Washington briefs

Compiled from Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times, published November 4, 2000

Agent Orange program expanded

The government is offering to examine Cold War American troops who served in Korea three decades ago for possible exposure to the defoliant Agent Orange.

In a little-publicized initiative, the Veterans Affairs Department expanded the program to include people who served in Korea in 1968-69.

The rule change follows the Pentagon's disclosure that South Korean troops sprayed Agent Orange during that time along the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea.

China among countries with U.S. nuclear secrets

Several countries, including China, have collected extensive nuclear and other sensitive information from the U.S. government that has "undercut U.S. policy, security and competitiveness," a previously secret U.S. intelligence community report says.

The 1998 report by the CIA and five other agencies said "losses are extensive" at the besieged Energy Department and include "classified nuclear weapons design information to the Chinese" as well as declassified and unclassified material to China and other countries.

The report predates the congressional Cox Report, released last year, which concluded that the transfer of satellite and other technology to China, during and before the Clinton administration, harmed national security.

New rules aim to cut student loan fraud

In a crackdown on borrowers who falsely claim death or disability to get out of repaying college loans, the Education Department will require stronger proof of these misfortunes from families, schools or lenders.

Federal law allows for loan discharges if a borrower dies or becomes permanently disabled. A report last year found nearly $80-million in loans were discharged because of false death certificates or improper claims of disability.

Effective July 1, the department said, families of student debtors who die will have to provide an original death certificate or a certified copy before a loan can be forgiven.

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