Bert Lance - Hero to Mummy in two weeks or less.
The Trouble With Bert (Lance) – The Capitol Hill Dance Card – Back To School – September 6, 1977
CBS World News Roundup – September 6, 1977 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
Capitol Hill returned from a month-long summer recess to a crowded calendar, a burgeoning scandal, a Panama Canal controversy and enough contentious issues to keep House and Senate in session until January. But they hoped to adjourn in mid- October. Several pressing matters must be acted on as soon as possible. A 1974 law saide the budget resolution must be in effect by Sept. 15 for the new fiscal year which started Oct.l., and that was slated to be the major item of business for both bodies in the first week back.
At least three hearings were planned during the week, beginning this day, on the banking and financial transactions of Budget Director Bert Lance. Heads of state or other high-ranking representatives from 24 Latin American countries were arriving in Washington, meanwhile, for gala ceremonies attendant to the signing of the two new Panama Canal treaties, which face a tough fight for Senate ratification.
Two powerful senators wanted Bert Lance to resign because of new “allegations of illegalities.” “It would be wiser for Bert Lance to resign,” Sen. Abraham Ribicoff, D- told President Carter earlier. Ribicoff and Sen. Charles Percy, R- 111., the chairman and ranking GOP member of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, met with Carter for 45 minutes at the White House to discuss “serious allegations of illegalities” against Lance that were turned up by the panels’ staff during the previous two weeks. It was the first mention of possible illegal actions.
The comptroller of the currency’s recent report said Lance’s banking practices may have been “unsafe and unsound” but that he had done nothing criminally wrong. Ribicoff would be summoning members of his committee to a special meeting in the afternoon to reveal the nature of the allegations. It was not known if the meeting would be public.
And school was starting back up this week and with it, the controversies surrounding School Busing. Owing to the recent history of violence connected with opening day busing and protests, it was determined that no new busing programs would be instituted this year. In future years, any court-ordered busing would take place during the Winter months, not in September, as the colder weather would prove to be a deterrent to protests. As one observer put it: “Who wants to stand outside with a banner during a blizzard?”
And while the day would unfold with more on Bert Lance, that was just a slice of what happened this September 6, 1977 as reported by The CBS World News Roundup.
