
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, November 22, 1993                   TAG: 9311220058
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

PRESIDENT SIGNS BILL TO REFORM REA

Without fanfare, President Clinton has signed into law a bill that reforms the Rural Electrification Administration - the New Deal agency that has long been a target of government-waste critics who say it has outlived its usefulness.

The legislation restructures REA's loan programs, which for nearly six decades have subsidized telephone service and electricity for rural America. In addition, the reform package encourages electric cooperatives to play a broader role in rural development.

The law is the culmination of nine months of aggressive lobbying, detailed negotiation and compromise among administration officials, lawmakers and advocates for the nation's electric and telephone co-ops.

It also follows a little-noticed promise Clinton made Feb. 17, when he singled out the REA in his State of the Union address as an example of where cuts could be made to reduce the deficit.

Like much of the legislative crafting on Capitol Hill, revamping REA programs was done in relative quiet, largely among staff.

The Rural Electrification Loan Restructuring Act of 1993 cuts the cost of REA electric and telephone programs by 43 percent, a savings of $276 million over five years. The administration's original proposal called for even more drastic cuts, at a savings of $374 million over four years.

by CNB