5/30/01 Paper training the budget watchdog Republicans in Congress are barking about poky administration efforts to trim the pages of paperwork Americans face when dealing with the government. Rep. Doug Ose, a House Government Reform subcommittee chairman, was stunned when the Office of Management and Budget testified that Congress was to blame for increasing paperwork by passing a slew of federal rules and regulations. Other Republicans were also miffed that the new kids in the White House would be so crass as to blame fellow Republicans for the problems taxpayers face every year when doing tax returns or filling out other government forms. Result: Ose told the OMB to devote a small staff to implementing rules to reduce government paperwork. "OMB needs to be a watchdog, not a lapdog as it was in during the prior administration," Ose wrote in a memo shown to Whispers.

5/25/01 Jittery over Jeffords How worried was the Bush White House when word leaked that Sen. Jim Jeffords might switch parties? The prez invited John McCain over for dinner. But McCain couldn't make it. He had a series of votes in the Senate, a dinner with reporters Wednesday night. Then he was to leave for Ireland Thursday. So McCain asked for a rain check. Still, the last-minute invite was just one more sign of how jittery the Republican leadership is over the possibility McCain will become the next Republican to turn independent. One more sign of GOP angst: The McCain-Feingold campaign-finance-reform bill (or, as McCain now calls it, in recognition of the power shift in the Senate, "Feingold-McCain") had been languishing on Capitol Hill, even though it had passed weeks before. The delay had infuriated McCain. On Tuesday, after the Jeffords story achieved a fine boil, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott quickly sent the bill off to the White House.

5/25/01 Taxing Middle East peace Secretary of State Colin Powell's bid to get the United States more involved in the Middle East peace crisis is being put off until after President Bush gets his tax cut, diplomatic sources say. Reason: The White House doesn't want something controversial like a shift in policy to interfere with the tax cut's smooth sailing on Capitol Hill. But it's temporary: Powell is considering appointing a special peace envoy, such as Middle East expert Edward Djerejian, who heads the James A. Baker III Center on Public Policy at Rice University.

5/24/01 Off message on affirmative action It came as no great surprise the other day when a coalition of big-name civil rights groups released a survey trumpeting Americans' widespread support for affirmative action. In the best tradition of advocacy polls, the survey questions seemed designed to maximize agreement. Pollsters asked only about "affirmative action" and giving women and minorities "a fair chance" rather than the thornier question of outright racial preferences for similarly qualified candidates. Still, reports our Ben Wildavsky, there was an intriguing off-message nugget buried in the survey. When asked whether colleges should consider only test scores and grades when admitting students (rather than a broader set of criteria), blacks and Hispanics were more likely than whites to opt for a scores-and-grades-only approach. That runs counter to the thinking of affirmative action fans, who believe it's especially unfair to minorities when colleges do admissions solely by the numbers. No wonder that particular factoid never made it into Americans for a Fair Chance's press release.

5/23/01 We're not stupid, Washington The Internet isn't such a great thing after all, the Government Printing Office tells Congress. Once viewed as a way to boost public access to government documents like the Federal Register and Congressional Record, it's now costing the GPO–big time. Reason: Taxpayers aren't stupid; they're reading for free online instead of buying the publications. The effect is pure Wall Street: staff cuts, lower prices, and the closing of retail stores in Washington, Boston, and San Francisco.

5/22/01 When a gift of gab actually isn’t Mitch Daniels, director of the Office of Management and Budget, is quickly earning a reputation as someone who doesn’t like to waste time or words. He gave a demonstration this month before a House appropriations subcommittee. Asked by chairman and Rep. Ernest Istook to abbreviate his opening testimony, Daniels simply said, “Let’s just go to questions.” A stunned Istook said, “That’s unheard of, Mr. Daniels. Don’t run for the Senate.”

5/18/01 Who will ride shotgun with the Capitol cops? With neighboring police departments offering tempting packages and Congress moving slowly to fund new job slots, the U.S. Capitol Police is having big trouble filling its ranks. Some 100 cops, or about 14 percent of the force, quit last year. The problem: Other local cop shops and even federal agencies pay more. Chief James Varey tells Congress that if the problem persists, the force may have to scrap its rule to have two uniforms at every Capitol doorway. That's an alarming warning, coming nearly three years after two Capitol Hill police officers were shot to death by a deranged gunman while standing guard at a main visitor entrance and doorway to House Republican leadership offices.

5/17/01 Card deals out White House "suck-ups" Andrew Card has a rare perspective on the White House: He was former President Bush's deputy chief of staff and now heads President George W. Bush's staff. As a result, he's a pretty fair judge of how aides hurt the former and can help the current Oval Office inhabitant. "I would say that President [George H.W.] Bush and President [George W.] Bush have different strengths, but they're the right strengths," Card said. "And as long as you have a staff that can complement their leadership, they will succeed," he said at a U.S. News & World Report luncheon of chilled grilled veggies and chicken. So why did the former president peter out after one term? The veteran speaks: "It was the staff that failed him, which meant that he didn't win another term." As Card continues, he seems to suggest that great staff work means telling it like it is–no varnish or BS. "It's up to the staff to make sure that we complement his leadership–'complement' with an 'E'–although there are always suck-ups that will compliment with an 'I' all the time: 'Oh, Mr. President, wonderful tie this morning.' So it's our job to make sure that he lives up to his own expectations, because he has high expectations."

5/16/01 Former President Clinton's paper trail With work progressing apace on his museum, library, and academic center in Little Rock, which will house his White House papers, former President Clinton is turning his attention now to his gubernatorial papers. The issue: What should he do with the thousands of boxes tucked away in a Little Rock ministorage facility? Clinton already has the largest collection of presidential papers–100 million documents, say federal archivists handling the presidential library project in Little Rock. While it makes sense to keep them together, insiders say he's still not sold on sticking the gubernatorial papers in with his presidential manuscripts and memorabilia. As a result, reports our Suzi Parker, the official Clinton library is being challenged by two other state facilities that want the ex-guv's papers: The University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, where the ex-prez once taught law, and the Center for Arkansas Studies at the Little Rock Public Library, a stone's throw from the new presidential library.

5/15/01 Another last-minute Clinton bomb Ex-President Clinton has done it again: left another rotten potato for his successor. This one is known as Executive Order 13166, signed last fall with little notice. Its swell-sounding goal is to provide interpreters for immigrants seeking federal help. But critics say it will require anyone getting federal dollars–schools, doctors, non-profits, highway departments, shelters, and even cemeteries–to have translators at the ready in case any non-English speaking immigrant happens to stop in. One possible impact: highway departments may have to stop using English on road signs, switching instead to European-styled symbols, or face lawsuits or the loss of federal grants. And doctors may have to hire translators to sit in offices to handle new patients. "The long arm of Clinton is still reaching out," says Rep. Ernest Istook, Oklahoma Republican. He pressed a surprised White House on the issue in hearings last week, claiming the rule is burdensome and potentially very expensive. Istook seemed to get the Bushies' attention: White House aides say they'll review the Clinton rule.

5/11/01 Lighten up China, it could be worse The Chinese are steamed about frequent U.S. reconnaissance flights near their coast, but that's nothing compared with the aerial spying that went on over China during the Cold War. In the new book Spyplane: The U-2 History Declassified, military analyst Norman Polmar describes how U.S. and Taiwanese pilots flew three to five spy missions per month against China from 1958 to 1972. And unlike the EP-3 the Chinese interdicted on April 1–which was flying about 70 miles off the coast–the high-altitude U-2 flew deep inside Chinese territory, photographing nuclear facilities, weapons shipments to North Vietnam, and other military activities. China shot down five of the legendary aircraft. Spyplane, a copy of which was provided to Whispers, also reveals how the CIA deceived President Eisenhower about the U-2's capabilities and describes ill-fated efforts to launch U-2s from aircraft carriers.

5/10/01 Bush's 'lean and mean' White House It's either a tribute to the efficiency of the West Wing staff or evidence that there's nothing to do: President Bush is using far fewer bodies to run his shop than former President Clinton. "We're lean and mean," brags Phillip Larsen, the administrator of the White House. Here's the deal: Clinton had 400 staffers on board and hundreds of "detailees" borrowed from federal agencies helping out. Bush is hiring just 362 bodies. He'll keep funding for the others in a rainy-day fund should an emergency require a rash of hirings. He's also using far fewer detailees. So if he isn't even hiring as many workers as he's allowed, how is it that the new administration is staffing new internal offices, like the faith-based initiative. Simple, says Larsen. Simply close some of the pet projects of the Clinton administration. And one other fact that shows the frugal nature of the Bush White House. Unlike past administrations that sought extra money for transition-related costs (Clinton got $12 million), Bush ordered that the transition be paid for out of the existing budget. The mandate from Bush, says Larsen: "We're to live within the money we've got."

5/9/01 On his way out the door, an ex-schools chief drops a bomb Former Education Secretary Richard Riley ended his stewardship of the department on a note of high dudgeon. The day he left office, on January 20, Riley told the 50 state education chiefs that their funding inequities between rich and poor districts were so gross that they might be in violation of civil-rights laws. An internal study, dated the day of his departure, shows that New York, for instance, gives close to $1,000 less per student to districts that have large minority populations. That translates to about $25,000 more for an average classroom in the tony suburbs. It also means that the Dems have some good ammunition against giving more funding flexibility to the states, a key Bush proposal.

5/8/01 Pentagon rumor patrol calls 'general quarters!' There is more intrigue than usual at the Pentagon these days, as rumors swirl over how Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld plans to shake things up. A few of our favorites collected by reporter Richard J. Newman: Incoming Army Secretary Tommy White has compiled a list of nearly 20 generals he intends to fire to make way for fresh blood. Never mind that Congress would howl. The 20 or so panels Rumsfeld has set up to review everything from troop morale to the nuclear arsenal are really meant to distract official Washington, while Rumsfeld draws up the definitive reform plan largely on his own. One of the services will be slashed to the bone. Who’s going to get it worst seems to vary by day. But the most persistent tip points toward slicing one or two Army divisions, and possibly halving the number of ground troops in Germany. One thing is certain: The brass, largely kept in the dark by Rumsfeld, is unnerved at the prospect of dramatic cuts beyond their control. “What you’re hearing in the halls of the Pentagon,” says one general, “is the anxiety of ignorance.”

5/4/01 Space tourist Tito’s earthly adventures While space tourist Dennis Tito is drinking Tang in the international space station, his 30,000-square-foot home in Pacific Palisades, Calif. (almost a planet in itself even by L.A. standards) is hosting a superstar fundraiser for one of his favorite groups, the Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation at UCLA. Only 200 worthies got invites, at $1,250 a head. That’s not quite as pricey as the space ride he paid the Russians a cool $20 million for, but hey. For sure, Tito’s guests will be eating better anyway. The event brings together the city’s biggest moneybags and five of its top chefs de cuisine–each under strict orders to produce nothing but his best. The entertainment is an auction: Bidders can fight over five-star vacation packages to Paris, London, and Italy, as well as a round of golf with UCLA head football coach Bob Toledo. Tito, who probably presumed he’d be off the planet–or at least in space training–donated his home for the event months ago.

5/3/01 Here comes the Comeback Kid Look for President Clinton to come out of his shell soon to retake the helm of the Democratic Party. Major party leaders say Clinton feels he has waited long enough to finally speak out. But he wants to choose his shots carefully. "Over time, I suspect the president will become the spokesman again," says potential 2004 Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Edwards. And just in time, adds the North Carolina Democrat, who says nobody in the party has stepped in to fill Clinton's shoes since he left. Edwards praised the work of House Democratic leader Dick Gephardt and Senate Democratic leader Thomas Daschle, but still, he says, the void left by Clinton's departure remains. Over a lunch of salad, grilled chicken, brownies, and Diet Coke, we asked Edwards why he thinks Clinton has kept it zipped–his mouth, that is–for so long. Easy answer, Edwards says: The post-presidency scandal over Clinton's pardons forced him out of the spotlight.

5/2/01 Florida vote really angered blacks Maybe there was something to the Rev. Jesse Jackson's protests against the Florida presidential vote count after all. The conservative political black group BAMPAC tells us that after the contested election, there's been a sharp rise in African-Americans who feel the country is on the wrong track. A poll done for Black America's Political Action Committee by the respected Tarrance Group found that 64 percent of those polled felt the nation is going south, a 10 percent one-year jump. BAMPAC says the results were "somewhat expected" because 84 percent of the blacks polled called themselves Democrats. Among the other interesting details shared with Washington Whispers: 60 percent gave public schools a grade of 'C' or lower. 55 percent called themselves pro-life. Three out of four blacks rated Secretary of State Colin Powell favorably. In fact, he ranked second to Jackson as the most admired African-American in public life. Many blacks–61 percent–expressed satisfaction with the Democratic Party, although they are open to considering black Republicans.

5/1/01 A little CYA at IMF The folks at the International Monetary Fund say that congressional critics don’t worry them. But with the GOP now in charge of Congress and the White House, they’re starting to pay attention. Reason: With few Democrats in powerful positions, conservative critics are increasingly able to take shots unanswered by the IMF’s political allies. That may explain why in March alone IMF workers flooded the Internet site of the Joint Economic Committee, the chief IMF basher on Capitol Hill, reports our Noam Neusner. IMF computers logged over 4,100 hits, slightly more than equally scared World Bank-ers who looked 4,046 times. Check out all the sites: www.house.gov/jec/  |   www.imf.org/   |   www.worldbank.org Back to Washington Whispers