Clinton Continues His Feud With GOP

President Clinton interrupted his vacation Saturday to pursue his political feud with Republicans in Congress, chiding them for rejecting two anti-terrorism proposals backed by the administration.

In his weekly radio address, broadcast from this resort at the foot of the Grand Tetons, Clinton scolded Republicans for stripping from legislation now before Congress tools designed to help law enforcement “find out, track down and shut down terrorists.”

“We cannot cast aside any tools in this fight for the security of our country and the safety of our people,” Clinton said. “That is exactly what the Republican majority in Congress did.”

Clinton’s pointed partisan language came just hours before his likely Republican opponent, former Kansas Sen. Bob Dole, named Jack Kemp as his running mate.

Although Clinton is officially on vacation, he hopes to occasionally steal some of the spotlight focused on the Republican National Convention in San Diego.

Raising terrorism as a political issue, Clinton expressed anger that the House rejected new wiretapping authority that would allow police to eavesdrop on cellular and other electronic communications.

He noted that police can use this power when investigating organized crime figures.

“Surely, it is even more urgent to give them this authority when it comes to terrorists,” Clinton said. “But Congress said, ‘No.’ ”

The provision was opposed not only by many House Republicans, but by a number of liberal Democrats who said the bill raised civil-liberties concerns.

Clinton also criticized Congress for deleting a provision to permit the use of “taggants” in explosives. These chemical markers would help investigators track the source of bomb-making materials and to more easily detect bombs through sophisticated screening devices.

The National Rifle Assn. and its allies in Congress oppose the use of taggants, arguing that it would make gunpowder less reliable and more costly for legitimate users.

“The Republicans in Congress could give law enforcement this anti-terrorism tool, but once again they’re listening to the gun lobby over law enforcement. It may be good politics, but it’s not good for the American people,” Clinton said.

The House voted, 389-22, before its summer recess to pass a weakened version of Clinton’s anti-terrorism package. The Senate has not yet taken up the measure.

The bill includes a provision to study taggants but does not give the Clinton administration the power it wanted to conduct the study and carry out its recommendations.

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Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, who are staying at the 1,200-acre spread of Wall Street financier Max Chapman Jr., have few plans for the week, aides said.

On a stroll around the ranch Saturday, they spotted a moose grazing, according to spokeswoman Mary Ellen Glynn.

On Monday, Clinton will fly to the northeast corner of Yellowstone National Park to announce a deal that will halt a proposed mining venture strongly opposed by environmentalists, officials said.