THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, March 11, 1995 TAG: 9503110305
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: LOS ANGELES TIMES
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
Giving a big boost to a campaign championed by House conservatives, Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, R-Kan., called Friday for elimination of ``four of the most ineffective, burdensome and meddlesome'' agencies in Washington: the Departments of Education, Energy, Commerce and Housing and Urban Development.
In a speech to the National Newspaper Association, Dole said that Republicans are ``not only going to change how Washington works, we're going to change how it looks as well.''
In the case of the four Cabinet departments, which together spend more than $70 billion a year and employ 74,000 people, ``the best thing we could do is turn out the lights, lock the doors and send the workers home,'' Dole said.
Since assuming control of both houses of Congress this year, Republicans - particularly freshmen lawmakers - repeatedly have declared their desire to reduce the size and role of the federal government. Abolition of the four departments has been among their top priorities. Before Dole's endorsement, however, there had been little movement in that direction in the Senate.
Even with Dole's backing, the ability of the Republican-led Congress to shut down four departments is far from certain. Rep. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., a leader of the abolition drive in the House, noted that each of the four agencies is an entrenched bureaucracy with far-flung constituencies - including some presence in the home districts of virtually every member of Congress.
Last month, House freshmen created separate task forces to write legislation to abolish the four departments and to turn over to private interests or consolidate any essential functions that need to be maintained. The drive, encouraged by House leaders and committee chairmen, has even received the blessing of two former Cabinet officers: Jack Kemp, who served as housing secretary, and Robert A. Mosbacher, who was secretary of commerce, both in George Bush's Republican administration.
``We need systemic change,'' said House Budget Committee Chairman John R. Kasich, R-Ohio, in launching the drive. ``And it can't be done by nibbling at the edges.''
In his remarks to the newspaper group, Dole signaled his wholehearted agreement with such sentiments. Referring to the targeted departments, he said: ``They are responsible for tens of thousands of pages of regulations. When they were created, they were supposed to be the answer to our challenges in education, poverty, energy and economic opportunity. Instead . . . they have caused more problems than they have solved. Today, these agencies are defined more by bottlenecks and bureaucracy, scandal and waste, than anything remotely connected with success.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Sen. Bob Dole holds a copy of the Tenth Amendment, which deals with
states rights.
by CNB