Washington journal

By Times staff reports
© St. Petersburg Times
published April 14, 2002

Daschle: Now is not the time to be critical

As leader of congressional Democrats, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle has not been shy about criticizing the Bush administration. He's panned the president's budget proposals and questioned the direction of the war on terrorism.

But with Secretary of State Colin Powell in the Middle East struggling to bring about Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, the South Dakota Democrat has asked his colleagues to stay quiet.

"These are very, very sensitive talks, very high-stakes negotiations," Daschle told reporters Thursday after meeting with President Bush. "We've got to be very concerned about sending messages that are counterproductive."

Daschle's comments came a day after Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., complained Powell intended to meet with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat even though Arafat had not renounced violence. Schumer was also angry the Bush administration was pressuring Israel to end military action in the West Bank in the face of terrorist bombings directed at Israeli civilians.

After Daschle urged patience, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said she would wait to introduce a bill declaring the Palestine Liberation Organization a terrorist group. Feinstein has been working on the bill with Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

Skeptics question usage of high-speed rail system

Supporters of high-speed rail got a chilly reception from Florida's congressional delegation last week.

C.C. "Doc" Dockery, a leader of the rail plan, began the meeting by thanking the delegation members for the $3-million they gave last year and promising he would be asking them for more this year.

But the Lakeland millionaire was bombarded with skepticism.

Rep. Michael Bilirakis, R-Tarpon Springs, noted that mass transit has never been popular in Florida. "We have all these buses going up and down U.S. 19 with two or three people in them," he said. "Sometimes there aren't any people in them."

South Florida lawmakers asked whether Dockery's ridership estimates were exaggerated and whether his cost estimates were unrealistic.

"Our concern is that this sounds like Amtrak," said Rep. Mark Foley, R-West Palm Beach.

Dockery, who bankrolled the effort to get voter approval of high-speed rail, replied that the four companies bidding on the proposal are so sure it will be a success that they do not need an operating subsidy.

Dockery said, "Things are going real well for high-speed rail."

-- Times staff writers Mary Jacoby, Bill Adair and Paul De La Garza contributed to this column.

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