made it Likely that the announcement would coincide with the boards annual National forum scheduled oct. 31-nov. 2 in Boston. Spokeswoman Janice Gams said College Board president Donald m. Stewart and other Board officials would not elaborate beyond the statement until a final decision was announced. Warren Day a spokesman for ets in Princeton also declined to comment on the deliberations and referred All questions to the College Board. However the documents obtained from fairest suggest that one Factor contributing to the delay was Strong objections from several educators and state legislators who fear that the addition of a writing Section would be unfair to minority students and recent immigrants. In a letter dated aug. 1 addressed to University of California Berkeley president David Gardner Patrick s. Hayashi associate vice Chancellor of admissions and enrolment objected to the proposed new written sat Section. He wrote that the College Board a has done an abysmally poor Job in examining the possible effects on non native  a letter to Stewart from California state Assembly speaker Willie l. Brownjr. Also questioned the fairness of giving language skills added weight. A does no to this place recent immigrants and other language minority students at a competitive disadvantage if the test results were used As an integral component of admissions reviews a he wrote. Questions have been repeatedly raised in recent years by fairest and others about alleged racial and cultural Bias in sat questions. The College Board has consistently denied such charges. The committee also Felt that another provision authorizing defense Secretary Dick Cheney to make Immi nent danger pay retroactive to the Start of the . Deployment in Early August would help compensate for the loss of the subsistence allowance. Cheney approved imminent danger pay for service members in the Middle East on sept. 19, but did not have the authority to make it retroactive. Other provisions in the committee Bill include a expansion of free mail service to include videotapes. The defense department and the . Postal service allow personnel m the Gulf to Send mail without using Stamps but have limited the privilege to letters and audio tapes. A a government savings plan that allows service members deployed in the Gulf to Bank their pay in the Federal Treasury at an interest rate of up to 10 percent. A payment for leave accrued by reservists called to Active duty. The Bill would waive a current Law that says service members can Cash in leave Only once in their military careers. The legislation must be approved by the full House and Senate after which the two armed services committees will meet to arrive at a single Bill. Once the House and Senate approve the Compromise version of the Bill it goes to president Bush for his  fire a firefighter watches a raging Wall of flames Burn at the san Joaquin refinery in Bakersfield calif., thursday. The fire started when crude Oil ignited inside a Tower at the refinery. No one was ii ured in the Blaze. Racist remark by a japanese protested w  i a j a. A a Washington a angry demonstrators outside the japanese embassy on Friday threatened a Boycott against a i it the country s products to protest a japanese Cabinet minister s remark lumping together prostitutes and american Blacks. A no japanese goods under the Christmas tree in 1990&Quot should be the slogan of Black americans this year Eugene Jackson president of the Black african broadcast network told More than 100 cheering demonstrators. A handful of whiles participated in the gathering called by the National association for the Advance of coloured people. Quot Nix Nissan Quot a Kream Kawasaki Quot Sayonara Sony a Quot Hook Honda a a Dis regard Dat Sun a Quot forget Fujitsu Quot and Quot Terni innate Toyota Quot appeared on Ards carried by demonstrators chanted Quot Japan no America  Ftp Ilac by some signs said Quot remember Pearl Harbor Quot referring to the 1941 japanese attack on Hawaii that brought the United states into world War ii. Others called for the resignation of Justice minister Sei Roku Kajiyama the minister whose remark triggered a trans Pacific juror. Kajiyama said prostitutes settling in a neighbourhood spoil its atmosphere Quot. Like in America when neighbourhoods become mixed because Blacks move in and Whites Are forced out Quot the japanese embassy said Kariyama earlier this week apologized for the remark As a inappropriate Quot he called on . Ambassador Michael Armacost on thursday reiterated the apology and asked the ambassador to convey it to the american people the embassy said. Speeches at fridays demonstration a a a -,j0 suggested that the apology was Little publicized and was considered inadequate a act executive director Benjamin l. Hooks said he would try to protest personally to japanese prime minister Toshiki Kaifu during Kaifus visit this weekend. Sci if and president Bush were scheduled to meet at the United nations. Charles r. Sherill of Harvey 111., who is chairman of the National association of Black owned broadcasters said he would ask the organization of 225 radio and television stations to a pull Quot All japanese products off the airwaves. That would include lbs records owned by the Sony corp., he said adding our dignity is More important to us than any Black  we re ready to Stop listening to Michael Jackson a top Singer on lbs re a a�1 v  Goins president of a act youth at Georgetown univer sity. Pennsylvania state legislator David Richardson read the gathering a letter to japanese ambassador Ryohei Murata declaring a it is indeed ironic that Black americans Are poised to sacrifice their lives in the Middle East to protect the worlds interests including Japan sat a time when japanese leaders demonstrate such unconscionable racist  the letter demanded that Kaifu a repudiate such racism in the strongest possible  it called for a Long term Effort a to improve relationships Between the japanese people their leaders and Black americans through actions and  the letter was sent in behalf of More than 7,000 Black elected officials of the National Black caucuses of state legislators and the National conference of Black mayors