Ethics Panel Churning On Gingrich Inquiry
Court Rejects Line-Item Veto Challenge
Lott, Greenspan Meet To Mend Fences
Ethics Panel Churning On Gingrich Inquiry
WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, Dec. 13) -- A House ethics subcommittee ended four straight days of meetings today, trying to Decide whether to charge House Speaker Newt Gingrich with breaking House rules. The four-member House ethics committee's investigative subcommittee, led by Florida GOP Rep. Porter Goss, heard from Gingrich on Monday, and from tax experts on Thursday. The panel's investigation centers on whether Gingrich broke tax laws when he taught a college course in Georgia, and whether Gingrich has done anything to block the panel's inquiry. Members of the subcommittee would not disclose when they would report to the full ethics committee, which would consider any findings of wrongdoing.
Court Rejects Line-Item Veto Challenge
WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, Dec. 13) -- A federal appeals court has turned back a challenge to the line-item veto law signed by President Bill Clinton last spring. The suit, filed by the National Treasury Employees Union, argued that the bill shifted too much power from Congress to the president. The court ruled that the union hadn't been hurt by the law, which goes into effect Jan. 1, 1997. "NTEU may, at some point in the future, suffer an imminent concrete injury that is fairly traceable to the Line Item Veto Act," the court said, but "that point has not yet been reached."
Lott, Greenspan Meet To Mend Fences
WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, Dec. 13) -- Some thought Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's lips were too loose when he said last month that the stock market might be overvalued. Those comments sent the markets reeling. And some thought that Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott's lips were too loose when he said on "Fox News Sunday" that he was a "little nervous" about the Fed chairman's power over the economy. But both Greenspan and Lott's lips were tight Thursday after Greenspan went to Capitol Hill to meet with Lott for almost an hour; neither would comment on what they talked about. David Jones, an economist who has written two books on Greenspan's Fed, told The Associated Press he thought it was obvious Greenspan was moving quickly to "mend fences" with Lott. "Greenspan is the most politically savvy Fed chairman in recent times," Jones said. "He didn't want the problem to go any further, and he wanted to make sure he was on the same page with Lott in terms of the Fed's goals of sustainable growth with low inflation."
Clinton Will Consider D.C's $1 Billion Request
WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, Dec. 13) -- President Bill Clinton said he's "very impressed" with the District of Columbia control board's proposals asking the federal government to pony up a billion dollars to bail out the city, and he wants to review them. "The American people need to understand the unique challenges facing Washington," Clinton said at a press conference today. He called D.C.'s situation "a series of purgatories" stemming from what he called "the not-quite factor -- not quite a state, not quite a city, not quite independent, not quite dependent." City officials are getting less sympathy from Capitol Hill. Virginia GOP Rep. Tom Davis, whose subcommittee has jurisdiction over D.C., said Thursday, "Congress is not going to put a nickel into the city until they see the city straighten itself out. I think we keep the heat on for the reforms first and this can be the pot of gold at the end."
Senators Urge No Foreign Policy Cuts
WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, Dec. 13) -- Two senators have sent a letter to President Bill Clinton urging him not to cut back the nation's foreign policy establishment. "We urge you to speak out in favor of a strong foreign policy in your second term," wrote Sens. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) and Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) last week. The administration's initial request for the State Department and related agencies was $20.8 billion, from which Clinton's budget office has recommended a $2.5 billion trim. "If we continue to emasculate our foreign affairs budget because of budgetary pressures or the belief that our stakes in the world are significantly less than in the past, we will almost surely pay a price in terms of our security and prosperity," Lugar and Lieberman wrote.