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Subject: Bush Said to Be Filling Vacancies at Amtrak; GOP Would Control Board After
Date: Sat, 14 Nov 92 11:48:46 EST
Message-ID: <27.1992Nov14.114846@AmeriCast.com>

Bush Said to Be Filling Vacancies at Amtrak; GOP Would Control
Board After Clinton Arrives<By Don Phillips=Washington Post Staff
Writer=

The Bush administration is moving to fill vacancies on the Amtrak
board of directors before President-elect Clinton takes office,
leaving GOP appointees in position to name a replacement for
President W. Graham Claytor Jr. and in charge of the passenger
train corporation for at least another year, Claytor and a Demo-
cratic House leader said yesterday.

Claytor confirmed yesterday that Transportation Secretary Andrew
H. Card Jr. told him in a Thursday meeting that the administra-
tion would move quickly to fill four vacancies on the nine-member
board that do not require Senate confirmation, two open now and
two that come open Dec. 1. That would leave GOP directors in con-
trol during the first year of the Clinton administration, because
Wisconsin Gov.  Tommy G. Thompson (R) will remain on the board
until 1994.

The controversy over control of Amtrak was revealed in a letter
from House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John D. Dingell
(D-Mich.) to President Bush.

"I cannot imagine what purpose this exercise would serve other
than to allow appointees of your administration to control the
appointment of a new Amtrak president, whether prior to or after
completion of the ongoing transition, and to control the business
affairs of the corporation long after your administration has
left office," Dingell wrote.

Stephen Hart, Card's spokesman, said Card has the prerogative to
make the appointments, "but he has not announced his intention
one way or the other."

Claytor, 80, has privately told congressional leaders and associ-
ates that he is ready to retire and would remain in office until
his successor is named. But he made it clear yesterday he will
not retire if a GOP-dominated board names someone he does not
like.  "If they come up with someone to replace me who is not sa-
tisfactory to me and the (congressional oversight) committees, I
just won't resign," he said in an interview.

Claytor said Card "was pushing hard to expedite this thing" but
had not asked for his resignation.

Claytor, a Democrat, said that if Bush had won, he would have re-
tired as quickly as possible. But he said he had decided not to
leave before Clinton takes office.

Claytor said he is uncertain why Card would make the appoint-
ments, except that "they do want to be sure they leave their mark
on Amtrak."

Claytor became president of Amtrak in 1982 and has been credited
with improving service and the corporation's finances. He has
gained numerous allies on Capitol Hill, and has been praised by
Bush administration officials for his businesslike approach to
running the passenger train operation.

Claytor has a long history in Washington political, military and
economic circles. He was a Navy ship captain in World War II who
later was Navy secretary, acting transportation secretary and
acting defense secretary under President Jimmy Carter. He was a
partner in the law firm Covington & Burling, and was president of
the Southern Railway Co.  for a decade.

The Amtrak board is made up of the Amtrak president, the tran-
sportation secretary, three presidential appointees who require
Senate confirmation, in addition to four appointees who do not
require confirmation, two each named by the president and the
transportation secretary.

Claytor, with the current board's approval, hired a California-
based management search firm, Korn Ferris, to sift through possi-
ble candidates to replace him as president. Capitol Hill sources
said Claytor has made it known that he favors appointment of the
current Amtrak executive vice president, William S. Norman.  One
candidate with strong support within the railroad industry and
some Democratic circles is Charles W. Hoppe, president of the
Long Island Railroad.  Hoppe was a top official in the U.S. Rail-
way Association, which restructured eastern railroading and
created Conrail.

David Gunn, head of the Washington Metro system, also is being
mentioned as a possibility.

Brian W. Clymer, current administrator of the Federal Transit Ad-
ministration, also has been mentioned. Clymer has many supporters
in local transit agencies. He is a Republican, but Clinton has
said he will bring able Republicans into top jobs in his adminis-
tration.<11:16 11-14C9999-----

Copyright 1992, The Washington Post.  This story is from the
Washington Post's Capitol Edition On-Line and is not to be ar-
chived or redistributed.

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poration (usa@AmeriCast.COM)