Lacking official help, Bush starts his own transition

By PAUL DE LA GARZA

© St. Petersburg Times, published November 28, 2000

WASHINGTON -- In an effort to bypass the Clinton administration, which has joined the fray in the battle for the White House, the Bush campaign announced Monday that it would begin raising private funds to help Republican Gov. George W. Bush of Texas begin work on his transition.

Although Florida certified on Sunday that Bush had won the state's 25 electoral votes, and therefore, the presidency, the General Services Administration said the governor was not entitled to the presidential transition offices in Washington.

Neither, the GSA said, would Bush be getting $5.3-million in federal funds to help the next president prepare for office -- at least not yet.

As required by law, the agency set up a transition office complete with computers and telephones and stood ready to turn over the keys, and the money, either to Bush or Democratic Vice President Al Gore the morning after Election Day. But the recounting and legal battles have kept the door locked.

At issue, according to the Clinton administration, is the 1963 Presidential Transition Effectiveness Act, which bars the use of public monies for a transition when the outcome of an election is in doubt. John Podesta, the White House chief of staff, alerted federal agencies to the legislation in a memo.

In explaining the White House position on Monday, spokesman Jake Siewert noted that "there is substantial litigation before the courts" regarding the election.

"This has taken a lot of twists and turns," he said, "(and) we have a law that governs how transitions are handled, and we're following the law."

Siewert noted that Clinton and the previous Bush administration did not come to an agreement on the sharing of information for a formal transition until Dec. 5, 1992. He suggested it was plenty of time for the FBI to conduct criminal background checks on would-be Bush administration officials, another concern of the Bush team.

At a Cabinet meeting at the White House, President Clinton said he had signed an executive order on Monday creating a transition-coordinating council to help the president-elect with the transition.

On the GSA issue, Clinton said he had nothing to do with the decision.

He added, however, that the administration "actually went back and reviewed the congressional deliberations on this legislation."

"I think they're doing what the law requires," he said. "And I think the General Services Administration believes that it cannot offer transition assistance to both of them, (including Gore), which is what I would otherwise be inclined to do."

But the Bush campaign was undeterred.

At a news conference in Washington, Bush running mate Dick Cheney said that under orders from Bush, the campaign would begin to raise private funds to help bankroll the transition.

"Now that the election results in Florida have been certified in accordance with Florida state law and rulings by the Florida Supreme Court," Cheney said, "we believe it is time to get on with the business of organizing the new administration."

Meanwhile, as hopes for a Gore victory dimmed, his top advisers were still planning a transition, just in case the Florida vote goes his way.

On Monday, the White House gave equal billing to a Bush and Gore presidency.

In response to questions about the transition and dual claims to political victory, Siewert said, "We'll do everything we can to proceed along a parallel track."

Gore campaign chairman William Daley said that the vice president will not lay any immediate claim to the transition office.

Cheney, meantime, said the GSA decision preventing the governor from getting the keys to the transition offices and the federal funds was disappointing.

"This is regrettable because we believe the government has an obligation to honor certified results of the election," he said. "Despite the decision, we feel it is our obligation to the American people to honor their votes by moving forward in assembling the administration that they've chosen in this election."

Cheney said the campaign would raise funds, as a Texas non-profit corporation, in accordance with the Presidential Transition Effectiveness Act, the same piece of legislation the Clinton White House cited in the GSA decision.

Cheney said the act, amended in 1988, allows private fundraising to "defray the transition-related expenses." Although the legislation allows contributions from corporations and political action committees, Cheney said the campaign would accept only individual contributions, with a limit of $5,000.

Cheney stressed the need to get moving on a transition because the legal battle in Florida has drained precious time from the campaign. He said the Bush team has done very little work in "actually putting in place the new administration." With Gore refusing to concede, Cheney said, "We will pay a heavy price for the delays and planning a new administration.

"These days of transition before a president-elect takes the oath of office are of great importance," he said. "The quality of the transition has a direct bearing on the quality of the administration that follows it."

He said the quality of the transition also has "a direct bearing" on the quality of people recruited to work for the administration, on the relationship between the White House and Congress, and on the capacity to develop and execute a legislative program.

And, Cheney said, the quality of the transition also would affect "the ability of the new team to deal with the first crisis that arises, as it inevitably will."

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