March 14, 1970

Sen approves, 64-12, 5-yr extension of '65 Voting Rights Act after adopting, 51-22, Scott-Hart substitute; bill, which includes voting at age 18, now goes to HR where controversy over voting age is expected to obscure what will probably be most significant civil rights battle of this Cong session; bill details

delegates approve merger plan for 2 yrs of study by denominations; some delegates sing doxology, ancient hymn of praise and thanksgiving, after vote; proposed ch would be led by bishops sharing power with part-time moderators and councils of laymen and clergy; laymen and clergy would be members of parish, which would consist of 2 or more congregations and 'task groups' seeking to worship and work together on particular secular issues; laymen would have 2-1 ratio over clerics on governing councils at parish, dist, regional and natl levels; all governing bodies will be required to include fair representation of minority groups, men, women and young people; ch would have full-time mins, worker-priests and part-time clerics; Consultation new chmn, Rev G G Beazley Jr, cites importance of involving ch members in study and amendment process, stresses process must take place on ecumenical basis by groups from as many of participating chs as possible; hopes final draft will be ready for vole by denominations sometime in '73; Rev C A Spivey, Negro, elected vice chmn; will be in line for chmn in 2 yrs

Israeli Amb to US Rabin arrives in Jerusalem for consultations on Amer attitude in Big 4 talks and Jarring mission; is also expected to discuss request for more jets; Foreign Min officials, who denied yesterday that he was coming home, say Eban summoned him yesterday afternoon; Rabin confs with Meir, Eban and Dayan; Israelis fear Nixon may make ltd response to jet request, decide to make sale conditional on factors to be assessed later or decide to make deal secret; have suggested that delay on jets may be linked to USSR's apparently warmer tone in Big 4 talks

FBI probes legality of $30,000 contribution by Spiegel Inc to Sen Hartke '64 campaign (N Sheehan rept); Hartke denies link between money and his position on postal rate legis affecting mail order cos such as Spiegel; denies being probed; Justice Dept declines comment; has Fed grand jury authority to probe clandestine channeling of corp funds to Cong candidates through dummy corps; reptdly discovered Spiegel donation to 1-man 'Citizen for Hartke Com' during similar probe of Md ex-Sen Brewster; Hartke com bank acct was handled by ex-aide M Broide; funds apparently were donated by corp check, violation of Fed law; Hartke denies knowledge of financial arrangements handled by Broide; Broide says he thought Spiegel contribution was legal; Hartke role in opposing postal rate increases recalled; friend charges Justice Dept 'pol vendetta' against Hartke as liberal; link dept Civil Div chief W D Ruckelshaus, Indianan who lost '68 Sen race

NY Port Authority announces it has contracted with Natl Acad of Sciences to study environmental impact of expanding airport into Jamaica Bay; move seen opening fight over bay between aviation interests and conservationists, area residents and land developers; US Transportation Sec Volpe bars use of Fed funds for expansion until it is certain there will be no unacceptable environmental or ecological impact