LAWMAKERS - LM 012
LAWMAKERS - LM 012 - "Show Open"
WETA credit/sponsor credits/title sequence.
LAWMAKERS - LM 012 - "Economic/Budget Issues"
Senior Correspondent Paul Duke in studio, begins with news of Congressional panic over national economy with painful cuts to federal budget, possible eliminations of two federal agencies, and entitlement programs encountering payment delays. NPR Correspondent Cokie Roberts introduces report on Congress's efforts to lower interest rates, effecting social security benefits and bringing political fallout. U.S. Senator Bill Armstrong (R-CO) addressing Senate committee: "I just want to emphasize that what we're talking about here is a human tragedy of very great proportions when the interest rates are at the levels that they are presently....soaring to. U.S. Senator Don Riegle (R-MI) telling committee hard-luck story of farmer in Michigan whose operation is struggling under current high interest rates. Panel of mostly male Caucasian U.S. Senators in hearing room. Roberts (VO) says meeting with constituents during recess led lawmakers to try to find scapegoats for bad economy, which usually ends up being the sitting President. Murray Weidenbaum, President's chief economic adviser, says, "We're all to blame." Weidenbaum walks to podium to address banking group. Middle-aged and elderly adult Caucasian men and women sitting, listening, some with "American Banker" newspapers in their laps. Weidenbaum says there's enough responsibility to go around, describes "buck-passing" by Congress to blame Reagan.
LAWMAKERS - LM 012 - "Economic/Budget Issues"
Two Caucasian adult Congressmen at dais, stating U.S. President Reagan's recently-passed economic recovery program won't help reduce interest rates and is hurting Wall Street. Adult Caucasian male Wall Street analyst says Wall Street is simply a reflection of Main Street-- the key to bringing down interest rates lays in Washington, not New York. U.S. Senator Gary Hart (D-CO) speaking in Committee: "This town, when it gets in trouble, starts looking for a villain. And right now, it's fashionable to beat up on Paul Voelker." Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board Paul Voelker sitting down, tapping and holding cigar as he prepares to testify in Senate. NPR correspondent Cokie Roberts (VO) says Voelker is used to taking the blame from lawmakers, given his appointed, not elected, position. Voelker testifies that Congress must take steps to reduce government involvement in the competitive marketplace, allow private competition to have a seat at the economic table. Senate Committee panel members U.S. Senators Dan Quayle (R-IN), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Robert Kasten (R-WI), and Slade Gorton (R-WA). Roberts (VO) says the prescription for more budget cuts is not easy to hear for Congress, but Republicans will use the recommendation as sound advice when the next round of budget cuts come. U.S. Senator Bill Armstrong (R-CO) gives encouragement to Voelker, saying many Senators are committed to continuing budget cuts, even if unpopular. U.S. Senators including Howard M. Metzenbaum (D-OH) and Ernest F. Hollings (D-SC) writing notes. Roberts (VO) says Democrats were unhappy and wanted to hear a repudiation of the President's entire economic program. Sen. Hart asks rhetorically if it's reasonable to expect Congress to pass $100 billion more in budget cuts; audience of adult Caucasian men and women listening. Chairman Voelker says that is a question only Congress can answer. Sen. Hart asks what the Fed will do if Congress refuses to pass budget cuts; Voelker says he won't concede that point, but by then more "revenue sources" would be needed. Senate Committee members.
LAWMAKERS - LM 012 - "Economic Analysis"
Senior Correspondent Paul Duke and NPR Correspondent Cokie Roberts in studio, discussing next round of budget cuts. Duke says that with each round Congress is less willing to approve cuts; Roberts adds that social security cuts are the toughest to vote for and Democrats are more than willing to let Republicans take the blame. Duke notes that when it comes to defense spending, the cuts are more popular and some in Congress are willing to go beyond White House recommendations. Roberts agrees, states it's still hard to create coalitions that can strike the right balance of defense and entitlement cuts. Duke asks Roberts how Democrats are feeling; Roberts states Dems are feeling good, even though they are the minority, which puts the GOP in the spotlight during difficult economic times.
LAWMAKERS - LM 012 - "Saudi AWACS Sale"
Senior Correspondent Paul Duke reports on debate over selling military planes to Saudi Arabia. NPR correspondent Linda Wertheimer reports on concerns of the sale of Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS), lists growing opposition in both houses of Congress, which could cancel the sale, as well as opposition from U.S. Jewish groups concerned about Saudi stance toward Israel; other opponents are concerned the Saudis won't safeguard the technology. Despite opposition forces, the White House plans to use their lobbying power to change minds over the next six weeks. Assistant to the President for National Security Richard Allen framed with a fake newspaper page.
LAWMAKERS - LM 012 - "Saudi AWACS Sale"
Assistant to the President for National Security Richard Allen seated in armchair, points to map, telling why the AWACS sale to Saudi Arabia should go through. Linda Wertheimer (VO) says Allen and his team have one mission: to persuade Congress that selling AWACS to Saudi Arabia is in the national interest. Adult Caucasian man sitting in armchair, writing notes on note card, holding photo of AWACS plane; two other men in room, one being U.S. Air Force general, along with Allen. Allen and unidentified adult Caucasian man speaking to off-camera reporter on the "subtle arm-twisting" going on before going into a room. Wertheimer (VO) notes the powerful opposition waiting to strike down the deal, led by U.S. Senator Alan Cranston (D-CA) who says he has the votes needed: "The problem that the Reagan forces faces is that they have, I believe, only 37 sure votes, and they need 51. So they are way short of their mark and we are much closer." Allen: "We're not in a numbers game, and besides, there's a considerable period of time yet to elapse before this vote is taken. While we may have started from the down position, numerically, as I indicted, we have no intention of doing anything else but going right on up from here." Wertheimer (VO) says the administration needs to convince some Senators to change sides and convince undecideds, one of them being U.S. Senator Nancy Kassebaum (R-KS). Four adult and middle-aged adult Caucasian male lobbyists talking before meeting Sen. Kassebaum in office lobby; shaking hands before entering office. Senator Kassebaum in office, explaining how she was won over: "Well, it was Assistant Secretary of State [James L.] Buckley. He just discussed why he, the State Department, the President, felt it was important. And the President said he was going to fight it with the same vigor and determination that he did winning converts to the tax bill. So yes, that's about the best lobbying you can get, particularly being a Republican."
LAWMAKERS - LM 012 - "Saudi AWACS Sale"
NPR correspondent Linda Wertheimer (VO) says opposition to the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) sale to Saudi Arabia is prepared and hold an advantage in that they have been in this kind of fight for years. Middle-aged and elderly adult Caucasian lobbyists from Georgia entering Senate office. U.S. Senator Alan Cranston (D-CA) sitting on a couch, says, "This is an issue where people are committed out of a long series of events stretching over many years --- aid to Israel, relations with the Arabs, Saudi Arabia, and all that." Wertheimer (VO) says not all lobbying is private and some members of Congress challenge the President's administration to make a public case for the sale. Senators entering, taking seats in hearing room while adult Caucasian male photographers take pictures. U.S. Secretary of State Alexander Haig says, "What is at stake is far more than an important improvement in the military capability of a friendly nation. What is at stake is this nation's capacity to develop a strategy to move the peace process forward and project our vital interests in an unstable area exposed not only to historic Arab-Israeli rivalries, but increasingly to threats from the Soviet Union and its proxies." U.S. Senator Charles Percy (R-IL), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee asks, "What would be the impact of a rejection of the Saudi Arabian arms sales package on the administration's attempt to expand strategic cooperation with Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Oman, Egypt, as well as Israel?" Secretary Haig: "Well, Mr. Chairman, I believe the consequences could be profound. And I think it's vitally important that when we discuss this enhancement package for Saudi Arabia, we understand that the leaders of Saudi Arabia are not driven by the assets of the system because those assets are available elsewhere. What they are driven by is the perception of whether or not an American President can conduct his foreign policy in accordance with the strategic interests and the peace and stability we are seeking the entire region, and I think that is the question at stake on the debate that we are launching at this time. I think it's fundamentally important that the American Congress back an American President in the conduct of his foreign affairs."
LAWMAKERS - LM 012 - "Saudi AWACS Sale Analysis"
Senior correspondent Paul Duke and NPR correspondent Linda Wertheimer in studio, discussing news conference by U.S. Senator Bob Packwood (R-OR) where he revealed there are fifty Senators opposing the sale of Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) to Saudi Arabia. Duke asks Wertheimer if there is any chance for the White House to win the battle in Senate. Wertheimer says there is always a possibility and there have been Senators who have added and taken themselves out of the list, but it is a difficult task ahead for the White House. Duke remembers victories won by U.S. President Ronald Reagan with regards to budget and tax fights and asks if the same can happen again. Wertheimer references Secretary of State Al Haig's testimony putting the President's pleas and reputation front and center as a positive reason to support the sale.
LAWMAKERS - LM 012 - "Consumer Product Safety Commission"
Senior correspondent Paul Duke discusses proposals by U.S. President Ronald Reagan to eliminate the Consumer Product Safety Commission, or fold it into the Commerce Department; both proposals were rejected by Congress. Consumer Product Safety Commissioner David Pittle framed by fake newspaper page.
LAWMAKERS - LM 012 - "Consumer Product Safety Commission"
Consumer Product Safety Commissioner David Pittle in office: "The consumer's gonna get much less benefit out of this agency. We will make far fewer investigations and fewer inspections in the field because of decreased staff in our area offices around the country. Most important, I think that we will be working on fewer projects that are aimed at reducing death and injury from using certain consumer products." Paul Duke (VO) states that Pittle is worried about budget cuts effects on the agency's ability to test products for consumers. The agency was targeted by the White House in its effort to curb government regulations. Despite its budget being cut by a third, the C.P.S.C. can still set mandatory safety standards which it claims prevents injuries and loss of life. Congressional critics of the agency say the C.P.S.C. has only antagonized industries by being "nitpicking" and a "nuisance" more often than not. Consumer Product Safety Commission Engineering Laboratory sign in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Two adult Caucasian men wearing white coats and eye and ear protection, testing chainsaws. Shelves full of stuffed animals. Adult Caucasian male employee affixing weight to pacifier to test for choking hazard. Unidentified product being tested for how sharp the point is. Middle-aged adult Caucasian male laboratory technician adjusting large electronic meter. Adult Caucasian woman facing U.S. House Representative James Broyhill (R-NC) before his interview begins, outdoors. Rep. Broyhill, standing on Capitol grounds, argues, "The commission has really spent literally hundreds of millions of dollars in the life of the agency, and really accomplished very little. I think that's where the criticism is. What they've done is come up with just very few rules and regulations, and a lot of those that they've proposed have been Rube Goldberg-type rules that are very hard to administer, much less comply with out there in the marketplace." Duke (VO) says Congress has succeeded in tightening the laws to compel the C.P.S.C. in better cooperation with various industries. C.P.S.C. logo and meeting; mixed race and gener. C.P.S.C. Chairman Nancy Steorts says, "Today, there is very definitely a new wave sweeping across this country to make government more responsive to its people. We are in a new era of cooperation among government, the consumer, and the industry;" cutaway of mainly adult Caucasian men and women listening. Duke (VO) says Steorts was President Reagan's choice to lead the agency and oversee budget cuts. VS hearing; Chairman Steorts and adult African American female colleagues seated on panel. Steorts in office: "Unfortunately, mandatory regulations take a long time to develop. And I really feel as chairman of this agency that two and three years in the development of a mandatory regulation is not in the consumer's interest."
LAWMAKERS - LM 012 - "Consumer Product Safety Commission"
Paul Duke (VO) says voluntary regulations don't seem effective either, as Chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission Nancy Steorts has not been able to come to an agreement with the chainsaw industry on voluntary rules. Chairman Steorts in meeting with adult Caucasian male leaders of chainsaw industry. Chairwoman Steorts in office: "If there are products on the market that are a problem for the consumer, I certainly support making the consumer aware of this, and if the recall is necessary, yes, they should be recalled. But I also feel that the consumer needs to know what these recalls are, and if there is a problem with a part that needs to be replaced, that we need to do a better job of making the consumer aware of this. And this is what I also intend to do, is to beef up our education program so that consumer all throughout this country know what the consumer production safety commission is all about." Duke (VO) cites Ron Wainrib of the Consumer Federation of America, who says consumer education and information is just code for doing nothing. Wainrib speaking on protecting consumers: "Consumer education is a good thing. And warnings are a good thing. I'm not going to downplay them because it's important. But it cannot replace the idea of why that commission exists. And she would be reneging, not only her responsibility to the tax paying consumers, to everybody, if her desire for cooperation, and her desire for education overrides needs for advocacy, and overrides needs for stronger regulatory approaches. And that's our main fear right now." Duke (VO) notes legislators on both sides of the aisle think tightening up reform may actually make the agency work better. U.S. House Representative James Broyhill (R-NC) standing on Capitol grounds: "Seems to me that now we got the commission going in the direction that we intended them to go in the first place, and that is to encourage industry to voluntarily come up with safety standards." U.S. House Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA) in office, says, "In working together, I think they promote the public good, but we also preserved an independent agency that has the power to say to business if you're not going to cooperate with us, we can impose regulations upon you. With that backup power, I think the agency will be a far more effective one than it has been in the past."
LAWMAKERS - LM 012 - "Abortion Issue"
Senior Correspondent Paul Duke reports on abortion and its relation to Judge Sandra Day O'Connor's Supreme Court Senate confirmation process, where two pro-life witnesses oppose her nomination. U.S. Senator Howard Metzenbaum (D-OH) framed by fake newspaper page. Sen. Metzenbaum speaking at confirmation hearing: "...and frankly, it disturbs me, not because I don't respect your right to take any position that you want. To me, that's fundamental in this country. But what concerns me is that any group holds themselves out and says that on the basis of this issue, this is more important than any other issue. That, I believe is enough to disturb all of us because I think it strikes at the very heart of the system of government under which we live. And I do respect both of you as good Americans, I find something un-American upon---about any particular candidate or any particular appointee being judged on the basis of one issue and one issue alone. I wonder if you would care to respond." Dr. J.C. Willke of the National Right to Life Committee responds: "I think we have to make a distinction between single issue and disqualifying issue. It is our opinion that only once or twice in a century does an issue rise itself in our society that is a such overweening and overwhelming importance, that strikes so clearly to the very heart of the basis of our society and the basis of the freedoms that this Nation has been built upon, the most basic right of all, that unalienable one, to live. In the last century I mentioned one that arose, and I am sure we have no disagreement here. For someone to have been pro-slavery after the Civil War was certainly a single issue but I do believe it would have been a disqualifying issue. For someone today, to pick another example, to be in favor of killing of 2-year-old girls, would disqualify them from holding public office. We would hold that so evil and abhorrent that we would say that simply disqualifies a person. We have seen members of legislative bodies disqualified for lesser issues—theft, charges of various irregularities—and our Nation has turned them out of office on the basis that this issue was disqualifying. Even certain personal actions, after hours, if you please, have taken members of various legislative bodies out of office, have been viewed by the voters as disqualifying issues." Senator Bob Dole (R-KS) listening.
LAWMAKERS - LM 012 - "Abortion Issue"
Two adult Caucasian male and female pro-life witnesses testifying to U.S. Senate in opposition to the nomination of Judge Sandra Day O'Connor to the Supreme Court given her stance on abortion. U.S. Senator Bob Dole (R-KS) listening. Senator Howard Metzenbaum (D-OH) asks, "...It doesn't bother you that the gun control people think that's the most important issue? It does not bother you that the single issue prayer-in-the-school people think that's the most important issue? It doesn't bother you that there are so many groups who think that their issue is the only issue? Now you say that this has become the overriding, the paramount issue..." Dr. Carolyn Gerster of the National Right to Life Committee responds: "I think that this can only be supported in the context of civil rights, in other words, by law, by denying the right to life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness to a group of individuals. Like you, I have many other interests. I am much more interested in ecology than the present administration would indicate. Like you, I'm opposed to capital punishment, though I see it as a separate issue. There are certainly other issues, very important issues. I would not call them disqualifying issues. Only a civil rights issue, I think, is disqualifying. I think that you would agree that individuals should be disqualified if they wish to legislate the return to racial segregation. I think you would agree that an individual who carried the anti-Semitic feelings so far as to believe in the superiority of one race over another, with the legal implications that this carries, those I think are disqualifying issues." Sen. Metzenbaum (D-OH) concludes: "I can only tell you that this Senator does not approve of killing, whether it's of people in El Salvador, whether it's of children in Colombia, whether it's of starving children throughout the world, whether it's by somebody's gunshot or some terrorist's effort. And I believe that these, too, are important issues, but the law doesn't always go the way I think it ought to go. The country's actions don't always go the way I think they ought to go, and yet I don't believe that we have the right to say that any one single issue—whether it has to do with something in this country or some far-off country—should be the basis on which you, or Dr. Willke, or those you represent, or I should vote for, or against the confirmation of a nominee. It will not be the determinant for this Senator."
LAWMAKERS - LM 012 - "Sandra Day O'Connor Nomination"
Senior correspondent Paul Duke in studio, notes the unanimous approval by Senate Judiciary Committee for Supreme Court nominee Sandra Day O'Connor despite anti-abortion lobby. U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater (R-AZ) was chief supporter of Judge O'Connor, becoming a critic of new right brand conservatism. Duke uses Senator Goldwater's critique as a segue to commentary by Charles McDowell on the battle between the New Right and the Old Right; McDowell sitting behind Duke for his segment.
LAWMAKERS - LM 012 - "Show Commentary"
Commentary by Charles McDowell on New Right vs Old Right Conservatives with regard to protests over Supreme Court nominee Sandra Day O'Connor's moderate stance on abortion rights. U.S. Senators Strom Thurmond (R-SC) and Barry Goldwater (R-AZ) supported Judge O'Connor. Old Right conservatives reminded the New Right conservatives that "she was not the Devil's nominee, but Ronald Reagan's." Old Right conservatives, speaking for over an hour before Judge O'Connor could say a word, took stand against New Right conservatives picketing outside the steps of Congress by backing O'Connor strongly, affirming that the Constitution was still superior to religious doctrine.
LAWMAKERS - LM 012 - "Show Close"
Senior correspondent Paul Duke signs off; NPR Correspondents Linda Wertheimer and Cokie Roberts seated in BG. Credits roll over replay of U.S. Secretary of State Alexander Haig testifying to Senate for the approval of selling radar to Saudi Arabia.