
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 6, 1991                   TAG: 9103060083
SECTION: NATL/INTL                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

IN WASHINGTON, EVEN POOR CLERKS CAN MAKE LAWS

Lowly clerks, inadvertently overriding the will of the president, the Congress and a governor, have temporarily shut off $141.5 million in highway funds for one state and given the victims of terrorism an unintended helping hand.

The problem began last October, when Congress, in a 10-day rush toward adjournment, passed 18 appropriations measures - thousands of pages and uncounted thousands of figures. These included bills providing money for military construction projects and for transportation.

As the military construction bill made its way through the Senate, Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, persuaded colleagues to attach an amendment giving U.S. victims of terrorists authority to sue their attackers in American courts.

Although there was little Senate opposition, House negotiators rejected it on a technicality.

On the transportation bill, meanwhile, the House and Senate eventually agreed Pennsylvania would lose 25 percent of its federal highway money unless state and local leaders came up with an acceptable formula by Oct. 1, 1991, on the portion for mass transit.

After final congressional action, both bills were handed over to engrossing clerks, who make a final check for errors and print the measures on artificial parchment for delivery to the White House.

Bush signed both bills.

Because a clerk goofed, Grassley's anti-terrorist provision was left in. And the official transportation bill included not one but two dates. That froze a quarter of Pennsylvania's federal highway money, to the consternation of Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa.

A bill to correct those errors swept through the House last Thursday with little discussion. But in the Senate, Grassley insisted he would not go along unless the technical-corrections bill was amended to retain his relief for terrorists' victims. He said that regardless of how his amendment was adopted, "It is still the law."

There is little doubt the Senate will find a way to fix the problems.

"Let it be clear that we will fight another day to correct this," said Specter, who left a pointed warning to Grassley: "What goes around comes around."

by CNB