Show Re Rep Burtons Burtons Burton's Was Washington Report i t f Presidents President's Veto on HEW Bill Hurts Utah Schools By Rep Laurence Laurene I. I Burton On a Monday evening recently President President Pre Pre- Richard Nixon went before a nationwide television audience to veto the Labor HEW appropriations bill sayin say say- in inS ing I have vetoed this bill because became the Increases for HEW hIEW voted by bv the Congress Con Con- press gress eu are mandatory and because in inthe th the context of present efforts to curb inflation they tl are misdirected and ex ex- THE THI NEXT move in this h highly crucial crucial cru cial issue was un to the House of Re Re- The members of Congress Congress Con Con- gress would decide whether to uphold the Presidents President's veto or to override I Iwas Iwas Iwas was one of Congressmen who voted to b override but voted to sustain the veto and inasmuch as two-thirds two are necessary to override a Presidential veto we were 52 votes short My decision to override the veto was not reached easily In this case I was torn between my desire to uphold the President for whom I have great personal respect and the best interests interests inter inter- ests of my constituents On balance I voted for what I 1 considered to be best for my state and the schools and children children child child- ren in my Congressional district IN HIS veto message the President pointed out that the money for Impacted areas does not always go to school systems or states which have the greatest greatest great great- est need Our state is an exception Utah has long been noted for its high educational responsibility and limited resources Only two states Alaska Masks and New Mexico have more school school- age children per thousand of population than Utah Utah has 67 school school age age children children child child- ren for each adults This is 14 more than the average for the nation In the United States at large there are 53 children per adults UTAH'S AVERAGE personal income compared to the national average personal personal per per- income Is per pupil of school age compared to for the nation So despite Utah's commitment to high high- quality education we rank among the states in our ability to provide that education without substantial federal assistance or an increase in property taxes School systems with limited revenues in my district have prepared budgets in anticipation that the programs authorized auth- auth oried by the Congress would be fund fund- ed Accordingly it li is not a matter o of spending all of the Federal money ina Ina in a limited period Most of the mone money anticipated from Federal sources has already been spent To deny It wl win mean that school systems system will either er end the year with a deficit school schoot terms will be shortened or the lions will win be paid by teachers and other school employees OTHER REPORTS which have reach ed Id mv my desk say that In sustaining the Presidents President's veto Utah will lose 8 65 5 mil million million lion in aid for Impacted areas 4 S million In to assistance under the Ele Ele- and Secondary Education Act and 15 million in aid for vocational education The loss of aid to impacted school systems In my Congressional dis district tract might be especially harmful I sincerely hope this will not happen The President reported as long ago as a week before Christmas that he intended to veto the bill But as re recently re-i re Gently as a day before the House voted on the matter the President said that should his veto be sustained he would seek appropriations to adequately meet health and education needs THE PRESIDENT PRESIDENT s said ld he would settie set settie tie for about million for impact impacted fe the ed area approximately arof school aid 20 halfway a million between between he previously previously pre pre- requested and the million Congress voted and this might help take care of our problem in Utah Utah Mr Nixon has also said he intends to appoint a commission to suggest changes in the complicated unequal and burdensome ways Americans their public schools SO NOW that the veto has been sustained now that its it's all past history history his his- tory I hope Congress will work speedily towards another bill satisfactory satisfactory tory to both bath educations education's needs and t to to the President It is my intention to vote vot again for education as I have done so many times in the past I know the problems associated i with education and as I have said so many times while in Utah and in the nations nation's capital The road out of poverty and degradation is the highway paved with education |