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Show Church snobs beware | Upset at the State Am God loves ba ladies, too PAGE B-1 Bybee: Teen ‘kicked my butt’ PAGE C-1 heSalt Lake Tribune Utah's Independent Voice Since | 87 Volume254 Number 89 Foreign Cash Flows Clinton Report: N Into U.S. Politics — Mostly Legally WASHINGTON — The Clinton administration con. ceded Friday that the controversial North American ICEBERG'S TIP BY SARAH PEKKANEN GANNETT NEWSSERVICE WASHINGTON — While Congress is investigating whether foreign campaign contributions tainted the 1996 campaign, the biggest pot of foreign moneyswirling around the U.S. political system isn’t on the hearing agenda. Foreign corporations and governments, including China, Taiwan and Japan, pumpednearly a half-billion dollars into lobbying, public relations and other activities in the United States during the first half of the 1996 election year — and they did so legally. Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., has accused the Chinese government of trying 143 South MainStreet (801)23 SATURDAY/JULY 12, 1997 http://www.sltrib.com TODAY'S READERSHIP:332,700 © 1997, TheSalt Lake Tribune TA Gains Small COMBINED NEWSSERVICES Free Trade Agreement has produced only “modest” benefits for the United Statesso far, but rejected claims by critics that the pact is hurting U.S. wages andjobs. Ina 140-pagereport mandatedbyC he White House argues that NAFTA has ca exports to Mexico, along with higher incom: investment andjobs on both sides of the border as Mexico carries out its promises to reducebarriers to investment and trade. “This report provides solid evidence that NAFTA has already provedits worthto the UnitedStates during the three yearsit has been in effect,” President Clinton said ina letter to lawmakers. “Wecan look forwardtorealizing NAFTA's full benefits in the years ahead.” At the sametime, the document forgoes muchof the M Business news, stock report BB provethe sweeping accord, which affects trade and in vestment among the United States, jada and Mexico. ‘The report estimatesthat increased trade with Mexico under the pact has createda relatively scant 90,000 to 160,000newU.S. jobs — farfewerthan the hundreds of thousands Clinton had promised earlier — and said there is no way to calculate accurately how many jobs mayhavebeen lost Despiteits low-keytone, thereview is likely to provide ammunition for bothsides in the NAFTA debate, which has become moreand more strident in recent months. Opponents contend the accord has hurt U.S. workers and resulted in continued damageto the environment The administration expected to ask Congress in September for new “fast-tr ‘ authority to negotiate simi » pacts with Chile and other Latin American nization AFT s a bipartisan venture. Negotiations were conducted by the Bush administration. Clinton em braced the pact when he (ook office, but ignored it for several months while he concentrated on domestic is: sues. The agreement became effective in January 1994 ‘Theinitial strategy behind the accord was to keep Mexico heading towarda free-market economy, reducing its trade and investment barriers and dismantling its huge,inefficient state-run enterprises, tions Critics of NAFTA lambastedthereport. Land-Use War in terms of total money spent, other coun- MayBe Fought tries make the Chinese look like penny- In the Schools newspapers, accordingto filings made to Alty. Gen, Janet Reno under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Oneof the few times the Chinese government opened its wallet for policy-re- Coalition: Teach ‘Wise Use’ — Not Environmentalism latedactivities was to pay the District of Columbia lawfirm of Graham & James $13,279 for “advice and information BY BRENTISRAELSEN about trade problems,” the reportsaid. ‘THESALT LAKE the war for the West maybe forming in the nation’s public schools. Recent opinion surveys show the environment is a major concernof schoolchildren, who for years have beeninfluenced organizations such as the Japan External Trade Organization. Germany spent roughly $8 million, while Mexico — with an eye on the potential expansion of the primarilyby environmentalists North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) — doled out $5.4 million, much Look nowfor the so-called “wise use” movement to target kindergarten through12th grade. On Friday, the Utah-born Western of it to public-relations firms like BursenMarsteller in Washington. The Mexican government also paid Public Strategies Washington $216,000 to give members of Congress fact sheets States Coalition, an organization of Wes ern leaders fed up with environmental- ismandfederal bureaucracies, beganex. and talking points about NAFTAand the ploring w to get their message across to American kids. In a nutshell, the message is: “It ain't a sin to cut down a tree,” said Pat Childers. General AgreementonTariffs and Trade. China's lowpay scale might seem surprising, given political Washington's debate over whether to revokethe country's a rural Republicanlegislator from Wyo: Most Favored Nation trade status. But Alan Tonelson of the U.S. Business and Industrial Council Educational Foun- ming Pointing out that today’s schoolchil: dren are tomorrow's leaders, Childers dation notedthat China’s lobbying needs arefilled for free by American companies that usethe country as a manufacturing base. “The Fortune 500 companies desperately want China’s trade status to remain the same, because to change it would raise the tariff the U.S. imposes on caused the 200-plus participants in the eighth WesternStates Summit to shudder when he said, “Do we want 10,000 Bruce Babbitts running our country?” Babbitt, the environmentalist Interior Secretary, was a favorite target on the Jockel Finck/The Associated Press DOING THE WAVE all goods made in China,” Tonelsonsaid. sidered foreign” agents, he added TRIBUNE SPOKANE, Wash. — A newfront in Expensive PR: Meanwhile, Japan shelled out 17 times as much, often to people or workers —andthey're notcon: ‘Instead of a See NAFTA GAINS, Page A-10 der the auspices of the Geneva-based World Trade Orga- pinchers. China spent just about $2 million here inthe first six months of last year, mostly to promote tourism and print Chinese not be in the interest of the American U panies that want to take advantage of cheaper labor costs in Mexico. Friday's report rejects such conten- to directly buy influence with U.S.politicians through campaign donations. But, U.S. multinational corporations are lobbying on behalf of positions that may as hadbeen urging for years. During thepast several years, however, the accord has become embroiled in a battle over job-creation, with labor groupssayingit has caused an exodus of U.S. com- ind to hammerout broader trade accords un- high-flown rhetoric that senior administration officials used in 1993 as they were persuading Congress to ap- SALT LAKECITY, UTAH 84111 opening day of the summit, a three-day conference sponsored by the coalition and underwritten by mining, timber and A Bucharest crowd bearing Romanian and U.S. flags reaches out Friday toward President Clinton, who responds. In a speech shortly before, Clinton promised the thousands gathered that he would work for Romania's inclusion in NATOif their country continues its democratic reforms. See story on A-9 agricultural interests. Topics of the summit ran the usual gamut, including water andprivate prop- Unlike foreign companies orindivid- See LAND-USE WAR, Page A-10 uals, U.S. companies do more than just lobby lawmakers — theyalso canfill po- litical campaigns with PAC money. High Rollers: Overall, foreign governments reported paying U.S. groups and individuals $430,867,734 during the six- month period. Other high-spending governments include: BHong Kong, $6.2 million. Payments included $216,059 from the Better Hong Kong Foundation to a Washington com pany for “public-relations support and {meetings} with members of Congress, congressional staff, U.S. government of. ficials and media representatives to provide informationon the achievements of Hong Kong @ Canada, $6.9 million. The province of Alberta paid $91,030 to the law firm Arnold & Porter for “advice and repre: sentation relating to exports of soft wood lumber from Canada to the U.S. The Canadian Aerospace Industries also spent $13,000 to have the 1996 Defense Department spending bill monitored @ Taiwan $3.8 million. The Taipei Economic & Cultural Representative Office paid a Washington company $39,000 to (contact) U.S. government officials to discuss co-signing letters to President Clinton regarding Taiwan's security and to arrangea meeting with a delegation of legislators from Taiwan WhyDid Ogden Cop Change Badge Number? ‘Devil’ Made Him DoIt Ann Lane Editoriale Movies Ryan S, Waters did not want to start his careeras the cop fromhell Whenhejoined the force in May the unlucky devil was assigned the badge number “666" and quickly learnedthat everyoneis a comedian. Although Waters he knew the numberis mentionedin the Book of Revelations and is considered by many to be “the mark of the beast that will becomeprevalent before the apocalypse, it did not bother him. “It was the next number [available) in the records and to meit was just a number,” he says. But it did bother his wife, Julie, whotold him, “You can't have that number, it's bad,” says Waters He jokingly told a neighbor who reacted the same wayas his wife. Things did not get better for Wa Births Obituaries Business Purzies Classifieds Star Gazer Comics TV Programs Details: WaATH AR: Rain north tor mented him as the devil's disciple ‘After several days 1 gave in to ma a4 co Oo on 07 C8 BY MARIA RECIO KNIGHT-RIDDER NEWS SERVICE other officers good-naturedly At Home Cut From HouseBill BY TOM QUINN SPECIAL TO THETRIBUNE OGDEN — Ogdenpolice Officer ters, 25, at the policestation, where INDEX All Arts Funding peer pressure,” Waters says. He asked for a new identification number “feeling silly,” and the clerk readily complied with his request, in dicating she felt uneasy giving Wa ters the number in the first place Waters now is officer "667" and 666" has been permanently retired When asked about the Satanic number, Ogden police Chief Jon Greiner just shook his head and said. We try to make everyone happy ae ‘ SHINGTON — Conservative House Republi cans finally were able to declareat least a partial victory Friday in their long struggle to do awaywith the National Endowment for the Arts. After a series of votes and parliamentary maneu vers, all funding for the controversial agency was eliminated from the House version of the Interior appropriations bill. An attempt to replace federal funding for the arts with an $80million block-grant program failed overwhelmingly on a 271 to 155 vote. All but six Democrats and a combination of conservative and moderate Republicans votedagainst it Conservatives wanted to completeapledgetokill the agency and Democrats and the moderate Republi- cans were protesting their inability to vote on the agency itself, Rep. Granger, R-Te as, who voted for the block-grant alternative, said she was “surprised and disappointed" that it did not pass. “NEAwill remain in the Senate whereit has much more support,” she said Indeed, NEAsupporters said they expected the agency's Senate supporters to rescue the agency from the House action and continue funding at its current level of $99.5 million a year ‘The Senate will fully fund the NEA,” predicted Rep. Ken Bentsen, D-Texas. ‘This is much ado about nothing. Thefar right has won the ideological battle but will lose the war Conservative Republican lawmakers have strug gled for years to do away with the NEA, arguingthat it was an elitist agency, out of touch with the values andinterests of ordinary Americans. Impact of X-33 Landings in Utah To Be Subject of Public Hearings BY eA Schedule of public meetings Ad THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE When theexperimental X-33 space makes up to seven Utah Landings in 1999, the main effects will be sonic booms that briefly startle birds, foxes, Goshute Indians and work: "s at Dugway Proving Ground But NASA is planning how to handledisasters during the 115 15 billion r sable spacecraft. spokeswoman Cherie Simon. “This is purely about suborbital test flights to Utal and other states. Space agency of cial Rebecca MeCaleb said unl ely possi ities include: would veto the Interior appropriations bill if it reaches his desk without NEA funding might blow up or break up du ing its 13-minute flight from Edw rds Air Force Base, Calif to Dugway raining debris on commercial air expect reasoned debate anda fair vote in the Senate, which we did not get in the House,” said NEA polities and about the NEAbeing a trophy for conser vatives In addition, President Clinton has indicated that he . BThe remote-controlied 4 33 space and western Utah. Notices will be issued to aviators before eachtest flight. Emergency plans will be sent to every county along theflight path @ There is a 1-in-250 chance th space plane could make an un. planned landing somewhere in California, Nevada, Utah, Idaho. Montana, Oregon or Washington. @ Multiple “fail-safe” systems will be used so the X-35 lands safely or even crashes intentional ly to avoid hitting a Dugway am. munition storage facility or lab oratories containing nerve gas or See X-33, Page Ae ‘ |
