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Subject: Placing Pryor Restraint on Republicans; Democratic Senator Warns Officials
Date: Thu, 5 Nov 92 05:01:45 EST
Message-ID: <80.1992Nov5.050145@AmeriCast.com>

Placing Pryor Restraint on Republicans; Democratic Senator Warns
Officials Against Transition Hanky-Panky<By Al Kamen<Washington
Post Staff Writer<

The Clinton transition team is already on the alert for Republi-
can bureaucratic sabotage of the fruits (or spoils) of their vic-
tory.

The ballots were still being counted yesterday when Arkansas Sen.
David Pryor, a bona fide and pre-election FOB (Friend of Bill's),
fired off a letter warning every federal agency not to even think
of any hanky-panky in moving political appointees to career jobs.

In the letter, cleared by President-elect Clinton's transition
team, Pryor noted that his concerns about potential violations of
federal personnel laws and regulations during the transition
period are "not academic."

Republicans say Democrats, on those occasions when they have oc-
cupied the White House, have tried to "burrow in" as well during
transitions. Pryor cited a recent General Accounting Office (GAO)
study spotting Republicans trying to infiltrate the bureaucracy.

And "no acceleration of procurement plans," Pryor warned in his
letter, lest anyone be tempted to hand out some goodies before
exiting office. ". . . Take special care to ensure that any sole
source contract is fully justified."

Pryor also cautioned about changes in last-minute regulations.
Pryor said, "It would be unfortunate if the transition period is
used to push through regulations which otherwise would not have
been proposed or issued."

Just to keep things friendly, Pryor, chairman of the Senate
Governmental Affairs subcommittee on federal services, post of-
fice and civil service, issued a slightly veiled threat that he
"will be monitoring these events, and working with" the GAO, the
Office of Personnel Management's Office of Compliance and the
"inspector general community to ensure compliance with all appli-
cable rules. I may contact you during this time to request a list
of personnel, contract or regulatory actions."

A Pryor aide said they were not being overly suspicious, "we just
want to make sure the rules are being followed."

"The president was very magnanimous last night about cooperation
during the transition," the aide said. "However, messages some-
times get lost in the shuffle," he said, so the letter was sent
"to ensure that people down the line have the same spirit of
cooperation and that they follow the rules."

The aide said the letter would "also help career employees who
have to sign off on personnel and procurement actions to resist
any unwarranted presuure to bend the rules."

Other Democrats have worried for some time about the possibility
that some people in the outgoing administration may be inclined
to misplace or shred a document or two.

Two weeks ago, Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), chairman of the
House Government Operations Committee, wrote Don W. Wilson, Ar-
chivist of the United States, asking Wilson to make sure that
"all political appointees are made aware before their possible
departure of the laws and regulations governing the removal of
classified documents and the destruction of classified records."

Conyers, noting that President Bush said he would clean house if
he won - and there is no question that Clinton will do that -
told Wilson, a political appointee, that he was "concerned that
the imminent departure of many 'Schedule C' employees and other
high-ranking officials could result in the removal or destruction
of federal records. The removal of agency records is a serious
problem that threatens the security of the United States, the
rights of individuals, the operations of federal agencies, and,
in some cases, the ability of the American public to review the
records of its government."

A similar letter was sent to Steven Garfinkel, director of the
Information Security Oversight Office, which handles classified
documents.  Garfinkel, a career employee, told Conyers's staff
that he was on top of things. He sent a copy of a Sept. 3 letter
to various agencies as an "important reminder regarding the
prohibition against the removal of classified documents."

Noting the likely "large turnover in senior personnel," no matter
who won the election, Garfinkel warned that "classified informa-
tion, including 'extra' copies, is not personal property and may
not be removed from the government's control by any departing of-
ficial. This prohibition applies to everyone, up to and including
agency heads."<03:03 11-05C9999-----

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.

For more information, send-email to American Cybercasting Cor-
poration (usa@AmeriCast.COM)