Sam Gibbons

On the night before D-day almost a half-century ago, U.S. Army paratrooper Sam Gibbons dropped behind enemy lines in France and found himself immediately under fire from a German machine-gun nest a short distance away. Gibbons, now a congressional veteran of three decades, may find himself parachuting into another hot spot at the age of 73.

Sam M. Gibbons Longtime Florida congressman Former U.S. Rep. Sam M. Gibbons, 92, a Democrat who served 17 terms in Congress and rose to head the powerful Ways and Means Committee before his retirement, died in his sleep late Tuesday or early Wednesday at a retirement home in Tampa, Fla., according to his son Tim. Elected in 1962, Gibbons never lost an election and was among the Tampa Bay region's best-known politicians. He pushed through legislation to create the University of South Florida while serving in the Florida Legislature in the 1950s.

The new chairman of the pivotal House Ways and Means Committee offered his own blueprint Monday for overhauling the nation's health care system, proposing to provide universal coverage without imposing broad new tax increases on most Americans. Like the more expansive reform proposal sent to Congress by President Clinton, the plan offered by Rep. Sam Gibbons (D-Fla.

The new chairman of the pivotal House Ways and Means Committee offered his own blueprint Monday for overhauling the nation's health care system, proposing to provide universal coverage without imposing broad new tax increases on most Americans. Like the more expansive reform proposal sent to Congress by President Clinton, the plan offered by Rep. Sam Gibbons (D-Fla.

Sam M. Gibbons Longtime Florida congressman Former U.S. Rep. Sam M. Gibbons, 92, a Democrat who served 17 terms in Congress and rose to head the powerful Ways and Means Committee before his retirement, died in his sleep late Tuesday or early Wednesday at a retirement home in Tampa, Fla., according to his son Tim. Elected in 1962, Gibbons never lost an election and was among the Tampa Bay region's best-known politicians. He pushed through legislation to create the University of South Florida while serving in the Florida Legislature in the 1950s.

House tax writers today rebuffed President Bush's savings and loan bailout plan and approved an alternative that will add $50 billion to the federal deficit over the next three years. On a 25-11 vote with two of 11 Republicans siding with all its Democrats, the House Ways and Means Committee rejected Bush's proposal for a sale of 30-year bonds to be issued by a new quasi-government agency. The committee approved an amendment by Rep. Sam Gibbons of Florida, the second-ranking Democrat on the committee, that would put the $50-billion immediate taxpayer share of the bailout's costs in the fiscal 1989, 1990 and 1991 budgets.

Clinton Expected to Lift Embargo, Congressman Says: The U.S. economic embargo against Vietnam is no longer effective and will eventually be lifted by President Clinton, the head of a congressional trade team said Friday. Sam M. Gibbons (D-Fla.) said U.S. business executives living in Hanoi had told the delegation that the embargo was harming U.S. interests now that Clinton had lifted a U.S. ban on new multilateral lending for Vietnam.

Cuba put on a lavish welcome for more than 50 U.S. business executives on Friday, urging them to work against an American trade embargo and trying to interest them in now-prohibited business opportunities. "The main argument against the U.S. policy is that it is not working . . . except in damaging U.S. interests," Cuban parliament President Ricardo Alarcon told the group. Since 1961, most U.S. business and travel to Cuba have been restricted by an embargo.

Trade is one of the centerpieces of Rep. Richard A. Gephardt's presidential campaign, but his trade retaliation amendment may be scuttled from a House-passed trade measure in an effort to save the overall bill, congressional leaders say. But lawmakers suggest that as a courtesy to the Missouri congressman, the conferees will wait until after the March 8 Super Tuesday primary elections before formally abandoning the proposal. "The Gephardt provision will be dropped.

On the night before D-day almost a half-century ago, U.S. Army paratrooper Sam Gibbons dropped behind enemy lines in France and found himself immediately under fire from a German machine-gun nest a short distance away. Gibbons, now a congressional veteran of three decades, may find himself parachuting into another hot spot at the age of 73.

The House failed to override President Bush's veto of legislation to protect the textile and shoe industries from imports. The 275-152 tally, which fell 12 votes short of the two-thirds necessary to overturn the veto, kills the bill for the year. The Bush Administration said the bill, if enacted into law, would undermine the global trade liberalization talks scheduled to be completed this year.

Trade With China The House voted 223 to 204 to keep China from retaining most-favored-nation trade status as requested by President Bush. The House then extended most-favored-nation trade status to Beijing for another year (below) with conditions opposed by the President. Favored trade status entitles exporters to the lowest U.S. tariffs. Communist regimes receive it only if Congress approves.