THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 14, 1995 TAG: 9509140356
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Guy Friddell
LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
If you would like to know how a bill starts in Congress and becomes law - or dies - read ``The Bill'' by Steven Waldman, national correspondent for Newsweek.
If you haven't time to read it, you may hear him Wednesday in Virginia Beach at a noon luncheon with the Central Business District Association at the Holiday Inn Executive Center, 5655 Greenwich Road. For reservations, $16.50 each, call 490-7812.
For a lecture Tuesday at 7 p.m., for students and faculty, with a few visitors, he will be at the Tidewater Community College auditorium, Virginia Beach.
The book's subtitle is ``How the Adventures of Clinton's National Service Bill Reveal What Is Corrupt, Comic, Cynical - and Noble - About Washington.''
In a career exposing conditions endangering consumers, Waldman resembles muckrakers of the 1930s.
In 1993, he began tracking the journey of President Clinton's program, now called AmeriCorps, to let students wipe out college loans by serving their communities.
The idea ``was to follow one campaign promise from beginning to end,'' Waldman said Wednesday.
In a year, he interviewed 50 people and enjoyed ``tremendous access'' to key players, including Sen. Ted Kennedy. ``I found it fascinating to compare the public perception of Kennedy to how he operates as a senator. He basically gives a very liberal speech and then compromises the hell out of everything.
``He is an ideologue in public and extremely pragmatic in private. Some liberals thought he compromised too much.''
In 45 minutes with Clinton, he was ``amazed at the president's grasp of details. He was more impressive in the interview than he had been in his speeches. It was clear the bill was something he actually cared quite a bit about.''
Charged with piloting the bill to passage, businessman Eli Segal was like the film character in ``Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.''
``He didn't know what he was getting into. He was somewhat naive in how the system worked, and he got a real good education fast as he tried to navigate.''
The main GOP opposition came from Sen. Nancy Kassebaum.
Not only were Democrats and Republicans at odds, the Democrats split. Some traditional liberals favored low-income minorities for the program, an anti-poverty effort. Some New Democrats sought a mix of middle-class students and minorities.
In a chess game, some Democrats tried to create bipartisan support for the bill while chiding Republicans for being obstructionists.
Waldman depicts the press as a player ``who only gets interested when there's a juicy conflict.''
Such a conflict looms. House Republicans voted to eliminate the program, as may the Senate, bringing a veto showdown with Clinton.
After reading or hearing Waldman, one is not likely to view Congress or the presidency with the same eyes. ILLUSTRATION: Steven Waldman says he set out ``to follow one campaign promise
from beginning to end,'' in his book ``The Bill.''
by CNB