A LITTLE HELP FROM HIS FRIENDS

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, March 6, 1993                   TAG: 9303080749
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short
A LITTLE HELP FROM HIS FRIENDS
IN REGARDS to the Feb. 1 story in the Roanoke Times & World-News about New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner getting a $58 million bailout:
In this day when our new president is calling for cuts in spending to help reduce our national deficit, Congress still shows no regard for fiscal administration. Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., and Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, saw fit to give Steinbrenner, who had made large campaign contributions to them, a $58 million bailout on a fixed price contract with the Navy.
He had had sued the Navy for cost overruns of $13.3 million on one contract and $24 million on another. When the Navy and Maritime administration took a hard line against paying these cost overruns, Steinbrenner made contact with the two congressmen to see what they could do. They quietly added the amount of the suit to the 1993 defense budget, plus an additional $20 million that Rep. Murtha said was "an equitable solution" to the problem.
This is another example of the utter disregard for financial responsibility shown by our Congress. It has put us into a sinkhole of national debt that we can never get out of.
It is common knowledge that Congress, in this day and age, considers $58 million mere pocket change. Who knows how often this kind of thing happens in Washington?
We still have the best Congress money can buy. GENE LIVESAY LEXINGTON

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB