Clinton to Stretch Affirmative Action Report Into Summer

WASHINGTON —  President Clinton, who promised a quick review of affirmative action programs, will now wait until summer to unveil findings that aides expect will cite little fault with minority-based hiring, senior White House officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Tuesday.

The officials said they were still in the early stages of their review and that Clinton had not signed off on even the most minor details.

But they said a staff review was leaning toward recommending a report that finds hiring and education preferences based on race and sex justifiable while also pointing out problems in a handful of federal affirmative action programs.

Several draft reports and internal memos are circulating in the White House, giving various aides different views of the process. But the consensus is that the recommendation to Clinton will argue that race and sex can be a factor in hiring, but not a limiting criteria.

“In other words, no quotas,” one official said.

Clinton ordered a review of the programs in February after several Republicans launched new assaults on affirmative action programs.