September 20, 1973

Ex-White House aide C W Colson refuses on Sept 19 to answer questions put to him by Sen Watergate com, claiming his const right against self-incrimination; D I Shapiro, Colson's atty and law partner, tells com that Colson will not answer questions now because he is 'target' of Fed grand jury investigation and might be indicted; com Vice Chmn Baker says Colson indicated that he would be 'not only willing but eager' to testify if he ceased being 'target' for indictment; purpose of closed meeting is to determine whether Colson would testify freely; Colson asks com to grant him immunity but com votes unanimously not to do so; charges made against Colson by J W Dean 3d noted; Colson, in int with com staff members last summer, reptdly said he played no role whatsoever in planning Watergate burglary or in covering it up afterward; Colson illus

measure, which goes to HR, calls for mandatory vesting of earned retirement benefits, Fed ins system to guarantee payment of benefits and rules designed to improve adm of pension systems; outlook for HR action on pension reform this session is uncertain as Sen completes 2 days of debate and voting; HR Labor subcom has held hearings, and reform advocates see good chance that Ways and Means Com, which shares jurisdiction, will also conduct hearings; Sen advocates of stronger pension reform fail on series of one-sided votes to liberalize provisions for vesting, for widow's benefits and for eligibility of part-time employes to participate in pension plans; bill would require vesting of benefits after worker has been employed for 5 yrs; at that point, 25% of his earned benefits would be vested and payable when he reaches retirement age, regardless of whether he continues to work; percentage vested would be increased annually for next 10 yrs until full vesting is attained at end of 15 yrs; Sen V Hartke (Ind) proposed full vesting after 5 yrs' employment but his amendment is rejected, 85-9; other liberalizing amendments are defeated on voice votes; amendment designed to limit pensions of corporate execs to $75,000 a yr is approved by 89-2 vote; this would be done by denying tax deductions for pension fund contributions that would yield retirement benefits above $75,000 level; Sen G Nelson (Wis), amendment's sponsor, complained that a number of execs are earning what he calls 'unconscionable' retirement benefits at expense of taxpaying workers; other provisions of bill include tax on employers of $1 a yr for each worker covered by pension plan to finance ins system; levy would be subject to adjustment by administrators of law after 3 yrs; bill would also set up voluntary 'portability' program for transfer of workers' pension credits when they move from one employer to another

Commerce Dept repts on Sept 19 that US trade deficit for 2d qr of '73 totaled $230-million, down from $960-million in 1st qr

Sen Goldwater says on Sept 19 that he believes Vice Pres Agnew would consider resigning if he were indicted, rather than put US and himself through long impeachment proceeding, news conf; White House denies it is trying to pressure Agnew into resigning and says it is standing on statement made by Pres Nixon on Sept 5 that he has confidence in Agnew's integrity; Goldwater predicts that impeachment proceeding would follow any indictment and would 'take a full yr'; says his preference for Agnew replacement would be Gov Reagan but that Reagan is not interested; says Gov Rockefeller or J B Connally would be acceptable to him as Vice Pres appointee; J B Connally refuses to answer any questions about Agnew, his legal problems or his future, news conf; Goldwater illus

The stock market staged a broad and spirited rally yes terday as the Dow‐Jones in dustrials rose 19.11 points to 910.37. A recovery in I.B.M. shares, climbing 11¼ to 270¾ after recent sharp weakness, sparked the rally. New York Stock Exchange volume, at 24.57, million shares, was the heaviest in seven months. Page 71.