Washington in brief

Political appointees can get cash bonuses

WASHINGTON -- The White House disclosed Wednesday it has restored cash bonuses for political appointees at federal agencies, a practice President Clinton halted after he concluded the former Bush administration used the system to hand out extravagant payments to "political cronies."

White House chief of staff Andy Card approved reinstatement of the system eight months ago, but the administration did not reveal the move, which makes some 2,100 administration appointees eligible for bonuses. The administration's Office of Personnel Management said bonuses larger than $25,000 would need the president's personal approval.

Former President Bush's administration paid nearly $400,000 in bonuses to political appointees on the way out after Bush lost the 1992 election.

In 1993, Clinton criticized "extravagant payments made to departing bureaucrats and political cronies at a time when most people are tightening their belts." At the time of the bonuses, the nation was emerging from recession -- roughly where the economy is today.

But in a March 29, 2002, memo to Cabinet members and agency heads, Card reversed the Clinton policy by "clarifying" that "political appointees are eligible for performance-based awards."

He pointed out that thousands of career government workers receive such awards.

A fraction of the roughly 2,100 eligible agency workers are likely to get the bonuses, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said.

Disclosure of the bonus reinstatement comes one week after Bush cited a "national emergency" to deny thousands of federal workers the pay raises Congress sought. That step affected career and political employees alike, White House officials said.

Also . . .

KID-FRIENDLY DOMAIN NAME: The creation of a new type of Internet address Wednesday should make parents with Net-savvy children happy.

President Bush signed legislation creating a new type of domain name, or basic Internet address: .kids.us. It would work the same way as traditional Internet .com addresses, but all material is required to be appropriate for kids under 13.

Sites that break the rules would get their addresses yanked.

Bush said the new domain, which would "function much like the children's section of the library," will be available within a year.

A federal contractor will approve participants wanting to establish addresses with the new suffix and continuously monitor to be sure they are free of pornography and other material not suitable for youngsters.

Also Wednesday, Bush signed legislation requiring automakers to install shoulder belts in addition to lap straps in the middle rear seats of new vehicles starting in 2005.

KERRY EXPLORES RUN: Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry filed papers Wednesday to open an exploratory committee for a possible campaign for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination.

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