PRO-ABORTION GROUPS FACE CUT-OFF OF $$ FROM DUBYA Sunday,January 14,2001

By DEBORAH ORIN

President-elect George W. Bush has signaled he's likely to cut off federal funds for family planning groups that promote or perform abortions overseas.

"Organizations that promote abortions are organizations I don't want to support" with American tax funds, Bush told The New York Times in an interview published today.

Bush can do that with an executive order, reversing a policy President Clinton put into effect two days after taking office.

Clinton and the GOP-controlled Congress cut a deal in October providing $425 million in federal funds for such groups but delaying the spending until Feb. 15 so the new president could set the policy.

Many pro-choice advocacy groups, like Planned Parenthood and the National Organization for Women, are actively involved in the fight to block Bush's choice for attorney general, right-to-lifer John Ashcroft.

Bush has said he'll examine the prospect for reversing an 11th-hour Clinton move to ban roads and logging on roadless federal lands, which is strongly opposed by many western Republicans.

In the interview, Bush, outspoken in criticizing Russian corruption, suggested he may cut off all U.S. aid to Russia, except money for dismantling nuclear weapons, until Russian President Vladimir Putin does more to eliminate corruption.

That would mark a sharp change from the Clinton policy.

Bush also said in hindsight he was wrong to praise Federal Reserve Board chief Alan Greenspan for cutting interest rates and hinted he'll stay mum in the future. "I kind of read the [negative] feedback and tended to agree with it, frankly," he told the paper.

Meanwhile, new polls show Americans are split over whether Ashcroft should be confirmed or rejected, a new poll shows.

The Newsweek magazine survey found 41 percent of American adults say Ashcroft is too extreme and should be rejected while 37 percent support him, echoing the close division in the U.S. Senate.

That's a statistical tie given the poll's error margin of 3 points, which means the ratio against Ashcroft could range from as much as 44 percent to 34 percent or it could be 40 percent to 38 percent in his favor.

"That's no surprise given all the misinformation out there," said Bush spokeswoman Mindy Tucker. "The more people understand the facts, the more they'll realize that John Ashcroft will be the most qualified attorney general we've ever had."

But while Ashcroft is controversial, Bush's Cabinet picks as a group get good reviews from 57 percent, the Newsweek poll found.

Bush to cut off taxpayer funds to groups promoting abortion overseas

-- Ain't Gonna Happen (Not Here Not@ever.com), January 16, 2001