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Becker Calls Sports Betting Proposal Foul Play 'Is this any way to run a Governor's plan tor a Sports The McGrath Report Congressnnan Ray McGrath school system?\ This is one of the most important questions that must be asked when consid- ering Governor Cuomo's scheme to finance 20 specific educational enhancement programs by instituting yet another legalized gambling gimmick; this time its called a Sports Lottery. In reality our experience with this type of funding in the past has proven that it doesn't work as well as promised. According to the Gover- nor's plan, a projected new revenue of $100 million will result from legalized betting on baseball, basketball and football. This program would be administered by the New York State Lottery Division. Twenty separate educa- tional enhancement pro- grams are tied directly to this Sports Lottery proposal include: - a new program to con- trol habitually disruptive and violent students; - dropout programs, allotting $25 per enrolled pupil to districts with bad attendance records; - \student mentor\ pro- gram for New York City, using City University stu- dents as agents to work with students to keep them in school; - forgivable loans for stu- dents who go into teaching; - $10 million for compu- ter loans to districts; - $600,000 to improve math and science programs; . and \ newj program to help the estimated one million functionally illiterate New Yorkers. It should be pointed out, however, that the New York Attorney General's office says it is very likely that the Lottery will require an amendment to the state constitution. Additionally, in Dela- ware, where a similar sports betting system was tried in 1976, the legal costs brought on b. a National Football League suit against the state amounted to more than the' $250,000 worth of revenues received. The N.F.L. argued that legal gambling threw the integrity of the game into doubt.' I personally have a very difficult time accepting this financing scheme. In my opinion fhis can only lead to the encouragement of yet another class of gambler at the neighborhood store. To ' prey upon the gambling urges of New York State res- idents, some of whom may have serious problems con- trolling this impulse, is not only ethically and morally questionable, but it is also illegal. There are other practical considerations that also must be taken into account when weighing Governor Cuomo's sports betting proposal. We must remember that one of New York's, and indeed the nation's, most valuable resources is our youth. How intelligent is it to gamble with their future by basing important educa- tional initiatives on a gim- mick instead of using a more fiscally responsible method of financing? The New York State educational system is altogether too crucial to its residents to depend on the outcome of the World Ser- ies, the Super Bowl or the NBA championship. Educational enhance- ment should be one of New York's top fiscal priorities, not the beneficiary of a financial \Las Vegas Night.\ o f0« VSaro Get 2 W\ote tment a Friend Bfmg a ot Neiflhbot - NW* Sizes, Styles t» colors Ckwatsh^ Oc««n5ldB, 2869 Lphg Buucti Hd., althu lilanfllB F,ma Parking OR 8 29QU HOURS. Mon. 4 til 9 9, ru.ai , VVad . Ihuii & Sal 9 b. Sun. 11 5 The Synfuels Debacle In 1980, less than a year after the most recent experience with fuel shortages and long lines at the gas station. Congress passed the \Energy Security Act.\ That bill created the Synthetic Fuels (or Synfuels) Corporation (SFC), the purpose of which was to subsidize a crash program to create a commercial industry to convert our vast coal and oil shale reserves into liquid fuels. The SFC received a $15 billion appropriation to create an industry with a production capacity of 500,000-barrels of oil per day by 1987 and 2 million a day by 1992. The SFC was to provide Congress with a comprehen- sive synthetic fuels production strategy by June of this year. The best part of it was that, since the synfuels industry was going to be able to compete in the market-place with the ever- increasing price of oil, the entire project would not really cost the taxpayer anthing. I was not in Congress when the synfuels program was passed into existence, but I am sure many of my colleagues were having second thoughts. This is clearly a case where the dream hasn't matched the reality. Much has changed since 1980. For one thing, the price of oil has dropped to $29 a barrel. But technical problems have pushed the cost of synfuels to between $60 and $90 a barrel. If synfuels (which are subsidized by the Federal taxpayer), were to be commercialized today, the cost to the taxpayer would be between $10 and $15 billion. And what would we get from that expenditure? About 30,000 to 60,000 barrels a day by 1987, or 10% of the original goal. Numerous investigations have shown that the SFC has been the victim of gross mismanagement. But despite that, the fact that considerable economic and technical problems have plagued the synfuels program, and the fact that the SFC's master plan will not be ready for at least another year, the SFC still plans to go ahead with its commercialization plans, at a potentially high cost to the taxpayer. 1 consider the expenditure of SFC funds without a comprehensive strategy for synfuels development to be an unconscionable waste of money. Accordingly, 1 have joined 130 of my House colleagues in sponsoring H.R. 4098, the Synthetic Fuels Corporation Fiscal Accountability Act. This measure would prevent the SFC from making further financial commitments until Congress has had the opportunity to review and approve the corporation's comprehensive strategy. Given the nation's fiscal p.rpblenis, we simply cannot has never shown the ability to manage its own affairs. If we are going to spend Federal Money for energy development, we are better off directing it to productive investments and away from wasteful enterprises. afford to give billions of dollars to an agency which SERVING OUR CUSTOMERS OVER 30 YEARS \A GEM OF A JEWELER SINCE 1950\ Fine Jewelry WATCHES • RINGS NEW SETTINGS Seldom Equalled Never Excelled ira 9.66001 195 ATLAiHtlC AVE.. FREEPORT YOUR OLD SNEAKERS ARE WORTH $^.00 NEMO'S WILL GIVE YOU AS A TRADE-IN ON ANY NEW PAIROFCHILDREN'S, MEN'S OR LADIES' SNEAKERl BRING IN YOUR OLD SNEAKERS NOW. 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