• Newt's List Of Legislation
• Whitman Ill, Lyme Suspected
• "Anonymous" Klein Taking Leave
• Legal Services Corporation Survives
• Clinton To Sign Sanctions Bill

Newt's List Of Legislation

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, July 24) -- House Speaker Newt Gingrich says he expects Congress to send legislation to President Clinton by August 2 on four major issues -- reforming welfare, increasing the nation's minimum wage, reforming health insurance, and banning same-sex marriages. Gingrich said Republicans have decided to "call the president's bluff" on the issue of welfare reform, and if Mr. Clinton casts yet another veto -- it would be his third on this issue -- "we'll make it miserable" for him. Gingrich called the president "a charming character of almost zero credibility" who runs a "scandal-ridden White House" that's "incapable of being a role model for children." Gingrich also charged that Clinton, in co-opting various GOP priorities, has "decided to be one of us."

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Whitman Ill, Lyme Suspected

TRENTON, N.J. (AllPolitics, July 24) -- New Jersey Gov. Christie Whitman may be infected with Lyme disease which, if left untreated, can cause irregular heartbeat, arthritis, and temporary paralysis of facial muscles. Whitman took a blood test Tuesday in order to diagnose the flu-like symptoms she has been suffering for over a week. Lyme disease, if treated early, is highly curable. Whitman, an oft-mentioned veep possiblitiy, has been on antibiotics since last week.

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"Anonymous" Klein Taking Leave

NEW YORK (AllPolitics, July 24) -- Newsweek columnist Joe Klein, who admitted last week to writing "Primary Colors," announced that he will be taking several weeks leave from the magazine. Some journalists feel angry and betrayed that Klein repeatedly denied writing the book. Richard M. Smith, editor in chief of Newsweek, has asked Klein to reflect on the matter and meet with staff members. "I want him to hear the full force of your concerns, your confusion and your anger -- if that is what you feel," Smith told his staff. Klein has apologized to his Newsweek colleagues, and also plans to meet with CBS next week to discuss his future with the network.

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Legal Services Corporation Survives

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, July 24) -- Republicans joined with Democrats yesterday to restore funding to the agency that provides legal aid to the poor. Though a favorite GOP target, the Legal Services Corporation will get $141 million, about half its 1996 funding level, part of a $29,5 billion funding bill for Justice, Commerce an dState Department programs for fiscal 1997. Largely for to fight crime, illegal drugs, and illegal immigration, Justice was funded at $1.6 billion more over last year's budget while the Departments of State and Commerce both saw their budgets cut by over $100 million each. Rep. Harold Rogers (R-KY), chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee, said, "We provided for all these increases by scraping the bottom of the barrel in other agencies.

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Clinton To Sign Sanctions Bill

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, July 24) -- The White House indicated today that President Clinton will sign a bill designed to punish foreign companies investing in Iranian and Libyan gas and oil industries. Opposed by many European allies and U.S. firms, the measure would impose sanctions on companies investing more than $40 million unless their governments impose sanctions on Iran and Libya. The French Oil company Total SA has stated that it has no plans to abandon its $600 million deal to develop Iranian oil fields, while a French official disputed the law's legitimacy.