cover image The Bill: 2how the Adventures of Clinton's National Service Bill Reveal What Is Corrup

The Bill: 2how the Adventures of Clinton's National Service Bill Reveal What Is Corrup

Steven Waldman, Stephen Waldman. Viking Books, $22.95 (320pp) ISBN 978-0-670-85300-7

With vigorous lobbying from interest groups impeding, passage of the National and Community Service Act of 1993 was a near thing, according to Waldman, the national correspondent for Newsweek, in this instructive, cautionary report that will leave readers marveling that any legislation moves out of committee to a House vote. Bills meant to marshall the best instincts of the populace can bring about the opposite, the author shows. Clinton's national service plan embraces a mix of races and income groups, a provision perceived as threatening by local service organizations, which are often racially homogeneous; veterans organizations were concerned that the financial benefits offered to national service participants would exceed their own; unions feared jobs would be taken away from their members; and financial institutions were alarmed at losing profits under student loan reform, which was linked to Clinton's proposal. Inertia was found only among the media, which largely failed to report on the conflicts, criticizes Waldman, who gives fair hearing here to national service partisans and antagonists alike-perhaps more than certain factions merit. (Jan)