THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, March 28, 1995 TAG: 9503280253
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Long : 109 lines
The latest round of President Clinton's ``reinventing government'' downsizings hit four federal agencies Monday, led by proposed cuts in NASA's budget that would eliminate 2,000 jobs over five years.
Working to stave off congressional Republicans who favor abolishing entire Cabinet departments, Clinton argued that his $13.1 billion in cuts - at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Interior Department, Small Business Administration and Federal Emergency Management Agency - would shrink government ``without a mean spirit or a meat ax.''
The savings will be used to help pay for Clinton's $60 billion middle-class tax cut, which he announced in December to counter much larger Republican tax reduction proposals.
Clinton insisted that his streamlining efforts are not only more realistic than those of his GOP rivals, they are more ``humane and decent.''
He noted that his government-cutting plans would preserve summer jobs programs, subsidized school lunches and the national service corps, all of which are targets of Republican budget-cutters on Capitol Hill.
The newest budget cuts will be deepest at NASA, which will lose $8 billion and 2,000 jobs over the next five years, about a 10 percent cut.
NASA administrator Daniel S. Goldin said Monday that the programs that would be terminated and the offices that would be closed are obsolete and have no bearing on the space agency's core missions.
``The problem we have is we have an infrastructure that's 35 years old,'' Goldin said. ``It's got to change, and we've got to be ready for the 21st century. Everything is on the table.''
Goldin was vague about the specific cuts that would yield the $8 billion in savings, saying they would be identified by studies that will not be completed for several months. Some of NASA's current operations would be sold or transferred to private industry or universities.
Goldin estimated that the latest round of budget reductions would mean a loss of about 10,000 jobs among private contractors who do the bulk of NASA's design, engineering and assembly work.
In Hampton, officials at NASA Langley Research Center have drawn up contingency plans for a minimum 16 percent staff cut, which could throw hundreds out of work on the Peninsula.
Another possible downsizing casualty could be Langley's space-related research, which accounts for roughly 30 percent of the center's $700 million annual budget.
Langley is in the final week of an employee buyout, which concludes Friday. Should enough workers accept the buyout, future cuts could prove unnecessary.
At the Interior Department, officials are planning to turn over to states and American Indian tribes the job of collecting oil and mineral royalties on publicly owned land. Spinning off that function would save an estimated $69 million and 700 jobs over the next five years.
The department also will close the Office of Territorial and International Affairs, a relic of America's brief tenure as a colonial power. The office oversees relations with Pacific islands that became U.S. territories under U.N. mandate after World War II, including Palau, the Marshall Islands and the Marianas Islands.
The savings from closing the office would total $5 million over five years.
The department also will turn over to Maryland and Virginia several scenic parkways now maintained at federal expense - the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, the George Washington and Clara Barton Parkways, and the Suitland Parkway. The federal government will contribute to their maintenance over the next three years and then phase out the payments.
Overall, the Interior Department will contribute $3.8 billion in savings and 2,000 in job reductions.
The Small Business Administration, by making banks and borrowers pick up the cost of processing loans while closing a number of regional offices, will contribute $1.2 billion and 500 jobs.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency will chip in $100 million by reducing its payroll by 305 and using state employees and volunteer workers to pick up the slack. MEMO: HIGHLIGHTS OF PROPOSAL
National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Restructure to conform
with a smaller space program. NASA field centers are designed for an
annual mission of $20 billion, but will have a $13 billion space program
budget by 2000. Two buyout offers encouraging early retirement already
have caused more than 1,500 of NASA's 23,000 civil service workers to
leave, and another 500 are expected to follow. Estimated savings: $8
billion and 2,000 positions.
Interior Department: Minerals Management Service to be eliminated;
royalty collection duties to be transferred to states and tribes.
Eliminate the office that deals with U.S. territories. Accelerate the
transfer of Bureau of Indian Affairs programs to tribes. Transfer three
Washington area commuter highways to Maryland and Virginia. Allow
offshore oil and gas royalties to be purchased. Estimated savings: $3.8
billion and 2,000 positions.
Small Business Administration: Eliminate subsidies the government
pays on loans, imposing fees on lenders and borrowers. Consolidate field
offices. Move more programs from headquarters to less costly field
offices. Estimated savings: $1.2 billion and 500 positions.
Federal Emergency Management Agency: Sign contracts with governors to
reduce reporting requirements and make it easier to respond to
disasters. Provide incentives to states to establish their own emergency
funds. Require states to pay for uninsured public repairs equal to a
deductible level established by the federal government. Estimated
savings: $100 million and 305 positions.
KEYWORDS: BUDGET CUT by CNB